OttoPilot
Member
So, one of the recent episodes with the FT270, combined with the FT homepage banner showing the FT270 rocking a 3 axis gimbal has inspired the heck out of me
I've decided to build a dedicated gimbal quad.
Not so much a quad with a gimbal attached to it...but more of a gimbal with a quad attached to it.
-Artists interpretation of what GimbalQuad might look like.
As the base I'm going to start with a 6" HyperLite Floss 2. These are what I fly for my race frames. They're easy to work on, durable, and most importantly light. I could cut my own custom frame...but the Floss 2 will be a great starting point.
I'll be starting with a 6" build using some F60 Pro 2207, 2200kv motors, and some spare DYS 30A ESCs. I can always expand to a 7" build if I don't get the performance I'm looking for...but a 6" will provide a good place to start, and has much more of a variety of parts and props available.
That brings me to the gimbal. I've purchased the Quanum FY Mini 3D PROS 3 Axis Gimbal. This things looks pretty robust (mostly aluminum...might be some opportunities to lighten it up) and stabilized the little session rock solid in the quick tests I did.
To make sure this is all going to work out and not be a colossal waste of time I took a look at some thrust and weight numbers.
I think I can move forwards <mad scientist laugh here>
Next step is to get the frame ordered and figure out where I can shave weight off the gimbal (might try removing the aluminum mounting case and relocating the electronics to the FC stack). It'll all depend on how sensitive it all is to vibrations.
Sorry about the wall of text...trying to lay out my thought process so others and either duplicate it, or help me find the stuff I might be overlooking.
More to come soon.
-Tim
I've decided to build a dedicated gimbal quad.
Not so much a quad with a gimbal attached to it...but more of a gimbal with a quad attached to it.
-Artists interpretation of what GimbalQuad might look like.
As the base I'm going to start with a 6" HyperLite Floss 2. These are what I fly for my race frames. They're easy to work on, durable, and most importantly light. I could cut my own custom frame...but the Floss 2 will be a great starting point.
I'll be starting with a 6" build using some F60 Pro 2207, 2200kv motors, and some spare DYS 30A ESCs. I can always expand to a 7" build if I don't get the performance I'm looking for...but a 6" will provide a good place to start, and has much more of a variety of parts and props available.
That brings me to the gimbal. I've purchased the Quanum FY Mini 3D PROS 3 Axis Gimbal. This things looks pretty robust (mostly aluminum...might be some opportunities to lighten it up) and stabilized the little session rock solid in the quick tests I did.
To make sure this is all going to work out and not be a colossal waste of time I took a look at some thrust and weight numbers.
A quick weight SWAG:
Gimbal + GoPro = 238.1g
Fully Built Floss 2 (5") = 292.0g
+3.6g difference per motor+longer arms (for the 6" build) = 15g
4s 1500 Lipo = 180g
Takeoff Weight = 725g (yikes).
Looking at data from MQTB the F60 Pros with HQ6x4.5 props will pump out 586g of thrust at 50% throttle (9 amps).
At 75% we're looking at 1093g at 21 amps so 4372g of thrust total...throw in 20% reduction for maneuvering budget (and because I don't really know what I'm doing) and we end up with:
~1875g thrust at mid throttle = 2.58 thrust to weight.
~3500g thrust at 3/4 throttle = 4.8 thrust to weight.
Compare that to my freestyle 5" Alien (600g w/ gopro, 2992g of thrust at 75% throttle) gives a 4.98 thrust to weight (without the 20% fudge factor thrown in above).
So, all of a sudden the 725g take off weight doesn't seem too bad. Obviously the massive increase in inertia won't allow for crazy acrobatics...but that's okay...that's not what this is about. This is about beautifully smooth, stabilized video that looks like it came from a Phantom...but done in a way a Phantom couldn't (or at least wouldn't) do.
Gimbal + GoPro = 238.1g
Fully Built Floss 2 (5") = 292.0g
+3.6g difference per motor+longer arms (for the 6" build) = 15g
4s 1500 Lipo = 180g
Takeoff Weight = 725g (yikes).
Looking at data from MQTB the F60 Pros with HQ6x4.5 props will pump out 586g of thrust at 50% throttle (9 amps).
At 75% we're looking at 1093g at 21 amps so 4372g of thrust total...throw in 20% reduction for maneuvering budget (and because I don't really know what I'm doing) and we end up with:
~1875g thrust at mid throttle = 2.58 thrust to weight.
~3500g thrust at 3/4 throttle = 4.8 thrust to weight.
Compare that to my freestyle 5" Alien (600g w/ gopro, 2992g of thrust at 75% throttle) gives a 4.98 thrust to weight (without the 20% fudge factor thrown in above).
So, all of a sudden the 725g take off weight doesn't seem too bad. Obviously the massive increase in inertia won't allow for crazy acrobatics...but that's okay...that's not what this is about. This is about beautifully smooth, stabilized video that looks like it came from a Phantom...but done in a way a Phantom couldn't (or at least wouldn't) do.
I think I can move forwards <mad scientist laugh here>
Next step is to get the frame ordered and figure out where I can shave weight off the gimbal (might try removing the aluminum mounting case and relocating the electronics to the FC stack). It'll all depend on how sensitive it all is to vibrations.
Sorry about the wall of text...trying to lay out my thought process so others and either duplicate it, or help me find the stuff I might be overlooking.
More to come soon.
-Tim
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