New 550 Builds

[apollo7]

maiden flight first crash, second flight, second crash...........no harm done nothing broken, it took of like a gem then started to drift around, all gps lock was good and compass set did this both times, gains are incorrect, my mate has a naza f550 and he is going to get the gains settings from his but i have already found a good guide and they are pretty well out

[guest325]

Good to hear no damage, maidens are always difficult especially if it';s your first experience with a particular model type.

[PropsToYou]

maiden flight first crash, second flight, second crash...........no harm done nothing broken, it took of like a gem then started to drift around, all gps lock was good and compass set did this both times, gains are incorrect, my mate has a naza f550 and he is going to get the gains settings from his but i have already found a good guide and they are pretty well out

Sorry to hear you';ve gone down. What was the nature of the crash? Was it just really unstable or did it flip as soon as you tried to take off?

[apollo7]

Sorry to hear you';ve gone down. What was the nature of the crash? Was it just really unstable or did it flip as soon as you tried to take off?

Both flights she took to the air with precision and grace, but then started to drift and it was gaining speed into the drift, with no definite direction, lucky i kept her low on both flights, all the gains were set to 100, so Steve has plugged his F550 naza into assistant and i have reset the gains to match not sure if i will get to test again today as catching up on long awaited diy in garden

[apollo7]

Just found another reason for it not flying right, GPS compass puck fitted facing wrong way, now corrected

[apollo7]

It flies, im well pleased, its totally locked in and spot on

[LuMan]

Congrats for getting it airborne, apollo. Sorry to hear it crashed, but luckily it sounds like no damage, and you';ve also found the cause. Looking forward to hearing about your subsequent flights. 

I';m starting to get a bit of Stage Fright now, as I intend to get my Hex in the air at the end of the month. I';ve even found a nice, out of the way field to do it in.....

[LuMan]

Oops. Our posts crossed!

Well done. Really pleased for you. How about pics and video? 

[PropsToYou]

Glad it';s flying well now! Congrats! 

[nate80]

It flies, im well pleased, its totally locked in and spot on

Congrats on a successful build!  Glad she';s flying well for you.   

[apollo7]

The excitement of getting it built and flying well is jaded a little by the uber short battery life, the new 3s 5500 is only giving about 8 mins, alarm is kicking in after 6 i have the low voltage alarm set at 3.6v i have read that the sunnysky 980 dont like running at 4s, going to try her with x2 4000 lipo`s in parallel see what i get, oh and ordered some super bright led`s to drain even more power

[guest325]

The Sunnysky 2212 980kv run fine on 4S, Simplecopter uses them like that most of the time.
The other alternative if you want to run 4S is swap to the newer DJI motors Nate80 is using.
What size props are you using? On 3S I would expect to see 10x4.5 or 10x3.8.

[apollo7]

The Sunnysky 2212 980kv run fine on 4S, Simplecopter uses them like that most of the time.
The other alternative if you want to run 4S is swap to the newer DJI motors Nate80 is using.
What size props are you using? On 3S I would expect to see 10x4.5 or 10x3.8.

Not replacing motors, using 10x4.5, if i went to 4s i guess i would have to step props down to 9" ?

[guest325]

Yes, on 4S 9x4.5 or even 8x4.5 - you would need to try them.

[LuMan]

Wouldn';t better motors and a higher cell count allow bigger props with more bite?

I checked out a number of motor options, and the performance charts seemed to indicate that running at 4s with a 10x50 prop would give a better level of thrust. Would a 10x50 be too coarse? Should I be looking at something like 10x4.5 or lower?

Luckily I didn';t spend too much on the props, so I don';t mind getting some more.

[guest325]

Wouldn';t better motors and a higher cell count allow bigger props with more bite?
I checked out a number of motor options, and the performance charts seemed to indicate that running at 4s with a 10x50 prop would give a better level of thrust. Would a 10x50 be too coarse? Should I be looking at something like 10x4.5 or lower?
Luckily I didn';t spend too much on the props, so I don';t mind getting some more.

When you run higher cell count with the SAME setup you have to use smaller or lower pitch props (unless you like magic smoke).
10x3.8 to 10x4.5 are usual if your setup will cope.

[LuMan]

When you run higher cell count with the SAME setup you have to use smaller or lower pitch props (unless you like magic smoke).
10x3.8 to 10x4.5 are usual if your setup will cope.

Thanks for the tip, Darrell. You may well have saved me from an expensive future event there... 

I think I';ll get some 10x4.5s when I upgrade. Don';t want to lose any magic smoke....

[guest325]

Thanks for the tip, Darrell. You may well have saved me from an expensive future event there... 
I think I';ll get some 10x4.5s when I upgrade. Don';t want to lose any magic smoke....

What ESC';s and motors are you using?
If they are DJI use their 10x3.8 on 4S, they are very efficient.

[apollo7]

I have done a little tidy up not that you would notice and fitted 9x4.5 DJI props to test fly on 4s lipo,

[apollo7]

! No longer available

Sorry this is a really shoddy little video taken on the mobile phone, but at least it shows it in the air on its test flight

[hoverfly]

Looking good nice stable hover, 4 cells realy tightens the response up.

[apollo7]

Looking good nice stable hover, 4 cells realy tightens the responce up.

not on 4 yet still 3s, waiting for weather to improve

[LuMan]

Very nice, but I can';t see the vid     Any chance of posting the verbose link?

I';m off this week, and just been paid, so I';ll be ordering the FC, new receiver and batteries and getting the build completed. I may even solder up the ESC connections and sort cable management later, if I get time.

I took the HJ816 hex out to the field the other evening, to get a feel for flying a larger hex about. It went well, so I';m a lot more confident about getting the 550 build in the air.

[hoverfly]

not on 4 yet still 3s, waiting for weather to improve

Even better then,

[apollo7]

Just got back from a test flight using a 4S 6600...........wow 19 mins and still got 3.7v average in each cell, very pleased i seem to have built a superb hex

[apollo7]

Looks like she is about done, just finished fitting super bright led lights, now i can tell what was she is facing at a bit of range, next break in the weather might be a flight over the shibden valley flew her yesterday and made sure RTH still works, and its like a precision tool

[LuMan]

Great update, apollo. I also managed to see the vid you posted earlier. Looking really good.

My FC and batteries are now on their way, along with a new receiver (as I re-tasked my original Rx for my STOL-500). I';ll be getting busy with the soldering iron this week, and prepping the craft for the final bits of hardware.

Unfortunately, I';ve just found out that I';m on-call this weekend, which is a shame, as it was when I intended to do the maiden

[LuMan]

Well, it seems that Hobby King and Parcelforce are chucking spanners in my works at the moment...

After a ding-dong with import tax I returned the HK order, then got them to refund me, and then ordered from their UK Warehouse, for delivery today.

Parcel force turned up, stayed in the van, drove off, then texted me to say that I had a failed delivery. No card, nothing. So, a quick call and.. fingers crossed... I should have the rest of the gear today...  :cross fingers:

Still to do:
1. Solder ESCs to PDU
2. Fit FC, Rx and batteries
3. Configure FC
4. Test
5. FLY!!

[apollo7]

Good luck getting it sorted, i have had a good amount of flights with mine and all good, only issue is i seem to be neglecting my phantom 3 
I have fitted LED`s to the Hex but in truth thay are way to bright, the front ones are casting an eerie green glow to the camera, so i need to rethink the lighting

[LuMan]

Those LEDs are WELL bright 

I haven';t decided whether to have singular LEDs, or have strips along the legs. Either way, I will more than likely have a couple of forward-facing white LEDs so I know I can fly the thing back home again!!