! As to your question, I'm not sure what you mean. I haven't taken the motor screws out at any time, so there was no need to get them "back in" correctly. If I have misunderstood your intent, please correct me. I want to be able to help anyone considering one of these builds. The F550 sure is awesome!
WHAT??!!! Yep, the old Casio G-Shock don't lie, 20:21. I read another thread about getting over twenty minutes with a 10,000 mAh battery and thought it must be a misprint. But this was with a Turnigy Multistar 8000 mAh 4s 10c. I was a little concerned about the "c" rating being so low, but found out after some research, that high c ratings add to the cost and the weight. I was afraid I would lose some "punch" with a low c rating, but man this thing screams into the sky, even during first warning level there was still plenty of punch. BTW, the voltage settings are First Level: 14.6v, Second Level: 13.6v, which is when it landed. It stayed in second level warning long enough for me to descend and navigate to a good landing area. I chose 13.6v as the AutoCrash, ...er, I mean AutoLand voltage, because I read you shouldn't drop below 3.4v per cell, and for a 4s, that's 13.6v.
Glad to see this post, im new to the drones, but have flown rc planes, & crashed them..Have a P3s, and like it alot, I want to build this F550, but can I pair it with my current transmitter., its a Hitech 7 channel ,holds like 20 different models, and has Helicopter functions. Thanks for any info.OK, the new battery is charged and I'm freaking in disbelief. I had read a number of threads here and on other forums, touting 20+ minutes with an F550. For some reason, I just couldn't believe it could really happen. Well, I just finished my first flight with the new battery and I didn't look at my stopwatch until the skids touched the ground. I still can't believe it: TWENTY MINUTES, TWENTY ONE SECONDS!!!
Once I get telemetry, I can probably stretch that a little if I get into trouble being too far out. With my other bird (sig), I turned off the warnings altogether because I had telemetry on my FPV monitor. I plan to do the same with this one, but have to wait a bit for the funds to replenish. OK, so I guess that's it then. I'll probably not add to this thread unless I get replies, but judging from the number of reads, a lot of folks are interested in the F550 Flame Wheel. It's a real hoot to assemble and outright exciting to fly, so go gitcha one!
Quick edit for those of you wondering about the circumstances surrounding flight time. This was NOT a hover test. It was probably somewhere around 70% aggressive maneuvers and 30% or less of hover. By aggressive maneuvers, I mean full throttle climbs, banked turns, and full throttle forward flight. This also occurred at a temp of 60 degrees and no wind at the testing altitude of approximately 200 to 300 feet. I don't have telemetry yet, so the altitude is an estimate.
For those interested in battery specs, the Multistar 8000 mAh was quite surprising, considering its weight. The only thing I was a little disappointed in was the balance, and that could be due to the charger. All I had to charge the new battery with, was the original P1.1.1 charger, a BC20-4. The highest charge rate allowed is 3 amps, so it should have taken 2.6 hours to charge an 8 amp battery, plus it was already at 30% for shipping. However, I was quite surprised to find out it took just two minutes short of SIX HOURS to charge this monster. And then when I checked it with the voltage checker, the first two cells were very close, but number 3 and 4 were quite out of balance. I'm hoping it was the wimpy charger and that the new one (arriving today) will get this thing back in better balance. The new charger is an Imax B6AC+ 50W AC/DC Dual Power Balance Charger, which is favorably reviewed here and on other sites. So I'm looking for good things later today.
Thanks for the info, as this will be my first drone build,, the P3s is already paired with the dji trans that came with it new. But opening up the P3s will give me insight on what to build on the F550. If the Hitech trans wont work I will look at what dji has.Thanks again.Hey KB, I'm glad you decided to investigate building the F550, it's a real thrill to see this thing fly. As for the transmitter, you would need to know what type receiver is in your current P3S, and research it from there. I have an old P1 transmitter and was thinking about using it, paired with the same receiver that was in the P1.1.1., but ended up going with a new DJI DT7/DR16 setup. So if your Hitech will pair with the P3S receiver as in your current bird, I would certainly think you could put the same type receiver in the F550 and be off and running, ...or um, ...flying. I have read some posts that say a transmitter can bind with several receivers, but a receiver can only bind with one transmitter. I don't know how credible that information is, but it's out there if you search it.
BTW, concerning the flight time on my previous post, I'm now getting the following times with second level warning (AutoCrash) set at:
13.6v = 20:21
12.8v = 24:23
12.4v = 27:57
Keep in mind that this is with a 4s 8000 mAh battery and the current AUW is 1924g. I have pretty much decided to keep the 12.8v setting, since that allows for 3.2v per cell at trigger. I just got my FPV gear in this week, so I'll be mounting all that and updating these times. Also, with telemetry readout of voltage on the screen, I'll be able to judge when I need to land much better than having to watch for a flashing LED. So once the FPV is active, I'll disable the voltage warning in the Assistant software. Sure don't want this puppy landing where IT wants too, and not where I want it to.
Good luck with the tx/rx setup and please let us know how it turns out.
That just might do it, Thanks for all your help, when I get back i will begin this project along with this water floats ive been looking at for the P3 , Ive got some carbon fiber arrows,, fab some floats, give it a whirl, been wondering how close to a gator I can fly..theres a lake just a 100 yrds away or so.
.... If anyone is interested in building the F550 Flame Wheel and has questions or problems, you can PM me or just post here and other can learn from the solutions. I'm indebted to the members here at Phantom Pilots forum for their advice and expertise in helping me with the pitfalls and potholes surrounding this experience.
. So long distance flights await on the horizon.
