The K-Quad now available for download from Thingiverse

[krikey]

Glad it arrived safely. I think Im getting to grips with my new black ABS now too. It seems that one of my nozzles is playing up :) so ive switched to the other one as its a dual extrusion printer.

Remaining orders are now being printed, hoorah!!!

[Flypoppa]

Hi guys. Been busy for a while so not had any thing to really report. Finally got my K-quad going. Whilst setting up and testing, I busted a leg with a heavy landing on grass.
So I made new ones out of half round gutter. Also on one flight, on another unsceduled landing the port rear prop came off (anti clockwise) found the prop but trying to find the retaining spinner, was I lucky, or is it good eye sight? I found it in the grass.
Before I spotted it I was already thinking of the options for retaining the prop. Finding anti clockwise nuts to fit would be like finding rocking horse crap.
I have now painted the spinners orange, so maybe they will be easily spotted. I now check the tightness before flying.
I have made a plastic cover for the top (heat shrink bottle trick).
Also some mods to the bottom where I stick the battery.

[Flypoppa]

Pictures

[bourney]

lol........ flypoppa, my quads usually end up upside-down too ;D

[Flypoppa]

lol........ flypoppa, my quads usually end up upside-down too ;D

These iPads do funny things to photos. Or maybe they got re routed to Australia.

[CAndrewGreen]

Been out FPV'ing at the local park........ Broken the other side of the black arm this time! Mind you it did hit soft grass from 60~70 feet up!
Not quite sure what happened, flew one battery out fine, didn't go too high or too far away, got a bit more adventurous on the second battery. Went up to 80~100 feet and 100 yards away flew back towards some trees at about 4 minutes and the view suddenly rolled!
I'm pretty sure I didn't hit the trees as it landed in soft grass well clear on the side of the trees I was approaching from, my other thought was that the battery was done and the KK lost it's mind? On further investigation I'm leaning towards the left rear arm failing in flight (possibly weakened from my previous crash?).... when I got to the crash site the left rear prop was hooked round my nice new skew. I was seeing a bit of Jello at full throttle so maybe the vibration was too much for it? So tonight I'll mostly be dismantling it a bit and getting out the superglue!
Andrew

[krikey]

Some new tweaks coming soon to all new K-quads.

* three part base plate
* redesigned arms (stronger)

These two should be available shortly




Krikey

[Flypoppa]

Here are some better pictures, and I hope they don't go via Australia.

[GhostMaster]

Got the Turnigy 1811 3800kv but no bolts to keep the motors stuck to the frame... Its that normal?

What prop holder do you use?



The one from the right seems better, but i want to make sure im using the right one...

[DWiskow]

Yes completely normal (they did come from HobbyKing ?) . . . I use cable ties to attach them to the frame. In the event of a crash the cable ties should break rather than the motor shafts bend or snap (I did have to drill the base plate holes out from 2.0mm to 2.5mm to get the small cable ties to fit though !) . . . alternatively you need some 2mm bolts, nuts and washers. By the way, DO NOT FORGET to thread lock and tighten the grub screws on both the mount and the shaft (you will need 1.3mm and 0.7mm Hex drivers for this) . . . they come loose and will slip or FLY OFF, if you don't . . . ask me how I know !

I have also started using RCX 1804 (2400kv) motors on my mini-quads now as they will run with 2 or 3 cell Lipo's, are compact, robust and give plenty of thrust. Their lower mounting profile makes them less much susceptible to damage than the Turnigy 1811's and they run quieter with less vibration, and can bought for $8.99 from RCmart (http://www.myrcmart.com/zmr-1804-2400kv-micro-outrunner-brushless-motor-clockwise-p-6281.html & http://www.myrcmart.com/rcx-1804-2400kv-micro-outrunner-brushless-motor-anticlockwise-p-6280.html) and they solve the prop/nut spinning off problem by having CW & CCW versions.

By the way, the 'other' mini quad in my picture is a 250mm Super Simple Mini H-Quad from Polakium Engineering http://polakiumengineering.org/?p=2772. With APC5045E & EP props and RCX1804's it is pretty bulletproof . . . have a look at the crash video in the link. He also has a hex built on a similar basis.

[tomlo]

Here is the Norwegian version of the K-quad

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[CAndrewGreen]

Been out FPV'ing at the local park........ Broken the other side of the black arm this time! Mind you it did hit soft grass from 60~70 feet up!
Not quite sure what happened, flew one battery out fine, didn't go too high or too far away, got a bit more adventurous on the second battery. Went up to 80~100 feet and 100 yards away flew back towards some trees at about 4 minutes and the view suddenly rolled!
I'm pretty sure I didn't hit the trees as it landed in soft grass well clear on the side of the trees I was approaching from, my other thought was that the battery was done and the KK lost it's mind? On further investigation I'm leaning towards the left rear arm failing in flight (possibly weakened from my previous crash?).... when I got to the crash site the left rear prop was hooked round my nice new skew. I was seeing a bit of Jello at full throttle so maybe the vibration was too much for it? So tonight I'll mostly be dismantling it a bit and getting out the superglue!
Andrew

Looks like the crash was caused by M2 (front right) or it's ESC failing (they're both weedy little ones!).......
Done a bit more accident investigation. On closer inspection I discovered that the left side of the rear U/C was cracked upwards almost through, in line with the break in the arm, this would imply that they both broke when it hit the ground.

The clincher is that when I attempted to test fly it last night after repairs M2 wouldnt play! As my motors are soldered to the ESC's it'll have to wait until after my hols for further testing. So I can take it away with me my brother has generously (trusting!) Lent me his power train which has rather more sensible 10A ESC's.
Andrew

[CAndrewGreen]

The K-Quad has flown in Thailand.
Had a couple of quick LOS hops and then a 5 minute FPV flight late this afternoon but it was still very windy (we're only a short distance inland from the Gulf of Thailand)! Takes a determined nose down attitude and plenty of power to get back from downwind!
Hopefully tomorrow will be better and I'll get to fly my X580quad as well. Not bad video range considering it's only got a 25mW VTX onboard.

Airport security is completely unpredictable! My carry on roller case (see pic) had Tx, K-Quad, FatShark goggles, 3 x 3300mAh 4S (for my EDF here) 3 x 3000 3S for my X580, 2 x1300's and 2 x 1500's for the K-Quad, oh and my DSLR, and went straight through x-ray with no questions asked, but they went to some trouble to find a zipper tag on my person that beeped the gate thingy?
Andrew

[krikey]

Fantastic to see these little things flying all over the world :)

[krikey]

Shortened K-Quad. This is using the new 3 part base plate.


Krikey