Success, Slowly

Friday’s flight ended in a tree, but in the seconds before that crash, I had the idea for the first time that I might just be able to fly this thing.  I thought about it all weekend, and resolved to never again fly without the GoPro.

This morning, I strapped the camera to the bottom of the aircraft, and headed down to the loading dock behind the bookstore.  I’m actually starting to get the hang of this thing, though I am still seized with a tiny bit of panic when first it jumps into the air, and sometimes when it seems to make its own decisions.  Nevertheless, I was able to execute seven or eight successful – successful here being defined as flights that don’t end in repairs – takeoffs and landings.  Here’s video from the best one:

To do:
Tweak the camera settings to limit the width of the angle
Come up with a better way to secure the camera to the quadcopter – as it is, I’ve zip-tied it to the bottom, but have to waste a tie each time I remove the camera.

Quadcopter = Tree Trimmer

Got a bunch of flight time in today, and I’m starting to just barely get the hang of it. Things were going well until the quad went over my head, and I got disoriented and flew it into a tree. Broke a prop, but am slowly learning how it responds in the air. Last week, I took it over to Parallax, and Nick flew it in the parking lot and gave me some pointers. Nick and Jim and Kevin have been nothing but supportive!

First Epic Crash

Taking Nick’s advice, I mostly just hopped around the field, but I had something of a yaw problem, and then ended up crashing in order to try and prevent a crash.  Go figure.  Broke 2 props and 2 landing gear bits, but I learned something.  39 more hours of practice, and I should be able to fly this thing!

Build Log – All Props Are Not Created Equal

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Can you guess what the problem was?  I feel a bit foolish, but realized after much fussing and tweaking of settings that the kit contains two kinds of props:  clockwise ones, and counterclockwise ones.  I had three out of four correct, merely by accident, but once I replaced the errant one, I took the quad out into the night for just a basic spin up.  Result:  the roll problem is, of course, gone.  Foolish though the mistake may have been, I’m reporting it here in the hope that someone might stumble upon it and learn from my errors.  Tomorrow, we fly!

Build Log – Radio Settings

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See that 26% setting? I think that’s what’s going to make this work. Taking a step back, I’ve been struggling all day with takeoff, one a surprise, the other a genuine break-the-prop failure. The craft seems to want to roll to the left when I hit the throttle.

After breaking two props, I suspended the ELEV-8 from a tree with a bit of twine, and was able to confirm that in fact, at full throttle, it would just flip itself over. I believe the problem has to do with setting a particular value in the Gear setting, and even though I read a bunch of forum postings and also the DX8 manual, I only now understand (I think) what needs to be done. Tomorrow, I hope to have a successful takeoff!

Build Log – First Casualty

Build Log - Progress Sometimes Means Breaking Things
Progress sometimes – often? – involves breaking things. I spent the better part of the day getting the quadcopter talking to the transmitter, and just when I thought I had things figured out, the beast angrily leapt from the table and crashed onto the floor, breaking a glass, severing one of the leads on my tester, and in the process shattering one of the props and embedding the broken end in a roll of duct tape.
Build Log - Prop Embedded in Duct Tape Roll
This is progress! I’ve since removed the props until I can figure out exactly why the surge of aggression. I’ve got lots of props, so hopefully I can get through the early stages of the project with an intact quadcopter and all of my fingers.

Build Log – Wiring Harness

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Finished with the LED wiring, which for whatever reason was a total pain, and then set to work on the wiring harness to connect the battery to the ESCs and other powered components. It took quite a long time, but I’m happy with the result.  I added two JST connectors – I need to update the diagram to reflect two connectors instead of one – which will power the LEDs and the video transmitter (which hasn’t yet arrived) for first-person flight.  Next up is a procedure to make sure the propellers spin in the appropriate directions – two clockwise, two counterclockwise.  That procedure, however, requires the battery, which has yet to arrive.

Build Log – Booms and Chassis

ELEV-8 Coming Together

The first of two quadcopters is coming along.  I’ve got the booms and frame assembled, and just need to work on the wiring harness before putting the top on.  As is always the case with projects, there are things that I would have done differently, but they are mostly minor things, and I can use what I’ve learned as I start the second build.