fc 40 weight with gimbal/go pro and 4000 mah turnigy

guards are great while you're figuring out how not to run into things. 9443 props are a nice upgrade. 9450 props are a great upgrade. If you're thinking about a gimbal for a GoPro or similar, you may seriously want to consider purchasing a light weight model.
Hi there. I would love to chime in here... I live close to Jhb South Africa and also have significantly reduced flight time due to altitude - 4800ft ASL. I love my FC40 and think its great value. One thing I struggled with was getting the P2 props to work as well as the 8 inch stock FC40 ones. The wobbling was bad and disconcerting. I reduced gains thinking the larger props were reacting too quickly when in fact they were reacting too slowly. I got the gains up at 130% roll and pitch and the craft is much more stable now.
I was flying with only a fpv cam and a 100mW transmitter extra and can get 9min on my 2200mAh batts and then recharge with 1850-1950mah to full.
My pain is when I add the Feiyu-Tech G3 3 axis gimbal with FC40 camera the flight time drops to 5:30 for the same recharge... so I really agree with the lighter gimbal sentiment!
If it wasnt such a technical challenge I would've loved to try 10x3.8 props and report on that.

Cheers from sunny South Africa...
 
Hi sharkyza,

I'm curious to know if you purchased DJI props or others? Did you balance them?
I have never balanced a prop but do only buy DJI props. I had no issues with either 9443 or 9450 props and have made NO adjustments to gains.

I am not at all familiar with the weight of the products you have mentioned but am curious what your bird weighs with the 2200 battery.

I do know any larger battery will increase your flight time resulting in a smile. I'm pushing the weight limits of mine since the first few hours of flying. The gimbal, prop guards, and GoPro all add up, then add a 4000 battery and it's heavy. When I really want more flight time, I pull the gimbal & GoPro and revert back to the FC40. The video isn't as good but the weight reduction results in much greater flight times.

I'm impressed with the 9 minutes with a stock battery. Your FPV camera and transmitter must be pretty light.

Where's the video?? :D
 
I do use the DJI P2 props, also haven't balanced them since I haven't got the specially threaded rod...
I understand if you didn't make any gain adjustment but with stock gains the 8" props make the craft look and sound much more stable than when switched to 9.4" - This observation also is purely considering the craft is descending. But at least now with the higher gain settings it as good on the P2 props as on the stock 8" props.

Weight: I haven't bothered looking for the scale yet... agreed that any extra battery will increase flying time.

The FPV cam -> http://www.surveilzone.com/plastic-case-sony-super-had-ccd-600tvl-board-camera-hs1163
The tx/rx set -> http://www.surveilzone.com/1.2ghz-1.3ghz-100mw-8ch-video-audio-wireless-tx-rx-ws1149

Video taken with FC40 camera mounted on Feiyu-Tech G3 3-axis gimbal -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja3O_GweIOs&list=UUn4tKqOIHdoh4seeg2EULng

I keep thinking of going to a hexcopter or an octo like an X8... I'm just not sure I really want to find out how much more expensive this hobby can get! ;)
 
Thanks IflyinWY for the response and extra input.

I would have to guess that the 10C battery may not be an issue since so far it seems others are having good results. I just wanted to be be sure I and others were not missing something important.

I have been flying RC for a lot of years, however when it comes to the electrics and the I am still on the green side of things. :mrgreen: Presently just about every tree and bush on my property has reached out and touched the FC40. :lol: So far not in a real bad way. I need to find a good open area to explore along with some warmer temps.

I have found that this forum seems to have the most activity. I have updated my profile as requested.

Again thanks for the input. Most helpful.

Have a good day and stay warm.

Les
 
Thanks for the links sharkyza. I don't think we're supposed to keep track of how much we spend on these toys.
Cool video, beautiful country.
I'm surprised the FC40 camera balances on the Feiyu-Tech G3 3-axis gimbal. Did you post about magnets stuck here and there to make the FC40 work?

ABLE1, you are welcome.
"Reached out and touched"... you're lucky, mine gets smacked big time. :lol:
 
He he he - my props guards have saved my Phantom a few times but they kill battery life for me so I risk it - but in more open spaces now :)
This is the mount I 3D printed to get the FC40 onto the Feiyu-Tech gimbal http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:552600 I made mine out of PLA and its purpose was only so that I didn't have to hotglue the cam to the mount :lol:
About balancing the gimbal :oops: I never did. It has such huge motors and I didn't want to add weight so I left it a little imbalanced. But it works fine so far ;-P Only a little loving maintenance required. It might be because it uses a different control system with position feedback beyond the accelerometer / gyros on the camera mount.

Thanks for the kind words on the video - yeah, awesome time of the year to be out in the countryside - will have to go through a little more effort to get out and film/photograph it ;)
 
Hi. My first post on a forum, so here goes!!! Sharkyza, please can you tell me what cables need to be connected from my fc40 to a Feiyu-Tech FY G3 Ultra 3 Axis Gimbal. I'm on the verge of buying 1 but don't want anything too complicated to wire up. Is it just a case of connecting the power supply and the pitch control cable from the naza controller?
Many Thanks

Luke
 
I have an FC40 with a (aluminium) Walkera 3 axis Gimbal and an SJ4000wifi cam -a total of 250grams. I am getting a hopeless 3 minute flight with a 2200mah battery. :cry:
 
My GoPro (75gr) FeiyuTech G3 (220gr) and 3D printed bracket added enough weight that I also limited myself to slow and steady 5 minute flights. Fast climbouts and fpv sightseeing reduced that even more. I believe the poor performance is also due to the altitude here in Johannesburg. 4800ft ASL.
Bigger props on a larger platform is the way to go in my opinion.
 

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