Discontinued Versacopter, Knuckles and angled motors

stereodreieck86

Active member
Hey guys,
what happend to the Knuckles, Versacopter, the idea of having angled motormounts and Tilt-rotors ?

The Knuckles and Versacopter is no longer available, but why? Angled motormounts never took off for some reason despite being superior. And tilt-rotors are kinda heavy but way more efffective and faster.

You my wonder why I put angled motors and Flitetest products in one thread!well, its pretty simple; I wanted to buy a versacopter but found this product discontinued and Flitetest also did some experiments with angled motormounts, with Eric Monroe (great guy, please bring him back)

Greets from RLP, Germany
 

ElectriSean

Eternal Student
Mentor
My first miniquad was a Versacopter. it was a lot of fun to build and fly, but compared to modern carbon frames it is pretty heavy and very fragile. I never tried flying it with the motors angled, I'm not sure what the advantage would be. Tilt rotors never caught on I guess because of the added complexity and because servos are fragile as well.
 

stereodreieck86

Active member
My first miniquad was a Versacopter. it was a lot of fun to build and fly, but compared to modern carbon frames it is pretty heavy and very fragile. I never tried flying it with the motors angled, I'm not sure what the advantage would be. Tilt rotors never caught on I guess because of the added complexity and because servos are fragile as well.

I am not refering about Miniquads at all ! more so about the 350-550Size. Light(ish)Gimbalcarrier and (rc Plane)Chasequads.
 

ElectriSean

Eternal Student
Mentor
The Versa is a 280mm frame that runs 6" props - definitely a miniquad... Everyone I know that chases planes use a 5" or 6".
 

cranialrectosis

Faster than a speeding face plant!
Mentor
In 2012 - 2014 multirotors were for shooting video. Period. Any other suggestion was comical. 5" props were plastic 'toys' and only Gemfan made them. They were absolutely horrid. They flexed, had dimples in them where there were punched out of the mold etc... Motors were in the 1000kv range and faster motors were considered a fad because of the reduced flight time and inability to provide enough thrust to lift a gimbal and good video camera. 4S with the slow motors and long props available at the time didn't make much sense.

I ran Suppo 1450s with 8045 props on 3S and my setup was considered 'underpowered'. I just wanted to fly and have no interest in video cameras so it worked for me.

Then the Knuckle H quad came out and I built one. After crashing it and breaking it a few times, I decided to go with a lighter lipo (2200 mAh to 1300mAh to reduce inertia in a crash) and shorter booms to lighten the copter more to offset the smaller lipo. My 8045s were <> 1/4" apart at the tips. People thought I was nuts to go so small. I was about 320mm.

Eventually decent 5" and 6" props came out as did higher kv motors like the SunnySky 2204 2300kv and the HQ brand props. FinalGlideAus flying at the Nationals made manufacturers heads turn in a big way. This started the racing thing and manufacturers started seeing a reason to go small and perception changed about copters being for photography.

Today, If you want a racing copter, you want small, light and tough. Carbon fiber is lighter and tougher than wood. In pure economic sense it is cheaper to maintain a small, light X quad in the 200-250 range than a 300mm quad if you fly acrobatics or for speed. They are also quicker and more aerobatic.

If you do fly for photography flight time and stability are premium. You really want a 10" or larger prop and slower motor to generate the thrust you need to lift a gimbal and camera and have a decent flight time. No one races on 13" props for long.

Copters in the 280 - 550 range were all you could do because manufacturers simply didn't make the motors and props to support how we fly today. Once they saw people wanting smaller racing copters or larger photography copters, the stuff from 2012-2014 or so just didn't make sense.

At least, this is how I remember it.
 

stereodreieck86

Active member
Ok, I understand. Knuckles and Versacopter are obsolete because of better/modern alternatives.

Which brings me to the next point; what are my (DIY) options in the 9-10inch Prop department ? I purchased a F450 (plus a lot of spareparts) for really cheap and like to convert it into a TBS Disco.
Is the Disco outdated as well ?
 

cranialrectosis

Faster than a speeding face plant!
Mentor
Obsolete is, I think, too harsh a word.

IMO the TBS Discovery is only 'obsolete' the day you put it on a shelf the last time.

If you love to fly it, every time you do, it's purpose is fulfilled and your life and the lives of any others you share it with is enriched.

I'm not sure what you mean by your question "what are my (DIY) options in the 9-10inch Prop department?". People still need motors in the 750kv - 1200kv range for all sorts of planes and quads. 30A ESCs are abundant. It seems to me your best option would be to start a build thread, take lots of photos, build the heck out of your Discovery and film and post the maiden.

After that, the sky is, quite literally, your limit.

The Discovery is a nimble photography machine designed to shoot high quality video of hard to reach places. It has more flight time than a racing drone and is more responsive than a copter with a gimbal. Crashes will likely be harsher to repair than with a racing drone but less than a DJI Phantom or Inspire.

Half the fun of the Discovery is that you have to get out and go places to use it. So long as you can and do, neither your copter nor you are obsolete. :)
 

CrashRecovery

I'm a care bear...Really?
Mentor
The best quad is the one you design, build and fly. If it fills the purpose you need it's the best one. I have used light balsa to design a few tricopters that flew pretty good. Design what you need and you will be very happy