I noticed there aren't many posts in this area - it was quite active for a while but it looks like many are buying complete systems now instead of building their own. For myself, I went to the 'build from scratch' side and have been flying racing quads and also fixed wing aircraft. I still use my P2 and F550 (and Tarot 810) for photography but I don't fly them as much as I did.
Anyway - in the fixed wing category, our club has had a rash of airplanes stuck in trees and it has been hell trying to get them out of the trees. They are usually 50 or 60 feet up and getting a line over them has been difficult. In extreme cases, members have asked the local fire department to help and given them a donation.
Paying $100 to get a $200 fixed wing aircraft that is probably messed up seems bad so I've been going down the path of making my own removal tool. The 'tool' is a servo actuated release that will drop a weighted line over the airplane. Usually just a shake or two (especially now with all the leaves off) are all that's needed to get the airplane down. I first put it on a racing quad (they have a high thrust to weight ratio and can pick up twice their own weight) but decided I would prefer a stabilized system so I can concentrate on placing the line more than on saving the quad from getting stuck in the tree. ;-}
I say all that to say I'm building an F450 with the latest motors and NAZA-Lite. It will be used to pick up gliders, scary things during Halloween, and to drop lines over airplanes that succumbed to the tree from hell that we have in our flying park.
No pictures of the build as yet - the parts are on the way. In any case, it won't be very exciting - it will be a stock build with minor attachments. Here is an example of what I'm trying to save:
Here is what the line drop module looks like:
This works fine - it is currently mounted on a ZMR-250 (cheap racing quad) but is what will go on the F450.
Anyway - in the fixed wing category, our club has had a rash of airplanes stuck in trees and it has been hell trying to get them out of the trees. They are usually 50 or 60 feet up and getting a line over them has been difficult. In extreme cases, members have asked the local fire department to help and given them a donation.
Paying $100 to get a $200 fixed wing aircraft that is probably messed up seems bad so I've been going down the path of making my own removal tool. The 'tool' is a servo actuated release that will drop a weighted line over the airplane. Usually just a shake or two (especially now with all the leaves off) are all that's needed to get the airplane down. I first put it on a racing quad (they have a high thrust to weight ratio and can pick up twice their own weight) but decided I would prefer a stabilized system so I can concentrate on placing the line more than on saving the quad from getting stuck in the tree. ;-}
I say all that to say I'm building an F450 with the latest motors and NAZA-Lite. It will be used to pick up gliders, scary things during Halloween, and to drop lines over airplanes that succumbed to the tree from hell that we have in our flying park.
No pictures of the build as yet - the parts are on the way. In any case, it won't be very exciting - it will be a stock build with minor attachments. Here is an example of what I'm trying to save:
Here is what the line drop module looks like:
This works fine - it is currently mounted on a ZMR-250 (cheap racing quad) but is what will go on the F450.
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