Emax Nighthawk 280 Pro - PROP QUESTION

[Croom]

Hi all,
Recently I crashed my Nighthawk 280 and some of the stock props broke. I tried gemfan 6045s and the motors got hot and the quad flew erratically. I recently ordered some gemfan 5045 triblades, and those flew OK, but the quad didn't have enough power to carry my GoPro, something I want it to be able to do. PLEASE tell me the props anyone uses for their nighthawks. I've been on a wild goose chase to find the right combo of availability, power, and performance for my quad, and I have not found any answers. If possible, I would like to be able to order the props on amazon as well (for prime shipping and good return rates). Thanks!

 

[Darkback2]

Odd...The 280 Pro comes with 6045 props. I am wondering of something else is wrong. Check and make sure the motors all turn easily to ensure there isn't damage to a bearing or something. Also you may have to recalibrate your Gyros. When I have a bad crash my quad sometimes pulls to one side or another until I re-level everything.

Finally if you are looking for a slightly less aggressive prop you could try something with the same size, but a slightly shallower prop angle. 6040 or even 6030...You won't have the same amount of power though.

best of luck and happy flying!

DB

 

[French]

It sounds like there's something going on more than a prop issue. While the 6045 gemfans may be softer than the stock NHP280 props, I'd think it should still fly alright. That also doesn't explain the motors heating up. We're they 6045 bullnose props?

Personally, I currently use HQprop 5x4x3s on my NHP. I used to fly HQprop 6045s.

How do the motors sound when you gently rev them up without props on? Does it look like any of the prop shafts are bent? You may consider testing the vibration on each motor as shown here:

 

[Croom]

Thanks for the replies! I appreciate it . I have heard that the 6030s have a tendency to break in midair, is this true? If so, would that be the gemfan brand or a different one. I also found 6040s, but only in bullnose style. Would that work?

 

[Croom]

My motors are not vibrating and it flies the 5045 triblades ok. When I flew the 6045 props the quad was shaking even in full acro mode, so I don't think it was the gyros. I have also not calibrated the gyros since I tested the 6045s, and tested the 5045s with the same gyro calibration with no shaking. This whole thing is a bit perplexing :/

 

[Darkback2]

I wonder if you can't tune the vibration problems away...Might be the crash changed something enough geometry wise to make that little bit of extra thrust from the 6 inch prop make the quad vibrate and change the dynamics flight wise.

May also be that you just stumbled into a set of really badly balanced props.

DB

 

[Ocean]

Gemfan 6045 do break apart in mid air, I know as this cost me A LOT of money in the past.

 

[jhitesma]

I'm not a fan of gemfan's at all. The 6030's are ridiculously delicate - Most of the ones I had broke before I even got them tightened down!

I have heard good things about some of their newer tri blades, but haven't tried them myself yet.

I generally fly HQ 6045's or FC 6045's on mine but have also tried the DAL and KingKong's...the DAL weren't horrible but I didn't like them as much as the HQ or FC props. The KK's are pretty lame...tough but very inefficient.

I just ordered a variety of DAL 5" tri blades to try thanks to the big sale at surveilzone...figured at those prices I may as well give them a spin. But I went for cheap shipping and last time I did that with SZ it took months and three shipments to get them to me

It does sound like you may have tune issues. Personally I ditched *flight and went to dRonin on my NHP and just run autotune since I get a better tune from one minute of autotune than I can achieve after 4 packs of manual tuning. I was happy with the manual tune I had achieved...until I tried dRonin's autotune and realized how bad my manual tune was

That said...since the NHP has a naze32 clone dRonin is a little tricky on it as the naze32 is barely capable of running it and due to the way USB is wired it can't run a bootloader so flashing and updating isn't nearly as nice as with other boards dRonin supports. I have videos on my youtube of flashing and setting up dRonin on the NHP though if you want to give it a try.

 

[Croom]

What about Gemfan 6040s, DAL 6040 bullnose, or King Kong 6040s? In the HQ/FC search I can only find triblades for 6 inch (I'm also guessing a triblade would be too much power in the 6 inch category, but if it is not, I'll look into that). Wondering if the slightly lower pitch would reduce vibrations while getting a similar power output. Thanks for all the replies by the way . Very helpful.

Edit: Maybe 6030 triblades are the solution? As I stated above, I tried the 5045s, and they didn't give enough power (they worked though).

 

[French]

You can find HQ 5x4x3 on the FT Store -
https://store.flitetest.com/hq-5x4x3-reverse-cw-props/
https://store.flitetest.com/hq-5x4x3-standard-ccw-props/

6040 bullnose may be a bit too aggressive for the NHP280 escs & motors to handle
6030 triblades are also likely too aggressive.

How are you determining the 5045s "didn't give enough power to carry your GoPro?" Would it not take off?

 

[jhitesma]

What about Gemfan 6040s, DAL 6040 bullnose, or King Kong 6040s? In the HQ/FC search I can only find triblades for 6 inch (I'm also guessing a triblade would be too much power in the 6 inch category, but if it is not, I'll look into that). Wondering if the slightly lower pitch would reduce vibrations while getting a similar power output. Thanks for all the replies by the way . Very helpful.

Edit: Maybe 6030 triblades are the solution? As I stated above, I tried the 5045s, and they didn't give enough power (they worked though).

I wouldn't run 6" triblades...6045's 2 blades are pushing it already on the ESC's (and to a lesser extent the motors) on these already - add in a third blade and you're probably going to smoke an ESC.

A lot of the 6040's are overrated, as in they're actually more like 6030's or even 6025's if you actually measure the pitch on them. So you loose way more thrust than you'd expect.

Vibrations are more likely to be from unbalanced props or an improper tune than from the pitch. Gemfans are usually very poorly balanced (though admittedly I haven't tried their newer designs which are supposed to be better) and in my experience KK's are even worse. DAL are a mixed bag....the ones I've had so far were either dead on or way off - no real middle ground - and that was within a bag of props consistent across multiple bags.

 

[Croom]

It would take off at 3/4 throttle. :/ Not ideal for preforming "racing" maneuvers. It's OK though, because I found out Banggood of all places carries the stock props, so I think I will order from there.

 

[jipp]

could it maybe your battery?

chris.