Hi guys,

New here, reading and learning best I can, lots of information here!! This is my first 7in Long Range drone, I really liked  Chris Rosers frame, great designing, I live in Bogota, Colombia, so lots of mountains a great landscapes to ride along with this 7 quad.

Here's my build list:

Frame AOS 7
FC Tmotor F7 Pro
ESCA Tmotor F55A Pro II
Motors Tmotor F90 1.300Kvx4
Camera Caddx Polar Air Unit
GPS Matek M8Q M8358
Buzzer Vifly v2
Fettec spike absorver
Panasonic FM 1000uf 35v cap
Props  HqProp 7x3.5.3
Batteries Molicel 21700 6S 4.200mAh. 15min flight minimum safe voltage 3.2v for me.


She flies very well, no noticeable vibrations at all, still very nervous but in time confidence will be gathered.

Cheers,
Gustavo

        [attachment=9234]    

Just slowly build your confidence in your gear and try not crashing or hard landing on LR quads because you need a mechanically and electrically perfect quad to venture out in the distance.

Small leaps of 1 km at a time and experiment along a straight path that easily accessible. Test GPS recue and ensure you have mastered that like to the point it becomes muscle memory because in a panic situation some people just freeze or disarm. If you do loose signal, do not disarm, hit GPS Rescue and wait it out even if it means a couple of minutes and let the quad do its thing because it takes time for it to gain altitude at altitude.

Always maintain LOS with the quad and learn to find your way back home. Ideally you should take off from a clear landmark that can be seen a distance away.

(20-Sep-2022, 01:47 AM)kafie1980 Wrote: Just slowly build your confidence in your gear and try not crashing or hard landing on LR quads because you need a mechanically and electrically perfect quad to venture out in the distance.

Small leaps of 1 km at a time and experiment along a straight path that easily accessible. Test GPS recue and ensure you have mastered that like to the point it becomes muscle memory because in a panic situation some people just freeze or disarm. If you do loose signal, do not disarm, hit GPS Rescue and wait it out even if it means a couple of minutes and let the quad do its thing because it takes time for it to gain altitude at altitude.

Always maintain LOS with the quad and learn to find your way back home. Ideally you should take off from a clear landmark that can be seen a distance away.

Excellent tips, thanks, I’m new in the hobby and just amazed the videos where people send their drones, explorer souls as I see, I’m doing exactly as you pointed out, small steps, understanding this technical mixture between mechanical, electrical and electronic components.

This is a short video of the Aos 7.



Regards,
Gustavo

I agree with Katie’s points above, small steps are important so you learn to trust your setup. Having an issue long-range can quickly become an all-day search and rescue mission, or a complete loss very quickly…

Long range is extremely exciting and fun, but also very stressful at times. This is especially true when you start flying in the mountains…

I fly in the mountains a lot here in Norway and still find it hard not to get nervous. You constantly have to pay attention to Battery Usage (Amps/Capacity/Voltage), Control Link Signal, Video signal, weather and LOS (line of sight).

Developing a flight plan/path before you take off is extremely important for maintaining LOS, I use binoculars and try to pick two major points, then look at the ridge line for any issues or surprises.

However even with a solid plan it’s amazing how different everything looks once you reach the mountain, and it’s often hard to figure out where you were planning to go, where you took off from, and where you shouldn’t go!

It’s also very easy to get distracted by some interesting spot or amazing view… Losing LOS happens very quickly in the mountains, and you can instantly lose both video and control link!

I made this mistake twice yesterday… fortunately I recovered both times.

Last thing is your battery, I see your using Li-Ion packs. Molicels are great, but if your running only one 6s pack the max current is only 45A, always pay attention to your current number.

I actually run in 6s2p configuration and that double both capacity and max current which is great for long range.

Long response… but a lot to share about this exciting hobby, good luck, looking forward to hearing about your Colombian adventures!

(24-Sep-2022, 05:35 AM)GiantAntCowboy Wrote: I agree with Katie’s points above, small steps are important so you learn to trust your setup. Having an issue long-range can quickly become an all-day search and rescue mission, or a complete loss very quickly…

Long range is extremely exciting and fun, but also very stressful at times. This is especially true when you start flying in the mountains…

I fly in the mountains a lot here in Norway and still find it hard not to get nervous. You constantly have to pay attention to Battery Usage (Amps/Capacity/Voltage), Control Link Signal, Video signal, weather and LOS (line of sight).

Developing a flight plan/path before you take off is extremely important for maintaining LOS, I use binoculars and try to pick two major points, then look at the ridge line for any issues or surprises.

However even with a solid plan it’s amazing how different everything looks once you reach the mountain, and it’s often hard to figure out where you were planning to go, where you took off from, and where you shouldn’t go!

It’s also very easy to get distracted by some interesting spot or amazing view… Losing LOS happens very quickly in the mountains, and you can instantly lose both video and control link!

I made this mistake twice yesterday… fortunately I recovered both times.

Last thing is your battery, I see your using Li-Ion packs. Molicels are great, but if your running only one 6s pack the max current is only 45A, always pay attention to your current number.

I actually run in 6s2p configuration and that double both capacity and max current which is great for long range.

Long response… but a lot to share about this exciting hobby, good luck, looking forward to hearing about your Colombian adventures!


Hi from Bogota,


That's a great information for a begginer like me, Long Range need planing certainly and take in consideration very important aspects, mechanically perfection and batteries, I actually  use Li-Ion and Lipo batteries, two CHNL 1.300mAh in parallel, they get me 10 minutes with lots of punch, as I explained  before is my first time with Li-Ion packs and still need to understand better their power delivery.

Planning and sell awareness of where the drone can and cannot go, what to do if I loose video......dont panic!! Juts go to horizons mode, throttle and hope image appears if not GPS Rescue

This a 1.8km fly from by backyard...Legs crumbling




   
   

Yes, long-range flight is always scary, my legs shake sometimes still. Lol. I find taking deep breaths is very helpful!

Regarding li-ion batteries, here’s a video I made a few months ago about using different Li-Ion batteries and comparing different setups.



You might find it useful, interesting or just entertaining, let me know if you have questions and good luck with your adventure!

(26-Sep-2022, 03:25 PM)GiantAntCowboy Wrote: Yes, long-range flight is always scary, my legs shake sometimes still. Lol. I find taking deep breaths is very helpful!

Regarding li-ion batteries, here’s a video I made a few months ago about using different Li-Ion batteries and comparing different setups.



You might find it useful, interesting or just entertaining, let me know if you have questions and good luck with your adventure!

Thanks man, great video!! 

This is my first real Long Range flight 7.4Km, really nervous but gathering more confidence, really like this Aos 7.

Regards,
Gustavo

I cant say much about "long range" since I havent done it since 2019. I only fly 2km. I fly mostly 3" and 4" toothpicks, so 4-6km total is a lot.

Many times almost lost quad because losing LOS, or antenna pointing wrong way. Its because I keep forgetting to spin around to make sure I can still see home.