Airborne X8, any one used these?

maxwelltub

Member
I'm getting ready to build another heavy lifter rig and I cam across this system. I was planning on building another gryphon dynamics but I really like the design of these. The biggest potential problem I see with these is having vibration or play in the arms. Anyone ever flown one of these or have any experience with the company?

http://airbornemechatronics.com/
 

Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
max, i looked at the photos of their X-8 and the thing is loaded with fasteners which must get heavy after a while. have you heard much about them? the frame looks cool but if it's overdesigned and heavy then it can't really do its job.
first impression was wow, follow up was maybe not
 

maxwelltub

Member
Ya I haven't heard much about them at all. That was my thought as well, heavy and maybe the arms are too short but I still haven't gotten many stats. Again the biggest concern is the arms. But what is does have going for it is the design.
I like how the flight controller is in a modular system to be easily removed.
I like the power distribution, and way the batteries plug in.
I like how the ESCs seem to be able to get ample air flow.
It seems like a pretty robust system and able to pack down nicely.
 

maxwelltub

Member
Actually I got a nice reply from them, here is a basic summery of the main points. In terms of the arm locking system, being able to trim with a screw seems like a good solution. The problem with the gryphon frames is once the arms start to have a little slop in them there isn't really anyway of adjusting it. They seem to have a solution for that.

"Our boom locking systems is really reliable and tight.
There is a safety pin which safe-locks the arms but there is also and excentric fastener that takes away the loosening.
The initial tightness is trimmed with a M3 screw, and once it is done, you can have hundreds of boom removals without any problems.

The standard boom length is 330 mm. With this length you can use 18 inch propellers.
Sometimes customers want longer booms to fit 20 inch props so we just cut them longer.

Motor to motor diagonal length is 800 mm.

The frame fits 2x 16000 batteries and also 2x 22000 mAh Tattu batteris.
We can't say anything about other brands, because we have only been using Gens Ace and Tattu.

The cover gives you possibility to fly in rain and snow.

Our helis come with detailed assembly instructions and you get to know your gear inside-out that way."
 

Mrtarango32

Member
Haven't seen this frame around.
Have you seen cinechoppers frame they're selling?
Very interesting build and concept.
 

Tuomas P.

Member
We have flown them for a while now, know the designers well and are in constant dialog with the factory. They are based in Tallinn, Estonia just 2 hours away from us in Helsinki. We have traveled and operated the frame in Europe and Africa. The frame can take extreme heat and be flown in almost any weather. I cant think of another one that could be assembled and disassembled in a few minutes as easy. Very happy with ours. Its super strong and well thought. The MC and IMU are located in a neat floating equipment bay removing any vibrations to the IMU. Highly recommended. We fly RED cameras with Mövi M5 and M15.

Tuomas / KopterCam Finland
 

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SleepyC

www.AirHeadMedia.com
I think the frame looks pretty cool. BUT the motors seem to be the DuelSky HL motors. I have had a LOT of bad luck with these motors. The bearings wore after 10 hours. I do like the ESC location, but I'd avoid those motors. Slap a set of KDE's on there, or T-Motors.
 

maxwelltub

Member
Oh ya I'd for sure use 4014s or more likely U7's. I've had nothing but great experience with t motors. I don't have much experience with KDE's but they seem good on paper.
 

Tuomas P.

Member
We use U7:s and the Hercules powerboard. The flying weight with a RED and 2x Tattu 12000 batteries is around 14 kg.
Tuomas
 

Carapau

Tek care, lambs ont road, MRF Moderator
The KDEs are definitely a cut above the Tigers. My Skyjib has the U7s and my new Raven has the KDEs. KDEs seem a lot better. Tuomas, how long a flight time do you get carrying a red with those batteries?
 


maxwelltub

Member
@Carapau could you elaborate on that? My only experience is holding them next to a u7 not actually using it. Seemed like the u7 had smoother feel and cleaner build.

@jwoike I've seen these, and talked to Ziv on facebook. I like his work and I know he uses his in tough conditions but I think the Airborne model is better designed for my purpose.
 

SleepyC

www.AirHeadMedia.com
Max, have you checked out the offerings from Ziv Maron? I think Sleepy reviewed or mentioned his builds in a thread a while back. They look rock solid and built in USA, San Francisco. Prices comparable to what you're considering, check him out.

http://www.zminteractive.com/system-and-application/

I just wrote about them... but if Ziv wants one reviewed... I'm HIS MAN! :D:D
I'd happily disassemble my X8 and slap the Avrotos on a Ziv frame! :D:D:D
 

Carapau

Tek care, lambs ont road, MRF Moderator
When you spin up the KDEs verses the Tigers they are much smoother with less vibes and they also react a lot more quickly if using the KDE ESCs which I would recommend using due to the matching of the pole counts- KDE use a higher pole count than most others so worth using their ESCs. Whilst KDE say that the 55A work with the 5215s I would use the 75A ESCs which is what I have got. Aircraft flies like a dream and has some real punch.
 

jimska

Member
When you spin up the KDEs verses the Tigers they are much smoother with less vibes and they also react a lot more quickly if using the KDE ESCs which I would recommend using due to the matching of the pole counts- KDE use a higher pole count than most others so worth using their ESCs. Whilst KDE say that the 55A work with the 5215s I would use the 75A ESCs which is what I have got. Aircraft flies like a dream and has some real punch.
I see you have a SkyJib with U7s on it. Do you lift a RED with that? Frame copes OK?
 

Carapau

Tek care, lambs ont road, MRF Moderator
The Skyjib with the U7s is what we used as our workhorse last year and we spent a lot of time lifting Reds. The Skyjib 8 was designed to do this so the frame, as you would expect, coped without a problem at all.
 

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