Newbie quadcopter recommendations!
- Thread starter Trisnpod
- Start date
Typically, yes. Race class quads tend to be faster, twitchier and carry far less momentum, meaning they can pick up speed in a heartbeat . . . on the other hand, they carry far less momentum, so stopping them isn't that hard.
If you're COMPLETELY new to rotorcraft, it's not really a great option -- you'll be far more successful with either a micro quad, like the Blade NanoQX or Hubsan X4, or a much larger, but made-with-locally-replaceable-parts quad.
Before you can run though a zippy FPV race you first need to get past which control does which (no time to think about it) and learn how a craft will respond to those inputs -- you've got to get used to canceling momentum and managing your throttle. for that learning period, either go very small and hard to break (micro quad), or go sluggish but cheap and easy to repair. The electro hub is nice in that you can get zipties and 1/2" dowels (or similar size) locally for CHEAP. At most you'll replace those booms, a bunch of zipties and MANY props.
Switching to a nicer racing frame before you've learned orientation and control tends to make it harder to learn, and break more expensive parts you'll have to order (there are "guaranteed unbreakable" racer frames, which are indeed VERY hard to break, but they can pass on that damage to your motors and electronics -- not covered by the guarantee, and involves a wait for parts to ship).
As for speed . . . actual speed, the bigger quad could go faster, but they usually aren't built for speed. In scale speed, the smaller quads can move out of sight far faster and can reverse direction far easier, turning corners on a dime. Fun, but a great way to go buy more parts if you're learning the feel of the sticks.
Hi, Thanks for that reply! I have a hubsan x4 and have got quite good at knowing which control does what, and I am pretty confident at flying it, so I do have some experiance with quads. I would definetly go for a control board with gyro to start off with, as on the sim I am useless at non gyro multirotor flying. Since I do have some experience, would it be do-able and more economical to got straight to a race quad?
Thanks, Tristan
Thanks, Tristan
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If a race quad is ok for me, would this - http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...ombo_Kit_Mini_Sized_FPV_Multi_Rotor_ARF_.html be good?
If you've got some time on sticks and can hold orientation and hover well, then yeah, a 250 class quad is doable. Fast and twitchy, but doable.
If you go with HK's Spec 250 FPV quad, be prepared to replace the motors. they will work, but they're on the marginal side -- they need expensive-hard-to-find 5x3, 3 blade props just to run. So far, I've been VERY impressed with this kit:
http://www.myrcmart.com/rcx-fpv260-barebone-frame-h1806-motor-12a-esc-5030-kk-21-p-8216.html
MUCH nicer motors (using 5x3, 2 bladed props + SPARES!), dihedral arms, and comes *WITH* a control board -- a kk2.1.5 clone with a good ROM pre-flashed. The only thing the HK kit has this doesn't is a $5 battery that's too small to begin with.
And yeah, this guy can take a 3s 2200, with FPV gear and a Mobius. It'll be heavy and sluggish with everything onboard (mine tends to prefer 3s 1300's, for ~5 min flight time), but it'll fly fine.
DO get lights for orientation. Flying LOS without them is REALLY hard. Flying with them is a fun night-time light show.
If you go with HK's Spec 250 FPV quad, be prepared to replace the motors. they will work, but they're on the marginal side -- they need expensive-hard-to-find 5x3, 3 blade props just to run. So far, I've been VERY impressed with this kit:
http://www.myrcmart.com/rcx-fpv260-barebone-frame-h1806-motor-12a-esc-5030-kk-21-p-8216.html
MUCH nicer motors (using 5x3, 2 bladed props + SPARES!), dihedral arms, and comes *WITH* a control board -- a kk2.1.5 clone with a good ROM pre-flashed. The only thing the HK kit has this doesn't is a $5 battery that's too small to begin with.
And yeah, this guy can take a 3s 2200, with FPV gear and a Mobius. It'll be heavy and sluggish with everything onboard (mine tends to prefer 3s 1300's, for ~5 min flight time), but it'll fly fine.
DO get lights for orientation. Flying LOS without them is REALLY hard. Flying with them is a fun night-time light show.
Hi! Does that kit ship to the uk? I couldn't find the option for GBP in the currency selector. Will I only be able to manage flight times of around 5 minutes with a racer quad, or can it carry bigger batteries for longer flight times. Also, is there any hope of me being able to realistically mount a gopro on a quad like this?
Tristan
Tristan
Dunno about where the will/won't ship, but I'd be surprised if they didn't.
On race quads, you trade between weight speed and flight time -- in most other quads you don't worry so much about speed.
Assuming the motors can take it, adding battery weight will add flight time, at the cost of speed and agility -- without FPV gear that manufacturer reports a 15 min hover time on a 3S 2200. Add more gear and power it form the battery and that time will drop. do more than hover . . . and you loose even more time. I've flown mine on a 2200 with FPV gear and Mobius. Fully loaded it's in the 8-10 minute range, but feels REALLY heavy -- carries far more momentum, so it stops and turns far more sluggishly. It does run higher on the throttle, but not painfully so.
Can it carry a gopro? Probably. A Mobius is better suited -- much lighter and far easier to mount -- but it should fly on a gopro.
On race quads, you trade between weight speed and flight time -- in most other quads you don't worry so much about speed.
Assuming the motors can take it, adding battery weight will add flight time, at the cost of speed and agility -- without FPV gear that manufacturer reports a 15 min hover time on a 3S 2200. Add more gear and power it form the battery and that time will drop. do more than hover . . . and you loose even more time. I've flown mine on a 2200 with FPV gear and Mobius. Fully loaded it's in the 8-10 minute range, but feels REALLY heavy -- carries far more momentum, so it stops and turns far more sluggishly. It does run higher on the throttle, but not painfully so.
Can it carry a gopro? Probably. A Mobius is better suited -- much lighter and far easier to mount -- but it should fly on a gopro.
At some point the weight of the lipo is so much that you no longer get longer flight times. There is a point of diminishing returns that happens where you need to go to longer rotors and larger, slower, heavier motors to support the weight of the lipo.
With 2204 or 2206 motors and 6" rotors sure you can mount a GoPro but that kinda misses the point of a sub 450mm frame.
If you fly without worrying about crashing it is much more fun and you will learn more. You don't see people flying big copters with expensive cameras through the woods at high speed. You see folks flying patched up franken quads that they threw together through the trees at speed.
The heavier the copter the more damage it will take in a crash. The more money you put in the air the more it costs to crash.
If you are going to have any fun at all, you will crash and break your copter.
It is up to you if you put a $300 GoPro on it for the ride.
With 2204 or 2206 motors and 6" rotors sure you can mount a GoPro but that kinda misses the point of a sub 450mm frame.
If you fly without worrying about crashing it is much more fun and you will learn more. You don't see people flying big copters with expensive cameras through the woods at high speed. You see folks flying patched up franken quads that they threw together through the trees at speed.
The heavier the copter the more damage it will take in a crash. The more money you put in the air the more it costs to crash.
If you are going to have any fun at all, you will crash and break your copter.
It is up to you if you put a $300 GoPro on it for the ride.
C0d3M0nk3y
Posted a thousand or more times
Those 60 FPS videos on youtube though...
. . . look so much better on the second flight when the first doesn't end with a sudden impact.
I probably wouldn't have the gopro on it all the time, I would fly through a board camera, but I might want to try putting a gopro on a few times when I'm flying safe just to capture the view. Does fpv gear limit the flight time considerably or is the difference not massive?
Tristan
Tristan
For the gopro, I'd say leave it off until you're VERY confident you won't crash it. Even then, kiss your camera goodbye every time you takeoff and rejoice when it safely returns.
Seriously. A camera-destroying-crash will eventually happen if you fly with a camera -- at least be prepared emotionally -- but the more skill you have the better odds your camera faces.
The time difference will depend on your gear's power draw and weight, both of which will reduce your flight time. The power draw is fairly insignificant in comparison to your motors, but on a 250 class quad your weight budget is slim -- much larger quads will be less affected by the same amount of weight. I've seen my FPV gear cost me anywhere between 30-60s of flight time, but frankly flying more aggressively will cost far more than that.
YMMV, but 5 minutes can be quick . . . and it can be a long time, depending on how hard you're working during that time. 15 minutes can be painfully long (more often than not, I've crashed into limbs at least twice in a timespan like that
).
Seriously. A camera-destroying-crash will eventually happen if you fly with a camera -- at least be prepared emotionally -- but the more skill you have the better odds your camera faces.
The time difference will depend on your gear's power draw and weight, both of which will reduce your flight time. The power draw is fairly insignificant in comparison to your motors, but on a 250 class quad your weight budget is slim -- much larger quads will be less affected by the same amount of weight. I've seen my FPV gear cost me anywhere between 30-60s of flight time, but frankly flying more aggressively will cost far more than that.
YMMV, but 5 minutes can be quick . . . and it can be a long time, depending on how hard you're working during that time. 15 minutes can be painfully long (more often than not, I've crashed into limbs at least twice in a timespan like that
).I would only ever fly with the gopro on board if it was in an open area, I wasn't going very far away, and the gyro was on. I think in the end, I'll go with a race quad; they seem more fun.
Will a lower kv motor give me longer flight times? And also, which are more efficient: three blade props or normal 2 blade ones?
Thanks, Tristan
Will a lower kv motor give me longer flight times? And also, which are more efficient: three blade props or normal 2 blade ones?
Thanks, Tristan
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2 Blade props are more efficient than 3 blades.
Race quads are small, light and quick. Low kv motors are heavy and slow and don't race well. Long flight times are for heavy, slow copters that shoot great video and cost more money to build and repair.
Race quads take all my concentration to fly well. I fly fast and low and do flips and rolls in my backyard over my wife's rosebushes and gardens. 10 minutes of such is about all I can do before I need a break.
Look hard at the Knuckle H quad from FliteTest with the Altitude Hobbies kit. It is reasonably cheap, simple to build, easy to repair, stable enough to learn on, and adaptable enough to grow with.
I cut mine down to 300mm and it was my first racing quad. Now I am down to a 200mm CF tricopter. I have 370 and 450mm copters but smaller copters are simple and just more fun for me.
Race quads are small, light and quick. Low kv motors are heavy and slow and don't race well. Long flight times are for heavy, slow copters that shoot great video and cost more money to build and repair.
Race quads take all my concentration to fly well. I fly fast and low and do flips and rolls in my backyard over my wife's rosebushes and gardens. 10 minutes of such is about all I can do before I need a break.
Look hard at the Knuckle H quad from FliteTest with the Altitude Hobbies kit. It is reasonably cheap, simple to build, easy to repair, stable enough to learn on, and adaptable enough to grow with.
I cut mine down to 300mm and it was my first racing quad. Now I am down to a 200mm CF tricopter. I have 370 and 450mm copters but smaller copters are simple and just more fun for me.
Hi! Since hobbyking have just released the trifecta portable racing tricopter, would a tricopter be a good idea? Surely since it has only 3 motors, longer flight times are possible, or is that not the case? A tricopter probably isn't quite as fast as a quad, but I am happy to trade a little bit of speed for slightly longer flight times.
How come normal 2 blade props wont work on the motors for this quad- http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewitem.asp?idproduct=63751 ?
The motor doesn't have a high enough KV -- it will swing a 5" 2 blade prop too slowly and a 6" prop will barely fit (and in most cases, if you add anything to the decks, it won't fit). A poor choice for motors on HK's part, but that just forces you to buy replacement motors when you want the power
Other than the poor motor selection, it's not a bad kit . . . but the motors are easy to replace without involving HK. I'm partial to these:
http://www.myrcmart.com/rcx-h18066-2400kv-micro-outrunner-brushless-motor-best-for-200300-frame-accepting-preorder-now-p-7990.html
Zippy little things, cheap and good power. will still swing a 5" or 6", but a 5" has PLENTY of power. they've got kits with 4 motors at a reduced cost, or you can skip the whole HK order and pick up the kit, frame and all, with a kk2:
http://www.myrcmart.com/rcx-fpv260-barebone-frame-h1806-motor-12a-esc-5030-kk-21-p-8216.html
You'll still need to pick up your radio gear and the $5-$10 battery, but the one HK shipped is too small IMO -- 3S 1300mah 35C is a happy pack with this quad. ~5 min flight time with the FPV gear and aggressive flight.
Other than the poor motor selection, it's not a bad kit . . . but the motors are easy to replace without involving HK. I'm partial to these:
http://www.myrcmart.com/rcx-h18066-2400kv-micro-outrunner-brushless-motor-best-for-200300-frame-accepting-preorder-now-p-7990.html
Zippy little things, cheap and good power. will still swing a 5" or 6", but a 5" has PLENTY of power. they've got kits with 4 motors at a reduced cost, or you can skip the whole HK order and pick up the kit, frame and all, with a kk2:
http://www.myrcmart.com/rcx-fpv260-barebone-frame-h1806-motor-12a-esc-5030-kk-21-p-8216.html
You'll still need to pick up your radio gear and the $5-$10 battery, but the one HK shipped is too small IMO -- 3S 1300mah 35C is a happy pack with this quad. ~5 min flight time with the FPV gear and aggressive flight.
