I've decided on my next project. A mini quad having read lots of info and thought about a mini hex, I went for a Hoverthings Flip 260 as it would take 6" props. With bigger props that typical 5" on mini quads can generate comparable lift to a mini-hex, but smaller for fun flying around and simpler with less motors etc. The Flip 260 also seems to have plenty of room to fit things in. In terms of price is comes in between the full carbon fibre Blackout and the cheap chinese clones.
Much googling lead me to the following spec;
Frame - Hoverthings Flip 260
Sunnysky X2204S, great efficiency with HQ6030 props
T-motor 12A esc, as they have the potential for 4S in the future, and I could find them in stock
Naze32 acro controller, simple and cheap, sounds like it works well.
Bits I already have kicking around;
Mobius camera for recording and flight cam to start with, I have a flight cam on the way from SC2000 too.
ImmersionRC Video Transmitter
Frsky RX
2200 MAH batteries, I've got a bunch of them already, a bit heavy for a mini quad, let's see how they go with the 6" props.
I'm aiming for an all up weight of 620g for steady flying around (to start with) rather than mad acro. Ecalc says that should give 12.8 mins hover and 7.8 mins mixed flight. Hover at 34% throttle. I'll see if that turns out to be right. :+
Future possibilities;
Frame should be able to run with Vector, I'll see how easy it is to swap between Skywalker and the quad
Frame is big enough to carry Gopro - I will wait until I'm confident in my flying before risking that.
I think this rig could also carry a light weight gimbal, like the Stella, will be a bit porky, but I want to push the boundaries a bit. I like the ideas of a chuck in the car quad I can use for a variety of types of flying.
The Flip has arrived so some soldering and building to do...
Here's the kit as it arrived. Frame weight and fittings 169g.
Looks a nice frame :)
Escs soldered, motors fitted etc. I've managed to fit the Naze32 in the space in the middle of the bottom deck of the quad. There wasn't enough space to fit the header pins, so I soldered the connectors for the motors (couple of servo plugs) and the ppm cable direct to the Naze 32.
That means there's plenty of space in the middle where I plan to put the battery, safe from crashes and the VTX.
I took the heatshrink off one of the escs as I though about soldering directly to the esc, but in the end it was easier to solder the wires. I like the design of the flip, with the middle plate fitted it keeps all the wiring tidy and out of the way. Yellow heat shrink on a couple of the motor wires was so I could tell which ones were CW and CCW. Tested the motors and they all went the right way!
Just the top plate, Vtx, RX, props and mobius to fit now.
All built now. Naze32 fitted so it can be accessed with the quad fully built. As I hoped the 2200mah battery fits inside the frame.
Naze32 was straightforward to set up with some good tutorials on the internet. It have realised I'd prefer the full Naze with the ability to altitude hold. That may just because I was trying to fly round 1m off the ground... But I've ordered a full Naze now.
I checked all the HQ props and they were all well balanced.
Too windy for a proper test, but a short flight in my back garden went well. No jello at all with the mobius on the top plate of the quad.
The battery is held in place by 3mm elastic across the frame. It makes it easy to slot the battery in, but when in place it's very secure.
The flight cam has arrived so I need to fit that. Things to do now;
- Proper FPV flight test (with a video to prove it!)
- Fit smaller RX, frsky d4r-ii on the way, that will fit inside the frame too.
Really enjoyed flying with the Naze32 board, but I wanted to use it for FPV and I struggled to get the minimOSD working. I think it was a compatibility issue with my camera, as it worked fine using the mobius as the flight cam.
So I swapped the controller over to an Eagletree Vector. Had a few good flight and have got the PIDs pretty much tuned now. The OSD is working, couldn't be simpler.
I need to work out how to get the GPS hold and RTH working. I think I need to recalibrate the compass. Otherwise very pleased with it. Waiting for some less windy weather to get a few more flights in.
The thing I really like about the Hoverthings Flip 260 is that it's super strong. I've crashed it a few times, including a failed roll from about 10m where it plunged straight into the ground. I was a bit lucky with the angle it landed and soft muddy grass, but it suffered no damage, not even a broken prop. Really good to learn with.
The 6" props also give good performance with the weight I have on it mobius, 2200MAH battery and Vector, AUW of 670g. I'm getting 8-10 min flight times with 20% battery remaining.