How many DIY flyers in here

[Tim Jones]

Not very often no. Youtube is your friend and hopefully someone has done a build before you.

 

[AH-1G]

I thought these came with instructions...
View media item 1

They do, but some one forgot to instruct the shipper to put in the box

 

[Tim Jones]

I sure wish I had some capital laying around.
If you look at the pro rigs running 10s of thousands of dollars and the Prosumer Ready to Flys there is a nice big ol gap of opportunity
If I had the cash I would develop the airframes with propulsion and avionics and some sort of payload interface.
You could probably put a heavy lift system together and sell it in the 2-4K range.
Then people could just buy a ready to fly platform and customize the payload to fit their own industry.

This bird will most likely suite my video, mapping and light painting needs for a few years.
And if I ever need more lift.
Just move the avionics to a bigger frame, with larger motors and escs.
Always wanted to build a nice HEX, but the X8 as inefficient as they are, can be flying tanks

 

[Heygeorge]

Sometimes it is economically beneficial to build your own. I recently was contracted to map a 1000+ farm. It took 3 days for my inspire one. It had to return to home every 15 minutes for a new battery. I have ten batteries and couldn't charge them fast enough in the field. It was quite a learning experience, but my price didn't really reflect 3 days of work.

I am contracted to redo this every quarter, so I have looked at alternatives. I am building a Skywalker x8 flying wing using an APM2.8 flight controller and Ardupilot software. It should fly 60 minutes on each battery and should be able to complete this job in 5 flights.

The cost is a day or two of time and will be around $1000 to build. A whole lot less than the other fixed-wing drones on the market. And it will pay for itself on the next mapping job for this client.

 

[Outta Control]

I build my own aircraft since I got tired with DJI. I currently have 4 custom built sUAS. Two are quads, one Hexa, and one X8.

 

[Heygeorge]

I build my own aircraft since I got tired with DJI. I currently have 4 custom built sUAS. Two are quads, one Hexa, and one X8.

Is that a Tarot X8 or a Skywalker X8?

 

[Outta Control]

Is that a Tarot X8 or a Skywalker X8?

Yes a Tarot X8. Looking at designing on my own.

 

[Tim Jones]

I have tarot frames too. I just wish there were better frame options out there.
What flight controllers are you guys using?
My experience is with Pixhawk based controllers. When I get this one done. I may do one more large hex
Nothing against the ready to flies, but maintaining my DIY is more under my control. If it breaks I don't have to send it to someone. I like that

 

[Outta Control]

I currently use DJI stuff such as the N3/A2/Naza but will be looking at EMLID and SmartAP.

 

[Tim Jones]

I have been tempted to try one of these
FlytPOD - FlytBase Store

For now I just bought a slick new carrier for my Pixhawk cube.
That thing is basically solder a battery connector to it, install a cube and solder your escs directly to it and everything else is integrated.
No more rats nest of wires. Waiting on the case for it to come from the printers
Multi-Rotor Pixhawk2.1 Carrier Board

 

[Outta Control]

I have been tempted to try one of these
FlytPOD - FlytBase Store

For now I just bought a slick new carrier for my Pixhawk cube.
That thing is basically solder a battery connector to it, install a cube and solder your escs directly to it and everything else is integrated.
No more rats nest of wires. Waiting on the case for it to come from the printers
Multi-Rotor Pixhawk2.1 Carrier Board

"FlytPOD has been discontinued..."

I don't trust the "all-in-one" point of failure. I am willing on some features but prefer separate components.

 

[Tim Jones]

That is a very good point. I did not know the flytpod went discontinued. Thought for sure that thing would do well.
Are you integrating companion computers into yours?
That seems to be the new trend in drones. But honestly without a specific application, not sure they are as vital as all that.
I am trying to put the solo imbedded computer on mine. And somehow managed to take out a flight controller in the process. For my application the smart shots that the onboard computer afford are very good for my application.
But for surveying and other commercial applications. Someone would need to build the software side to make the hardware justifiable

 

[Outta Control]

The thought of "autonomous" sounds sexy I prefer manual operation, especially on an inspection mission.

On mapping mission it is a different story.

 

[Tim Jones]

I had a long conversation with an insurance inspector. Asked him if he had started integrating drones. He said no, they just cannot replace human eyes and experience. Yes you can get pictures but you cannot ascertain true damage. (this was discussing roof damage from hail) I could not figure out if he had good points, or if he is just afraid they might replace him someday

 

[Outta Control]

I had a long conversation with an insurance inspector. Asked him if he had started integrating drones. He said no, they just cannot replace human eyes and experience. Yes you can get pictures but you cannot ascertain true damage. (this was discussing roof damage from hail) I could not figure out if he had good points, or if he is just afraid they might replace him someday

Yes I've had the same experience from and certified roof inspector and from contractors. Basically, they are hard set in their ways and not look at evolving technology that can make their lives, not a little bit but much easier. It is just about breaking through that first level.

 

[Rodger]

It is tough to beat some of the modern equipment out there. But it is expensive.
How many folks are building their own?
Here is my current build, It is a Pixhawk 2.1 based rig, with a 3dr solo brain. Flying a ZCam e-1 as the payload
Will later be tasked to also carry lighting

View attachment 23

Looks great, please keep us posted on this project. I find it very interesting.

 

[Heygeorge]

I have been tempted to try one of these
FlytPOD - FlytBase Store

For now I just bought a slick new carrier for my Pixhawk cube.
That thing is basically solder a battery connector to it, install a cube and solder your escs directly to it and everything else is integrated.
No more rats nest of wires. Waiting on the case for it to come from the printers
Multi-Rotor Pixhawk2.1 Carrier Board

You also can use the APM 2.8 flight controller for a lot less money. The software is free if you use Flight planner.

 

[Tim Jones]

APM is no longer supported by the current firmware, it was replaced by Pixhawk 1
which has now been superseded by the Pixhawk 2
The Pixhawk one is running out of headroom to run EKF 3 which is crucial to forward development.
The Cube is now the best flight controller out there, and it is about to get an upgrade