The Next Steps... Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[StuR]

Hi folks.

I’m looking for some advise on my proposed route & rig setup plans.

A bit of background regarding me. I live in the Yorkshire UK & I’ve been flying & messing around with multirotos for just over a year. A couple of DIY’s, F450, F550 and F550 Y6 mod. I’ve worked in film & photography in the past, mainly action sports climbing, BASE, MTB, MX etc, but my last business (not related) folded about a year ago. So im currently unemployed & working on my aim to build a business utilising multirotors for initially film, photography and surveying work. However with only business plan in one hand, my F550 y6 in the other & not very deep pockets, I’ve got quite away to go!

My plan is to progress in stages and I was wondering what others (especially those operating commercially or with plenty of experience) thought of this.

First stage is to replace my F550 Y6 with a rig that I can progress towards becoming more professional with in terms of flying capability, equipping and finally licensing. With regard to my equipment choice, I’m trying to progress by ‘adding to’ rather than ‘replacing’. For this reason I'm tending towards the Vulcan airframes and to start with I’m looking to equip it as follows.

Frame Vulcan Y6 900.
Motors Tiger Motor MT3515-15 400KV
Esc's Jetti Hicopter 40A
PropellersT-Motor 14x4.8 CF Propeller
Vulcan Power 250A Power Distribution Board
6s Lipos
DJI Naza V2 flight controller
Zenmuse 2d Gimbal
GoPro
& FPV gear,
(I currently own the NazaV2, Zenmuse d2, GoPro & FPV gear, on my F550 Y6).
I intend to fly with this set up get accustomed to the rig and then…
Upgrade the flight controller, gimbal & camera to DJI WKM, not sure on the camera & gimbal yet probably Sony CX410VE or Nex 7. Struggling to find suitable gimbal for CX410VE. (I will keep & continue to use the Zenmuse and GoPro when required). Once my rig is at this stage, I will build up my flight time with a view to undertaking my BNUC-S certificate.

I envisage this whole process will take some time and obviously there is a lot more to consider, acquire & do associated with the business i.e. insurances, suitable transport etc, etc, etc .

But I’m curious if anyone has any comments / advise on this approach and if my frame, motor, ESC choice is suitable, for what I propose above?

Thanks in advance
Stu.

 

[jes1111]

Not really to answer your question - just an observation:

You are aiming at paid photographic work (video and stills, I would presume). So you first task must be to select the right camera(s) - that's what people will be paying you for, effectively: the output of the camera. Once you've decided that you can size, price and build a suitable rig to carry it (and in the meantime, master the camera itself). Otherwise it's rather like agonizing over your choice of tripod first and then using whatever little money you have left over to buy a camera to sit on top of it

On the cameras you mention: the Nex7 would be a fair choice but the CX410 is a bit "left-field": fixed lens with absolutely redundant 800mm (eq) telephoto end, not wide enough at the wide end and variable aperture. If you're going to go after film/TV work then you need a camera that the DP will accept - generally that starts at Lumix GHn. But to really thrive in that field you'll need to be able to carry their camera: unlikely to be less than a 5D2, highly likely to be a Red. Consider the Black Magic cameras, too. On the other hand, if you go after the real estate and inspection market, the GoPro (with suitable de-fishing) is probably fine as kit - but IMO you'll struggle to make enough money to cover certification, insurance and breakage costs.

 

[StuR]

Jes1111

Thanks for the quick response and advise.

I take your point regarding camera selection. Like I said I have worked in the industry in the past (granted not for a while). Maybe what I wrote did not come across very well, but I suppose what I was trying to ask... Is acquiring an airframe that can be added too, (for example adding extra arm, x2 motors, x2 ESC's to reconfigure from Y6 to X8) as my pre licence (non commercial) experience builds, a viable option. Im trying to avoid the purchase of another airframe further down the line, or at least until i become reasonably established.

Thanks again.

 

[PeterLester]

Based on some earlier data posted by DJI on the Naza in Wiki??? the Naza should not be used on MR airframes larger than 600mm... While that condition may have changed, I personally would spend more on the FC because the WKM and A2 are significantly superior. The new A2 being the very best possible from DJI. And if you want to carry expensive and heavy camera equipment, why take a chance on a crash that could also potentially cause serious property damage and/or injury.

 

[StuR]

Hi Pete

Thanks for the reply. I did not know about the Naza and airframes larger than 600mm. Like I said I would upgrade my FC when upgrading the system to carry larger camera and gimbal. But that said I still don't fancy trashing my trashing my Zenmuse, GoPro, whole rig with or worse with the Naza. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[jes1111]

Yes - I think you've got a very good approach there - and Vulcan seems like a sound choice: not seen/owned one myself but I've heard good things and I like the modular concept. Personally I'd go quad first then X8 later - cheaper starting point and adding the extra four motors would be an easier step than switching from three arms to four (both mechanically and in terms of flight characteristics). The "redundancy" with an X8 is, I believe, more certain than with a Y6. Plus you really only need that redundancy when safe execution of paying jobs depends on it - I'm a firm believer in impeccable construction and maintenance as the route to safety, so if you can build a quad that stays in the air then you won't be tempted to regard coax redundancy as a "get out of jail free" card.

One other small difference if it was me building it: I would skip the PDB. Soldering is so often the Achilles Heal on these machines (regardless of one's skill at its execution). IMHO crimped connectors are the way to go (and the entire aviation and military sectors think so too ): specifically Anderson Powerpoles. Call Torberry Connectors and ask for "Superflex 45A" crimp contacts. Consider investing in Anderson's own crimp tool (make sure it's the right one for 45A and 30A Superflex crimps) - pricey but you'd never regret it - otherwise Mountain Radio or Powerwerx from the USA (but note that the crimp jaws they sell are not quite the right size for Superflex). Search here on MRF - lots of threads about connectors where I've chimed in with my views

Good luck

 

[Scott Drysdale]

StuR,

Longer motor arms work to your advantage in terms of super flight stability for extra smooth aerial video work as well as allowing you more upgrade capability for larger diameter props with more powerful motors.
With this in mind the 900mm motor arm length can prove to be a bit restrictive.
I am not a fan of the retractable landing gear because of the added weight and complexity such that one or both legs can fail to rise or lower when required.
The original developers of the Cinestar Multirotors, originally developed as the defacto standard cinematic MR for the Mikrokopter seem to continue to have a superior design in most respects due to the all CF airframe, configurable anti-vibe mounting plate and the rotating landing gear that will always rotate with your camera so that they will never appear in the camera fov.
These will easily accommodate the DJI products including FCs with very little modification.

I tracked down the OEM manufacturer from China for the Cinestar products here: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...th-no-electrical-items/109347_1506078961.html
The Hex version is very simple to convert to the Y6 and back again without the need to buy any additional parts except possibly some press nuts..... just remove 3 of the motor arms and re-use the spare motor mounts underneath the Y6 config.
Meanwhile the Octo version, which flies even smoother can be reconfigured into a X8 in the same manner by removing four of the motor arms.
Note the Octocopter version is also available with the extra long 1100 motor arms for incredibly smooth aerial video work.

Whereas the above MR airframes are being sold almost at a loss leader price, the Brushless gimbal systems tend to be very expensive. However there are easy and cost effective ways to get those prices greatly reduced. In my case, because I have no need to lift a heavy DSLR, I have chose to purchase a handheld 2 or 3 axis Brushless gimbal system and make some minor mods, i.e., put the handheld assembly aside and very easily attach the remaining assembly directly to the bottom of my Cinestar 8 anti-vibe plate c/w the 3 point landing gear option. http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__51496__Turnigy_PRO_Steady_Hand_Gimbal_3_Axis_KIT.html

Finally.... I am very much in favor the the BaseCAM - Alexmos Brushless gimbal systems over the Zenmuse because of the ease of configuration for any camera and because of the very competitive pricing.

 

[StuR]

Jes1111 Thanks for the great advise. I will look into the Superflex 45A crimp contacts. Due to the Naza's lack of ability to support anything bigger than 650 (although I'm looking into it now and some people do), it looks like I will upgrading my FC sooner than I thought. As I said i was indenting to upgrade to a WKM but the SuperX Pro is interesting. A lot of good thing said on here about it.

Cheers.