(25-Jun-2022, 10:58 PM)kaitylynn Wrote: Carbon fiber or "glass" would likely be a better choice of material.  I have flown both CF and glass on my 5" and 7" quads, but I have not been able to source these materials in 3".  There simply is no demand for high end production props in this size.

Is it possible to add strength to a prop by coating it in something capable of giving it strength?  For example teflon, maybe a polymer type lacquer, rubberised enamel or something similar.  The problem seems to be it deforms under high rotation speed, so would adding an extra layer of a strong polymer enhance the time before failure?

The ultimate I thought of would be 2K (2 pack iso paint) Lacquer. But it's seriously toxic and hard to work with. But if it was available via a friend or work, it could be an interesting experiment. But I also wonder if it might melt the prop, since it's pretty hardcore paint.

I'm sure there may be, but I lean towards just testing many of the higher pitched props, as they tend to also be more firm. We will see though. I have a few hypotheses, but this may warrant a whole separate experiment to see. I'd bet that any coating doesn't stay on the prop during load due to the natural flexing that occurs with a prop on a motor, but if you can help me identify the types of the chemicals, and where they're located, I just might have to try...

This will be an interesting experiment. I am curious to see how it turns out. 

The thing about "coating" a prop would be the uniformity of the coating on different
areas of any single prop and then the variances between different props...and.. how
much difference this makes in the flight characteristics. The other thing is the weight.
Every coating weighs something. Could this lead to imbalance?? 

Just thinking 

Standard Lacquer is easily available from most auto parts suppliers.  Teflon I haven't seen in years, its more specialised.  

Tamiya Clear Lacquer for RC Aircraft
Rubberised Undercoat Spray Paint

Don't go near 1K or 2K paints unless you know what you are doing, as you need a separate air supply to use them due to the isocyanate toxicity (yes they are that harmful and poisonous).  Don't spray with a mask with ABEK filters, they won't stop it and you will end up with problems.  If you knew someone who had a garage/auto shop/paint shop who could spray some props with 1K or 2K, then you could maybe ask them, but this stuff is professional level only (unless you like trips to the hospital or the graveyard).

(27-Jun-2022, 04:37 PM)iFly4rotors Wrote: This will be an interesting experiment. I am curious to see how it turns out.

The thing about "coating" a prop would be the uniformity of the coating on different
areas of any single prop and then the variances between different props...and.. how
much difference this makes in the flight characteristics. The other thing is the weight.
Every coating weighs something. Could this lead to imbalance??

Just thinking  

Will it add weight to the props?  Who cares.  On this build you have 3.7kg of thrust on a 300g quad.  An extra couple of grams on prop coatings is likely irrelevant.  I would actually be more worried about the frame snapping under that amount of thrust (yes I know it wouldn't) or how many pieces it would detonate into if it hits something (like a vinyl fence) or whether it would warp time and space and travel somewhere else when you give it full throttle.

(27-Jun-2022, 05:15 PM)Pathfinder075 Wrote:    I would actually be more worried about the frame snapping under that amount of thrust (yes I know it wouldn't) or how many pieces it would detonate into if it hits something (like a vinyl fence) or whether it would warp time and space and travel somewhere else when you give it full throttle.

haha.. I'm trying to get the frame maker to do a 4" version that allows me to up the thrust to 5500g of thrust on 4" props for only 20g more of frame weight.. my end goal with this project is to get an 18-20:1 thrust to weight ratio

I’m just thinking of all the times that I’ve had a quad try to shoot to the moon during initial testing- typically ends in it bouncing off my shop or carport ceiling.

At a 20:1 power to weight ratio, I’m pretty sure it’d just punch a hole straight through the ceiling.
It’d make for some great video as long as there was audio so that the 5 minute long string of cursing could be heard while the dust settled.

BigBeard, you need to lend this 3" to iFly4rotors, so he can retrieve his lost drone, from the tree.

(27-Jun-2022, 09:19 PM)Pathfinder075 Wrote: BigBeard, you need to lend this 3" to iFly4rotors, so he can retrieve his lost drone, from the tree.

If I can get to 20:1 thrust to weight ratio, it might retrieve the whole tree ..at the expense of my quad haha.

"20:1 thrust to weight ratio" : hopefully one day

(28-Jun-2022, 02:05 AM)kafie1980 Wrote: "20:1 thrust to weight ratio" : hopefully one day

Kafie we can get there! We should rename quads with greater than 17:1 thrust ratios as rocketquads haha

I think that is an excellent new category for quads! Probably need like an 80 degree plus camera angle to realize full straight line speed without being blind.

Rewrap some lighter motors with some heavier gauge magnet wire so that they can handle higher amperage and you can fine tune your kv….

I’ve got a spare 4” PowerPick frame and some burnt out motors… but no safe place to fly something that powerful. C-clips couldn’t handle it, would have to have a screw with loctite holding the bell in place. Props couldn’t handle it. My flight skillz couldn’t handle it.

I think Roman has another thread going where he’s trying to build a 300kph 4” toothpick. You guys should collaborate.

The kind of space you would need to fly something that powerful would be pretty immense. At 200mph+ you would need a couple of square miles worth of area, like a dry lake or salt flats. i can think of a handful of places in the US that would cater for that. You guys probably know more. Over here I can think of one place you could fly something that fast (and it would still break a few regs). Also a few places from watching YT vids that might be usable, but the noise would probably mean do a flight then move elsewhere before the police turn up.

It's an interesting concept nevertheless, but like Lemony, this would be beyond my flight capability right now. Kinda like asking a Cessna 152 pilot to fly a space shuttle. The chances of killing someone (or yourself) or doing serious damage to anything around you, is too high. If it was programmable in some way you would limit throttle to 5-10% while under 30ft and only allow full throttle when above 30ft. Plus I would probably try and come up with some sort of drogue parachute deployment system and radio locator beacon that would activate, if it failsafed or went below 30ft while at high speed, so you don't have a 200mph missile going out of control (self destruct seems a bit overkill).

What might be useful would be a self tilting camera that would adjust based on drone angle, so even at a really steep angle (70-90 deg) the camera would remain pointing forward enough for you to navigate, but upon slowing down and moving to a shallow angle it would adjust back to something more usable (20-40deg). I suppose you could use a two camera system and mount one pointing almost straight up and the other at a shallower angle, then swap camera based on tilt angle. But a self adjusting camera would be more linear, but only really useful for this type of speed flight usage

As Promised - here are some updated photos of the gear that'll be put together tonight or tomorrow for this machine that I haven't yet named haha, but I'm liking "weaksauce" as it makes me laugh each time....

The ASBO-X Mamba Frame....




The HGLRC 25A f7 AIO



the Apex Toucan 2825 1607 motors

(26-Jun-2022, 02:48 AM)Lemonyleprosy Wrote: My vote is for, “WeakSauce”. Because it’ll be the opposite of that, and that amuses me.

Literally makes me laugh but feels so unrefined. This may be the winner my friend... I was considering Eeyore and also lil draco, the amazing ant, black n mild, and a few others, but WeakSauce may win the cake...

Man, that is a *seriously* beefy little frame.