Turbo Ace X88-J2

[Giovanni59]

I am on the cusp of graduating from flying my F550 to a more steady heavy lifter. I have studied all the known biggies; Cinestar, Droidworx, Dragonflyer, Hoverfly and Aericam. However there is another candidate out there that has very little talk about it and I started this thread to see if I can get any feed back from anyone who owns and has flown Wowhobbie's Turbo Ace X88-J2.

Now I know I will get a lot of responses from users of all the other systems claiming to stay away from this product but Turbo Ace has sold thousands of these and I'd like to hear from the owners of the rigs themselves. There is very little chatter out there about how these systems perform from end users. Whenever I search most of the results direct me back to the either the Turbo Ace website or to Wowhobbies.

Anyone who has investigated will have to admit that this octo delivers some very nice video.
Has anyone seen this footage taken of Leeds Castle?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw8KKcILCVY

Or this footage of the Coliseum in Rome?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw8KKcILCVY

There are many other video samples on their website.

Turbo Ace uses the very well respected Photo Higher AV200 Gimbal and Droidworx mounting platform and this video seems to prove that it is a good pairing. The system also incorporates the well tested DJI Wookong FC and their systems are sold ready to fly at very reasonable prices.

Many of their components are hobby parts but they have invested quite a lot of engineering into the design and in configuring the layout of the eight booms. They say the motors are manufactured to to their specifications just for them. The collapsable booms, the design of which seems to be unique to this craft, somewhat concerns me. They use square aluminum piping and from looking at the photos it seems to be flimsy. Also, it has always been my understanding that round booms are preferred to allow for smooth transmission of the downdraft from the motors whereas a flat surface would deflect that turbulence back upwards.

One thing I must mention about Wowhobbies is their customer service. Every time I called I have always talked to someone who was very knowledgeable about their system and patiently answered all my questions and gave very in depth explanations of the design. How often are you able to that with other companies? They do note on their website that they prefer to have technical issues communicated by e-mail but that is expected.

I really would love to own a Cinestar 8 and their 3 axis Gimbal with Radian controllers and have it built RTF but like everyone I want to invest my hard earned money wisely. I am so tempted to get an S800 and the Zenmuse to hold my Sony Nex7 and be able to produce some of the most stable video out there. But I want to be able to eventually put a DSLR or a professional video camera on the rig if the market demands it. There are so many options out there and everyone touts that this system or that is the best. But what about this relatively new company?

So, Turbo Ace X-88 J2 owners: Is there anybody out there?

 

[Shaun Stanton]

I met them last year at Cinegear. They gorilla marketed it there, meaning they did not have an official booth. The guys pulled a smaller one out of a case during a screening of a movie at the paramount auditorium. We had just bought our Cinestar 8 minus radians at the time they werent out yet and were putting it together, but were still interested in future alternatives. We arranged a meeting with them at their office in Orange California. They gave us a flight demo of a X88 bird. I was not too impressed with it. Mainly because it had smaller motors and it did not look rigid. Allthough during the flight demo it did flyy fairly smmoth. They flew it with an AV200 gimbal with a 5DMkII It seemed like it was more of a WKM controlled copy of the Mikrokopter Octo XL. This year they stepped up their game. Saw their booth at NAB. Their frames they are coming out with are way more robust. They are coming out with a red carrying bird. The thing was a monster. I believe a RTF unit will be what Quadro charges for a CS8. That company may be giving Freefly and Aeronavics a good run for the money very soon. In one year they graduated from just a semi hobby/pro bird to what looks like the real deal. I was shocked at the progression.

But comparing a Cinestar to the X88 model. In the long run a cinestar is probably the best bang for the buck. It is more modular IMO for future upgrades. I would get a Cinestar8 with the DJI setup or wait until the Freefly "Synapse" comes out, although this is taking a back seat to the MOVI gimbal. One of the only issues I have with my cinestar is that they originally used Mikrokopter setup. I love the MK boards I think they are solid butthe lack of power that the MK Brush-less Motor controllers (MK's words for ESC's) have With the cinestar 8 on 4S batteries the copter is really stretched to the limit. It is only able to handle DSLR type camera's for about 5 to 6 minutes on a 6200 battery. It will not handle anything much larger then a DSLR safely. With a DJI setup using 50A or ESC's on 5S or even 6S batteries, the CS is a very capable bird. The standard CS uses 450mm booms. But now you can have it configured with 500 and 550 mm booms to support bigger motors and beefier props.

 

[Giovanni59]

Wow, Shaun, thanks for the info. I had this post out there for quite a while and you are the first to reply. You pretty much summed up what I felt about them. That's great they stepped up their game but I have since gone in another direction. I purchased an 800mm frame from Hexacrafter. Very sturdy bird and I am fitting it with WKM. My feelings on MK exactly and since I am fairly new at this I figured better to go with something tried and true out of the box. I am also purchasing Hexacrafter's brushless gimbal for my Nex7. I figured to go this route with a hex instead of an Octo because I am still a little green. Let me get some flying time with this bird and if I really want a heavy lifter I will get an octo. There will be many more options out there in a year's time too. That is if the FAA is nice to us. Cheers

 

[Shaun Stanton]

No problem, did not realize the post was more than a month old. Glad to hear you figured out a solution. Looks like a good frame, sturdier hex similar to a DJI S800.

cheers

 

[Giovanni59]

No, much sturdier than the S800.

 

[costaricaflybug]

Ace X88 J2

Hello there, I just got an Ace X88, alware gimbal, DX18, DX7 dual operator setup about a month ago. We have been doing some test flights (slowly getting to know it, we live in Costa Rica and there are hardly any big multirotors out here).
We have been pretty happy with the results, from sea level to higher altitude (1700 meters), and in windy conditions. We get about 5mins out of every flight (with an alware gimbal and a T3i with an 18-55mm lens). Waiting on 8000mah batteries due this week to see if we can get 10min flight time.
Being so new, we got the 5.8GHz tx/rx setup for the DSLR and monitor for the cameraman, and got a 900MHz, lowpass filter FPV goggles and minicam setup for the pilot not knowing about GPS conflict. I am in several forums trying to finds someone who has both setups without GPS interruption, not much info on that. We are still in testing and will keep everyone posted on results.
We did run into a problem last week where at mid throttle there was a noticeable split second interruption of power, I emailed DJI with a video with no feedback (been weeks) and wow hobbies can't see a problem either in the video. Yesterday finally one of our rotors lost power (not completely) but obvious that it was not running at same rpm. We replaced the motor and the problem persists. Just wondering if anyone has had an experience like this? We now think it may be the speed controller or the wookong. This is a bummer since we are in Costa Rica where there is nobody with knowledge of octocopters. Any ideas?

 

[Shaun Stanton]

Hello there, I just got an Ace X88, alware gimbal, DX18, DX7 dual operator setup about a month ago. We have been doing some test flights (slowly getting to know it, we live in Costa Rica and there are hardly any big multirotors out here).
We have been pretty happy with the results, from sea level to higher altitude (1700 meters), and in windy conditions. We get about 5mins out of every flight (with an alware gimbal and a T3i with an 18-55mm lens). Waiting on 8000mah batteries due this week to see if we can get 10min flight time.
Being so new, we got the 5.8GHz tx/rx setup for the DSLR and monitor for the cameraman, and got a 900MHz, lowpass filter FPV goggles and minicam setup for the pilot not knowing about GPS conflict. I am in several forums trying to finds someone who has both setups without GPS interruption, not much info on that. We are still in testing and will keep everyone posted on results.
We did run into a problem last week where at mid throttle there was a noticeable split second interruption of power, I emailed DJI with a video with no feedback (been weeks) and wow hobbies can't see a problem either in the video. Yesterday finally one of our rotors lost power (not completely) but obvious that it was not running at same rpm. We replaced the motor and the problem persists. Just wondering if anyone has had an experience like this? We now think it may be the speed controller or the wookong. This is a bummer since we are in Costa Rica where there is nobody with knowledge of octocopters. Any ideas?

There are some severe solar storms these past weeks that are severely upsetting the GPS signals.

As for the power drops, could be you dropped RC signal and do not have the fail-safes set correctly. Check your battery leads and make sure they are not getting too hot. Check the leads on the Power Distribution Block.

ESC would be a reason one motor drops off line.

If the copter not balanced or there are winds, it is not uncommon to see one rotor at a different RPM. In fact they all spin at different RPM's that is the only way this thing flies. It has to balance the forces.

That is the only thing I can come up with. Unfortunately DJI, does not have a data logger. That is the only full proof way to diagnose an issue.

 

[Giovanni59]

WOW, Costa Rica, how cool is that. You will have so many great filming opportunities in that country. A little boring here in flat Florida.


As to your problem you might want to check the stability of your boom arms. I had one motor giving me some problems and then when I carried the craft I noticed the arm was a little loose. I felt the motor and it was very hot while the others were cool. I tightened the boom up and problem went away. When you experience the problem do you check the motors and is there a temp difference between them?

I'm glad you are happy with your X88. When I was considering options I was almost ready to go with them but at the last minute I went with Hexacrafter. One of the concerns I had with the X88 was it did not look very sturdy, but that is just from looking at the photos. I have learned from my loose arm incident how important stability and stiffness of the arms is. These motors have to work harder if there is any movement.


Good luck in finding a solution to your problem and please post photos and video of your flights.

John

 

[costaricaflybug]

Hello Shaun, thanks so much for responding so quick.

Our GPS has been working very well, the issue is having both 5.8GHz and 900MHz systems running at the same time. The 5.8 is not the problem, it's the 900MHz. We need for the pilot to see where he is going and the cameraman to see what he is filming. DJI said the 900MHz system will definitely interrupt GPS. I placed it as far from the GPS, IMU and receiver as possible and will point the antenna downwards and then run some tests to see if we get purple LED light (GPS locked) grounded from far away. Here's how I set it up (900 MHz tx)
View attachment 12010View attachment 12011

Power drop:

Here's a video on te power drop, DJI and wow can't hear the difference. Listen to the last part of the video. Hope you hear it.

From the get go when I first give it throttle after connecting the batteries it interrupts midway and above mid throttle everything is ok. I am linking the throttle problem to the power drop in one of the motors.
Totally agree and realize the rotors moving at diff rpm because of wind and/or while hovering.
The noticeable difference in rpm for the motor was while being grounded, I tested it once more this Saturday (while at a job - 3rd flight) and had to compensate/trim to make up for the power loss on motor #6.
Would it still be the speed controller if rotor #5 and #6 are on the same speed controller unit?
I checked battery leads and they were fine. I will check the leads to the distribution block. I will also check the motor temp next time. Boom arms and all screws are checked before any flight to make sure all is tight.
Today I will reconfigure the Ace, update the firmware and check all connections.
I will post some videos soon. This weekend we were at Catarata de Bijagual (Pura Vida Gardens -http://www.puravidagarden.com/) up top a deep valley made by a waterfall, spectacular views. Unfortunately had to fly the Ace safely since we were having issues.

Some photos of a base station and a monster aluminum box I had made to transport the Ace.
View attachment 12012View attachment 12013

Thanks for all the help.

 

[costaricaflybug]

Feel like a shmuck, of coarse each motor is on a diff speed controller. Please disregard that last question about rotor 5 and 6.
Apologies for that.

 

[costaricaflybug]

Thank you Giovanni59.

I will double check and make sure the booms are sturdy and tight. After seeing it in a few flights and seeing the overall price, I went for it. I did end up spending much more than anticipated but it has been smooth til now. I will be posting some videos soon. Thank you.

WOW, Costa Rica, how cool is that. You will have so many great filming opportunities in that country. A little boring here in flat Florida.


As to your problem you might want to check the stability of your boom arms. I had one motor giving me some problems and then when I carried the craft I noticed the arm was a little loose. I felt the motor and it was very hot while the others were cool. I tightened the boom up and problem went away. When you experience the problem do you check the motors and is there a temp difference between them?

I'm glad you are happy with your X88. When I was considering options I was almost ready to go with them but at the last minute I went with Hexacrafter. One of the concerns I had with the X88 was it did not look very sturdy, but that is just from looking at the photos. I have learned from my loose arm incident how important stability and stiffness of the arms is. These motors have to work harder if there is any movement.


Good luck in finding a solution to your problem and please post photos and video of your flights.

John