Dude that thing is nimble!!!

That crash on the baseball court.. ouch.
Never hurts to panic throttle punch?

I spent $$$ on crashes in early years, and still scared of concrete. I have looong way to winning racing trophies - all my quads have different camera angle. Try train in simulator with same fixed angle.

I'm Australian mate, I don't do sims.

(16-Mar-2021, 05:41 AM):rofl:ph2t Wrote: I'm Australian mate, I don't do sims.

(16-Mar-2021, 05:41 AM)ph2t Wrote: I'm Australian mate, I don't do sims.

When I started, my controllers would not even connect to a sim. 
{yeah, I never was a gamer so don't have those xBox things...so no sim there}.

So, I just learned to fly by FLYING, for REAL.  Ok, so I learned on tiny whoops inside the house; LOS then FPV.  Then I moved to outside with a 2.5 inch EMAX Tinyhawk Freestyle. Guess what?  Low and Behold, the flying is the same. No Worries. 

Moving on up...from the 2.5 inch, to 3 inch, to building my own 4 inch, 5 inch....working on 7 inch.   

I did finally get one of those dongles for the PC that connect to a transmitter just like a quad, but so far, still don't have a sim. 

After 2 1/2 years of flying, NO worries. SIM, what SIM ??  Maybe I will get one someday; when I have nothing better to do.  

OK I've had some time to work on some issues with this quad.   

The two main problems with this frame design:

1. The fpv camera canopy isn't fixed to the front part of the CF frame.  Whilst it is affixed to the front standoffs it effectively just sits on the Cf frame.   As wllmlutz experienced, a head on crash will break the weak CF front piece as the TPU canopy will just flex and move to the side or even compress.  In doing this the CF frame is exposed and subsequently breaks.
   
2. The cornerstone of this frame design is the two single bolts that bring the arms together with the bus frame.   This is also an issue.  The two arms sit flush but linear to each other, this means that they pivot on the bolt hole and can move around even with overtightening the two bolts like there's no tomorrow.   This pivot results in the props easily hitting the frame.   Some thought into how the arms align would have improved this issue, even if there was an offset cut with a locking bolt - that would of helped.
   

The picture below shows the bottom plate removed and where it has broken.  Bill is this what you experienced?



To help mitigate the first issue I am designing a new canopy to be printed in TPU.   This is a while off before it's ready for show and tell.   Hopefully in the next week I'll be able to share a model and once the 3d printer is fixed I'll start printing some prototypes.   Also, in regards to the broken CF, I will file that back to where the standoffs are located and seal it with some plastic cement to help prevent the carbon delaminating.

The second issue in regards to the moving arms I believe I have fixed.   I mounted some thin double sided tape to the side of the bottom plate that touches the arms.   I then cut out the frame profile using a hobby knife.   Here it is in the pic below with the adhesive backing still in place.   It covers the area that the arms make contact on.



Whilst a bit fiddly to put together it does work!   I have tried moving the assembled arms with both my hands holding each side and forcing it to turn.  They don't anymore  .
If it will withstand a crash and keep the arms in place is another matter and will be tested in the field soon.

You can see in the picture below how the line that joins the two arms needs to look.   It's hard to get into place as the CF becomes quite "grabby" once tightened.   Unfortunately not "grabby" enough to stay in the one bloody place!   This double sided tape solution seems to stop this movement.



Now all I need to do is install the replacement CRSF antenna and re-assembly is imminent!  

Looks like surgery to me

Wow. I think that I will stay away from that frame. 

I shouldn't have to use double sided tape to fix a problem like this, they should of fixed this issue in the design process.  So I do agree with your sentiments iFly.  Having said that the frame is pretty good and strong too.  I have had some bashing sessions indoor at a bball court and it survived well, the props not so much.  These UL props just seem to split a lot at the hub, even being careful with overtightening the 2mm screws. 

I have started the design on a replacement canopy for nano sized cameras.  The goal is a balance of strength, stiffness and weight.



They main difference is that the base of this canopy is solid, the stock canopy is open at the base - a cause for too much flex.   Will print in PLA first for sizing then try one in TPU for installation on the quad.

That's exactly what happened to me. I just had cnc madness cut me a new nose and used it strictly for cruising. Really it just sits on my wall and I never fly it. I agree with the 2 bolts holding the arms. There should be some guide to keep them in place. I have had a couple crashes where they got a little off center and I just pushed them back to position and kept flying. Such a cool idea yet flawed frame.  When you come up with a finished canopy i would love to get ahold of the STL files if you don't mind.

It looks like mine actually broke right at the stand off holes.

Here’s the first tpu prototype. Had to make some adjustments on the pla version as I underestimated the depth of the nano camera body.

(25-Mar-2021, 03:54 AM)wllmlutz Wrote: That's exactly what happened to me. I just had cnc madness cut me a new nose and used it strictly for cruising. Really it just sits on my wall and I never fly it. I agree with the 2 bolts holding the arms. There should be some guide to keep them in place. I have had a couple crashes where they got a little off center and I just pushed them back to position and kept flying. Such a cool idea yet flawed frame.  When you come up with a finished canopy i would love to get ahold of the STL files if you don't mind.

Yeah I'd be happy to.  I'm still fine tuning it to fit a bunch of different nano cams.  They have varying depths to their electronics at the back of the camera and I need to do some clearance checking.   I will post it on thingyverse once complete. 

Ok so I've now got my first TPU BETA of the canopy.

I need to cut away some of the mass at the back of the canopy to allow a few different depths of the nano camera casing.  For now I just cut it out using a hobby knife but I will revise the design so this is not required.

A small nano cam like the caddx ANT fits well but the JST socket at the rear rubs up against the canopy, limiting the angle you can set it to.   Lens is reasonably protected.



Next is a longer nano cam, the caddx kangaroo - this is a cool cam for the nano size.  Lots of options to present your video feed as.  A long lens and rear electronics assembly means it barely fits with bugger all lens protection.



For now the flight testing will be with the camera I have on this quad, the foxeer toothless nano.   Here is it mounted to the frame ready for a flight test.



The camera forward protection isn't the best.   I will extend the front protection buffer area to totally cover the camera as much as I can without killing the FOV.  Will need to test this in both 4:3 and 16:9 modes just to spec proof it a bit more for the full featured nano cameras.

Excited to test this out now with all the bloody changes. 

All ready for rippage!   Trying out these new GEMFAN 5130-3 Whisky props that have the 1.5mm shaft adapter.