Hoverfly Pro or Wookong FC for new X8 ?

jfro

jfro

Aerial Fun
Made the jump and order frame parts, motor's, esc, and radio for my X8 or XY8 build.

Going to be in the 650mm to 800mm range with 8 Avroto's.

I'm on pretty strict budget which is the reason I'm building everything myself, which I like todo anyway.

I was going to start with the Naza w/ GPS. Bagged that because even though I initially was going hexacopter, an octo wasn't out of the equation.

I then decided I'd have to live without GPS and go with the Hoverfly Pro which seems to be relatively easy to set up and they fly very nice in manual mode.
I have thought a bit about the Wookong, but it's not really money I want to spend and it would mainly be for the added GPS features and security of flying home if I get into trouble.

I am leaning towards the Hoverfly Pro and hoping that their GPS grows up by the I have more money to spend (which would be after I get the camera gimble setup up and buy a couple extra batteries.

As I am going to be in need of the FC sometime next week, I guess it's decision time.

Any last minute advice as using one over the other for photo and video work. Not looking for long distance or high speed flying. Mostly beauty shots / slow pans etc.....GPS right now would be mostly for safety reasons.
 


DucktileMedia

DucktileMedia

Drone Enthusiast
I dont know why you say that Kloner? I think the HFP is very smooth and predictable. The only thing you gain on the wookong is GPS and alt hold. Controlling altitude on the HFP in comparison is not as good. but since money is an issue you can get the HFP for half the cost, end up with a smooth as hell machine and add GPS later on, but most likely the GPS will never be as good as DJI's, just the way it is for now.
 

Benjamin Rowland

Benjamin Rowland

Member
I've only flown the HFP. I like it a lot. Manual mode is great. Back when I first started using it, I didn't like the autoleveling. They changed that feature a good bit since then and now allow you to tune the aggressiveness of the autoleveling. I set my percentage for that fairly low in the setup software and I'm happy with it. I've found myself using it on occasions where it makes more sense to fly with it on.

Also the HFP is just plain easy to set up in my experience. Take a look at the manual, then look at the Wookong manual. The HFP is easier to set up and tune. And you can get the owners of the company on the phone if you need support.

As I said though, I've never tried the Wookong. Maybe someone will let me try theirs one day, so I'll have something to compare.
 


kloner

kloner

Aerial DP
yuri, i meant that if your experianced flying that the hfp is the way to go. if your still learning, i'd definately go with a wk.

With wk atti is that, super simple to fly, always works. GPS isn't just a puck sitting there, it's gps guidance, forward means straight forward through wind, snow, sleet. it's bouncier than hell, but it does it every time. Atti and the mid stick altitude hold is phenominal on wk, not so much on hfp.

If you got the skills to fly an hfp without crashing it flying manual or self level, your golden. If i had started out in multis without using a dji product, i wouldn't be as far along as i got by flying one. But now i got em pretty much figured out, the hfp is all i want in my hands
 

Efliernz

Efliernz

Pete
The self-leveling of the HFP is really good. I "choose" to fly manual most of the time. I can fly... why not enjoy it.
Stacky was down for a fly last week and while (fpv flying) he flew in manual mode, he flicked the HFP into auto-level for landing. I land in manual. The aggressiveness of the AL is adjustable on the HFP and it works really well. For me, I love HFP. I don't have gps and don't need it. In fact after reading daily comments on various forums about "my multicopter ran away" due to gpos fault / misuse, I'm happy not to have it ;)

Pete
 

jfro

jfro

Aerial Fun
Futaba 8FG will be the radio.

You guys are all saying stuff I've heard you guys write about here on the forum what you've said in this thread are the reasons I'm teetering back and forth.....

B. Rowland, I'm impressed with the footage you've shared with us. That is more in line with what I aspire to capture. If I had a crystal ball and could see I wasn't going to spend too much money fixing my flying errors, I'd be very happy with the HoverFly Pro.

Kloner, you mentioned before that the HoverFly causes you some consternation once in a while and I hear you on the "if your experienced flying that the hfp is the way to go. if your still learning, I'd definitely go with a wk." That is a consideration...

I certainly could use hovering, hold , and return that the Wookong seems superior on, but again, I like the silky smooth stuff Ben puts out. From what I've seen and read, I'm guessing that Ben and Kloner, you guys are both very skilled at flying, but Ben seems more slow flyer with silky smooth video and Kloner you seem to like to fly fast and hard, which I don't have those skills yet. However, I'm thinking of putting FPV on the unit for a little fun flying.

If I end up putting GPS on the Hoverfly Pro at some point, the cost difference isn't that great. However, right now the difference is over $650 and that's an influence at this time.

If I go HoverFly, I'll keep my fingers crossed I keep crash related repairs in the hundreds instead of the 1,000's. If they get their GPS to mature a bit and things go well, I can add GPS in 6-12 months. Not hard to root for an American manufacturer.

I need to order in the next couple days, but I'm still teetering on what to do..... Maybe something will be said to give me more confidence to make a choice.
 


jfro

jfro

Aerial Fun
Bart, are you talking about the HoverflyGIMBAL Controller or are you talking about something else? I have/had that on my build list, but will probably sit tight for a few months before mounting my camera(s).

I've ordered an Alexmos gimbal and going to first try the rewound motor trick first. That is looking like some pretty good technology and is probaby worth the risk as the cost isn't too great.

I've order longer arms than I need. They will probably give me around 900mm or more. My plan was to try to get in the 650-800 range. Was going to do a little trial and error and was wondering if I could cut the CF tubes to say 900m. Set the motors at 650mm (with some extra cable) and then gradually move them out until I find something I like. Would look like crap, but will it really matter if an extra inch or two of the arm is sticking out in the short term.

 

Efliernz

Efliernz

Pete
The HFP has it's own gimbal outputs. It works too!

It also has an OSD feature showing altitude and battery voltage.
 

jfro

jfro

Aerial Fun
Does the HoverFly PRo FC gimbal have the same capabilities as their stand alone gimbal controller?
 

S

Stacky

Member
jfro, I think Bart meant the HFP inbuilt gimbal controls which are very good for an inbuilt system. The hfp inbuilt gimbal controls are not as exact as the stand alone nor do they have all the features. The stand alone gimbal board is designed for and aimed at pro filming
 


jfro

jfro

Aerial Fun
Little confused as didn't think I needed anything better than excellent on basic stabilization.

Bart says it's excellent for the onboard stabilization and then Stacky says the stand alone board is for pro filming. In regards to quality of stabilization for 2 axis between the two, does anyone care to elaborate on their differences (not so much features) for getting stable video?

While my editing and stabilizing skills on a computer are pretty good, pro filming is what I aspire to. The stabler the footage, the less work on the computer and in the end, the better looking footage.
 

Bluerex

Bluerex

Member
I started off with a Naza on a flamewheel quad. When I decided to go larger I found the HFP and loved it (english manual, developers that respond to forum request and made in the USA) unfortunately when I started testing it (FC and GPS on a hex flamewheel) the reality was that for my level of experience (limited - and a desire to be able to "hang it in space" while I compose the shot/pan with the subject) it just didn't suit (plus the tendency for the AH switch to cause the craft to drop 2m when engaged caused a certain lack of confidence).
So when finally building my Droidworx XM coaxial, I went Wookong. First trap was the lack of octo support with my Aurora 9 Tx - this was fixed by spending more money on a Photohigher RSCG (which worked straight out of the box - I love it) the iOSD has been through a couple of iterations now and seems to work well (and came with a camera switcher so I can toggle between my DSLR and baby FPV cameras) - time will tell but at the moment I am happy with the decision. I am still keeping the HFP - maybe one day....

C
 
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dolby

dolby

Needs more bacon!
Having both I tend to use my WKM more due to its smooth height hold. Not only does it hold height its extremely smooth and consistant going up and down. It's nice not having to fight the throttle in the wind with up and down drafts. On clam days the HFP does a great job though. Also the POI Circle feature is kind of nice on the WKM where you can have it fly a circle and then you can focus on just camera work. Makes it easy for a 1 man operation to get some extra moves in... kinda cheating really.

I don't have much faith in the Hoverfly GPS so if you want great GPS go with DJI. It hasn't worked anywhere near useable since I got my pre-order board nearly a year ago now? I've got my APM 2.5 GPS working better than my HFP and there are tons more things to tune (PIDs yuck).

You dont need a Futaba s-bus radio to do an octo, they have implemented PPM quite awhile ago. You'll need to get a PPM break out board (usually cheap) if you want to use a tradition radio that doesnt have s-bus or ppm rx's since there aren't enough ports on the WKM when going octo.

One really great thing about Hoverfly is their support, they will bend over backwards for you. While DJI your best finding a good reseller for support.

What camera are you trying to lift? An octo may be overkill for you?

Both are good systems for filming, just depends on what you need and what you can spend. Both will work great out of the box and require little effort in tuning compared to APM, MW, MK and even CC. HFP is due for some advancement and I look forward to seeing what they come up with in the future.
 
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Simon Templar

Simon Templar

Member
dolby said:
One really great thing about Hoverfly is their support, they will bend over backwards for you. While DJI your best finding a good reseller for support.
Click to expand...



There's an understatement!

I contacted DJI with a highly technical question about my WKM......their response was 'Go away, ask your dealer'

I explained that this was obviously not the sort of information that a dealer was likely to know anything about or even be able to provide. ......their response was 'Go away, ask your dealer'

I then explained that my 'dealer' was in the habit of only answering questions which implied impending sales, all other emails are routinely ignored ......their response was 'Go away, ask your dealer'




That's when I gave up on DJI.


As I write, I am awaiting arrival of my HFP and gps boards.



Sorry DJI.....you've lost a customer for life because of such antics.





.....sT
 

S

Stacky

Member
Simon, when you get your HFP make sure you approach it as though its a totally new thing. Sometimes new users coming from other systems expect the HFP software and setup to work the same way, its different. There will be things you like and things you prefer the dji way. Also make sure you read the manual and go on the zendesk help website for information about updated firmware and setting up. Any question at all just ask in here. Good luck, hope you like the HFP.
 

jfro

jfro

Aerial Fun
Dolby: You mentioned having both but then you mention APM 2.5 GPS. Do you use the APM with the WK or HF or is this on a 3rd setup? I'm just a little confused on this one.

As to cameras, my initial flights will be with GH2, GH3. with the GH2 or 3 being the main filming camera. I doubt I'll fly a gopro other then on some initial flight testing. I will do some photography with my 5D mkII and if my bird is rock solid, I may fly a Blackmagic Cinema Camera on occasion.
 

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