MultiRotor Pilot V1

3D Print your own FPV Quad...
We show you how
VOL 1, SUMMER 2014

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AD IN T
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ESTES
PROTO X
ESTES
PROTO X
BLADE
RADIO CONTROL
& ROBOTICS!
MORE
Maplegate Media Group n 42 Old Ridgebury Road, Danbury, CT 06810 n Phone (203) 826-7557 n maplegatemedia.com
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WHATS INSIDE.
6 MULTIROTOR PILOT
FEATURES
20 Regulations and
Legalities regarding the
use of UAVs
by Lucien Miller
34 A closer look at Empire
Hobby with Jack Burnside
by the editors of MultiRotor Pilot
63 Inside Atlanta Hobby
with Cliff Whitney
by the editors of MultiRotor Pilot
80 Multirotors for
Precision Agriculture
by Gene Payson
HOW TO
18 3 Quick Tips for getting
into Multirotors
by Alex Zvada
56 Install and set up a
GPS/Compass Unit
for a DJI Naza-M V2
by Petr Hejl
59 Winter Flying
Tips and Tricks
by Petr Hejl
PILOT REVIEWS
12 Blade Nano QX
Big fun in a micro package!
by Chris Reibert
16 Estes Proto X
A full-function Quad thatll t
in your pocketliterally!
by Tony Phalen
22 Lynxmotion/Robotshop
Hunter V-Tail 400
Aggressive looks with
performance to match!
by Matt Maziarz
36 BLADE 350 QX
Feature-rich, easy-to-y GoPro
compatible quadcopter
by Joe Cannavo
40 HobbyKing X900 Tricopter
with RC Logger FPV System
A highly maneuverable, easy-to-
transport FPV camera machine
by Joe Cannavo
46 Gaui 840H Hexacopter
with DJI Wookong-M
Flight, Camera, Action!
by Erick Royer
52 DJI Innovations
Phantom 2 Vision
HD video,FPV and more!
by Jacob Clackey
66 RC Logger
RC Eye One Extreme
Hold steady and look out!
by Greg Vogel
72 Feiyu Tech FY-G3 2-axis
GoPro 3 gimbal
Rock-steady camera footage
by Joe Cannavo
74 Hextreme 550 FPV Hexacopter
High quality, fun to y FPV hex
by Matt Maziarz
22
36
56
FIRST LOOK
64 Eagle Tree Systems
Vector FPV Controller
A ight controller built for
pilots by pilots
by Joe Cannavo
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT
70 SONY Compact
POV Action Cam
The new aerial video/FPV
camera on the block
by Joe Cannavo
79 Go Professional
Custom Xtreme Cases
DJI Phantom
by Erick Royer
PRODUCT REVIEW
26 DJI Innovations
Data Link and iPad
Ground Station
Portable control platform
enables autonomous ight
by Joe Papa
60 DJI A2 Flight
Controller
by Joe Papa
COLUMNS
8 Editorial
An RC Industry First
by Erick Royer
10 From the .com
82 Return to home
by Matt Maziarz
46
70
79
60
CUSTOM PROJECT
28 Foldable 3D Printed
FPV Quadcopter
Inexpensive FPV fun you
can take anywhere
by Erick Royer
An RC Industry First
LIFT.OFF
You are holding in your hands the worlds rst magazine dedicated to
multirotors, UAVs, FPV, aerial video and photography and more. We have
assembled a team of experts in all facets of the multirotor hobby and
together we worked around the clock to bring you reviews, how-tos, cus-
tom projects and more. It has been an exciting few months putting this issue
together and we hope you enjoy it.
MULTIROTOR EXPLOSION
Every day there are new multirotor products coming to market and trying to
decide what to include for you in this rst issue of Multirotor Pilot magazine
was not an easy task. When you couple that with all of the functional (and
controversial) uses for multirotors, we could ll an entire magazine simply
outlining them. Since our focus is on all areas of multirotors from the Worlds
smallest to the most expensive camera machines, from agricultural uses to
FPV fun, we packed this rst issue with the latest and greatest content with
something for everyone. In fact, we had so much material to share with you
that we had to spill it over to our website, multirotorpilotmag.com. There you
will nd exclusive web-only material as well as bonus supporting content for
the articles within this issue.
LOTS OF 3D PRINTING
The multirotor hobby lends itself to endless custom appli-
cations, machines, accessories and more. 3D printing
has open opened up to the masses with lower priced
machines coming to market almost weekly. There is noth-
ing better than sitting with a CAD program and in minutes
designing a custom component for your multirotor, or
as I did with the Custom Foldable FPV Quad (page 28),
designing your own ying machine, then hitting print and
in a short time, your idea becomes a reality. The use of a 3D printer was invalu-
able in this issue and we made the les for everything we designed available to
you on the web for FREE!
A SPECIAL THANK YOU
I wanted to give a special thank you to everyone who contributed with this
issue. Three people really went above and beyond and if it was not for their
unbelievable efforts I am not sure how we could have done this; Joe Papa, Petr
Hejl and Matt Maziarz Thank you!!
We are anxious for your feedback, ideas and requests for what you would like
to see in future issues; please email me at erickr@maplegatemedia.com.
Additionally, please share your experiences, photos and video with us and we
will try to use then in future issues and on our website.
Thank you and Happy Flying
Erick Royer
Executive Editor
facebook.com/multirotorpilot
E D I T O R I A L
Editor-In-Chief GREG VOGEL
Executive Editor ERICK ROYER
Associate Editor MATT MAZIARZ
Associate Editor TONY PHALEN
Technical Editor JOE PAPA
Chief Test Pilot PETR HEJL
Copy Editors SIRI WHEELER, JENNIFER RUSSELL
Editorial Coordinator CINDI VANDEMARK
C O N T R I B U T O R S
JOE CANNAVO, JACOB CLACKEY, LUCIEN MILLER,
GENE PAYSON, CHRIS REIBERT, ALEX ZVADA
A R T / D E S I G N
Design Director ALAN PALERMO
Art Director VICTORIA HOWELL
Corporate Photographer WALTER SIDAS
Staff Illustrator DAVID BAKER
Web Developer and Design TONY PHALEN
Web Content Manager JEFFREY WARNER
M A R K E T I N G
Consumer Marketing Director NED BIXLER
Marketing Manager SIRI WHEELER
Hobby Shop Manager WHIT CAMPBELL
A D V E R T I S I N G
Account Executives LISA BLUMENSCHINE,
KEVIN ELSTON, GREG SMITH
Advertising Coordinator CINDI VANDEMARK
P R O D U C T I O N
Production Manager BOBBI-JO BALDWICK
P U B L I S H I N G
Publisher SHARON WARNER
Associate Publisher NED BIXLER
Editor-in-Chief GREG VOGEL
Executive Assistant to Publisher SIRI WHEELER
C O R P O R A T E
CEO SHARON WARNER
President & Chief Financial Officer ELLEN BALL
Corporate Editorial Content Director GREG VOGEL
PRINTED IN THE USA
8 MULTIROTOR PILOT
Multirotor Pilot (ISSN 2334-0827)
Copyright 2014, all rights reserved
by Maplegate Media Group,
42 Old Ridgebury Road, Danbury,
CT06810, USA.
MULTIROTOR
PILOT
V O L U M E O N E 2 0 1 4
facebook.com/multirotorpilot
W
e packed as much multirotor content into this issue
as we possibly could, but we were still left with much
more to share with you. There are a lot of bonuses on
multirotorpilotmag.com including 3D printer les, additional photos
and video, FAA information and some exclusive web-only content
that did not make the magazine. Please visit the website and
LIKE our Facebook page facebook.com/multirotorpilot.
.INTERVIEW
.REVIEW
Petr Hejl talks with Rich Hanson, the Academy
of Model Aeronautics (AMA) Director of Government
Relations about the AMAs role in working with the FAA
and Congress on behalf of everyone that ies model
aircraft to keep regulation away from the activity.
multirotorpilotmag.com/richhanson
Tarot T-2D Brushless Gimbal. Matt
Maziarz takes an inside look at Tarots
amazing and affordable brushless gimbal
that is designed to work with multirotors
like the DJI Phantom and Blade 350 QX.
multirotorpilotmag.com/t2d
The Gaui 840H Hexacopter is an amazing
machine for aerial photography and videography.
We made video shot from this
machine available online as well as
more information on the Sony NEX 6
and DJI Zenmuse 3-axis gimbal. We
also have information on retract options for this
machine on the page as well. We set this up as
a Blog so we will be updating this page often as
we use the 840H on different shoots.
multirotorpilotmag.com/840h
The HobbyKing X900 Tricopter is a great
ying machine, but Erick Royer designed some
custom 3D printed parts to make it even better.
Additionally he shares the settings that he
ended up with for the HKPilot Mega 2.5 ight
controller. Lastly, watch some video
that was shot from the RC Logger
FPV camera system.
multirotorpilotmag.com/x900
The Foldable
3D Printed FPV
Quadcopter
project turned
out awesome.
We made
the .STL les
available so you
can print your
own if you have
access to a 3D
printer. We also
arranged with
a local 3D printing service so you can order
the parts if you dont have access to a printer.
Erick also has several accessories and mods in
the works for this copter so please check out
this page often for updates.
multirotorpilotmag.com/fpvquad
FROM THE .COM
Download the les for the 3D printed FPV monitor mount
for the Spektrum DX18 transmitter
multirotorpilotmag.com/dx18mount
Rich Hanson
Read the FAA Advisory Circular AC 91-57
which explains the operating standards of
radio control aircraft for recreational purposes.
multirotorpilotmag.com/faa
10 MULTIROTOR PILOT
.BONUS CONTENT
Flip, roll, and zoom around any
room of your house with the incred-
ibly fun and agile Blade Nano QX.
At just 18 grams its one of the light-
est quads in its class. At the center of this
micro quadcopter is the proven AS3X Arti-
cial Stabilization System that gives the Nano
QX its perfect balance of agility and stability
for any pilots skill level. Its unbelievably
durable too, (my cat loves to aack it) so you
can y aggressively without worrying about
costly repairs if you are just learning to y.

OUT OF THE BOX
The Blade Nano QX BNF comes in a smaller
box than the RTF version. When you open
the box you nd the Nano packed in a
formed plastic insert to prevent shifting dur-
ing transportation. The box serves as a great
travel case for the Nano QX. In the BNF ver-
sion you will nd a 1S USB LiPo baery
charger, E-ite 1S 3.7V 150mAh 25C LiPo
baery, extra canopy and blades, and the
manual. The RTF version comes in a bigger
box housing the additional Spektrum MLP-
4DSM 4-channel DSMX transmier and four
AA baeries.
Includes:
Fully assembled and ight-ready Blade
Nano QX
1S 3.7V 150mAh 25C LiPo baery
Compact USB LiPo baery charger
Assortment of extra rotor blades
Spare green Nano QX body
SETUP
I chose the BNF version of the Nano QX
because it allows me to use my own DSMX/
DSM2 radio so I will be able to ne tune the
quads ight characteristics. I chose to use
my new Spektrum DX9 as my ight radio.
After charging the baery it was time to
bind the quad to the radio, which was as
easy as plugging the ight baery into the
quad, turning on my radio while holding the
bind buon until you see the blinking light
go solid and then releasing the buon. The
entire process takes less than a minute. Con-
NANO QX
BLADE
Big fun in a micro package!
NEED TO KNOW
MANUFACTURER: Blade
DISTRIBUTOR: Horizon Hobby
TYPE: Micro quadcopter
FOR: Everyone
PRICE: BNF $69.99, RTF $89.99
12 MULTIROTOR PILOT
Authors
Opinion
The Nano QX is a really fun micro quad
that anyone can learn to y basically
anywhere. The Nano QX weighs a lit-
tle more than half an ounce and is small
enough to y in spaces no bigger than
an ofce cubicle. If you have never own
a quadcopter before, the Nano QX is
just right for you. With its SAFE Technol-
ogy system it gives any beginner stability
control to allow it to virtually y by itself.
If you get into trouble, well just let go of
the sticks, and relax. The SAFE Technol-
ogy system will bring the Nano QX back
to a hover all by itself. Once youve mas-
tered the basics, you can switch the
SAFE system to agility mode for faster
ying speeds and more maneuverability.
Coming in at just $69.95, all I had to do
was charge the battery and bind and y!
PILOT REVIEW
by Chris Reibert
By Horizon Hobby
MULTIROTOR PILOT VOLUME ONE 13
sult your manual if you have any questions
about the binding process. With the radio
bound it was time for the initial test ight
to make sure all the motors were moving in
the correct direction. I slowly increased the
throle and got the micro quad into a hover
to test all directional controls. I was quite
impressed with how stable it was right out
of the box and how very lile trimming it
needed. Everything seemed smooth and,
with lile adjustment, you can get a hands-
free hover. This is due to the 4-in-1 board
that incorporates the DSM2/X RX, ESC, ser-
vos, and AS3X 3-axis MEMS gyro. The AS3X
system is an exclusive electronic and setup
enhancement that combines multi-axis sen-
sors and state-of-the-art software that helps
make ight smoother and more stable.
SAFE TECHNOLOGY
SAFE stands for Sensor Assisted Flight Enve-
lope and is the central nervous system to the
excellent performance the Nano QX oers.
Even new pilots will feel comfortable with
the Nano QX in stability mode because SAFE
will make sure the Nano is always in control
and in an upright orientation. You will feel an
immediate sense of condence and be ying
around like a pro in no time. After one bat-
tery, my brother was a pro behind the sticks
of the Nano because SAFE makes RC ight
easier than ever before. Far beyond stability,
progressive performance
options mean pilots can
choose to develop with a
greater degree of security
and ight control. The
result is that beginners
have a far more relaxing
learning experience and
experts get outstanding
control with protection
benets accessible at the
ip of a switch.
Stability Mode In this
mode, you will get auto
self leveling to keep the
Nano QX ying upright
for beginners. How it
works is that it monitors
pitch and bank angle lim-
its to prevent any extreme
SPECS
FLYING WEIGHT: 0.63 oz. (18 g)
LENGTH: 5.5 in. (140mm)
HEIGHT: 1.18 in. (30)
ROTOR DIAMETERS: 1.97 in. (50.0mm)
RADIO: Spektrum DX9
ON-BOARD ELECTRONICS: 4-in-1 DSMX Receiver/
ESCs/mixer/SAFE sensor unit
MOTORS: Powerful 6mm brushed motors
BATTERY: 1Sl 3.7V 150mAh 25c LiPo battery
CHARGER: USB LiPo charger 350mAh
DURATION: 4-6 min
MINIMUM FLYING AREA: Ofce cubicle
NEEDED TO COMPLETE: BNF requires a DSM2/
DSMX transmitter
FEATURES
Exclusive SAFE Technology with Stability
and Agility modes
Small enough to y in any room or ofce
Tough, lightweight airframe with blade guards
Powerful brushed motors that provide smooth
and powerful lift
4-in-1 DSMX Receiver/ESCs/mixer/SAFE sensor unit
Includes E-ite 1S 3.7V 150mAh 25C Li-Po Battery
Includes compact USB LiPo battery charger

PROS
Fully assembled
Inexpensive
Two ight modes
SAFE technology
AS3X Articial Stabilization Technology
CONS
Plastic is thin so beware of hard crashes
Brushed motors wont last forever
Requires USB power source for charger
Object bumpers
Powerful 6mm brushed motors
4-in-1 DSMX
Receiver/ESCs/mixer/
SAFE sensor unit
PILOT REVIEW
I
BLADE NANO QX
14 MULTIROTOR PILOT
or unusual aitudes changes when the sticks
are released. Not only will the Nano QX
return to level ight but it actually slows the
quad and returns it to a stable hover.
Agility Mode This mode is a fun 3D
type mode. Choose this to perform loops,
rolls, ips and graceful aerobatics. Agility
mode removes all ight envelope protec-
tion and the Nano QX can be own more
aggressively. There are no limits on pitch
and bank angles and no self-leveling. That
means game on.
THE LAST WORD
This lile quad comes in a small package
but packs a big punch. I was impressed
from the second I put it into its rst hover
in my hobby room. I really enjoy ying this
micro around the house and would highly
recommend it to anybody looking to make
the transition from a coaxial helicopter to
something more maneuverable. It is very
fast and responsive in agility mode but
when you want it dialed down, kick it back
into stability mode for a great docile trainer.
If you feel you want something a lile bit
bigger and more stable, check out the Blade
350 QX, Blades new camera-carrying quad
which is great for aerial photography. Enjoy
and see you at the eld. =
CONTACTS
BLADE bladehelis.com
PERFORMANCE HOBBIES
performance-hobbies.com

SPEKTRUM spektrumrc.com
For more information, please see our source
guide on page 81.
This little micro has the look of a ying spider. It hovers very smooth
and with normal ying you can get a four-minute ight out of the
small 1S LiPo. At $2-$6 per battery, the Nano QX can give you ight
after ight without breaking the bank. This little bug has the ight
characteristics as its bigger quad siblings as to how it is controlled. I
was doing circuits all around my living room and kitchen, driving my
cat crazy just minutes after opening the box.
Forward Flight It tracked straight and true right out of the box. I have own a few FP type hel-
icopters over the years and, bar none, this is the most responsive and yet aggressive trainer to
date. Stable when you want a slow solid hover and right into fast forward ight with the push on
the cyclic stick.
Tricks Dont let its small size fool you. With condence and the help of agility mode you will be
spinning and ipping in no time. I was impressed how quick it would ip and roll. With its small
size it is also fun to try different types of take offs, like kicking it into the air like a hacky sack or
throwing it like a Frisbee and ying away. It doesnt matter how it is put into the air, even thrown
inverted, the SAFE Technology will upright it into a hover in just seconds.
Flight Times Flight
times averaged around
4-5 minutes with the
stock 150mAh bat-
tery packs but I was
able to stretch out a lit-
tle more ight time and
power using the Hyper-
ion 160mAh 30c packs.
The packs are very inex-
pensive and having a
handful will not break
the bank. I tried number
of different batteries and
all held up well in the
Nano QX.
IN THE AIR
PROTO X
ESTES
16 MULTIROTOR PILOT
PILOT REVIEW
by Tony Phalen
A full-function Quad
thatll fit in your
pocket ...literally!
Lifting off for a quick jaunt around
the dining room table. Ma..can
you please pass the mashed pota-
toes or do I have to land this thing
on your dinner plate?
The little quadcopter
is easy to y, even for
the most novice pilots.
Case in pointcar guy
with trigger nger up
and ying great in no
time at!
When trimmed out properly on a fully
charged pack, the Proto X will hover in
place with almost no stick commands.
Thats pretty impressive for a $40.00 quad!
Upon initial inspection of the Proto X
when it arrived at my house, I was
amazed at just how small it actually
was. I read some pre-release specs
and reviews of it, and was anxious to see
how well it would perform given its small
size. The quality and construction of this
diminutive quad is very good considering
its price. The transmier on the other hand,
left a lile to be desired since it was so small,
but I reserved my nal judgment until I had
completed a ight or two.
IN THE AIR
Being a fella who is not terribly dependent
on his PC, I wasnt all that happy about a
USB-only charger, but after ying the quad,
it was worth the eort trekking back to my
PC to recharge. Within 15 minutes or so, the
lile red light on the cord went out, sign-
aling that it was time for the maiden ight.
Powering up the transmier rst, I ipped
the switch on the Proto X and was instantly
dazzled by the LED lights that adorn the
four corners as well as the front of the can-
opy. Blue lights up front and reds in the rear
oer a highly visible way to gain orientation
of the lile machine. Once the lights went
from blinking to solid, it was ready to go.
Since the Proto X is so small, I thought I
might have a tough time dealing with ground
eect, so I mashed the throle. Surprisingly,
the lile quad lurched upwards and almost
rebounded o of the ceiling in my living
room. The micro quad was perfectly trimmed
right out of the box and would hang in place
with almost no corrections. A few pirouees
had me quickly grinning at the stability it
oered. I was amazed at how well this lile
Estes machine performed. Not only were g-
ure eights and funnels predictable and easy,
but they were fun as well and had me smiling
from ear to ear.
Another aspect of the Proto X that sur-
prised me was the overall at-line speed.
It may be small in size, but itll turn a large
room into a closet if youre not careful with
high-speed maneuvers. In this aspect, I
quickly gained a good deal of respect for
its durability. A few brushes with the wall
and even a slow spinning ceiling fan had
me chopping the throle, sending the lit-
tle buzz saw tumbling to the ground. Each
time, the lile quad brushed o the crash
and was right back up in the air. I did man-
age to send one of the props ying across
the room, but a quick press t and she was
back in action. Estes provides a spare set of
props in the box. If you need to change the
props, be sure to note the leer markings on
each of them so as to use the proper rotation
when replacing one.
THE LAST WORD
I have to admit; when I rst saw the Proto
X I did not imagine that it would do any of
the things it was advertised to do so well.
Boy was I wrong! This lile bugger is a hoot
to y, is durable as any quad out there and
is backed by a full line of replacement parts.
The transmier is a bit on the small side,
making minute adjustments a lile tricky at
rst, but I got used to it in no time. An addi-
tional bonus to the Proto X was the fact that I
could use the transmier that Estes includes
with its larger sibling, the Dart, making the
feel of the sticks much more familiar than
the stock transmier. All in all, Id say Estes
knocked this one out of the park and Im
sure there will be many, many of these lile
machines ying o the shelves! =
CONTACTS
ESTES estesrockets.com
HOBBICO hobbico.com
guide on page 81.
NEED TO KNOW
MANUFACTURER: Estes
DISTRIBUTOR: Hobbico, Inc.
TYPE: Quadcopter
FOR: Beginners
MINIMAL FLYING AREA:
Indoor small spaces
PRICE: $39.99
NEEDED TO COMPLETE/GEAR
INCLUDED:
2 AAA batteries for the transmitter
SPECS
FLYING WEIGHT: 11.5g
LENGTH: 45 x 45mm
HEIGHT: 24mm
PROPELLER DIAMETER: 30mm
RADIO: Estes four-channel 2.4GHz
MAIN MOTOR: (4) micro brushed
BATTERY: 100mAh 3.7V LiPo
CHARGER: USB charge cord
DURATION: 3-4 minutes
PROS
Tiny size means ights can be performed in the
most conned spaces
Multi-colored LED lights to gain orientation as
well as cool factor
At forty bucks RTF, you really cant go wrong
Available replacement parts for everything
except the main frame/board
CONS
USB-only charge lead included
Teeny, tiny transmitter
Authors Opinion
When I rst saw the images of the Proto X
prior to its release, I couldnt believe that
the little machine was for real and if so,
that it would actually y well and/or be any
fun to operate. Seriously, the spy shots that
Estes released featured the tiny machine
next to a quarter (as in a quarter dollar) for
size comparison. The transmitter looks like
a cheap knock-off video game controller
as well, but hey, its forty bucks so theres
really nothing to lose either way.
To illustrate its size, the Proto X
is parked right next to a quarter
along with its controller.
Considering I am fairly new
to the RC hobby, I gured a
good article topic for the rst issue
of Multirotor Pilot magazine would
be tips on choosing your rst mul-
tirotor. I am rather experienced in
this area considering that I have
been building and ying multi-
rotors for a lile bit over a year.
Luckily for you, I have made all
the common mistakes that a novice
can encounter and I have compiled
three of my top tips for geing
started and to keep in mind as you
embark on your multirotor journey.
1
START SMALL
While working at FliteTest.
com, I am often asked
the question, I want to
build an FPV/GPS-equipped super
awesome long range aerial cinema-
tography multicopter, but know
nothing about ying or RC. What
should I do? Instead of trying to
answer such a loaded question, I
simply respond by recommend-
ing that they start small. One of the
main things to keep in mind when
geing into multirotors is that they
are not very forgiving. There is no
glide slope, there are a lot of vari-
ables, and if anything goes wrong
there is a 99 percent chance that
your multirotor is going to plum-
met to the ground like a rocka
very fragile rock.
I learned about ight controls
and the characteristics of multi-
rotors on a Syma X1, which is an
inexpensive quadcopter that can be
found for less than $40. Currently,
my favorite micro quad is by far the
Blade Nano QX (see the review in
this issue). The main reasons I rec-
ommend starting small is because
the smaller the copter, the more for-
giving it is. Yes, it still will drop
like a rock if you have any kind
of malfunction; however, these
micro quads are extremely light-
weight and durable, meaning they
are designed to take a hit. Also, the
RTF and BNF micro quads come
right out of the box perfectly dialed
in and require no tuning. This is
important because it lets you feel
how a properly-tuned multirotor
should feel when it is ying. This
leads me to my next tip.
2
PICK YOUR
BATTLES As far as
I am concerned, there
are three main learning
curves you will need to over-
come when geing into the great
hobby of multirotors. These hur-
dles include learning to build a
multirotor, learning to dial in a
multirotor and learning to y a
multirotor; all of which are fairly
overwhelming. That being said, I
think its safe to say that most peo-
ple want to get in the air as soon
as possible. Starting with a small,
out-of-the-box quad eliminates
you from having to worry about
learning building techniques and
seing parameters like P and I lim-
its and gains and lets you focus
on learning ying techniques and
characteristics. Then once you are
comfortable with ying the micro
quad, you can focus on learning
how to build and tune a custom
or kit-based multirotor. When it
comes time to maiden your cus-
tom craft, you will have an idea of
how it should perform. I am not
going to sugar-coat this either; you
will fail and perhaps often. But
this is a good thing because you
learn the most when you fail. The
more you have to repair, the more
you learn.
3
LEARNING TO FLY
I would recommend
learning to y line of
sight before you even
worry about geing into FPV. Even
though I nd FPV easier to y then
LOS, it is still a good idea to be able
18 MULTIROTOR PILOT
by Alex Zvada
HOW TO
3 Quick Tips
for Getting into Multirotors
Alex Zvada is a prod-
uct specialist and graphic
designer at FliteTest.com
He is responsible for man-
aging and maintaining their
product stock, packaging,
quality assurance, online
marketing, creative design
solutions and even runs a
camera for the show. He
is also heavily relied on
for product testing due to
his rigorous tests that
he puts all of his RC prod-
ucts through. Alex has been
focusing hard on learning
to shoot aerial video for the
show, which he really loves.
Blade Nano QX quadcopters
are a great machine for learning
how to y.
to y a paern, towards yourself,
and away. That way if you have an
FPV failure, you will be able poten-
tially save your craft and bring it in
for a landing. Take it slow on your
maiden and also as you get more
comfortable ying your quad.
Start out by hovering, then once
you can hold a hover, start exper-
imenting with pitch and roll by
using the right stick (on a mode 2
transmier) and only use the rud-
der to keep the front of the craft
facing away from you. This will get
you familiar with all of the controls
without having to worry about ori-
entation. Use the rudder as needed
to keep it facing away from you.
Once you get comfortable ying
this way, you are ready to begin
learning how to y in a paern.
If you havent crashed yet, this is
more than likely when you will.
Begin by leaving your hover and
gaining forward momentum. Then
when you are ready to make your
rst circle paern, use both sticks
simultaneously to roll and yaw the
multirotor at the same time while
maintaining pitch to continue in
smooth forward movement. Con-
tinue to maintain your pitch roll
and yaw until you have completed
a full circle. If you feel that you are
starting to lose orientation, quickly
apply rudder to yaw the copter
back to facing away from you and
then back it back to you as you
should be comfortable ying away
from yourself at this point.
THE LAST WORD
There are lots of other things to
learn as you progress but these are
my top three tips, from one noob
to another, that will ensure you
have a successful start on your
journey into radio control multiro-
tors. Dont get discouraged when
you crash; consider each crash a
learning experience and you will
come away a much beer pilot.
Share your experiences and memo-
ries with someone you care about!
Happy ying friends. =
CONTACTS
FLITE TEST itetest.com
For more information, please see
our source guide on page 81.
The FliteTest guys are having a blast ying the Blade Nano QX. From left to right: Chad
Kapper, Josh Bixler, David Windestal and Alex Zvada.
The Nano QX may be small but it offers big fun!
20 MULTIROTOR PILOT
by Lucien Miller
T
here is a tremendous amount of discussion these days regarding
the regulations and legalities surrounding the use of Small
Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) and Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles (UAVs). The biggest problem thus far is that the
technology is advancing so quickly, that it is virtually impossible
to keep up with it. Advancements in ight controller boards, GPS
systems, data-link telemetry and in-ight camera systems have come
about so rapidly in the past ve years that it is now possible to build
a fully autonomous UAV for under $1000. Figure 1 shows a small
multirotor aircraf that ts this description. For hobbyists and budding
entrepreneurs, this is an amazing time of technological opportunity,
but for regulatory agencies such as the FAA, it is akin to the opening of
Pandoras Box!
Before anyone straps a camera on their multirotor, airplane or
helicopter and decides to start making a living doing commercial
aerial photography, there are a few things you need to know about
the rules and regulations that govern the operation of these aircraf.
First and foremost,
when any radio
controlled model is
operated under the
guidelines of the
Academy of Model
Aeronautics (AMA)
it must be done
for Recreational
Purposes Only.
This means for the
fun and enjoyment
of ying only. FAA
Advisory Circular
AC 91-57 (view at
multirotorpilotmag.
com/faa) explains
all of the operating
standards of
model aircraf
for recreational
purposes. The moment you get paid for ying, or perform ight in the
furthering of a commercial enterprise, you are no longer doing it for
recreational purposes and fall under the guidelines of a commercial
operator.
Many pilots make the mistake of thinking that if they do not get
paid for the services they are providing then they are operating legally.
Unfortunately, this is not the way the FAA sees it. If you are providing
a service for someone as part of a commercial venture, even if you
do not get paid, the FAA considers it a commercial operation. For
example, if you do some aerial photography of a home for a real estate
agent and that agent then uses those photos or videos in the promotion
of the property, even if you did not get paid to take the pictures,
the real estate agent is in the process of conducting a commercial
transaction, thus making the ight illegal under FAA guidelines.
As far as the FAA is concerned, in order to Fly for compensation,
you must possess a commercial pilots certicate and be operating
in compliance with Part 119 of the Federal Air Regulations. Current
regulations of the FAA do not recognize a dierence between
manned and unmanned aircraf, but there are some dierences
that need to be noted. First is the fact that to be able to operate a
UAV or sUAS in the United States, you must apply for and receive
a Certicate of Authorization or COA through the FAA. As of right
now, these certicates are only granted to federal, state or local
government agencies and they restrict ight to specic geographical
areas. Each COA granted is exclusive to the aircraf being own and
to the geographical location where the operations will take place. In
most cases ights are performed below 400 feet above ground level
(AGL), limited to Visual Line of Sight (VLOS), limited to daytime
operation under visual ight rules (VFR conditions) and must be
conducted at least ve miles away from any active airports.
As many people know, the FAA and the AMA have been working
together for several years to establish a completely new set of rules
and guidelines to govern the use of the smaller segment of UAV
and sUAS aircraf. There are discussions currently taking place that
split the smaller aircraf into four distinct categories based on ying
weight. At the botom end of the scale are the machines that weigh
less than two kilos
(4.4 pounds). Next
are the machines
that are above two
kilos but below
ve kilos (between
4.4 and 11
pounds). Above
that are the
machines that
weigh between
ve kilos and
25 kilos (between
11 and 55 pounds)
and the largest
class that weigh
between 25
and 150 kilos
(between 55 and
330 pounds).
Anything above
330 pounds is no longer considered a Small Unmanned Aerial
System.
The majority of the machines that any modelers will be ying
will be in the botom two categories, weighing less than 11 pounds.
However, many people today are ying large Octocopters with
cinematography-grade cameras and large batery packs, tipping the
scales in the 25 to 30 pound range when fully outted. An example
of this type of craf is shown in Figure 2. Something of this size
could cause serious and potentially lethal injuries to people on the
ground if something failed causing the craf to fall out of the sky
and hit someone. Likewise, if a craf of this size got to above 500 feet
in altitude and came into contact with a light plane or helicopter
that was ying at the minimum recommended altitude under FAA
guidelines, the results could be catastrophic.
For several years now, people have been operating Under the
Radar here in the United States concerning commercial uses of
RC helicopters, airplanes and multirotors. The primary use of
these aircraf has been for aerial photography and video purposes
in a wide range of applications including, roof inspections, real
Regulations and Legalities
Figure 1
Regarding the use of UAVs
estate photography,
motion picture lming,
TV commercials,
agricultural inspections
and infrastructure
inspections as well as
a multitude of other
uses. Many people have
been quietly operating
this way for years, but
we have all heard of
cases were someone
gets caught performing
these operations; quickly
eliciting a cease and
desist leter from the
FAA. In order to avoid
these issues, most motion
picture companies and
TV producers are simply
operating outside of the
United States, where the regulations are either more relaxed or non-
existent, in eorts to use this technology to their advantage.
One of the main stumbling blocks in the furthering of this
technology is the fact that the FAA has been extremely slow in
making rulings on these issues. Several years ago, the FAA stated that
they would release their Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM)
in October of 2011. It was then pushed back to January of 2012.
Later, afer much debate, the NPRM was pushed back once again to
December of 2013. That date has now come and gone resulting in the
NPRM being delayed again until September of 2015. On February
5th, 2014, the FAA admited that they would not be able to meet this
deadline either. This continual delay of geting the FAA to make
decisions on the subject has not only stied progress in the industry,
but has also lead to an increasing number of people operating in the
absence of regulations.
Earlier this year, on January 11th, The AMA and FAA entered into
an agreement to establish a platform on which the AMA and FAA
would work together to ensure continued safe operation of model
aircraf in the National Airspace System (NAS). On the main stage
at the 2014 AMA convention in Ontario, California, James Williams,
Executive Manager of the FAA Unmanned Systems Integration
o ce and AMA President, Bob Brown, signed the memorandum
of understanding and pledged to work together to resolve the safe
integration of aircraf into the NAS. Figure 3 shows James Williams
and Bob Brown afer signing the documents at the AMA Show.
One thing that we all need to do during this
time is to heavily police ourselves, making sure
that nothing is done to cast a negative light on
the operation of small UAV systems here in the
United States. If a radio control model is used
to lm a large sporting event and something
happens that causes the craf to crash into a
crowd of people severely injuring or killing
someone, all the hard work that has been done
so far concerning ight regulations could be
reversed in an instant.
From a personal perspective, I believe that in order to go forward,
a new class of commercial pilot licenses needs to be created by the
FAA. Something such as a UAV Operators Permit or Commercial
UAV Pilots License would be a great way of weeding out the true
professionals from the weekend warriors. This license would need
to include all of the airspace, weather and regulatory knowledge
required for a traditional commercial pilots license, but without
requirement for actual in-cockpit ight time. Instead, the pilot would
need to show ying competence, and maintain a logbook with a
minimum required number of ight hours to be able to qualify. In
addition to the basic Commercial UAV Pilots License, there should
also be Type Ratings based on the various types of aircraf that
would be own such as helicopter, multirotor and xed-wing type
aircraf. The fact that each of these aircraf types requires dierent
ying skills, it would be important that the pilot be checked out in
each type of aircraf in order to operate commercially. Pilots would
need to show competency in ying the type of aircraf and be
reviewed on a regular basis, similar to the bi-annual ight reviews
that private pilots must undergo in order to keep their pilots licenses
current. Operating in this manner would establish a set of standards
that the FAA should be comfortable with.
The only way that the FAA is going to accept operation of small
UAVs in the National Airspace System is if they can be assured that it
will be done in a safe and well regulated manner that does not create
any hazards to manned aircraf that may be operating in the general
vicinity, or to bystanders that are on the ground,
under the craf being own. Going forward, we
all must work together to insure that our aircraf
are operated in a safe and ethical manner and that
nothing is done that may jeopardize the many
years of hard work that have already taken place.
Hopefully, the AMA and FAA can work together
and iron out a program that will allow a slow
controlled integration of our small UAV systems
into the NAS in a way that works for everyone
involved. Only time will tell. =
Figure 2
Figure 3
In late 2011, a fella referred to
as Bledi (his screen name on a
multitude of multirotor forums)
contacted Eric Nantel at Robotshop.com. Bledi
had designed a prototype V-tail platform
that he was already ying, but was seeking
assistance for a professional design to bring his
quadcopter to the masses. Afer days, weeks
and hours of design, DialFonZo (Eric Nantel)
came up with the Hunter V-tail 400. The unique
compilation of a G-10 berglass frame coupled
with the V-tail conguration and reversed
motors in the rear oered a platform that
widened the ight envelope possibilities of
multirotor ight. Up to this point, the industry
had widely been concentrating on the stability
aspect of multi-prop machines, focusing on
the arena of aerial photography platforms.
LYNXMOTION/ROBOTSHOP
Aggressive looks with
performance to match!
NEED TO KNOW
MANUFACTURER: Lynxmotion/RobotShop
DISTRIBUTOR: Lynxmotion
TYPE: V-Tail quadcopter
FOR: Advanced pilots
MINIMUM FLYING AREA: Any outdoor
ying area
PRICE: $369.00 (Base combo kit including
everything except props, battery, charger
and radio system)
NEEDED TO COMPLETE:
Minimum ve-channel transmitter, receiver,
battery, charger and props (using the base
combo kit). Lynxmotion also offers the
Hunter as an airframe only or with all the
electronics minus the control board.
22 MULTIROTOR PILOT
Hunter V-Tail
400
PILOT REVIEW
by Matt Maziarz
PHOTOS BY WALTER SIDAS
SPECS
FLYING WEIGHT: 31 oz. (879g)
LENGTH: 309mm
HEIGHT: 98mm
WIDTH: 340mm
ROTOR BLADE LENGTH: 8 in. (206mm)
MOTORS: (4) Maytech 1000Kv brushless
outrunners
ESCS: (4) Maytech 12amp ESCs
RADIO: Spektrum DX7S transmitter and
Spektrum AR600 receiver
FLIGHT CONTROLLER: Multiwii Flip 1.5
BATTERY: Thunder Power 11.1V 2250mAh 45C
LiPo
PROS
Awesome looks coupled with great perfor-
mance
Double-deck frame and arms with a simplistic
design means durability
Lightweight for aerobatic maneuvers and high
speeds
Airframe will accommodate a multitude of
electronics and motors
CONS
Small platform offers little room for camera
mountingif youre into that sort of thing
Instructions are a bit lacking
Bledi and Eric worked together to come up with a
machine that would oer aerobatic abilities while
still retaining the stability of such earlier designs
courtesy of a multi-function control board.
Marketing such a design was made
possible through the merger of two distinct
robotics companies. In 2012, RobotShop acquired
Lynxmotion, combining what were essentially the
two largest names in consumer robotics in North
America. To that point, the joint union focused
solely on surface-based machines that included
rovers, bipeds and robotic arms to name a few.
Mario Tremblay, owner of RobotShop then reached
out to DialFonZo-Copter owner and designer, Eric
Nantel, to expand the companys oerings to include
multirotors of various design, thus solidifying their
spot near or at the top of the UAV realm.
SETUP
Upon opening the box for the Hunter V-tail 400,
my rst impression was one of amazement that they could t such a complex
machine, complete with almost all the electronics in such small packaging.
The sandwich style, modular frame allows for a small box, but had me
freting at the prospect of the build. Further
review revealed no printed instructions, but
a handy cheat sheet was included that clued
me in to the fact that the build instructions
were easily downloaded from the Lynxmotion
website. While not comprehensive, the online
manual is easily expanded for detailed view,
making for a quick and easy assembly of the
main frame.
Right below the link for the mechanical
build of the airframe, there is a section for the
electronics setup, which was not an active
link at the time of writing this review. As I
mentioned before, this machine is so new,
that Mr. Nantel was in the process of writing
the online manual
concerning the electronics
portion of the build at the
same time I
was assembling
his machine. He
graciously forwarded me
the prototype manual as
well as his contact info
so that he would be able
to provide me with the
necessary insight, wherever
the manual might be
lacking.
I must admit, I had
a great deal of trouble
trying to get the Flip 1.5
control board programmed
initially, but Nantel was
instrumental in guiding
me through the setup
process. He suggested that there is a
steep learning curve when trying to
navigate the sofware for the Multiwii based
boards, but once youve done it a time or two,
the setup tools basically take you through
the process step by step. It is also important
to reiterate the fact that a comprehensive
Authors
Opinion
The Hunter V-Tail 400 is a futuristic-
looking machine that brings to mind
visions of sci- movies and/or video
games. The unique design of the V-Tail
features bottom facing, diagonally
opposed props in the rear and a
streamlined frame. This quad lends
itself more towards aerobatics than an
aerial photography platform. Aggressive
looks coupled with a lightweight frame
means Ive nally got my hands on a
machine that will perform a host of
maneuvers that most multirotors can
only dream of.
Notice the orientation of the Flip 1.5 control board. The USB port is fac-
ing forward and is easily accessed from the nose of the machine even
with the top deck in place.
The V-Tail 400 looks lean and mean just sitting on the ground and I was anticipating
similar ight characteristics once I got it into the air. With the throttle at zero, giving full
right rudder arms the motors and brings the props up to idle. Gradually increasing the
throttle had the machine gently lifting off the ground and into a stable hover. Being as
cold as it is in these parts in the winter months, I opted for testing my machine in an
empty ofce space in the same building as our ofce. While the initial ight seemed
good and the V-Tail was stable, the tail seemed a bit twitchy in that it was bobbing up
and down a bit. I powered it down and re-established a USB connection between the
board and my PC, using the Multiwii conguration table to lower the gain on the board.
Problem solved, the Hunter was now rock solid when in the air, requiring very little input
to keep it in place. Time to pack on a few more layers, grab a fully charged pack and
bribe someone into heading out with me for camera duty.
I popped the V-Tail into the air to get familiar with its ight characteristics before
any pics would be captured. Hovering twenty feet or so in the air, I gave it full down
elevator while compensating for the decreased lift with a bit more throttle. The machine
took off like a cannon ball, quickly achieving speeds of an F1 pylon racer from a dead
stop. Thankfully a backdrop of snow-covered hills allowed for some long-distance runs
without fear of losing orientation. I put the machine through its paces while keeping it
right side up, not wanting to attempt any 3D maneuvers until some decent photos had
been taken.
Once the obligatory shots had been captured and catalogued, I went back out for
another ight. This time, I had increased the travel on all the cyclic channels as well as
increasing the necessary gains using the conguration program on my PC. Lets just say
I was amazed at how well the machine performed. Forward and backwards loops and
ips were easily achieved as well as barrel rolls and side to side ips. If my Blade 300X
and my E-ite QQ 540 were to mate and spawn an offspring, it would most denitely
turn out performing like the Hunter V-Tail 400. While Im not sure if its the design of the
machine, the capabilities of the Flip 1.5 control board or a combination of both; this nifty
little multirotor is a joy to y. It has all the stability of a purpose built aerial photography
platform, but can achieve much higher speeds as well as perform stunts usually only
performed by purebred 3D helicopters. I would like to eventually strap a camera to its
belly for recording purposes, but FPV might be out
of the question unless, of course, a heavy dose of
anti-nausea medication is administered to whoever
might be sporting the goggles.
TRANSMITTER
Spektrum DX7S (SPM7800)
RECEIVER
Spektrum AR600 (SPMAR600)
BATTERY
Thunder Power 2250mAh 11.1V
LiPo (THP22504SPR45)
We Used PILOT REVIEW
I
LYNXMOTION/ROBOTSHOP HUNTER V-TAIL 400
IN THE AIR
24 MULTIROTOR PILOT
electronics guide was still being produced at the time
of my build and that this was also my rst atempt at
programming a multirotor control board of any kind.
Rest assured that Eric and the folks at RobotShop
will have a manual for the electronics assembly and
setup procedures readily available by the time you are
reading this article. A printed version will most likely
not be included with their machines as hard copies are
not as easily modied as the online versions.
ASSEMBLY TIPS
Do not fully tighten any screws until each sub-
assembly has all the necessary hardware in place.
Use thread locker on all metal to metal contacts using
a toothpick to coat the female threads.
Be sure to le down any rough edges on the frame
plates that might wear on the wires.
Take notice of the USB port on the board when
installing your radio gear, you want to make sure to
leave it accessible.
THE LAST WORD
While the programming of the Flip 1.5 control board
did have me sweating a litle, I eventually gured it out
with the help of the V-tails chief designer, Eric Nan-
tel. By the time this article is on the market, the ne
folks at Lynxmotion will have a full electronics sup-
port guide on their website, so fear not if you might be
scared of PCs like I am. The Hunter v-Tail 400 might not
be as large as some build-it-yourself multirotor kits, but
Lynxmotion does oer the platform in a 500mm as well
as a mini size. The aerobatic capabilities of the machine
are simply astounding and while I rst put o the idea
of strapping a camera to it, I think there are certain
aspects of photography that might warrant the use of
such a nimble and fast platform. If you are thinking of
geting into multirotor platforms, but have to this point
been hesitant because of the lack of agility, this machine
should be right up your alley. Couple that with the fact
that the whole setup is a steal at just under 400 bucks
and Id say just about anyone with xed or rotary wing
ight experience will have a blast with a V-tail. =
CONTACTS
LYNXMOTION lynxmotion.com
ROBOTSHOP robotshop.com
THUNDER POWER thunderpowerrc.com
For more information, please see our source guide on
page 81.
Aesthetic value is something often lacking in the multirotor world,
but the V-Tail 400 looks plain awesome just sitting on the shelf.
The rear props are mounted upside
down at a 45 degree angle. Such
design lends itself well to the acro-
batic capabilities of this machine.
The Maytech brushless motors provide plenty of power
for pitch ups, loops rolls and high speed runs.
DJI INNOVATIONS
Portable control platform
enables autonomous flight
26 MULTIROTOR PILOT
PHOTOS BY JOE PAPA
The iPad Ground Station
is DJIs latest iteration of
their PC-based waypoint
sofware. In the past,
waypoint functionality was an option
for DJI customers, but adding this
capability was only possible with
the Wookong-M, and cost thousands
of dollars. Today, waypoints are
available for only $199.00 and you
can program them from your iPad.
HARDWARE
Included in the package is the
data link transmiter, Bluetooth
transceiver, receiver, CD with
sofware, CANbus cable, power
wire and antenna.
Its helpful to know that
although many people are
concerned about having more
than one component on the same
frequency band, there is no need
for concern, as the channel that
the ground station uses will not
interfere with your radio transmiter
used for ight. This is the exact
reason why radio control car racing
is possible with multiple drivers all using the same type of radio.
The DJI Ground Station is designed to extend the functionality
of your DJI ight controller signicantly, improve safety and
provide valuable in-ight telemetry data. Since DJI has in-depth
videos and tutorials outlining each function in detail, we suggest
you become very familiar with the
Ground Station operation before
atempting to use it for actual ight.
Fortunately, there is a simulation
mode, and this lets you practice
without actually ying.
Installation is very simple. The
transmiter, which has the dual
antenna wires, requires only a single
CANbus cable and some mounting
tape to install. It is recommended
to have the antenna wires installed
at 90 degrees from each other for
maximum range. On the ground
end, plug the Bluetooth module
into the receiver; connect power
and your done. As always, prior
to operation, ensure that all DJI
components are running with the
latest sofware and rmware. This is
ofen overlooked, but must be done
to ensure compatibility between
all components. Install the app on
your iPad, pair the Bluetooth, and
installation and setup are complete.
OPERATION
There has been some confusion in
online forums regarding the eective range. The Bluetooth module,
located on the ground, is connected to the receiver via CANbus.
The iPad connects to the Bluetooth module, but the Ground Station
communicates with the multirotor with 2.4GHz, which is rated for
1.5 kilometers of range. In the event range is exceeded or is lost,
failsafe is engaged and return-to-home is triggered.
Its also nice to know that when ying waypoints,
the iPad has already told the craf where to go.
When active, the iPad will display telemetry
data in the upper right corner. This is
tremendously helpful in determining ight pack
voltage, number of satellites and signal strength.
The top lef shows ight time, ight mode and
LED indicators. One great benet of the ground
station is that in the event of a crash, the location
of the multirotor on the map can be utilized to
Data Link and
iPad Ground Station
FEATURES
Supports iOS devices with iOS 6.0.1 or above (iPad 3, 4, and iPad Mini)
User-friendly interface
Joystick control with touch screen
Single waypoint function click and go
Waypoints function allows you to edit a route and go
Three customizable ight route templates
Voice guidance functionality
Auxiliary Flight Control supports Home point and automated Go Home

as well as one key take off and landing

PRODUCT
REVIEW
by Joe Papa
pinpoint its location. Across the
top is a small area dedicated to
waypoint functions, take o, return-
to-home and joystick mode.
WAYPOINTS
Depending on your ight controller,
you will have up to 50 waypoints that
can be used simultaneously to plan a
simple or intricate ight missions. By
simply touching the screen, waypoint indicators are dropped, and details
regarding altitude, speed and heading can be entered. As an option, you
can edit this data for several points at once if all the setings are the same.
Flight paths can be set to run once or loop repeatedly. If the ight should
ever be calculated to take longer than the maximum ight time possible,
the ground station will terminate the mission and return to home in time.
One of the most valuable waypoint functions is presets. Common
shapes like grids, circles, squares, etc., can be selected to help you quickly
and e ciently cover a specic area. The geometric shapes can be easily
resized or moved with intuitive nger gestures youre already used to.
Pinch, zoom and drag are all useable to make seting your waypoint
mission easier.
IN THE AIR
I took my S800 Evo out to a huge open space and powered everything
up. With my Futaba 14SG ready for traditional control, I enabled GPS
mode, which must be active for the Ground Station to work. At any time
during ight, you can instantly take control of the model by toggling out
of GPS mode. To take control back with the iPad, you will have to resume
the mission on the screen.
I waited until I had more than seven satellites and cautiously began
to touch the screen to create a waypoint path. Afer I decided that all
points would have the same altitude, speed and heading, I pressed
done and then GO buton. My Octo spooled up and gently went up
to a safe altitude and hovered. Afer a few seconds it rotated toward the
rst point and started to y its mission. I watched both the iPad as the
copter completed each waypoint on its own. It is simply amazing to see
this in action! The last waypoint was back to where I was standing, and
I decided to test the take over function on the Futaba. I moved the ight
mode to Ati, and instantly was ying myself. Despite taking control
from the iPad, the display still tracked my movement, and I landed my
maiden voyage as a success. Since then, I have spent a considerable
amount of time experimenting with other features, and while the iPad
joystick mode does work well, I do prefer the Futaba for its tactile and
familiar control. I did nd that the sun did make it di cult to see my
iPad 3 at times, but a simple shade would alleviate that. I can easily see
how ights beyond visible range are completely possible with this tool,
however, as of now, the FAA is asking us to stay with in visual range.
In addition to the iPad functionality and convenience, the package also
includes the PC sofware version. With even more features and power,
the uses are almost endless.
THE LAST WORD
Even if you arent planning on ying waypoints, the iPad Ground
Station from DJI is a fantastic and large on screen display, and truly
worth its weight in gold should you ever need to nd your rig afer an
unfortunate incident. The interface is easy to use, very intuitive and
works like a charm. =
CONTACTS
DJI INNOVATIONS empirerc.com
EMPIRE RC empirerc.com
FUTABA futaba-rc.com
For more information, please see our source guide on page 81.
Programming waypoints is as easy as touching points on the map.
The on-screen joysticks allow you to y the copter directly from your
iPad. An OSD gives you real-time ight data.
Inexpensive FPV fun you
can take anywhere
28 MULTIROTOR PILOT
Foldable 3D
Printed FPV
Quadcopter
CUSTOM PROJECT
by Erick Royer
PHOTOS BY ERICK ROYER AND WALTER SIDAS
I love ying FPV (rst-person view), as it is the closest that many of us will ever
get to experiencing the thrill of full-scale ight. I also love taking photos and video
from the air. Learning to y FPV has its challenges; the primary one being crashing,
which you will do ofen as you learn. You lose your spatial awareness when you are ying with
goggles and it is not uncommon to have an occasional run-in with a tree or the ground. Afer
spending some time looking at many of the commercial quadcopters on the market that could
be a great platform for FPV, I found shortcomings with several and decided to design my own.
When I sat down at my computer, I had a few things and design elements that I wanted to
incorporate into this design.
First, I wanted to keep it to 400mm or less in size. I was going to go smaller, but I wanted
enough mass so it would be stable and less aected by wind. I wanted to be able to carry a
GoPro Hero 3 (or similar) camera to take HD aerial video and photos. I wanted it to be foldable
so it could t in a backpack for days that I go hiking and arrive at a place where geting aerial
photos would be ideal, like a the top of a mountain or along a river.
Since I have a lot of 2200mAh 3S LiPo bateries for various planes and other aircraf, I wanted
it to be able to get at least 12 minutes of ight time from these batery packs.
SPECS
WEIGHT: 2 lb. 2 oz. (ready-to-y)
WIDTH: 400mm (between front
motor shafts)
HEIGHT: 95mm
LENGTH: 300mm
MOTORS: (4) NTM Prop Drive 28-26
1000Kv
ESCS: (4) AFRO 30A Multirotor ESC
PROPS: (4) 9x4.7 slowyer
RADIO SYSTEM: Spektrum DX18
and a Spektrum AR6115e receiver
FLIGHT CONTROLLER: HKPIlot Mega
V2.5 with NEO-6M GPS module
BATTERY: Turnigy 2200mAh 3S LiPo
MUST-HAVE
FEATURES
400mm or less
Ability to carry a GoPro Hero 3 (or
equivalent camera)
Foldable for easy transport
Runs on a 3S 2200mAh LiPo battery
Gets at least 12-15 minutes of ight
time
Be easy and inexpensive to repair
Have GPS capability with position
hold and return to home
Quad X and Spider arm layout
I also wanted it to be inexpensive and easy to repair. Since all the
frame parts are printed from my 3D printer, the cost is very inexpensive.
The design allows you to change out any of the four arms, along with
the respective motor and ESC in less than three minutes.
My original plan was to use HobbyKings KK2 ight controller board as it is easy to use, does not require a
computer and works very well once setup. However afer realizing how much I enjoyed watching new pilots
have success with machines like the Blade 350 QX and the DJI Phantom, I decided that my machine was going
to need GPS capability with features like position hold and return-to-home. As a new pilot is learning to y
line-of-sight, these features are invaluable to help when they get disoriented. But when learning to y FPV, you
have additional challenge`s and I wanted the pilot to be able to have failsafe mode in case they got
into trouble. Lastly, since I also planned to use this as a photo and video platform, I wanted
the position hold (or loiter) function so I could concentrate on framing my shots rather
than ghting to hold position, especially on windy days.
There are a lot of options available for GPS-enabled ight controller
boards including the DJI Naza Lite, MultiWii and others. I
decided to use HobbyKings HKPilot Mega V2.5, which is
based on 3DRobotics APM 2.5 platform. This controller
gave me all of the features I needed for around $100.
My last design requirement was that I wanted the
front arms to be positioned in either a quad-X layout or
wider in the spider layout. I did not want the props
in the cameras vision so having the ability to keep
the front arms wider helped me keep the eld of view
uninterrupted. However, for those pilots that prefer a
typical X conguration, I made accommodations for that
as well.
GET THE FILES AND ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION ON THE WEB
multirotorpilotmag.com/fpvquad
I printed and assembled the nal parts one night at about 2:30 am, but I was determined
not to go to bed until I saw it y. Thankfully I have a very high ceiling in my living room
so I was able to re it up and get a few test hops in without venturing outside. I wish I
could tell you that everything was perfect but I could not. I followed a wiring diagram that
I found which showed how to wire up the APM 2.5 controller for a quad and followed it to
a T. However when I applied power it would ip over on its back. I spent about two hours
adjusting software settings before nally retiring for what little night I had left. The next day, I
connected it back to the computer and checked the software settings and I noticed that there
is a way to test the prop rotations using the TERMINAL function of the APM Planner software
(which is a free download from 3DRobotics.com). The software indicated that the motors
would spin for a couple seconds in a clockwise rotation in order during the test. Mine did
not. They spun in the order which I connected them according to the diagram. Top right
was 1, bottom right was 3, bottom left was 2 and top left was 4. After seeing this, I swapped
the two bottom ESC wires and tried it againit ew perfect!
Later in the day I took it outside with an FPV camera from Fatshark installed to see how
well it would perform as an FPV quad. It was very stable in the air, even with the breeze.
The GPS lock feature for position hold (loiter) was very good as well. Return to home also
worked as expected. With this power system, the quad has a ton of power and can build up
speed very quickly. If you program it in manual mode with higher gains, this machine will ip
and roll with authority as well. I guess this is a bonus as ying aerobatics was not part of my
design criteria.
When I added a GoPro Hero 3 to the nose, the video quality was very good but not
terribly stable. I am going to design a brushless gimbal for it as an add-on which I will post
on the website with the rest of the les. That will give me the fully-stabilized video quality
that I love from all of my other multirotor machines but since this quad is portable, I can get
that awesome video from just about anywhere.
CUSTOM PROJECT
I
FOLDABLE 3D PRINTED FPV QUADCOPTER
30 MULTIROTOR PILOT
PARTS LIST
4 AFRO 30A Multirotor ESC ($13.97 each)
4 NTM Prop Drive 28-26 1000Kv motors
($15.99 each)
4 NTM Prop Drive 28 Accessory Pack
($1.85 each)
4 9x4.7 slowyer props (2 CW and 2 CCW)
($2.86 for pkg. of 4)
1 XT60 to 4x3.5mm bullet power
distribution cable ($3.36)
1 Turnigy 2200mAh 3S LiPo battery ($12.97)
1 HKPilot Mega V2.5 ight controller
($75.79)
1 NEO-6M GPS Module ($17.95)
1 Receiver of your choice (at least 6
channels)
1 Transmitter
1 LiPo charger
HARDWARE LIST
For Arms
4 4mm x 35mm socket head screws
4 4mm washers
4 4mm lock washers
4 4mm wing nuts
4 4mm locknuts
For Motor
For Legs
4 4mm locknuts
For Cover
4 2.5mm x 6mm self-tapping screws
FLIGHT CONTROLLER
4 2.5mm x 6mm socket head screws
PLASTIC FILAMENT & ESTIMATED
PRINT TIME
(based on 3mm lament)
Top plate 6.69 meters (3 hours, 53 minutes)
Bottom plate 6.63 meters (4 hours, 10
minutes)
Legs (each) 1.34 meters (44 minutes)
Arms (each) 2.61 meters (1 hour, 46
minutes)
Cover 8.17 meters (4 hours, 37 minutes)
IN THE AIR
THE DESIGN PROCESS
My sofware of choice to design this
quadcopter is SketchUp. It is free
and very powerful. SketchUp is easy
to learn and there are a lot of online
support communities, as well as
hundreds of videos on YouTube to
help you along. I will also make the
SketchUp les available online so you
can feel free to make modications
to this design to customize it to your
needs.
To design this quadcopter, I
rst started out with
a HobbyKing SK450
quadcopter that I had from
a previous project. I looked
at its design elements and
starting making design
changes on paper using
this machine. I designed
the arms to be about 60
percent the size but I set
the inll on the printer,
as well as the webbing, to
keep the arms light but still This is the bottom frame plate in SketchUp.
retain strength. I also wanted the
motor mount to be integrated as
I wanted as few parts as possible
for the design.
I designed the center frame to
be wider in the front, again so
the front arms could be placed
further out thus keeping the
props out of the camera view.
You will notice that I designed
curved slots for each arm so
all you need to do is loosen the
wing nut on the botom of the
frame and the arms would fold
down. If you prefer to set this up
in an X conguration, I added
two separate holes for the front
arms. You will still be able to
fold the arms back but you have
to remove the screw rst. I did
this because I did not want the
operator to be concerned about
the arms angle. In the spider
layout, just slide the arms out all
the way and you automatically
have the correct angle on each
side. In the X layout, it only takes
a few more seconds to remove
the bolt since I used wing nuts on
the botom.
I also incorporated a platform
for the camera on the front. You
can mount it above or below
depending on the camera you
choose. I have notches in the side
to accommodate Velcro straps or
elastic bands to secure it.
The landing gear legs mount to
the botom plate with two screws
and locknuts each. The area in
between the legs is properly
spaced for a typical 3S 2200mAh
LiPo batery pack, which is held
in place with a Velcro strap.
The top frame has
mounting pegs specically
for the HKPilot Mega (APM
2.5) control board. The pegs
allow the wires to come up
from underneath to keep
the overall wiring neat. I
will make a plate available
without the pegs as well
for those of you who do not
wish to use this controller.
The last design element
was a cover to enclose the electronics and wiring to give the
machine a much cleaner overall look. The cover is removable with
screws or you can fasten it with Velcro.
Afer running several calculations, I decided to run four NTM
Prop Drive 28-26 1000Kv 235W brushless outrunner
motors with 9x4.7 slowyer props. I used four
30A AFRO ESCs with SimonK
rmware. Using my requirement
of a 3S 2200mAh batery with
these props and based on my
estimated weight range, I was
expecting ight times of around
14 minutes with this power
system. All of these power system
components were purchased
from HobbyKing and the cost kept this machine very
aordable.
PRINTING THE
PARTS
I used two printers
to print this machine
to save time; a
Leapfrog Creatr
and an Ultimaker
2. The orange parts
were printed on the
Ultimaker 2 and the
white parts on the
Creatr. Both printers
are amazing and each has its strengths and weaknesses.
Ironically both companies are located in Sweden.
The Leapfrog Creatr is a very rugged, mini-industrial
machine that has dual extruders allowing you to print
two types of plastic or two separate colors within one
job. It also has a large print volume; 230x270x200mm
(LWH) or 9.05x10.62x7.87 inches. It can print a wide
variety of plastics including ABS, PLA, PVA, Laybrick
and nylon. It has a heated build platform, which is
necessary for ABS prints. It has a .35mm extruder that is
capable of resolutions from .05mm to .35mm (50 to 350
microns). The Creatr weighs around 70 pounds which
makes it di cult to move from place to place. It is best
set up in one spot on your workbench.
The Ultimaker 2 is a much smaller printer that,
unlike the Creatr, is designed to run untethered from
a computer. It has an SD card slot and onboard LCD
display so you can run jobs right from the printer.
I made a custom
mount to hold the
Fatshark camera on
the nose. The le for
this part will be avail-
able on the website,
multirotorpilotmag.
com/fpvquad.
These are the upper and lower frame plates fresh
off the 3D printer.
A wing nut is used to secure the arms in place.
It can be easily loosened to fold the arms for
transport.
The HKPilot Mega board is attached to the standoffs that are molded into the
top frame and the GPS module and receiver are attached to the inside of the
electronics cover.
The GoPro Hero 3 camera ts nicely on the cam-
era plate that is integrated into the lower frame.
CUSTOM PROJECT
I
FOLDABLE 3D PRINTED FPV QUADCOPTER
32 MULTIROTOR PILOT
The Ultimaker 2 has a print volume of 230x225x205mm
(LWH) or 9.05x8.85x8.07 inches. The Ultimaker 2 also
has a heated print bed and was designed to print with ABS
and PLA plastics. One unique feature of the Ultimaker 2
is that is has the highest resolution out of any sub-$2500
printer on the market with the ability to print as ne as
20 microns (.02mm). Its resolution ranges from .02mm to
.2mm (20 to 200 microns), making it perfect for ner and
more intricate parts. Since it weighs just 24 pounds, you
can easily transport it from one location to another.
All of the parts on this quadcopter are printed with PLA
plastic. PLA stands for Polylactic acid, which is a plastic
substitute made from fermented plant starch (usually
corn). It is much easier to use, does not emit the odor that
ABS does and is more environmentally friendly, as it is
biodegradable. If the parts are properly designed, PLA can
be just as strong as ABS. The main reason that I chose PLA
for this machine was because the top and botom frame
plates are large and at. ABS plastic has a tendency to curl
on large at prints. While there are things you can do
to keep the prints at with ABS, I wanted to keep this
simple.
ASSEMBLY AND SETUP
Assembling this quadcopter takes about 30 minutes and
if you use the components listed above then no soldering
will be required. The motors and ESCs come with bullet
connectors already soldered on.
There can be some confusion with seting up the wiring
on the HKPilot Mega board as there are a lot of diagrams
online that were not accurate. I outlined my wiring setup,
as well as the sofware setings that gave me the best
results, with this quadcopter.
To save space here, I have a page set up on our
website with photos of the assembly process. Please
visit multirotorpilotmag.com/fpvquad for more
information.
THE LAST WORD
This was my rst custom-designed multirotor and afer all of my
planning and research, I was extremely happy with the nal results.
The quad ended up having excellent ying characteristics and the
HKPilot board with GPS module gave me the electronic conveniences
that I was looking for. The quad folds up and stores easily in a
backpack so I can take it with me anywhere and get in some FPV
ying or aerial video whenever I get the urge.
I hope you will take the time to download and build this quad.
If you do, please email me and let
me know your experience with
it at erickr@maplegatemedia.com.
For those of you who would like to
build this quad but dont have access
to a 3D printer, we will oer a short
kit on the website, so please go to
multirotorpilotmag.com/fpvquad for
more details.
CONTACTS
3D ROBOTICS 3drobotics.com
FATSHARK fatshark.com
HOBBYKING hobbyking.com
LEAPFROG lpfrg.com
ULTIMAKER ultimaker.com
For more information, please see our
source guide on page 81.
The cover is attached keeping the wiring clean and protecting the electronics in the
event of a crash. It was printed with a very thin inll so you can see the LEDS from the
board through the cover.
In the bottom view of the quad you can see the legs and battery strap.
Here is the quad all folded up for transport. It looks like a Transformer toy.
34 MULTIROTOR PILOT
Jack Burnside and his team at Empire Hobby have worked closely with Maplegate
Media Group and our publications for many years. Their support and belief in our
vision to produce the worlds rst magazine dedicated to multirotor aircraf, pilots,
aerial photography and videography, FPV and more has been amazing. With their
help, we were able to bring some very exciting product to you in this issue. Empire Hobby has
a lot of exciting things happening as we write this and we wanted to give our readers a closer
look inside the company.
A closer look at EMPIRE
HOBBY with Jack Burnside
By The Editors
MULTIROTOR PILOT: How
long has Empire Hobby been in
business?
JACK BURNSIDE: Empire Hobby
is coming up on our 10th anniversary
this May 24th. This question sure
takes me back to the days of NiCd
bateries, the GWS Pico Stick and
the rst grey Align T-Rex 450; the
industry sure has evolved (laughing).
MP: How did you become the U.S.
distributor for DJI Innovations
product line?
JB: As a wholesale-only company,
we have always looked for products
that will be the next big thing as
well as companies that are on the
cuting edge. My business partner,
Dave Sobel, and I met DJI at the
Nuremberg Toy Fair a few years
back and having been familiar with
their products, we promptly set up
a meeting to discuss distribution.
We were grateful that they were
familiar with Empire Hobby and our
support of the RC community. Afer moving a lot of product into the
hobby market, we were aorded an exclusive agreement on the DJI
hobby line products. DJI has been great to work with and it has been
refreshing to see the speed at which they develop and evolve their
product line. We are excited about the future of DJI and Empire Hobby.
MP: Can you tell us about your relationship with Sony and how it
impacts the hobby?
JB: Empire Hobby is a distributor for those Sony products related to
aerial photography. Sony truly realizes how our industry is changing the
way we view the world. As an iconic industry leader, Sony is commited
to building this sector. We have actually started the Sony Professional
Flight Team with a few of the leaders in the RC aerial photography
sector. Right now we are carrying the Alpha series and Action Cam
line, but this is growing as we speak. We are currently testing the new
A6000, A7R and the new video goggles that have the highest resolution
on the market. We look forward to the world of 4K in the new Sony
FDR-AX100 camcorder that was announced at the 2014 CES. You can
see a video sample from the AX-100 by searching Sample Video for 4K
Handycam FDR-AX1 on YouTube. The future is bright indeed.
MP: How do you see the distribution
landscape changing?
JB: The distribution model is being
compressed and you must have quick
inventory turnaround and plan for things
to change rapidly. This is where my
partner, Dave, really shines. We have also
seen a huge surge in what Ill call import
retail. Many times, while ordering online,
your product will be coming directly
from overseas and you are not even
aware of it. This puts our retail dollars
oshore and is eroding our domestic
dealers botom line. I believe this trend
will continue to grow, but in an area such
as multirotors, many users need the help
and experience that the local dealer can
provide. There is quite a learning curve for
people just starting out in multicopters and
information is essential for the new pilot.
We realize not all dealers can have the
newest products on their shelf the day they
hit U.S. soil and we have created a unique
solution for this. When the end-users
shop on our site, upon checkout, they are
requested to select a dealer to process
their order. What that really means is that
you select the dealer to pay and that dealer
is then responsible for your customer
service needs but Empire ships directly
from our warehouse to
the end-user. It really
is a win-win situation
and allows our domestic
dealer to receive sales
for the newest products
the day they hit our
warehouse. We call it
the North American
Dealer Support System
or NDS for short.
MP: How do you see the multirotor sector evolving?
JB: Wow! That is a big question. Every day we see new uses for
these vehicles and I believe we have only scratched the surface. We
will continue to see smaller and lighter components, more energy-
dense bateries, more powerful video transmission equipment and
lighter cameras. Multirotors have been a game changer for this
industry. I really think we will see phenomenal growth over the
next ve years and the multirotor sector of the RC industry will
carry us for the foreseeable future. It is a very exciting time in the
world of RC.
For more information please visit www.empirerc.com.
By Horizon Hobby
350 QX
BLADE
Feature-rich,
easy to fly
GoPro-
compatible
quadcopter
36 MULTIROTOR PILOT
PILOT REVIEW
by Joe Cannavo
In my personal experience, it seems
as though there are two types of
hobbyists that are interested in mul-
tirotor machines the sport yers
who like the small and micro quads and y
for fun, and the pilots who want to aach a
camera on their machine to get aerial pho-
tos and video. When the Blade 350 QX was
recently released to the market, they actu-
ally combined both desires into one machine
along with the addition of some prey awe-
some technological features.
The 350 QX comes in both bind-n-y (BNF)
and ready-to-y (RTF) versions. Both versions
come with the fully-assembled 350 QX, bat-
tery and charger. The RTF version also comes
with a Spektrum DX5e transmier and four
AA baeries. The 350 QX is a very aractive
quadcopter with a futuristic look to it. When
you take it out of the box, all you need to do is
charge the baery and y.
The 350 QX gets its lift from four powerful
1100Kv brushless motors and a 3S 2200mAh
LiPo baery. This is plenty of power to lift a
GoPro camera with its protective case and still
have relatively long (8-12 minute) ight times.
Common occurrences that you often nd on
multirotor machines equipped with a GoPro is
a shake and blur known as Jell-O Eect. One
way to avoid (or minimize) this is to fabricate
a dampening system. Blade took this problem
into consideration and included four dampen-
ers, which work very well.
Up until this point, the 350 QX looks just
like any other multirotor machine; a body,
four arms and four motors/props. However,
it is what you cannot see that makes the
Blade 350 QX such an amazing machine.
FEATURES GALORE
The Blade 350 QX has some of the most
advanced electronics that I have seen in a y-
ing machine at this price point. The heart
of what makes it so great is the Blade SAFE
(Sensor Assisted Flight Envelope) technology.
SAFE is a revolutionary electronic ight enve-
lope protection system that oers smoother
ight capability which makes ying in windy
conditions much easier. It oers multiple
ight modes so you can y with the level of
protection and assistance that best matches
your ight conditions. There are seven main
features that I will outline that make the
Blade 350 QX one amazing machine.
Smart Mode While in Smart Mode, SAFE
technology prevents the 350 QX from pitch-
ing or rolling past a certain angle, thus making
it very di cult for the pilot to over-control the
aircraft, even with full stick deection applied.
The 350 QX will also return to a stable and
level hover as soon as you return the sticks to
the center position. GPS/Aitude Hold, SAFE
Circle and Stick Relativity are all available in
this mode.
Stability Mode In Stability Mode, the 350
QX will have a very limited ight envelope
with self-leveling capability for consist-
SPECS
LENGTH: 18.3 in. (465mm)
WIDTH: 18.3 in. (465mm)
MAIN ROTOR DIAMETER: 22.8 in. (580mm)
MAIN ROTOR BLADE LENGTH: 8.27 in. (210mm)
MAIN MOTOR SIZE: Four 1100Kv brushless
outrunners
FLYING WEIGHT: 24 oz.
RADIO: Requires 5+ channel DSM2/DSMX com-
patible transmitter for the BNF version. Flown with
Spektrum DX9. RTF version includes Spektrum DX5e
transmitter
BATTERY: 11.1V 3S 2200mAh 30C LiPo (included)
Technical Specs
MAXIMUM YAW ANGULAR VELOCITY (ROTA-
TIONAL SPEED) SMART/STABILITY MODE:
200/sec; 3-axis mode: 380/sec
MAXIMUM TILT ANGLE STABILITY MODE: 45
Stability + Pressure sensor (Mode 0 without GPS):
30 Smart Mode (Mode 0 with GPS): Position con-
troller allowed up to 30 Agility Mode: No limit
MAXIMUM ASCENT/DESCENT SPEED SMART
MODE: 2 m/s Stability Mode + Pressure
sensor: 3 m/s
MAXIMUM FLIGHT VELOCITY ONLY
APPLICABLE IN SMART MODE: 4 m/s
PROS
SAFE Circle technology prevents the 350 QX
from ying too close to the pilot
GPS Position Hold keeps the QX in a xed
position in space without pilot input
Agility mode allows the 350 QX to y
aerobatic maneuvers
Attractive looking design
Includes an integrated anti-vibration
GoPro camera mount
CONS
If using a Spektrum DX5e with a
two-position ight mode switch, you
cannot access all three ightmodes
Authors
Opinion
With the popularity of the GoPro
camera systems and their ability to
shoot HD-quality video and photos
from just about anywhere, the
Blade 350 QX serves as the perfect
platform to capture stunning aerial
footage. Between Blades SAFE
technology and the QXs GPS and
Altimeter technology, this machine
is extremely easy to y so you can
focus on getting the shots you need.
TRANSMITTER
Spektrum DX9, SPMR9900
NEED TO KNOW
MANUFACTURER: Blade
DISTRIBUTOR: Horizon Hobby
TYPE: GoPro compatible quadcopter
FOR: Beginner to advanced
multirotor pilots
MINIMUM FLYING AREA: Baseball eld
PRICE: $419.99, BNF; $469.99, RTF
NEEDED TO COMPLETE:
BNF version requires 5+ channel DSM2/
DSMX compatible transmitter and four AA
batteries for the transmitter. RTF version
does not require anything.
We Used
As we were anxiously awaiting the arrival
of the Blade 350 QX, I made a list of tests
that I wanted to put the quad through
once I got the controller in my hands. I
was very intrigued with all the technol-
ogy features and wanted to see if they
lived up to the hype. Additionally, I wanted
to attach a GoPro Hero 2 camera and see
how well this platform worked to capture
aerial video and photos.
Before putting a couple hundred dol-
lar camera on the quad, I made several
ights around our eld testing each
of the three modes (Smart, Stability
and Agility). My rst ight was using
Smart Mode and I was especially inter-
ested in the SAFE Circle. Prior to ight,
I measured a 30 foot circle and using
powdered lime, I drew the circle. I stood
in the center of the circle and ew the
350 QX about 75 to 100 feet away from
myself. Every attempt to y within the
realm of the circle were thwarted by
the system. I tried from various speeds
and altitudes and I could not get it to y
inside that circle. Impressive!
The Stick Relativity function was
another feature that intrigued me. One
common problem with multirotor machines is maintaining orientation. Since they are sym-
metrical machines, you can quickly lose track of what is the front or back if you are not
paying attention. When this feature is enabled, the left and right stick movement will move
the 350 QX to the left or right in relation to the pilot regardless of which direction it is fac-
ing. With SAFE Circle activated and using Stick Relativity, a left or right stick movement will
continually move the quad in a circle around the pilot. This is a very cool feature that adds
another level of enjoyment to ying the 350 QX.
The GPS Hold did just that. Once activated, the 350 QX stayed within a designated area
in space and would remain there regardless of the wind. In fact, we even put the controller
down and the 350 QX remained right where we activated GPS Hold.
The Return Home feature was also very cool. When you spool up the 350 QX for your ini-
tial ight takeoff, the system remembers its location. At any time in ight you can simply
hit the Return Home switch and it will y right back to that exact starting point with no con-
trol input from the pilot. This is a great feature for new pilots as it will save the machine from
damage due to hard or uncontrolled landings.
The last thing I wanted to do was see how responsive the 350 QX is in Agility Mode. I am not
a huge fan of ying aerobatics with a multirotor in the rst place. That is not what my helicopters
are for, but I did want to see how well this machine could ip or perform a roll. I was surprised
at how snappy it was and I actually found myself really enjoying ying these maneuvers. You do
need to make sure that you have some altitude because the blades are all xed pitch and when
you go inverted, they are pushing air in the direction that will the 350 QX directly towards the
ground. Even in a fast ip or roll, you might lose a couple of feet of altitude. The increased for-
ward speed and responsiveness of the
controls made this machine feel like a
whole new animal.
Now that I was comfortable ying
the 350 QX, it was time to attach my
GoPro and get some aerial footage. I
was really happy to see how smooth
the video was. The dampeners really
work well. The only way to get a aw-
lessly smooth video would be to add
a brushless gimbal, but I honestly was
very happy with the results. When
locked in GPS mode, I was able to eas-
ily pan the unit using the left stick to
get a very smooth 360 degree view
from the air.
PILOT REVIEW
I
BLADE 350 QX
IN THE AIR
38 MULTIROTOR PILOT
ent level ight and optional GPS Hold. This
mode is the best choice for capturing video
as the QX will y smoothly, and when GPS
Hold is enabled it will remain in a xed
position in space while the video records.
Agility Mode The Agility Mode is designed
for more experienced pilots, allowing aero-
batic maneuvers to be performed. The AS3X
ight characteristics, coupled with an unlim-
ited ight envelope, will allow the 350 QX to
perform maneuvers such as ips and rolls.
You will also experience an increase in speed
and response time for all control inputs.
SAFE Circle While in Smart Mode, the 350 QX
will oer the pilot protection in the form of a
30-foot-diameter invisible barrier called SAFE
Circle. SAFE Circle prevents the 350 QX from
entering this airspace, thus preventing pilots
from ying too close to themselves.
Stick Relativity This is a very unique feature
which is incredibly helpful, especially with
novice pilots. When activated, as you move the
cyclic stick to the left or right, the 350 QX will
move left or right relative to the pilot regard-
less of which way the machine is pointing.
GPS and Altimeter Technology The inte-
grated GPS and Altimeter sensors are designed
to keep the 350 QX in a stable hover position
regardless of wind conditions. This feature is
always on in Smart Mode and it allows you to
concentrate on panning the 350 QX or slightly
moving it for seamless video capture.
Return Home With the ip of a switch on the
transmier and no stick input from the pilot, the
350 QX will automatically return to the position
where its motors started for that particular ight.
THE LAST WORD
The Blade 350 QX is one very unique and fea-
ture-rich quadcopter. If you are looking for
a solid all-in-one solution for capturing pho-
tos and video from the air using your GoPro
camera, then you will be very happy with
the results using the 350 QX. The three dif-
ferent ight modes allow any user, novice to
expert, a chance to really have some fun with
this machine. The SAFE Circle is one of my
favorite features to help keep the pilot safe.
The best part of the 350 QX is that you do not
need to add anything additional to be able to
shoot great aerial footage right away. =
CONTACTS
HORIZON HOBBY horizonhobby.com
guide on page 81.
When you are looking to capture
video from the air, especially when
chasing a moving object like follow-
ing an automobile or another plane
in the air, a tricopter is the perfect platform
because it has all the stability of a quad or
hexcopter, but its in-ight characteristics
are more like a plane than a typical multi-
rotor. Tricopters use a tilting mechanism on
the tail rotor to control the yaw axis of the
machine, which allows the aircraft to sweep
and bank smoothly in forward ight, pro-
viding very dramatic video without the use
of a motorized gimbal. If you are familiar
with Flitetest.coms videos, most of the aer-
ial video where they chase other airplanes in
ight is done with a tricopter.
There are many tricopters on the market,
most of which are sold as frames or in kits,
and there are just as many plans and adapter
plates that you can acquire that will allow
you to make one with the use of wooden
square stock or aluminum tubing for the
arms. When I was looking to build my own
tricopter as an aerial video and FPV platform,
I had two requirementsit had to be folda-
ble so it was easy to transport and it had to be
able to outt the FPV camera system from RC
Logger, which I love and wanted to feature
on this machine. That is when I discovered
the HobbyKing X900 tricopter.
X900 FEATURES AND
POWER SYSTEM
The X900 features a nicely nished berglass
plate main frame, shock-absorbing landing
legs and best of all, it is foldable. The tail servo
mount is also made from berglass and uses
a mini servo for yaw control. The rear motor
mount is installed on dual ball bearings which
gives very smooth and precise yaw movement.
The X900 is a good size too, with the front arms
measuring 420mm and the rear arm at 450mm,
giving an overall foot print of 31 x 33 inches.
They even include spring-loaded feet to absorb
impact from hard landings.
When it came to choosing a power sys-
tem for the X900, I wanted to make sure I
Tricopter with
RC Logger
FPV System
X900
HOBBYKING
NEED TO KNOW
MANUFACTURER: HobbyKing
TYPE: Foldable tricopter
FOR: Intermediate to advanced pilots
MINIMUM FLYING AREA: Ball eld
PRICE: $32.16 (frame only); $240 (frame,
power system and controller w/GPS)
40 MULTIROTOR PILOT
PILOT REVIEW
by Joe Cannavo
A highly maneuverable,
easy to transport FPV
camera machine
FPV SYSTEM
MANUFACTURER: RC LOGGER
TYPE: 720P HD 5.8GHz video system
ANTENNA: RC Logger Clover Leaf 5.8GHz
RECORDING CAPABILITY: Yes
MAX RESOLUTION: 1280x720
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 320x240 (4:3)
BATTERY DURATION: Video RX (4 hours);
Detachable Monitor (3 hours)
OUTPUT POWER: 25mW
NUMBER OF RF CHANNELS: 8
SPECIFICATIONS
WEIGHT: 2 lb. 14 oz. ight ready
LENGTH: 31 in.
HEIGHT: 5.75 in.
WIDTH: 33 in.
PROPS: 10x4.5 slow yer (1 CCW, 2 CW)
RADIO: Flown with Spektrum DX18 transmitter and
a Spektrum AR610 receiver
SERVO: Turnigy TGY-S306G Ultra-Fast High Torque
MG Digital
FLIGHT CONTROLLER: HKPilot Mega V2.5 w/GPS
MOTORS: (3) NTM Prop Drive 28-30S 800Kv (short
shaft) brushless outrunner
ESC: (3) HobbyKing BlueSeries 40A brushless
speed controller
MAX LIFT CAPACITY: 4.5 lbs. (at full throttle)
BATTERY: Turnigy 2200mAh 3S 35C LiPo
DURATION: 12 minutes
had plenty of power to carry additional pay-
load (cameras, video transmiers, etc.), so
I installed three NTM 28-30S 800Kv 300W
brushless outrunner motors with three
HobbyKing BlueSeries 40A ESCs. With
10x4.5 slowyer props, these motors each
produce 45 ounces of thrust at full power.
Since most of my ying will be at 50 percent
power, that means I will have a total eec-
tive lifting capacity of around 4.5 pounds.
The total weight of the X900 as I set it up,
including the FPV system and baery, is
two pounds and 14 ounces, leaving me with
plenty of power to spare.
CONTROL SYSTEM
There are plenty of options when it comes
to controlling the X900, from a simple, inex-
pensive KK2 board to the full-blown DJI
Naza line of controllers. Since I was using
this machine for FPV, I wanted some safety
features like position hold and return to
home just in case I needed to use them. It is
not uncommon to initially get disoriented
when ying with FPV goggles until you get
used to them and the aircraft. So I chose to
use an HKPilot Mega V2.5 autopilot ight
controller, which is basically a version of
the open source APM 2.5 project from 3D
Robotics. The APM 2.5 has a huge online
community and support system in place so
geing help online is very easy and there
are tons of websites detailing how to use the
controller and related software.
The HKPilot Mega is an Arduino-com-
patible controller that uses an ATMEGA2560
processor with an ATMEGA32U-2 USB. The
board features a 3-axis gyro, accelerome-
ter, magnetometer and a high-performance
barometer, which provides a full six degrees of
I custom-printed an enclosure to protect the controller,
receiver and GPS module. It also made the wiring look
much neater. You can download the les to print your
own case at www.multirotorpilotmag.com/x900.
The RC Logger FPV Pros camera lens can be adjusted
to change the recording angle from straight ahead to
straight down. It is controlled via a micro servo and a
slider on the transmitter.
PILOT REVIEW
I
HOBBYKING X900 TRICOPTER WITH RC LOGGER FPV SYSTEM
42 MULTIROTOR PILOT
freedom (DOF) with precise position sensing
capability. A Honeywell HMC5883L-TR Digi-
tal Compass is also integrated into the board.
I combined the HKPilot Mega with a
Neo-6M GPS module to take full advan-
tage of its capabilities. One very cool feature
of this controller is that you can program
in waypoints for fully autonomous control
to preset locations. Additionally you have
the standard GPS controller features, like
return-to-home and position hold which
allows the craft to remain stationary in the
air when you release the sticks.
Since the HKPilot Mega controller (APM
2.5) can be set up for many dierent types
of models, I had to search for specic wiring
instructions for a tricopter. The following
illustrates the proper wiring for this board.
APM PLANNER 2.0 SOFTWARE
3D Robotics has two dierent software pro-
grams for the APM 2.5 that you can download
for free; Mission Planner for a PC laptop or
desktop computer and APM Planner 2.0 for a
Mac, PC or Linux-based system. Since I have
a MacBook, I installed APM Planner to con-
gure and program my controller. The APM
Planner 2.0 is an open-source ground station
that allows you to congure an airplane, hel-
icopter, multirotor or ground-based vehicle
with the autopilot to become fully autono-
mous. The AP2 is also used to calibrate and
congure the controller, plan and save mis-
sions and view live data in ight.
The rst thing to do when you connect
your controller and run the software for the
rst time is to select the appropriate rm-
ware for the model that you are using it
with. This will load in the appropriate con-
troller software so your model operates
correctly. From there you can begin the cal-
ibration process for compass, accelerometer
and the radio system. There are many dif-
ferent ight modes that you can program
and assign to switches on the radio. I set up
a three-position switch to select from stabi-
lize, loiter (position hold) and return home.
Once done with the conguration, it was
time to test y to see if any further ne-tun-
ing would be needed. I made some minor
adjustments to the gains to get the tricop-
ter to feel how I wanted it. At the time of this
writing, we did not have the ability to try
the waypoint programming mode, but we
will cover that in depth in a future issue of
Multirotor Pilot magazine.
To keep the wiring neat and to protect the
controller board and receiver in the event of a
crash, I used my 3D printer to make an enclo-
sure. I designed posts to secure the controller
board so it can be fastened with four screws. I
also molded in a spot to secure the GPS mod-
ule. If you are interested in downloading the
STL les for this enclosure, you can for free at
multirotorpilotmag.com/x900.
Flying the X900 was actually much eas-
ier and more enjoyable than I thought.
I have own a lot of multirotors but this
was my rst tricopter. When I got to our
ying spot, I powered on and tested the
video system and once that checked
out, I armed the motors by moving and
holding the rudder stick (with throttle
down) to the right for ve seconds. Once
armed, the motors will all spin slowly.
To disarm the motors, you hold the rud-
der stick (with throttle down) to the left
for ve seconds. As I powered up the
X900, I advanced the throttle and it held
in a rock-solid hover at about half stick. I
had the HKPilot Mega in stabilize mode
to start so it was working hard ghting
the 10-plus mph wind we had that day.
I ew around a bit and everything I read
about ying a tricopter was true; it had
a mixed feel between a quad or hex and
an airplane. It was very smooth in for-
ward ight and watching the live video,
I really loved the banking effect that you
get when you y. It is similar to having
an FPV camera on a plane but you have
the ability to hover and move side to side
and backwards which you cant with an airplane. The yaw control was much more responsive on
the X900 than it is with a quad or hex with the pivoting tail rotor.
I was very impressed with how well the HKPilot Mega controller board did its job. The model
was very stable and easy to control. Switching into loiter (position hold) mode locked the tri-
copter in space where it received its last input. Having own systems with advanced controllers
like the DJI Wookong or the new DJI A2, the Mega did not have as tight of a GPS hold, but then
again the controller and GPS module cost less than $100, so I was not expecting it to perform like
a $1,300 unit. It had no problem maintaining a 5 to 6 foot box in space.
The return-to-home feature also worked well. When activated, the model stopped in ight for
a few seconds before ying itself back to where it took off. This is great if you are ying with no
obstructions, because the controller will y in a straight line back to the starting point. It does not
have any way of detecting obstacles like trees or buildings. You can also program the failsafe
mode so if your battery gets too low or you lose transmitter signal, the model will y itself back,
thus saving you from a crash.
The RC Logger FPV system worked awlessly. I ew line-of-sight while using the monitor to
frame the video I was recording and I also attached Fatshark FPV goggles via a video output
cable on the monitor so I ew full-on FPV. I was also able to use the slider on my transmitter to
adjust the tilt of the camera so I could get video from angles that you normally cant get from a
standard FPV system without the use of a gimbal. However, I did nd it very difcult to y with
goggles while moving the tilt, as you really need to pay attention to what is in front of you.
IN THE AIR
The RC Logger video system
is very neat and compact. I
custom-printed a mount for the
DX18 which slides directly over
the transmitters antenna. This
allows for easy removal and
keeps the monitor in position to
see easily while ying.
TRANSMITTER
Spektrum DX18
MOTORS
NTM Prop Drive 28-30S 800Kv
(short shaft) brushless outrunner
ESC
HobbyKing BlueSeries 40A
Brushless Speed Controller
PROPS
(3) 10x4.5 slow yer
counter-rotating
FLIGHT CONTROLLER
HKPilot Mega V2.5
RECEIVER
Spektrum AR610
SERV0
Turnigy TGY-S306G Ultra-Fast
High Torque MG Digital
BATTERY
Turnigy 2200mAh 3S 35C LiPo
CAMERA
RC Logger Pro
VIDEO SYSTEM
RC Logger 5.8GHz TX RX Set
We Used
Output side:
Pin 1 connects to the ESC for motor 1 (front right)
Pin 2 connects to the ESC for motor 2 (front left)
Pin 4 connects to the ESC for the tail motor
Pin 7 connects to your yaw servo
Input side (connections from receiver):
Pin 1 connects to the aileron channel
Pin 2 connects to the elevator channel
Pin 3 connects to the throttle channel
Pin 4 connects to the rudder channel
Pin 5 connects to the gear channel
Pin 6 connects to the Aux 1 channel
RC LOGGER FPV SYSTEM
As with tricopter frames, power systems and
controller boards, there are also a lot of FPV cam-
era systems on that market that you can use for
your multirotor. I had some specic require-
ments that I wanted for this aircrafts FPV
system, including the ability to record a mini-
mum of 720p video to a memory card, the ability
to tilt the camera from straight ahead to straight
down using a slider on my transmier and I
wanted to use a small monitor on my transmit-
ter with an output for goggles. I was introduced
to the RC Logger FPV camera systems at a trade
show a few months back and decided that it
would be perfect for this machine.
There are several other advantages to the RC
Logger system that I did not even realize until I
got my hands on it. First, the camera and mon-
itor both have an internal rechargeable baery,
so I would not need any additional wiring for
power on my transmier or on the tricopter. The
camera has a lens with a servo arm aached to
it so you can use a small servo to tilt the camera
lens while in ight. The transmier on the tri-
copter gets its power from receiver so again, no
special wiring is needed. And lastly, the system
comes with cables that are already terminated
for the system so there is no need to solder and
make custom cables.
The monitor is 3.5 inches with a crystal-clear
full-color display. To eliminate the need for any
wires, the video receiver aaches right to the
side of the monitor and there are integrated con-
tact points for power and the video signal. If you
want to use the receiver with another monitor or
video goggles you can, since it has its own built-
in rechargeable baery. I made a custom holder
for the monitor to mount on my DX18 transmit-
ter with my 3D printer. You can download the
les at multirotorpilotmag.com/x900.
Overall the system is very clean and works
perfectly right out of the box. The reception is
excellent, especially when you replace the stock
antennas with Clover Leaf antennas.
THE LAST WORD
The X900 is a machine that I will be using much
more often. I am excited to try out the waypoint
features of the APM 2.5 system, of which I will
report back in a future issue. The recorded video
quality was very good. While not full 1080p HD,
it was very high quality and considering my
main living room TV is only a 720p, a higher res-
olution would not have maered any more to
me. I loved the ease of use of all the components
that are in this multirotor. From box to rst ight
only took about two to three hours including set-
ting up with the software.
If you want to get into tricopters for less than
$35, you can save the time that it would take
scratchbuild and enjoy a very rugged and dura-
ble machine that folds for easy transport. =
CONTACTS
3D ROBOTICS 3drobotics.com
HOBBYKING hobbyking.com
RC LOGGER rclogger.com
guide on page 81.
MOTOR WIRING
Aerial video and multirotors seem to go together like chocolate and peanut buter, and
in todays market there is no shortage of options if recording the world with a birds
eye view is your passion. Mainstream machines like the Blade 350 QX and the DJI
Phantom make this easy right out of the box; just add a GoPro and y. However what
if you want more? What if you are looking for the ability to capture video with pan and sweeps
that you only see in big-budget motion picture lms? To get these amazing shots you need a bit
more. You need a high-resolution camera with a large image sensor and the ability to interchange
lenses. These SLR cameras are larger and much heavier than a GoPro-type camera and they
provide much higher quality video and still photos. You can capture video that is on par with the
big boys in Hollywood.
Of course if you want to run one of these cameras, then you need more than a 2-axis gimbal.
The DJI Zenmuse is one of the highest quality systems on the market for cameras of this size.
The Zenmuse is a full 3-axis gimbal that not only stabilizes the camera, but also allows the
operator to adjust the pan, and tilt and roll from the transmiter as well. When you consider
the weight of the Zenmuse is 3.3 pounds, and in our case we are using the amazingly high
resolution Sony NEX 6N camera that weighs another 14 ounces with the batery and lens, you
need a machine that is capable of handling some
serious payload. The Gaui 840H is the machine to
do the joband do it well.
In the world of aerial video multirotors, I
would consider the Gaui 840H a mid-size
machine. One of the most
sought-afer cameras to y
on a multirotor is the Red
Epic which, when fully
outted, can weigh over 20 pounds and cost well
over $25,000. To carry a camera like this requires a
heavy lif machine, which can range from 1100mm
to over 2000mm with a ready to y weight of 30-40
pounds. These machines are in a class of their own
GAUI
Flight, Camera, Action!
NEED TO KNOW
MANUFACTURER: Gaui
DISTRIBUTOR: Empire RC
TYPE: Hexacopter
FOR: Advanced pilots to aerial
photographer
MINIMUM FLYING AREA: Any outdoor ying
area
PRICE: $1,799.00 (Super Combo Kit with motors,
ESCs, props and DJI Wookong-M with GPS)
46 MULTIROTOR PILOT
840H
HEXACOPTER
WITH DJI WOOKONG-M
PILOT REVIEW
by Erick Royer
PHOTOS BY WALTER SIDAS AND ERICK ROYER
SPECS
WIDTH (motor shaft to motor shaft):
840mm
PROPELLER SIZE: 15 in. (included in
Super Combo Kit)
MOTORS: (6) Gaui 320Kv, 46mm
brushless outrunners (included in Super
Combo Kit)
ESCS: Gaui Special-made 25A for 23mm
boom (included in Super Combo Kit)
FLIGHT CONTROLLER: DJI Wookong-M
with GPS module (included in Super
Combo Kit)
OSD: DJI OSD Mark 2
MAXIMUM FLYING WEIGHT: 17.63 lbs.
WEIGHT AS FLOWN: 13.8 lbs.
BATTERY: (2) MaxAmps 6S 5450mAh
22.2V 120C LiPo
GIMBAL: DJI Zenmuse Z15-N 3-axis
brushless
CAMERA: Sony NEX 6 16.1mp w/12mm
lens
VIDEO TRANSMITTER: Immersion RC
600mW 5.8GHz
RADIO SYSTEM (for ight): Futaba 14SG
with Futaba R6208SB eight-channel S.Bus
receiver
RADIO SYSTEM (for camera): Spektrum
DX18 with Spektrum AR6210 six-channel
receiver
VIDEO GOGGLES (for camera operator):
Fatshark Predator V2
FEATURES
Very rigid steel boom construction.
Metal CNC motor mounts help
dissipate heat.
Power distribution board is integrated
into the lower center frame plate with
bullet connectors for quick and easy
power connections.
High-performance 320Kv 46mm
brushless outrunners produce
low noise and very little vibration for
increased stability.
The ESCs are hidden inside the metal
booms. They use the boom as a
heatsink to dissipate heat and provide a
very clean installation.
Large center frame that will
accommodate any ight
controller system and all of your
additional electronics like FPV gear,
OSD, and more.
Simple, easy and fast mounting and
removal of main landing gear.
Streamlined canopy reduces wind
noise and protects the electronics from
light rain.
Can accommodate a lot of payload,
which includes additional batteries
for longer ight times, a heavy-duty
camera gimbal and larger SLR-type
cameras.
and are typically seen on big budget movie sets.
On the opposite end, you have multirotors like
the DJI Phantom up to 550-size machines like the
DJI Flame Wheel F550, which commonly carry
smaller cameras like a GoPro and have the ability
to y in tight quarters. The Gaui 840H is a larger
machine which can y a considerable payload,
as we are with the Zenmuse gimbal and Sony
NEX 6N camera. The larger size means greater
stability, especially on windy days. The 840H with
the setup that we have in this review is capable of
obtaining some very impressive video and since
our machine is set up for two operators (pilot and
cameraman), you have the ability of framing shots
that you simply cannot with a smaller machine.
ASSEMBLY
The assembly process on this machine was much
easier than many smaller multirotors that I have
put together. The quality of the parts as well as
the t and nish were excellent. The kit I am
reviewing is a Super Combo Kit, which comes
complete with motors, speed controllers and
props so everything is prety much plug and play.
I am not going to rewrite the manual here but
there are some notes that I made as I put the 840H
together that are worth mentioning. First o, the motor mounts
are machined aluminum and they are keyed so they lock into
the proper position on the booms. The motors and ESCs come
with bullet connectors already soldered on, thus saving a lot of
assembly time. The ESCs are custom designed for this machine.
They are sized to slide inside the booms with the appropriate
length wires to reach the center frame. The design of the ESCs uses
the metal booms to act as a heatsink to keep them running cool.
When you connect the ESCs to the motors, pay close atention
to the chart in the manual to ensure that each motor is wired for
the correct rotation. Three motors will spin clockwise and three
counterclockwise. Failing to get them in the correct locations will
result in an unyable machine.
There is an arrow cut out of the top center frame that denotes
the front of the machine. From that point you can properly
position each boom with the motor running in the correct
direction. Again the booms are keyed so they lock into the center
frame correctly.
One of my favorite features of this machine is the lower center
frame. It doubles as a power distribution board and has bullet
connectors already soldered in place for the motors. This is one
of the neatest installations that I have seen in a multicopter.
Additionally there are contact points on the
board where you can solder power wires
for optional devices such as FPV and
LEDS.
The lower center plate has integrated power contacts which
leaves a lot of room between the center frames and on the top
frame to mount the electronics. Since I was not familiar with
seting up the Wookong-M, my friend (and fellow contributor)
Our rst test ight with the 840H
was at exactly 4:05am. After
spending all day and night making
everything perfect, we were not
going to get some shut-eye until
we saw her y. Moving out to my
driveway, we performed the Naza
dance to calibrate the Wookong
and then activated the motors
by moving both sticks down
and towards the center of the
transmitter and after a few deep
breaths, we advanced the throttle.
The 840H came off the ground and
went right into a stable hover; no
trim required. We brought it up
to about 15 feet and switched to
GPS mode and let go of the sticks.
The Wookong-M did a fantastic
job of keeping the copter locked
right where we put it. The most it drifted was a couple feet in either direction, which is
basically nothing when taking aerial footage from the air. That was it, time to get some
sleep as the next day was the big test and photo shoot.
Our photo shoot day was not exactly optimal. It was very breezy with 15+ mph,
winds with the mercury reading a balmy 8 degrees. Not optimal for the pilot but these
conditions were perfect for testing the copter as well as the gimbal/camera combo to
see how they perform in extreme conditions. So we put a fresh memory card into the
Sony and my friend (and fellow contributor), Petr Hejl, took the pilot controller while I
had the goggles and camera transmitter. I have used many brushless gimbals and even
designed a couple for use with GoPro cameras and I am always impressed with the
stability and video quality. However, the Zenmuse/NEX 6 combo completely blew me
away. Petr took the 840H up to about 50-60 feet and I could see how badly the wind was
blowing it around as I panned the camera to look at the airframe, however looking at
the video, you would think the camera was on a tripod. The Wookong-M held the copter
right where he put it and handled the wind as if it were a calm day.
The motors and props that come with the Super Combo were ultra-quiet, which
will make this machine perfect for taking aerial video in places where you dont want to
make the world know of your presence. The power to climb and quickly move from one
location to another was excellent. One thing that I feel is very important to
note was the batteries. The MaxAmps 6S 5450mAh 120C LiPo packs were
amazing. They are only three ounces heavier than the 5000mAh packs we
normally use but with the additional 900mAh of capacity meant we got
an extra two to four minutes of ight time between charges. MaxAmps is
really focused on developing the best batteries for the multirotor market
and after running these packs a half dozen times and comparing our normal
packs, I would say they are succeeding.
PILOT REVIEW
I
GAUI 840H HEXACOPTER
IN THE AIR
48 MULTIROTOR PILOT
Joe Papa came over to pull an all-nighter with me to get
this machine ready. He is very meticulous and spent a lot
of time making the electronic installation look pristine.
He installed the Wookongs main controller in the center
of the lower frame, which made it easy to install the rest
of the components around it, and lef a lot of room on the
top frame for future additions. When he was done, very
few wires were visible. In fact, I think all you really see are
the DJI CANbus wires and the S.Bus wire for the receiver
as well as the batery power leads. Overall this is one very
clean install.
The 840H has a foldable boom design, making
transportation easier. To fold the booms you need to
remove two screws per boom mount. The design is clever,
but you need to make sure you dont lose the screws.
The 840H comes with a xed landing gear that
provides enough clearance for a GoPro camera and 2-axis
gimbal, but since we were going to install the Zenmuse
3-axis gimbal, we needed more clearance under the frame.
Thankfully we had an extended xed landing gear on
hand so we opted to put them on instead.
Editors note: We are in the process of geting a retractable
landing gear for this machine as it is needed to take full
advantage of the 3-axis gimbals ability to pan 360 degrees
and not have the gear in the cameras view. When we do, we
will make the update and report available on our website at
multirotorpilotmag.com/840H. We will be updating this page
ofen with photos and video that we shoot from this machine as
well as any other additions or modications that we make.
INSTALLING THE ZENMUSE
The Zenmuse Z15 gimbal comes completely assembled
and tested from the factory. All you need to do is atach
it to the frame and connect the wiring. Gaui oers
a rail system that ataches to the lower center frame
with stand-os and the Zenmuse ataches to the rails.
The process is very easy. The gimbal is suspended from eight rubber
dampeners. Since the camera and gimbal weigh almost ve pounds
total, I did not trust all that weight riding on rubber, so I atached four
zip ties thought the four outermost dampeners. I lef them relatively
loose so they wont aect the dampening aect, but in the event that a
dampener fails the gimbal will remain on the aircraf.
The Zenmuse has its own controller and power harness that
makes the installation easy and neat. No soldering was necessary
for the installation. The HDMI cable ataches to the Sony NEX 6
and provides a live video feed, which was wired directly into an
Immersion RC 600mW
video transmitter so
the camera operator
had live video for
controlling the gimbal
and framing the shots.
A Spektrum receiver
was connected to the
Zenmuse to allow
the camera operator
to control the pan,
roll and pitch of the
camera as well as
remotely activate the
shutter.
The Zenmuse Z15-N
is made specifically
for the Sony NEX 7
camera which uses the
same body as the NEX 6 so the included brackets
were a perfect fit. It is amazing how precisely
balanced the gimbal is with this camera on it.
Without power applied I centered the camera and
it remained right where I put it. I then put a single
5-inch zip tie on the top edge of the camera and
the gimbal started to tilt in that directiontalk
about precise.
To remove the camera, there are two
thumbscrews that need to be removed; one
attached to the hot shoe and the other for the
tripod mount. The only complaint that I have
about this Zenmuse setup is that it is hard to
access the power switch on the camera while it is attached to the
gimbal and you need to remove the camera to charge it and to
remove the memory card.
FLIGHT CONTROLLER
The Super Combo Kit comes with the DJI Wookong-M and GPS
module. Up until the recent release of the A2, the Wookong was
the flagship flight controller in the DJI line. The installation
is easy if you follow the instructions to ensure everything is
connected to the proper location. There are two things to keep
in mind when you are installing the Wookong; first, the main
controller needs to be mounted near the center of the model and
must face the front of the machine and second, the GPS antenna
needs to be mounted also facing forward. It gets installed on a
mast to keep it away from any RF interference that might come
from the rest of the electronics.
To program the Wookong you have a couple options. You
can download the Wookong-M Assistant software from the DJI
website. It is available for both Windows and the Mac. Second,
if you have a Bluetooth LED from DJI, then you can download
the app for the iPhone and set up the machine, as well as make
adjustments right from your smartphone. The Assistant software
is very easy to understand and use. It took only a matter of
minutes to have the system calibrated and set up.
The latest version of the Wookong-M firmware unlocks the
possibility of using up to 50 waypoints to autonomously fly
the multirotor. However to use this functionality, you need to
purchase and install the DJI Ground Station (also reviewed in
this issue).
THE LAST
WORD
Once you get bit
by the multirotor
and aerial
photography
bug and cut
your teeth on a smaller, action cam-equipped machine, the next
logical progression is to get a machine that is capable of flying
an SLR camera. With that, you will want the ultimate in stability,
which is where the DJI Zenmuse gimbal comes in. If you build
the system to fly with a pilot and a camera operator, you will
effectively have a system that can capture very high quality and
stable footage. The Gaui 840H is an excellent platform for this.
It is made from high-quality components, is very rugged and is
very easy to assemble. When you couple the 840H with the DJI
Wookong-M or A2 flight controller, you have a machine that is
easy to fly, stable, and very reliable. =
CONTACTS
FAT SHARK fatshark.com
FUTABA futaba-rc.com
GAUI gaui.com.tw
IMMERSION RC immersionrc.com
MAXAMPS maxamps.com
SONY sony.com
TRANSMITTER
(for ight): Futaba 14SG
TRANSMITTER (for
camera): Spektrum DX18
FLIGHT CONTROLLER:
DJI Wookong-M with GPS module
OSD: DJI OSD Mark 2
BATTERY: (2) MaxAmps 6S
5450mAh 22.2V LiPo
GIMBAL: DJI Zenmuse Z15-N
3-axis brushless
CAMERA: Sony Nex 6
16.1mp w/12mm lens
VIDEO TRANSMITTER:
Immersion RC 600mW 5.8GHz
VIDEO GOGGLES (for
camera operator): Fatshark
Predator V2
PILOT REVIEW
I
GAUI 840H HEXACOPTER
We Used
50 MULTIROTOR PILOT
OUT OF THE BOX
It takes just a mater of minutes to get
the Vision ready for ight. Simply
screw on your propellers, insert bateries
into the transmiter, and atach the range
extender and smartphone holder onto your
remote. Finally, apply the provided decals
and you are good to go. This whole process
takes less than 20 minutes, and everything
you need, including the tools are in the box.
THE BRAIN
The Phantom 2 Vision is built around the
Naza-M controller, which is at the heart of
this aircraf. The Naza-M has integrated GPS,
which allows the Phantom to be extremely
stable and easy to y, while having the
speed and agility that would impress most
hobby enthusiasts. This Naza-M features an
impressive Return-To-Home (RTH) feature
DJI INNOVATIONS
HD Video, FPV and more!
NEED TO KNOW
MANUFACTURER: DJI Innovations
DISTRIBUTOR: Empire RC
TYPE: Quadcopter
FOR: Beginner yers interested in advanced
aerial photography
MINIMUM FLYING AREA: Any outdoor
ying area
PRICE: $1,199
52 MULTIROTOR PILOT
Phantom 2
PILOT REVIEW
by Jacob Clackey
VISION
The Phantom 2 Vision is the newest and most advanced DJI
consumer-grade aerial platform. The Vision provides a real-time live
view on your mobile device, which allows you to take photos and
videos and then share them on a variety of websites such as Facebook
and YouTube. The video is transmited to your mobile device via a 2.4GHz Wi-
Fi connection with a maximum range of up to 300 meters. It also transmits real-
time telemetry data and ight parameters as well. The Visions camera records
in full 1080/30p or 1080/60i resolution with a wide 140 degree eld of view and
it takes 14 megapixel stills. One of the best features of the Vision is the long,
25 plus minute ight times with the included batery. The ight controller is the
Naza-M V2 with GPS autopilot system, which gives you unparalleled stability
and performance with features like position hold and return to home.
that has saved
many Phantoms,
including mine,
from perilous disasters.
When you are in the air pushing
the boundaries of the transmiter
distance, you want to have a fallback plan.
If the Phantom ever goes out of range of
the transmiter, or if your remote batery
fails, the RTH feature will automatically
y the Phantom back to you and land
within two feet of the original takeo
spot. You must remember to wait
for a GPS lock before taking o
each time
to ensure
this feature works
properly.
THE EYES
The next most
important feature
on this new bird
is its eyes. The
Phantom 2
Visions camera
has some
impressive
specs. DJI
manufactures
this camera,
which takes 14 megapixel photos and shoots
in 1080p at 30 fps. The camera has a microSD
card on the side to store the pictures and video
and they even include a 4GB microSD card. One
of the best features however, is the capacity to shoot
in RAW format. By denition, RAW means in its natural state, not
processed. You can bring the 14MP RAW photo into a program such
as Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom or Creative Cloud and use the built-
in lens prole support provided in most of these programs to take
away the sh-eye look. You can also easily add color corrections.
THE FPV EXPERIENCE
The biggest separating factor between the Phantom 2 Vision and DJIs
other consumer-grade aircraf is the built-in FPV (First Person View)
experience. Heres how it works: The Phantom connects wirelessly
to the Wi-Fi repeater that connects to your smartphone device. Using
the free DJI app, you
can view live video
coming from your
Vision, along with
OSD (On Screen
Display). This means
that not only will you
be viewing the live
feed; you will also
be able to see batery
life, altitude, make
camera parameter
adjustments (white
balance, ISO, etc.) and
choose when to start and stop video or photos. In addition, you can
view a radar screen from the app that will help guide you home if
you lose sight of the Phantom. Also from the DJI app, you can control
camera tilt up or down and wirelessly transmit photos and video
from the Phantom to your smartphone, then from the app to social
media.
THE ENERGY
One of the best new features of the Phantom 2 Vision is the DJI
Smart Batery system. The batery that comes with this Vision is
a 5200mAh lithium polymer batery (LiPo) that gives the Phantom
25 minutes of ight time, much longer than the 10-12 minute ights
of the Phantom 1. The batery is called smart because it has built-in
charge protection and maintenance reminders. However, the feature
I am most excited about is the easy batery lock-in system. With
the Phantom 1, you had to connect two wires by squeezing them
The Vision comes with a smartphone mount and a Wi-Fi repeater that attaches to the handle of the transmitter.
SPECS
AIRCRAFT WEIGHT: 2.56 lbs.
DIAGONAL LENGTH: 350mm
BATTERY: 5200mAh LiPo
HOVER ACCURACY:
Vertical: 0.8m; Horizontal: 2.5m
MAX TILT ANGLE: 35 degrees
MAX ASCENT/DESCENT SPEED: 6m/s
MAX FLIGHT SPEED: 15m/s
AVERAGE FLIGHT TIME: 25 minutes
TRANSMITTER OPERATING FREQUENCY:
5.8GHZ
TRANSMITTER EFFECTIVE DISTANCE:
300-500m
BATTERIES: 4 AA
CAMERA
CAMERA RESOLUTION: 14 megapixels
WI-FI REPEATER DISTANCE: 300m
FOV: 140/120/90 degrees
SENSOR SIZE: 1/2.3
FUNCTIONALITY
Supports multi-capture, continuous capture
and timed capture
Supports HD recording (1080/p30 or 1080/60i)
Supports both RAW and JPEG picture format
PILOT REVIEW
I
DJI INNOVATIONS PHANTOM 2 VISION
54 MULTIROTOR PILOT
together very rmly. The cords become harder to connect over time,
and are fairly di cult to disconnect, tearing the wires slowly. The
Phantom 2 bateries are self-locking. You simply push the batery into
the phantom and when it clicks, its ready to go. Taking it out is just
as easy. With the Phantom 1, when you connect the batery it starts
and when you disconnect, it turns o. With the Phantom 2, you press
a buton on the outside, then press again to start, and the same to
turn o. The new batery saves you time and hassle. There must be
a catch, you say? Well, yes. For these features you pay $159 for each
batery, compared to $23 on the Phantom 1.
THE THRUST
Another important aspect of this new aircraf is the
self-tightening props. Compared to the Phantom
1, where you had to place the props on then screw
on the cap, these props are a dream. You simply set
the props on the motors, then spin the prop and its
locked on, that way it can never come o during
ight. The caps on the Phantom 1 could come loose
during ight and the prop would y o and you
were guaranteed a crash.
HARD TO BELIEVE,
BUT THERE ARE A COUPLE CONS
As with any product, there are also some minor
problems. First, there is no gimbal on the Phantom
2 Vision. Therefore when you are recording video,
the video will not be as stable as it could be. This
problem can be solved with a third party Vision
camera gimbal. Check the upgrades section for
more information on this. Another problem with the camera is the
sh-eye eect. You get this same eect with the GoPro where the
object in view looks like the edges are curved. This problem can
be solved while editing in Adobe Photoshop or other programs.
A third problem is that there is no microphone on the camera so
you cannot get the ambient sounds of the motors. The nal area of
weakness is with le management. You can only get les from the
Visions camera to another device by wirelessly transferring photos
and videos to your smartphone. You cannot easily get them to a
computer except by ejecting the microSD card and
using a card reader to get the les. The card reader
is also the only way you can delete les o the card.
UPGRADES
As with most products there are always some
things that can be improved or upgraded to meet
specic needs of the owner/pilot. Sources like
phantompilots.com and RCgroups.com come to
the rescue. On these sites, you can get help with
problems and get cool upgrades. Here are just a
few of the most popular upgrades you can do on
your Phantom. Be sure to check YouTube and other
forums before atempting.
The rst upgrade to try is antenna range
improvement. Just install an antenna onto your
Vision Wi-Fi repeater for as litle as $50- $100 and
extend the range of your link from about 1,000
feet to over 3,000 feet. Another opportunity for
upgrade is with the camera. While the camera is
great for photos, the Vision does not have a gimbal
SPECS
AIRCRAFT WEIGHT: 2.2 lbs.
DIAGONAL LENGTH: 350mm
BATTERY: 2200mAh LiPo
HOVER ACCURACY: Vertical: 0.8m;
Horizontal: 2.5m
MAX TILT ANGLE: 35 degrees
MAX ASCENT/DESCENT SPEED: 6m/s
MAX FLIGHT SPEED: 15m/s
AVERAGE FLIGHT TIME: 12 minutes
PRICE: $499.00
TRANSMITTER OPERATING FREQUENCY:
5.8GHZ
TRANSMITTER EFFECTIVE DISTANCE:
300-500m
BATTERIES: 4 AA
CAMERA
CAMERA RESOLUTION: 720p/30fps
WI-FI DISTANCE: 100m FOV: 100 degrees
So after reading this review, I am sure
you are jazzed up and wanting to get
your hands on a Vision, however if the $1,200 price tag is keeping
you from pulling you the credit card, then the Phantom FC40 might
be a great option.
With a retail price of only $499, the FC40 comes with its own
camera with a 720p/30fps HD resolution with an Android or iOS app
to control it, just like the Vision. The video is transmitted using a
2.4GHz Wi-Fi connection providing a full FPV experience at distances
up to 100 meters. The app/camera combo allows you a 10X digital
zoon from the app with a low latency live preview. Many of the app
features are the same as the Vision; with the exception of the tilt
control as the FC40s camera does not have the tilt function. The
mount is adjustable so you can preset the angle prior to ight.
The FC40 also uses the Naza-M V2 ight controller so it has all of
the same ight functionality as the Vision including position hold and
return to home.
If you are looking to get started with FPV and aerial video but dont
want to spend the $1200 for the Vision, the Phantom FC40 is a great
machine with tons of features and excellent video quality.
LOWER BUDGET? GET THE PHANTOM FC40
The Vision uses a custom 5200mAh
LiPo battery that has an integrated
power button and battery level
meter.
so the video
is not very
stable. While there have been rumors about DJI releasing a gimbal
for the Phantom 2 Vision, none have been conrmed. A few
manufactures stepped up and made one of their own. The two
most popular gimbals are the Rotorpixel (rotorpixel.com) and the
DRONExpert (dronexpert.nl) The Rotorpixel gimbal costs $389 and
the DRONExpert costs $570, which includes a case. There are many
tests and reviews on the internet for both gimbals. Another upgrade
option is the purchase of a lens kit. DJI sells a lens adapter for the
Vision camera that ataches onto the Vision lens and allows you to
a x any 46mm lter on your camera. The adapter costs $15. One
nal, but expensive upgrade, is waterproong. DSLRPros.com has a
deal with Liquipel where you send your Phantom to DSLRPros and
they get it waterproofed. Your Phantom is treated with an invisible
water-safe layer. If your Phantom falls in the water or mud,
everything will still work perfectly. You can even throw your Vision
in the pool, pull it out and y in 30 seconds. This service costs $400,
but it may be worth it if you y above water ofen.
THE LAST WORD
The Phantom 2 Vision is a big step in the right direction for DJI and
for the aerial hobbyist. This product integrates FPV, OSD, aerial
photography and several new technologies in one simple, elegant
device. The price point might be high for the average consumer
hobbyist. In my opinion, the Vision is best for someone who is get-
ting started in aerial video and photography and is looking for an
all-in-one kit. Its particularly suited for people who prefer great
photos to great video.
If you t these catego-
ries, this may be the
best choice of aircraf
for you at this time.
However, if great pho-
tos and FPV are not as
valuable to you as the
cash you would spend,
and you want to save
some money, then the
Phantom FC40 is the
way to go. =
CONTACTS
DJI INNOVATIONS
empirerc.com
EMPIRE RC
empirerc.com
For more information,
please see our source
guide on page 81.
Below: The Phantom 2 Vision comes with a
Wi-Fi repeater and smartphone mount that
install directly onto the transmitters handle.
A GPS and compass module
is a must-have enhancement
that enables the use of a few very
useful functions of the Naza-M
ight controllers. With this mod-
ule, the controller is capable of GPS
position hold, return-home fail-
safe, intelligent orientation control
(home lock and course lock), and
ready to be used with the ground
station module.
The modules GPS sensor and
compass are depended on by the
ight controller to accurately deter-
mine the correct position and
heading of your multirotor, and
proper installation and calibration
of this module is very important for
a problem-free and smooth opera-
tion of the machine. Taking time to
learn how to set up this module cor-
rectly may prevent a few very tense
moments, crashes, or y-aways.
INSTALLATION
Choosing a proper location for the
GPS module is perhaps the most
important thing in the process. The
unit comes with a small carbon-
reinforced mast and some 3M VHB
tape to help with the install. There
are also other masts available.
Collapsible masts are worth con-
sidering if youre looking to travel
with your multirotor, since they
make it easy to put the copter into a
transport case.
The module needs to be kept as
far away from any sources of mag-
netic interference as possible, and
our machines laden with wires,
motors, and other noisy elec-
tronics are not exactly a friendly
environment for them. As great of
an idea as some shorter masts and
mounts are, I cant recommend put-
ting the module closer to the top of
the frame than at the length of the
factory mast.
If your baery is mounted to the
top of the center plate, choose a loca-
tion as far away from the baery as
possible; best near the edge of the
frame on either side of your baery
pack. Leave at least three inches of
distance between the module and
the baery. If the module is installed
too close to the baery, the copter
will behave very unpredictably and
will be extremely di cult to control.
Clean the mounting surfaces
with a small alcohol pad and use
the 3M VHB tape to aach the bot-
tom of the mast to the frame. This is
my preferred method of mounting
because I nd that things survive
beer in crashes if theyre allowed
to pop o. Alternatively you can use
screws to fasten the boom of the
mast to the frame.
Before taping the GPS puck
to the top of the mast, run the cable
to the PMU and make sure that this
cable is not pressed against any
sharp edges on the frame so it does
not get cut.
The arrow on the GPS unit
should be pointed at the front of the
copter, but its exact direction should
be adjusted for magnetic declina-
tion (the angle between magnetic
north and true north) in your area.
The declination slightly changes
with area and time and the compass
adjustment is necessary for the air-
craft to y straight. The best website
by Petr Hejl
HOW TO
GPS/Compass Unit
Install and setup a
Petr Hejl uses multirotor
aircraft as a way to
combine things that he is
passionate about into a
new way of capturing a
moment or telling a story.
He uses his multirotor
machines to capture
amazing aerial video and
photos and enjoys ying
in many unusual places.
Petr is an advocate for
commercial and safe use of
multirotor aircraft and has
been recently highlighted
on CNNs iReport. You can
contact him or see some
of his work on his website
www.NOTaDRONE.com.
for a DJI Naza-M V2
Collapsible masts are worth considering if youre looking to travel with your multi-
rotor, since they make it easy to put the copter into a transport case.
Lift the copter at the tips of opposing pairs of arms and see if it stays balanced.
56 MULTIROTOR PILOT
I found to determine the magnetic
declination in your area is ngdc.
noaa.gov/geomag-web. This web-
site also has a mobile version that
uses your smartphones location
and displays a picture of a com-
pass adjusted for declination on
your phones screen. Turn the
GPS (clockwise for positive, coun-
ter-clockwise for negative) so that
the arrow on the GPS points in
the same direction as the mag-
netic north in the picture on your
phone. There are four tiny adhe-
sive strips in the box that can be
used to mark the true and mag-
netic north directions on the
unit. Check the declination and
readjust it if you travel further
away from your usual ying
area. Slightly adjusting the direc-
tion of the module can also help
resolve situations in which the
copter does not track straight (it
turns right or left when moving
forward, also known as a
toilet-bowl eect). In cases
when compass calibration and
checking the mounting location
parameters in the assistant soft-
ware (both procedures described
further) dont resolve this issue,
simply turn the unit (very
slightly) in the direction opposite
to the direction its trying to track
in. For proper operation, com-
pass calibration (known
as Naza dance) must to be
done every time you adjust the
direction the GPS module is
pointed in.
SETTING UP YOUR GPS IN
THE NAZA-M ASSISTANT
Before seing up the GPS in the
assistant, add all gear on your
copter (the camera, baery, etc.),
and make sure that the aircraft
is balanced. Simply lift the cop-
ter at the tips of opposing pairs
of arms and see if it stays bal-
anced. If it tips to one side, shift
the gear (electronics, baery)
around until its balanced. For
ideal performance, the Naza-m
ight controller unit should be
mounted as close to the center
of gravity as possible, with the
usual mounting location being
the middle of the center plate,
and the arrow on it pointed at
the nose of the copter.
Youll need to measure and
enter the distance from the center
of the GPS module to the center
of gravity in the assistant soft-
ware, under the Basic-Mounting
tab. Use a ruler to measure the
distance along the three axis (the
value needs to be entered in cen-
timeters, 1 cm = 0.39 in.), and
enter the measured values into
the X, Y, Z elds. Be sure to cor-
rectly enter whether the value is
positive or negative; use the dia-
gram in the assistant software as
a guide. If your machine is very
boom-heavy, or the ight con-
troller is mounted too far above
the CG, you can account for
this by adding more distance
on the Z-axis; on most copters I
found it to be no problem to sim-
ply measure the Z-axis from the
center of the boom plate.
Next, open the IMU cali-
bration menu under Tools tab.
This menu helps you calibrate
the IMU sensors and the com-
pass. It is advisable to check
the mod values and re-calibrate
after the initial install, any soft-
ware upgrades, or any IMU or
GPS re-installs (change of loca-
tion). Hover your mouse over
the question mark bubble on
the IMU calibration screen to
reveal a box that explains what
the normal and abnormal mod
values are, and when the basic
or advanced IMU calibrations
should be performed. Keep
the unit away from any mag-
nets or large metal objects when
performing the calibration. A
message informing you that the
MC temperature is too high
and instructing you to let it
cool o may appear. For some
reason this message always
appears during advanced cali-
bration (up to the 2.20 assistant
software), no maer what the
temperature of the unit is. The
IMU calibration will still pro-
ceed (watch the green progress
bar in the assistant) and the
message disappears after it.
ENHANCED FAILSAFE AND
INTELLIGENT ORIENTA-
TION CONTROL
If you havent yet, you may
now set-up the failsafe under
Advanced-F/S. The failsafe set-
ting decides what the copter does
in case the transmier signal is
lost, and the GPS module ena-
bles the use of Go-home&Land
feature. Please, read the fail-
safe instructions on the assistant
screen, and learn how the failsafe
operates before you use it.
You can also enable the ori-
entation lock modes under the
Advanced/IOC tabs. These are a
great help especially in aerial vide-
ography. Get yourself familiar with
the home/course lock functions
by reading the description on the
assistant screen, and practice ying
in these modes in open areas.
Turn the GPS (clockwise for positive, counter-clockwise for negative) so that the arrow on
the GPS points in the same direction as the magnetic north in the picture on your phone.
Clean the mounting surfaces with a small alcohol pad and use the 3M VHB tape to at-
tach the bottom of the mast to the frame.
58 MULTIROTOR PILOT
INSTALL AND SETUP A GPS/COMPASS UNIT FOR A DJI NAZA-M V2
COMPASS CALIBRATION,
AKA THE NAZA-DANCE
The basic compass calibration (sometimes called
the Naza-dance) is an important procedure
done outside of the assistant software (and not to
be confused with the IMU calibration). Perform
a compass calibration every time you: 1) Fly in
a dierent location, 2) Change or re-position
any electronic or mechanical components on
the machine, 3) Change the direction the GPS
module is pointed in, 4) When the ight direction
is not straight (shifting to right/left) and 5) When
the LED module indicates GPS abnormality by
ashing alternately yellow and red. It is ok for
this code to ash occasionally, but if the unit
ashes this code continuously or every few
seconds, switch your copter
from the GPS to the ATTI
mode, land it, and calibrate it.
To perform the
compass calibration,
bring the copter outside,
away from any possible
sources of magnetic
interference (cars, steel
reinforcement, wires
above or underground,
magnetite), and remove
any ferromagnetic
materials from your
pockets (keys, cellphone).
Turn the transmier
and the copter on, and
then quickly toggle the
ight mode switch 6-10
times between its two
end positions (GPS/
Failsafe or GPS/Manual,
depending on your
seing). The LED will
turn on constant yellow,
indicating the calibration
mode. Grab the copter by
two opposing arms, lift
it slightly o the ground
(keep it level), and rotate
it slowly 360 degrees
clockwise until the LED
turns constant green (the
easiest way to do this is to
walk around in the small
circle while holding the
machine in the middle,
thus the Naza-dance). Set
the machine back down
(LED still solid green)
and lift it again, this
time with the nose of the
copter pointing straight
to the ground. Rotate
the copter slowly 360
degrees clockwise again
until the LED turns o,
and youre done. If the LED keeps blinking
red, ip the ight mode switch to exit the
calibration mode and start over.
THE LAST WORD
Take time and care when seing up your
GPS/compass and you will be rewarded with
an amazing ying machine with some very
useful functionality. =
CONTACT
NOTADRONE notadrone.com
guide on page 81.
Measure and enter the distance from the center of the GPS module to the center of
gravity in the assistant software, under Basic-Mounting tab.
Hover your mouse over the question mark bubble on the IMU calibration screen
to reveal a box that explains what the normal and abnormal Mod Values are, and
when should the basic or advanced IMU calibrations be performed.
Grab the copter by two opposing arms, lift it slightly off the ground (keep it level),
and rotate it slowly 360 degrees clockwise until the LED turns constant green
(the easiest way to do this is to walk around in the small circle while holding the
machine in the middle, thus the Naza-dance)
SAVE MONEY
AND MODIFY
YOUR OWN
WIRING!
Summit Aerospace
Supply has the
wires you need.
SASI is a stocking supplier for
many types of wire & cable and
specializes in silicone insulated
wire that has extreme exibility.
This wire is perfect for radio
control enthusiasts:
Increase voltage
Modify power sources
Make your own Y harness
(see the how to in this issue
on page 50).
SASI has a variety of sizes and
colors available; cut packages or
by the foot.
Call us to nd out more
(866) 299-2118
WWW.SUMMITAEROSPACE.COM
Winter Flying Tips

and Tricks
About
the Author
Petr Hejl uses multirotor aircraft as
a way to combine things that he is
passionate about into a new way
of capturing a moment or telling
a story. He uses his multirotor
machines to capture amazing aerial
video and photos and enjoys ying
in many unusual places. Petr is an
advocate for commercial and safe
use of multirotor aircraft and has
been recently highlighted on CNNs
iReport. You can contact him or see
some of his work on his website
www.NOTaDRONE.com.
Story and photos by Petr Hejl
As someone living in the Northeast, I did not want to sit
idly through the winter and envy our friends down south
their ying-friendly climate, so I gured out a few handy
tricks to help me y in winter. Flying in snow and freezing
temperatures presents a few challenges: limited batery life, britle
materials (prop plastic, arms, etc.), and a real di culty to keep it
smooth with ngers frozen to the bone.
WINTER-PROOF THE PILOT
Put on some layers and good
boots when planning to stay
outdoors and y for prolonged
periods of time. There are various
transmiter mits available for you
to put over the transmiter and
just slip your hands in through the
sleeves. Choose one that ts your
transmiter and be aware that you
may need to slightly modify it if
you use a monitor bracket on your
transmiter. It is not necessary to
use gloves in the mit; the only
setback is that the mit tends to
fog up a bit. I keep a silica gel pack inside to help with that.
To keep your hands protected outside of the mit, I recommend
using thin, touch-screen-friendly gloves (i.e. North Face e-tip). They
work on touch screens, which is important if youre using your
smartphone or tablet as a part of
your setup, and you can do almost
all ying-
related
tasks
(changing
bateries,
small
repairs,
even ying)
without ever having to take them o.
If your hands are still cold, you can
stick a couple of self-adhesive warmer
pads to the sides of the transmiter, or
even place some small warmer pads
inside of your gloves.
WINTER-PROOF YOUR MACHINE
Some ight controllers will just simply
refuse to take o when the ambient
temperature is below their operating range.
The key to keeping the machine warm
(inside of a car) until its time to y is to
nd the sensors/components that are most
eected by low temperatures and keep
them warm by placing a warmer pad
over them (loosely, be careful not to obstruct any sensor openings). I
do this by inserting a small warmer pad in between the center plates,
just over the PMU and the MC. On very cold days, I stick another
adhesive warmer pad to the top plate. Put all warmer pads in place
before you leave to go ying, so you dont freeze your ngers trying
to set all this up outdoors.
Plastic parts become very britle in freezing temperatures. Keep
that in mind during spirited ights that the props are easier to
snap. I nd sofer plastic props to perform beter than their carbon-
reinforced counterparts. The gimbal and camera wires get sti and
can cause image wobbles by puting too much pressure on gimbal
motors. Wrapping the wires around a screwdriver to shape them
like a telephone cord helps with that. Consider wrapping your gear
skids with thicker (wider) insulation foam to ease the landings in sof
snow; your gimbal and camera will thank you.
WINTER-PROOF
THE BATTERIES
The ight time tends
to decrease quite a
bit in the freezing
temperatures. Wrap
your bateries before you
leave to go ying and try
keeping them in a warm
place unless theyre on
the copter. Stick a body
warmer pad (the kind with one slightly self-adhesive side works the
best) on the batery, and put it in a botle koozie with zipper. Leave
the batery like that throughout the
day, whether in use or transport
and youll experience no decrease in
ight time.
THE LAST WORD
Dont let the cold
weather stop you
from enjoying
multirotor model
ight. These tips
will help keep you
and your aircraf
comfortable
and make even
the most frigid
temperatures
tolerable. Most
of all, just keep
reminding yourself
that spring is
coming! =
Choosing a ight controller for your
multirotor can be an overwhelming
decision. Often, many enthusi-
asts or professionals are left to scour
forums with thousands of posts or rely on
reviews from hobby retailers. In the past,
when the ultimate in reliability and perfor-
mance was paramount, most considered the
DJI Wookong-M as the go-to controller. With
stunning ight performance, simple congu-
ration, rock-solid stabilization and incredible
reliability, the Wookong-M represented the
pinnacle of technology. Although many
users, like me, were very satised, those
using multirotor frames plagued with vibra-
tion-related issues pushed the limits of even
the mighty Wookong-M. In August 2013, DJI
responded by raising the bar with the tech-
nological marvel called the A2.
COMPONENTS
When unboxing the A2, the rst impression
is that the images online simply do it no
justice. With all components CNC-milled
from billet aluminum, the A2 oods the
senses with its jewel-like appearance and
stunning craftsmanship. The GPS antenna/
compass now sports Pro in the name, and
is substantially larger than before. The IMU
and PMU have been updated with addi-
tional CANbus connection ports, which
allow you to connect more accessories than
ever. The LED module has Bluetooth func-
tionality for easy conguration changes
via smartphone or tablet and a USB port
should you need to connect via computer.
Naturally, a GPS mount, a myriad of cables,
wires and other items are included for
installation in any multirotor.
FEATURES
The main controller now includes a built-
in Futaba-compatible receiver with S.Bus
support, as well as support for external
receivers. Spektrum radio fans will appre-
ciate the ability to plug small Spektrum
satellite receivers directly into the main con-
troller if desired. The internal receiver does
lend to a tidier and cleaner installation,
but the biggest advantage to the A2 in this
department comes from channel support.
Where the Wookong only gave you a few
channels that you could assign to functions,
the A2 is 100 percent customizable and sets
you free from these limitations. Simply click
unmapped on any one of the congurable
channels and it will let you assign a function
to it. Pick a channel on your radio to corre-
spond to that and youre done. Now pilots
can simultaneously control gains, camera
functions, gimbal control, retractable land-
ing gear, ight modes, GPS modes, return
to home and even actuate relays to turn
devices on or o. There is even a feature
which will automatically lower your land-
ing gear when you are less than ve meters
in altitude if you like. With all your favorite
features mapped to your radio, you can
NEED TO KNOW
MANUFACTURER: DJI Innovations
DISTRIBUTOR: Atlanta Hobby
TYPE: Multirotor ight controller with GPS
FOR: Advanced pilots
PRICE: $1399.00
60 MULTIROTOR PILOT
DJI A2
PRODUCT
REVIEW
by Joe Papa
Flight Controller
FEATURES
Supports nine types of multirotors and
a customized motor mixer
Intelligent orientation control
Point of interest capability
Intelligent landing gear function
Auto return-to-home/one-key go home
One motor fail protection
Futaba S.Bus support
Spektrum satellite support
2-axis and 3-axis gimbal support
DJI Ground Station support
External receiver support
The A2 is installed on my octocopter.
break free from the need or concern of hav-
ing a laptop with you when you y.
INSTALLATION TIPS
Its critical to pay close aention to the A2s
manual, as the CANbus ports on the main con-
troller are optimized for certain components
and are not interchangeable. This is espe-
cially important when combining the A2 with
optional accessories from DJI like on-screen dis-
play modules (OSD), Zenmuse camera gimbals
or the iPad Ground Station Data Link.
The IMU should be mounted as close to
the center of gravity as possible and the GPS
antenna, which is more sensitive and capa-
ble than ever, must be located as far from
the main baeries, wires or other magnetic
elds as possible. With several components
and connections to consider, nding a way
to mount things neatly without blocking
access to CANbus ports or other important
connections can be challenging, especially
in smaller frames. I recommend securing all
wiring with zip ties to the frame if possible
and when youre completely satised with
your installation, add a touch of hot glue
to the CANbus cables where they enter the
main controller. Reliability of these connec-
tions is critical, and no wire should be able
to vibrate or ap around.
When assembling the mount for the GPS,
lightly sand the last half inch of the carbon ber
post before using epoxy to improve adhesion.
Ensure your GPS and IMU point forward.
CONFIGURATION AND SETUP
Although the A2 incorporates an internal
receiver, I opted to utilize an external Futaba
S.Bus 14-channel receiver that was included
with the 14SG. The internal receiver on the
A2 as of now does not support telemetry, and
I prefer to have ight pack voltage displayed
on my radio, as well as vibration alerts when
my baery reaches about 21 volts. Anything
to reduce the risk of a crash or pilot error or
other event is an added layer of insurance. If
you use an on-screen display or Ground Sta-
tion app, you may choose to use
the internal receiver, as ight pack
voltage is available there as well.
Connection using S.Bus requires
only one wire to the A2.
Youll need a PC or a Mac to
download and install the latest
A2 Assistant software and driver.
Without props installed, I pow-
ered up the A2 and connected to
the LED with the included USB
cable. I launched the software
and proceeded with installation
of the latest A2 updates. After the
updates, the software will allow
you access to its brilliantly clean and
intuitive interface.
Your radio and receiver should be on
and if the bind process has been completed,
you will be able to see indications of stick
and switch movements in real time on the
screen. Move through each of the tabs and
when in doubt, hover over a function with
your mouse and helpful hints appear and
guide you along. One important step is to
set the IMU and GPS position in relation to
the center of gravity. I found the entire pro-
cess of setup on the A2 to be painless and
trouble-free. The software is clean, elegant
and easy to understand. Operation on either
a Mac or PC is a pleasure, and the app for
the iPhone connects every time and works
awlessly. I took my octocopter outside,
performed a GPS calibration, performed my
usual pre-ight checks and eagerly prepared
to get this bird in the air.
INTELLIGENT ORIENTATION, COURSE
LOCK, HOME LOCK AND POI
Orientation modes are very important to
understand and can lead to confusion if not
fully familiar with their characteristics and
LED light indicators. While seasoned 3D heli
pilots rarely see the need for these features,
newer pilots will nd course lock extremely
valuable and simplies ight signicantly.
With a three-position switch of your choice,
you will have the option to have this feature
O, in Course Lock or Home Lock. Wookong
owners will be pleased to know that the order
of these can be changed, and the POI (point of
The new GPS Compass Pro is much larger than the previ-
ous model and is much more accurate.
The A2s PMU (Power Management Unit).
DJIs Bluetooth LED unit.
interest) feature can be substituted for course
lock or home lock functions. The best descrip-
tion of these functions is as follows:
O Whatever direction the front of the
multirotor faces will be the direction it will
y when you move the right stick forward.
Course Lock When powering up, the A2
will quickly ash green 10 times when it
recognizes the direction it is facing. This
direction will be the forward direction for
the pilot and the multirotor even if you
rotate or yaw the copter. It eectively turns
the right stick into a joystick, and makes y-
ing easy, fun and safe.
Home Lock This is good for geing the
multirotor home by moving the right stick for-
ward; the copter will come back to the home
point from wherever it is. This mode can be
confusing at rst, as it is disorienting to move
the right stick forward and see the multi move
in a direction you arent expecting. Because of
this, options exist to have the copter come back
nose in, or tail. I highly recommend disabling
home lock until you are totally and completely
comfortable with its behavior or have prac-
ticed it in a large open space.
PERFORMANCE
With my Carbon Core Octocopter pow-
ered up, I waited for the A2 to lock onto
satellites. Much to my surprise, it did so in
a fraction of the time I was accustomed to,
and while the Wookong-M would routinely
acquire approximately 7-9 satellites, the
A2 was over 12 in under a minute. In ai-
tude mode, I initiated the motors with my
transmier sticks by moving both to the bot-
tom right corners, and then I slowly moved
the throle up to the mid-point. The Octo-
copter smoothly lifted o without incident
and calmly hovered steadily at about 20 feet
elevation. I reached up on the 14SG and uti-
lizing the new functionality, was able to
adjust my gains with a simple turn of the left
and right dials located in the center. Condi-
tions outside were about 30 degrees F with
light wind. As I began to y some basic pat-
terns, an unfamiliar level of smoothness and
renement that I had never before expe-
rienced became evident. I switched into
GPS hold and gasped in amazement as the
A2 appeared to hold the aitude and posi-
tion with such precision and authority that
the sky, clouds and octocopter appeared as
though it were a still photograph in front of
me. The octocopter hovered as if suspended
from the clouds by a string.
Since the maiden voyage I have logged
over 100 ights on two separate A2 control-
lers. One is mounted on a 1200mm coaxial
hex and the other is a 1000mm at octocop-
ter with a Zenmuse Z15 and Canon 5D Mark
III. Ive own the A2 in conditions ranging
from calm to 30 mph gusts of wind, light
snow, heavy fog, and temps as cold as zero
degrees. When switching from GPS to Ai,
the Wookong would always drop about a
foot of altitude, even with the V2 IMU. The
A2 makes the ight mode change without a
single shred of evidence. In high winds the
A2 is relentless at maintaining its position,
and the POI function is far more accurate at
keeping the object centered in the cameras
view. Having the functions I need assigned
to the switches I want without compro-
mise justies the upgrade alone. Factor in
the countless other improvements, and it
becomes startlingly apparent that the A2
isnt a Wookong in a prey package, but a
serious tool designed to protect your invest-
ment, and perform without incident.
THE LAST WORD
If you are a serious enthusiast looking for
more functionality, or a professional look-
ing to y cameras worth more than some
homes, the A2 is completely unrivaled,
represents the state of the art and is a mas-
terpiece of engineeringthe new standard
by which all others will be judged. =
CONTACTS
ATLANTA HOBBY atlantahobby.com
DJI INNOVATIONS dji.com
guide on page 81.
PRODUCT REVIEW
I
DJI A2 FLIGHT CONTROLLER
62 MULTIROTOR PILOT
Mapping channels is very easy and robust with the new Assistant software.
Main setup screen of the A2 Assistant software.
Nine aircraft type are availble.
The A2 Assistant software lets you enter your offsets for
the location of the IMU and GPS units.
Atlanta Hobby is one of the
largest retailers in the United
States with a very heavy
focus on multirotor aircraf.
We caught up with Cli Whitney, the
owner, to ask him a few questions
about his company and his view of the
multirotor market.
MULTIROTOR PILOT: How long as
Atlanta Hobby been in business?
CLIFF WHITNEY: I started the business
in 1978 as Whitneys Glider Supply
in Charlote, NC. It was a part-time
business, as I was working for a small
but growing photo specialty company.
From there I moved the company to
Chatanooga, TN, and located the shop
on a mountain so we could ridge-soar
our gliders, our hang gliders and our
full-size sailplanes all we wanted.
Fifeen years ago we moved the business
to Atlanta and changed the name to AtlantaHobby.com.
MP: You call yourself the multirotor experts. How do you support
that market?
CW: I love supporting and working in fast-moving markets. I love
industries in change and being an electric-based aircraf shop and a
full-size airplane and sailplane pilot, who knew photography and
video production, I saw the technology that was starting to happen
and I invested heavily in the multirotor business. We eat and breathe
this stu and I am blessed to have formed a stellar team of expert
associates to support our endeavors.
MP: What are your main product lines in this market?
CW: We are focused on multirotors and are specialists in the
photography and video areas (from my photography background).
We also have in development several xed-wing aircraf that we are
deploying in the agricultural markets.
MP: Some of these systems, especially with FPV and the higher-end
ight controllers, can have a steep learning curve; do you provide
support?
CW: Absolutely, some of the high-end ight control systems can
be daunting but this is what sets our company apart. We have a
dedicated sta of specialists for each of our product lines. We will
take the time to educate our potential clients and listen to their
needs so they get the exact systems for their requirements. We also
have a dedicated technical support and repair sta and oer full
training programs to be sure clients are fully up to speed as they take
delivery of their equipment. We answer the phones and will support
customers even if the equipment was not purchased from us.

MP: Do you provide turnkey packages for
those customers who dont want to build?
CW: Yes, that is one of our specialties. We
have built systems for the military, the
forestry service and almost all major motion
picture studios, not to mention thousands
of production houses and professional
photographers. From smaller systems for
hobbyists and real estate agents, insurance
adjusters and municipalities to larger ones
used in programs that I cant talk about, we
will spec, build, program, test-y and then
train the owners until they are fully up to
speed.

MP: Can you tell us about any cool non-
hobby applications that you have worked
with clients on?
CW: We have worked with one of the major
technical colleges with scientists who
have developed algorithms to take our
photography and calculate complex roof
lines for roong companies to use for estimating material usage prior
to construction.
We have also worked with a major sofware company specializing
in the CAD space to take our data/photos and use them for building
sophisticated 3D models. Imagine a farmer having a big, oddly-
shaped pile of dirt and needing to know the total volume so he can
take it to market. We can y over it and photograph it and then feed
it into the sofware and it will render a 3D model of it and from there
any calculation is possible.
We also worked with one photographer on a major motion picture
who took a unit we built to Chernobyl in Russia. Very cool footage
here, I could go on and on as it is the wild, wild west right now.

MP: Is there anything else that you would like to share with our
readers?
CW: I love introducing kids to this hobby. Five years ago our average
customer was 64 years young. In the past couple of years I have
seen it drop dramatically into the 20s and 30s. This multirotor side
of the industry is allowing us to get kids and young adults o the
couch, away from the video games and outside to use this cool new
technology. The copters are so easy to y that I will let any 5-7 year
old (with proper supervision) y the DJI Phantom. They get excited
and can understand the computer side of things, they know what a
GPS is and how to program a ight path. The kids are our future and
they get this stu and it is very cool to see them take hold of it.
This technology has such a positive aspect for kids in science and
math not to mention the benets to industry. The economic impact
for our country is so great with these machines; it is an exciting time
to be in this business and to be alive!
For more information visit atlantahobby.com
Inside Atlanta Hobby
WITH CLIFF WHITNEY
By The Editors
FPV Controller
EAGLE TREE
SYSTEMS
A flight
controller
built for pilots
...by pilots
NEED TO KNOW
MANUFACTURER: Eagle Tree Systems
TYPE: Flight control system for multirotors
and xed-wing models
MINIMUM FLYING AREA: Baseball eld
PRICE: $279.99
ITEMS INCLUDED/NEEDED:
Includes the base controller unit, the GPS/
Magnetometer and the Current Sensor/PSU.
No FPV equipment is included. You must
provide your own FPV system to use the OSD
features of the controller.
64 MULTIROTOR PILOT
VECTOR
FIRST LOOK
by Joe Cannavo
As the world of multirotor plat-
forms expands by leaps and
bounds, there remain only a few
select manufacturers for the ight
control units for such aircraft. We all know
who the big names are, as well as a few of
the lesser known brands, but the fact of the
maer is that there are very few options
when considering a control system for a
shiny new multirotor. Eagle Tree Systems
looks to change that with the release of their
Vector ight control system. Not only does
this unit give pilots another option for an
all-in-one system, but it also adds a ton of
key features that other controllers do not
include. Perhaps the coolest part about the
Vector is that it can be used in xed-wing
aircraft as well as multirotor platforms.
After glancing over the manual for the
Vector system, the thing that stood out the
most to me was the fact that a PC is not
needed for most of the basic programming.
I can easily recall many, many sleepless
nights aributed to the fact that my limited
knowledge of PCs and ight control boards
had often ended up with a broken keyboard.
For some systems, its nearly impossible to
even nd a decent manual, much less nd a
source for tech support. Eagle Tree aims to
squash the PC-phobia that is all too relevant
in the world of multirotor programming
with the release of the Vector system. Most
basic programming can be performed via
the transmier on the OSD which is a wel-
come feature, not having to lug my laptop to
the ying site. The PC interface for the Vec-
tor is also easier to navigate than most other
software programs designed to assist the
user, so the main intent of Eagle Tree for the
transmier program is really to make on-
the-y adjustments to the system while out
in the eld. Whatever program features that
you might need to change on the control-
ler are displayed in plain sight, right on the
OSD. No need for a PC and USB cable.
The OSD seems to be the one facet that the
folks at Eagle Tree really focused on when
developing this new system. While there is
no actual FPV system included with the Vec-
tor, prey much any of the widely available
transmier and receiver combos will work.
The idea behind the key features of the OSD
and its interaction with the main ight control-
ler are designed to be easily interpreted at a
glance, oer quick tuning and allow the pilot
a greater measure of control and safety than
ever before. Perhaps the coolest feature of the
OSD on the Vector is the addition of color dis-
plays. One can choose either numeric data
info with ashing alarms or graphs with cus-
tom color thresholds. One can also set up what
Eagle Tree refers to as swatches, whereas
there will be a visible alarm blinking over
whatever bit of info requires the pilots aen-
tion. As with all things in lifeeverything in
moderation. This holds true for the OSD info
as well; in that there is so much data that can
be displayed, it could make your head spin.
The nice part about the data display is that
each individual pilot can simplify it to what-
ever degree they want or crank up the features
available if they so choose.
The other features found on the Vector sys-
tem are those that most of us are accustomed
to from our experience with other ight con-
trol systems, except that they will be easier
to program when using the Vector. Eagle
Tree went a long way, taking two years, to
develop this system and they kept ease of
use at the top of their priority list. We used
our Next Level hexcopter as the test machine
for the Vector and lets just say we were very
impressed with how easy the machine is
to y and how simple it is to make tuning
adjustments on a whim, without the need for
a PC. The price is right in line with most pop-
ular ight control systems and the Vector
packs a ton of features into its programming
that other units do not oer. At the time of
writing this article, the production units had
not been released, but the Vectors should be
available by the time you are reading this.
Got a multirotor or FPV xed wing? Get a
Vectoryou wont be sorry. =
CONTACTS
EAGLE TREE SYSTEMS eagletreesystems.com
NEXT LEVEL MULTIROTORS
nextlevelmulti-rotors.com
guide on page 81.
KEY FEATURES
OSD (on-screen display) with color graphics that
will continue working even if your camera fails
Multirotor and xed-wing capable with GPS and
RTH (return to home) functions
Very simple to set up and operate with no PC
required for most features
Included wire harness simplies the usual mess
involved with wiring a multirotor
Fatshark FPV camera
and Predator V2
goggles used with
the Vector.
RC LOGGER
Hold steady and look out!
NEED TO KNOW
MANUFACTURER: RC Logger
DISTRIBUTOR: RC Logger
TYPE: Micro quadcopter
FOR: Beginner to advanced multi-rotor pilots
MINIMUM FLYING AREA: Indoor small
spaces/outdoor in light wind conditions
PRICE: $129.99
66 MULTIROTOR PILOT
PILOT REVIEW
by Greg Vogel
RC EYE One X
My rst experience with RC Log-
ger was at the iHobby trade show
and although I took a look at the
product, I spent more time talking
to the crew behind the U.S. arm of the com-
pany. The guys were a wealth of knowledge
about the products they represented, but
more importantly, they were hobbyists and
most important of all, they liked having a
good time with the product. Their excite-
ment drew me into the RC Logger line and
now Ive moved on from small low-cost
quads to the RC Logger Eye One Xtreme
that boasts a lot of features for which I was
looking in a next level multirotor. The EOX
has several ight modes and an altitude
hold that will allow me to take beer video,
since I had also picked up the optional Aer-
ial kit. The cost is right, the ability is there
and this machine has great backingis it
your next quad? Im aiming to see if it ts
my multi-rotor needs.
IN THE BOX
This rst thing I did was gaze upon the
EOX. It looks prey simple yet techy for a
multi-rotor under one-hundred and fty
beans. Starting at the center, under the
black plastic Reeses Peanut Buer Easter
egg-shaped cover are two layers of circuit
boards liered with the latest electronic
components that make up the 6-axis gyro,
accelerometer, speed controls, 2.4GHz
receiver and altitude hold that you dont
need to worry about unless you plan on
tweaking the system to accept an aftermar-
ket Onelink or PPM capable radio. If this
is the case youll notice a few pins that are
used to make the radio install possible with
some program work. The circuit boards
mount to a plastic frame with aluminum
tubes extending from the body to the brush-
less out-runner motors and mounts. Red
legs and a number of colored LEDs help
identify the quads direction.
An 800mAh 2S LiPo baery comes with
the kit and its single power connector is
basically the balance connector as well. To
SPECS
FLYING WEIGHT: 5.54 oz. (without battery)
DIAMETER: 7.09 in. (without props)
HEIGHT: 3.15 in.
PROPELLER/MAIN ROTOR DIAMETER:
5.43 in. (138mm)
RADIO: 4-channel 2.4GHz (included)
MAIN MOTOR: Micro brushless (4 installed)
POWER SYSTEM: Receiver/ESC/mixer/6-axis
gyro/accelerometer (installed)
BATTERY: 800mAh 2S 7.4V LiPo
CHARGER: USB (included)
DURATION: 8 minutes
NEEDED TO COMPLETE: nothing
GEAR INCLUDED: Assembled RC Eye One
Xtreme micro-quad, USB charger, 800mAh bat-
tery, Mode 1 or Mode 2 transmitter, decal sheet,
, AAA batteries and warning instruction manual
PROS
Complete ready-to-y package when
purchasing the ready-to-y model with
transmitter, but can be purchased without
radio with OneLink for those who want to
install their own radio
Quality construction with plastic frame
and aluminum tubes extending to the
motor supports
Beginner mode is super easy to use with
thumb controls, making rst ights an instant
success and the ight level can be altered to
appease pros
Easily upgradable to hold a camera like the
popular GoPro or RC Logger Pro cameras
CONS
Found the trims to wander slightly over the
period of a ight
Xtreme
Authors Opinion
For those of us starting on or going to the
next level of multirotors and wanting the
ability to strap on a camera to take full
advantage of what these machines have to
offer, the RC Logger Eye One Xtreme offers
plenty of features, quality and performance
that will make ight a success all while
capturing the action at an affordable price.

PILOT REVIEW
I
RC LOGGER RC EYE ONE XTREME
IN THE AIR
68 MULTIROTOR PILOT
charge the pack, you simply plug it into the
included USB-style charge and plug it into
a powered USB socket, such as a computer,
and let it dangle as it charges at 1000mAh
per charging channel. Red LED lights inside
the unit let you know the baery is charging
and when it goes out, thats your signal to
install the baery to play.
The radio is a rather simple video game-
style unit with minimal frills, not even an
LED to let you know the radio is on; thats
what a system of beeps is for and since I like
things that beep, Ill get used to no visual
indicators. The radio has a plastic feel, but
is comfortable and the gimbals are smooth.
Trim buons allow you to adjust the model
and the mode buon lets you troll through
the EOXs ability, from beginner to sport to
advanced ight. On top, buons let you do
ip tricks once your condence level is ready.
Beyond the box, youll need to go online
to get the full instruction manual on every-
thing that is inside the EOX as far as features
go, and there youll also learn how to oper-
ate the quad and get into those functions.
In the event you need help, RC Logger is on
hand to help determine an answer to what-
ever issue may pop up.
THE LAST WORD
As primarily a RC surface guy, the rise in mul-
tirotor popularity and technology has quickly
gained my interest to take to the skies. Most
of my experience has been with basic multi-
rotors, but I was looking for more and when I
chose to take that next step with RC Loggers
Eye One Xtreme, it was the right step in my
progression in this segment. The EOX is easy
to use out of the box even for the rst time ier
and its programming allows the ier to grow
into the quad and successfully y it while
performing tricks and even carry a camera
payload to get extra entertainment from the
platform. The quality is all there with the Eye
One Xtreme and support from the RC Logger
crew has been fantastic. =
CONTACTS
RC LOGGER rclogger.com
guide on page 81.
The radio on/off button needs to be depressed and two beeps sound to let you know the radio
is ready. I then plugged the battery in the EOX and strapped it to the frame. A small LED on top
lets you know there is power to the system. With a small nudge on the throttle, the EOX didnt
spool up, so I went to the box and pulled out a manual deemed Important Information. Surely
this will have a quick start guide. Step one of the guide, download the manual and the rest of
the steps go over safety information. The manual is fairly lengthy and did clue me in to how to
arm the EOX for ight, but its also lled with useful information that will aid in your success in
ying the Eye One Xtreme. Then it was back to the conference room in the MultiRotor Pilot mag-
azine ofces. A quick down and left on the throttle stick armed the system and the rotors started
spinning at a low rpm. Slowly I throttled up and the EOX separated from the ground ever so gen-
tly and actually rather quietly. In beginner mode, the controls were extremely numb and I could
slam the all the sticks with the exception of the throttle around without fearing disaster. The ease
of use in beginner mode really allowed me to get a feel for the EOX and boosted my condence
enough to head outside in sport mode for a more exciting ight.
Before heading out, I stepped up the excitement a little more by adding the Aerial kit and
a GoPro Hero3 camera. The kit requires you to swap out props, landing gear and battery
for larger units to accommodate for the cameras
weight. Then you snap the camera deck to the
frame and stick the camera to it with some Vel-
cro or two-sided tape and in my case I added
an additional Velcro strap. With the EOX decked
out and ready to be my eye in the sky, I headed
outside and noticed the wind had dramatically
picked upgures. Wind was not going to stop
me; I throttled up and set off to get some images
of the roof of my house. The winter hasnt been
kind in these parts and I wanted to see if I might
need to contact a roofer. When I landed after my
video shoot, I did nd that unplugging the bat-
tery is a bit of a pain with the Aerial kit on and
you pretty much have to remove the camera
deck to access the battery straps in order to tilt
the battery out and unplug it. Back inside, I was
impressed with the results of my video taking
and on a side note, a little depressed about some
shingle damage to my roof.
Finally it was time for extra fun and I headed
out in advance of a more sporty ight. The EOX
is quick to react to stick input, probably a little to
quick for my ability right now, but I did manage
to pull off a few ips with success, which made
me want to spend more time with the Eye One
Xtreme to master its potential.
SONY
The new aerial video/FPV camera on the block
70 MULTIROTOR PILOT
PRODUCT
SPOTLIGHT
by Joe Cannavo
The world of
hand-held,
purpose-built
POV cameras
is ever expanding and
while there are a few
names that might be
hovering around the top
of that game, Sony looks
to carve a niche out for
themselves with their
latest release of the Sony
Compact POV Action
Cam. The pint-sized
camera is capable of still shots up to 11.9 megapixels, shooting and
storing hours of HD video, comes with a new, fully waterproof case that
is actually able to capture audio while submerged and is GPS enabled.
A host of new design features oers up an easier to use and easier to
mount photography platform. Toss into the mix the fact that the Action
Cam is also capable of Wi-Fi connectivity and it is readily apparent that
Sony has just called out all other camera manufacturers to ante up.
The latest edition of the Sony Compact POV Action Cam, the
AS30V/B, is a vast improvement over its predecessor, the AS15. While
the camera itself hasnt necessarily received much of an update, the
peripheral accessories and compatibility have grown by leaps and
bounds. This newest version of the Action Cam features a new chest
mount option, a new universal headband mount, a waterproof case
that is audio-capable in addition to having external butons, and it now
includes a car charger and is also capable of connecting to a Wi-Fi device
to act as a remote screen.
Not only have the cameras accessories received a make-over, but
so too has the sofware been revised. The editing platform for videos
and pictures incorporates a host of new features such as the ability to
capture GPS
data to overlay
location and/
or speed to
video. There
is also a new
split-screen
feature that
allows the use
of multiple
camera shots to be displayed on one screen for viewing. The massive
170-degree viewing angle of the Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens is sure to be
a potent combo with such sofware abilities.
MULTIROTOR USE
The market for two-axis gimbals for small, POV-type cameras still
remains a fairly small market when considering pre-built and wired
units. Such units are surely nice additions to any machine that will
be enlisted to aerial photography duties, but they can also rarely be
obtained for less than a couple hundred dollars.
The two-axis brushless gimbal is a design that was found on
thingiverse.com and employs a Martinez board from HobbyKing as well
as two inexpensive brushless motors. Most widely available gimbals
Compact POV
Action Cam
FEATURES
SteadyShot image stabilization
Built-in Wi-Fi with one touch NFC connection for remote control and viewing
via smartphone
Built-in GPS plots location and calculates telemetry
Six video modes including 1080/60p HD and 4X slow motion
Ultra wide 170 degree pro quality Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens
Exmor-R CMOS sensor with enhanced sensitivity for beautiful images
Rugged waterproof housing with universal tripod mount
Remote control operation with optional Live View Remote
High quality 12MP still images in photo mode
Built-in stereo mic
Memory Stick Micro and Micro SD/SDHC compatible
HDMI output for easy le transfer
CONVENIENCE FEATURES
Date/time stamp
Media/battery indicator (recordable time and remaining capacity)
On-screen main indicators: recording mode; image stabilization; GPS tracking
status; shooting mode status
Auto image management le repair
Fast playback (5-10 times)
PRICE: $299.99
SPECS
CAMERA
CAMERA TYPE: POV action cam
COLOR: Black
SHUTTER SPEED: Auto control range: 1/30 -
1/10,000 (30fps)
MINIMUM ILLUMINATION: 6 lux
SCENE MODE(S): Auto/underwater
BACKLIGHT COMPENSATION: Auto
NOISE REDUCTION: Yes
WHITE BALANCE MODE: Auto
PROCESSOR: BIONZ image processor
PIXEL GROSS: Approx. 16,800K pixels
EFFECTIVE PICTURE RESOLUTION: Approx.
11,900K pixels (16:9)
IMAGING SENSOR: 1/2.3 in. (7.77mm) back-
illuminated Exmor R

CMOS Sensor
HDMI TERMINAL: Yes (HDMI micro)
MEMORY CARD SLOT: Memory Stick Micro and
Micro SD/SDHC/SDXC compatible
HD OUTPUT: HDMI Out (micro) (sold separately)
USB PORT(s): micro-B/USB2.0 Hi-speed (mass-
storage)
WI-FI: IEEE 802.11b/g/n (2.4GHz band)
MULTI/MICRO USB TERMINAL: Yes
MICROPHONE INPUT: Stereo mini jack
LENS TYPE: Carl Zeiss

Vario-Tessar Lens
FOCAL DISTANCE: f=2.5mm, f=1/8inch
APERTURE: F2.8
FOCAL LENGTH (35mm equivalent):
f=15.3mm, f= 5/8 inch
ANGLE OF VIEW: 170 degrees (without
SteadyShot), 120 degrees (with SteadyShot)
POWER REQUIREMENTS: 3.6V (battery pack)
BATTERY TYPE: NP-BX1
CHARGE ON CAMCORDER (Charging time with
supplied battery): Approx. 4 hours, 5 min
VIDEO SIGNAL: HD: HDTV 1080/60p
VIDEO RESOLUTION: PS:1920x1080 60p (PS),
1920x1080 30p (HQ), 1280x720 30p (STD),
1280x720 60p/- (SLOW), 1280x720 120p/-
(SSLOW), 640x480 30p (VGA)
AUDIO FORMAT: MPEG-4 AAC-LC 2ch
MOVIE RECORDING RATE (Average Bit Rate/
VBR): HQ: Approx. 16Mbps / SSLOW: Approx.
24Mbps / SLOW: Approx. 12Mbps / STD: Approx.
6Mbps / VGA: Approx. 3Mbps
VIDEO FORMAT: MP4: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264
STILL IMAGE MODE: JPEG
STILL IMAGE MAX EFFECTIVE RESOLUTION:
11.9 megapixels
WEIGHT: Approx.90g (with battery)
DIMENSIONS: 31/32 in. x 1 7/8 in. x 3 in.
(24.5 x 47.0 x 82.0mm)
today feature a mounting plate for more of
a square-bodied camera, whereas the Action
Cam is a traditional camcorder barrel shape.
The custom-printed, locking jaw for the Sony
cam works perfectly as it is fully adjustable for
CG weight balance.
We printed the gimbal on a Lulzbot
TAZ 3 3D printer. This printer has proven
to be invaluable as we continually work on
multirotor projects. Afer we factor in the cost
of the motors and the controller board, we
are looking at less than $100 for a very precise
gimbal that when coupled with the Sony
Action Cam, we have been able to get incredible results and
extremely stable video. For more information on the gimbal
visit multirotorpilotmag.com/sonygimbal.
IN FLIGHT
The Sony Action Cam was strapped rmly into our printed
gimbal body and was mounted securely to the botom of our
Gaui 540H hexcopter for testing purposes. Employing a few
sections of silicon fuel line in between the gimbal and batery
mounting plate allowed for a bit of vibration dampening,
while still remaining securely fastened to the frame of the
aircraf should any mishaps occur. The 540H might not be
an aerobatic machine, but when own in manual mode,
it can get a bit squirrely, almost to the point of horizontal
orientation if pushed hard enough in a banked turn. Puting
the gimbal and camera through their paces by tossing the
aircraf around aggressively was our sole intent. Surely if we
couldnt get the camera or gimbal to waiver, any weekend
warrior should be more than satised with such a combo, no
mater what they might be applying it to.
Through all of our o-kilter maneuvers, the custom-built
gimbal held steady, allowing for wobble-free video to be
captured. While the ability to capture audio while recording
video is not necessarily sought afer when concerning
their use in multirotors (largely due to the sound of the props), it is important to point out a few
features of the new case for the Action Cam. The original AS15 camera included a case that capable
of submerging down to a depth of nearly 200 feet! This might be quite a feat, but the reality is that
most users will never, ever approach such a depth and the design of such a case made it a litle large
and bulky when handling. The new case is only rated for depths down to sixteen feet, but it has two
notable features. The rst is the inclusion of waterproof membranes to allow for audio transfer to
the camera while still in the case. Got a hankering to go swim with some dolphins and record their
songs? No problem. The other cool new feature of the case for the AS30V is that it now incorporates
external butons, allowing for the use of the actual camera control functions without removing it
from the case. Ever want to capture the beauty of the coral reefs on a scuba expedition without
removing your precious camera from its safe housing? No problem.
THE LAST WORD
Sony looks to plant themselves rmly on the map of the POV action camera mountain with the
release of their latest model, the Compact POV Action Cam AS30V. Really a rened version of the
AS15, the new model features a ton of new sofware upgrades as well as peripheral accessories
that not only make the entire system easier to use, but also expand the capabilities of the camera.
Couple the AS30V with a custom-built gimbal and what youre lef with is a potent combo that is
just a competent and capable as any other out there for
capturing aerial video, while doing it all for hundreds
of dollars less. If youre in the market for a new POV
camera, no mater what type of trails you might be
hiting or toys you might be playing with, the new
Sony Action Cam is sure to do everything you ask of
it and more. =
CONTACTS
LULZBOT lulzbot.com
SONY sony.com
THINGIVERSE thingiverse.com
For more information, please see our
source guide on page 81.
2-AXIS GOPRO 3 GIMBAL
FY-G3
FEIYU TECH
Rock-steady
camera footage
72 MULTIROTOR PILOT
PRODUCT
SPOTLIGHT
by Joe Cannavo
The DJI
Phantom
is an
incredible
quadcopter with
a lot of innovative
features that make
it a perfect machine
for capturing
video and still
photography from
the air. It comes
with a xed mount
for the GoPro
camera and uses
rubber dampeners
to help stabilize the
video. The video
quality is good, but
as the Phantom is
bounced around by
wind and operator
controls, the video
will follow the
machine which can
make for a dizzying
experience,
depending on
how rough the
conditions are. If
you are looking
for smooth and
stable, Hollywood-
like video, then
the solution is a
brushless gimbal.
The Feiyu Tech
FY-G3 is a two-axis
gimbal designed
specically for the
GoPro Hero 3 video camera. It comes with a built-in controller board
that is pre-programmed from the factory. This is a huge plus, as a lot of
DIY gimbals and even some other commercially-available units require
you to atach them to your computer to set them up, which can be a
daunting task, especially for the beginner. One of the reasons you most
likely purchased the Phantom in the rst place was because it is ready
to y right out of the box, so I think it will be safe to say that you will
enjoy the fact that you can simply plug in the Feiyu Tech gimbal and
start recording video from your Phantom.
The Feiyu Tech gimbal is constructed of machined-aluminum
with a beautiful black powder-coated nish. It uses two very powerful
brushless gimbal motors that were specically made for this device.
The mount includes anti-vibration dampeners which greatly reduce
the jello eect that many people see using a GoPro on a multirotor
aircraf without dampeners. The unit also has a high angle of
inclination; 55 degrees on the roll axis and -180 to +60 degrees on the
pitch axis.
There is a plug on the board to connect a harness to your
Phantoms controller board so that you can manually control the pitch
and roll angles of the gimbal. Adjusting the pitch is the most common.
This is handy when you want to aim the camera downward while in
the air. This gimbal even allows you to aim the camera vertically so
you can shoot directly
under the Phantom.
INSTALLATION
Installing the Feiyu
Tech gimbal is simple
and only takes about
15 minutes. It ataches
to the stock mounting
holes under the
Phantom. The real
trouble is geting
power to the unit. It
comes with a power
harness with two bare
wires on the ends. You
need to connect them
to your main batery.
To make it so we can
remove the gimbal
from the Phantom
without unsoldering
wires, we installed a
JST wire harness to
the gimbals power
harness and the other
end of the JST harness
to the Phantoms main
batery connectors.
Rather than splice
the wires into the
Phantoms power
harness, I opted to
replace the stock
XT60 connector
with E-ites EC5
connectors, since this
is what I use on all of
my bateries. I reamed
a hole in the botom
of the Phantoms
case to allow the JST
connector to pass
through. So now the power is applied to the gimbal as soon as I plug
the batery into the Phantom.
THE LAST WORD
If you are looking for an excellent quality, highly stable video from
your GoPro 3 camera on your Phantom, and dont want to break the
bank, I strongly recommend the Feiyu Tech FY-G3 Brushless Gimbal.
Since the mount can be changed on the unit, you can easily adapt this
gimbal to other models and even to an RC car for some live on-the-
track action. =
CONTACTS
E-FLITE e-iterc.com
FEIYU TECH gothelirc.com
GOPRO gopro.com
SPECS
MANUFACTURER: Feiyu Tech
DISTRIBUTOR: GotHeliRC.com
APPLICATIONS: DJI Phantom, xed-wing
aircraft, helicopter and car
WEIGHT: 178g
POWER REQUIREMENT: 3S-4S LiPo battery
INPUT VOLTAGE: 8-18V
ROLL ANGLE: -55 to +55 degrees
PITCH ANGLE: -180 to +60 degrees
STABILIZATION ANGLE: 0 degrees (roll) and
-90 to +30 degrees (pitch)
PRICE: $174.95
IN THE AIR
I took the Phantom out to the parking lot
to test it and had Walter, our photographer,
there to get some ight photos. It was a very
windy, a day which I normally would not
opt to y, especially if I wanted stable video.
After arming the Phantom and waiting for the
Gimbal to initialize, I brought it into a hover,
ying in manual mode, and positioned it
so Walter could do his thing. Since I was in
manual mode, I was ghting the wind, which
was a great way to test the gimbals stability.
I ew around for about 10 minutes and since
I was not ying FPV, I had to wait until I got
back into my ofce to see how the video
turned out.
After downloading the video from the
memory card, I was amazed at how stable
it was. In the past I made my own brushless
gimbal, which worked very well. However,
this blew mine away in terms of raw stability.
The only other gimbal that Ive used before
was the DJI Zenmuse, which offered very
impressive video stability, however it costs
almost $200 more than the Feiyu Tech FY-G3.
In comparison, after watching video shot
from both gimbals with the same camera, I
honestly could not tell the difference.
Hexacopter
550 FPV
HEXTREME
High quality,
fun to fly
FPV hex
74 MULTIROTOR PILOT
PILOT REVIEW
by Matt Maziarz
When Hobby Express decided that
they wanted to get into the hex-
copter game, they opted to design
their own machine rather than dis-
tributing those of other manufacturers.
Countless hours of research and testing
yielded the Hextreme 550, a purpose-built
aerial photography platform. Powered by
the companys own brand of eRC motors
and ESCs, the 550 has ample giddee-up
while remaining quite stable in any ori-
entation. From the factory, the machine
comes with a pre-soldered motor and ESC
leads so assembly is a breeze. The unit even
includes an FPV camera mount as well as
those necessary for the video transmier.
While there are many ight control sys-
tems on the market, it is most apparent that
the 500 was designed with the DJI Naza-M
system in mind as evidenced by the com-
pass mast mounting plate that sits aft of the
main frame. The folks at Hobby Express
most denitely did their homework while
designing the Hextreme 550 and they
spared no expense in its construction.
NEED TO KNOW
MANUFACTURER: Hobby Express
TYPE: Hexacopter
MINIMUM FLYING AREA: Club eld
PRICE: $830.00 (Kit with ESCs and motors)
NEEDED TO COMPLETE: Minimum six-
channel transmitter and receiver, multirotor
control board, propellers, three to four-cell
LiPo battery and compatible charger. Extra
receiver channels can be used for remote ac-
cess to gain adjustment and gimbal control.
SPECS
FLYING WEIGHT: 3.8 lbs.
FRAME SIZE: 550mm
PROPELLERS: Three 8x5 CW, Three 8x5 CCW
RADIO: Flown with Hitec Aurora 9x transmitter and
a Hitec Maxima 9-channel receiver
POWER SYSTEM: (6) eRC brushless 480 motors,
(6) eRC 25 amp ESCs
FLIGHT CONTROLLER: DJI Naza-M V2 with GPS
(not included)
GIMBAL: Tarot 2-axis T2-D Brushless (not included)
CAMERA: GoPro Hero3 Black (not included)
BATTERY: MaxAmps 4S 14.8V 5450mAh 120C
LiPo (not included)
PROS
Pre-soldered distribution board and ESCs means
no ddling with a hot iron for this build
Rigid alloy arms offer ample support for hauling
heavier camera rigs in addition to looking sharp
Super-tall landing gear (legs) allow the user to
mount any one of the variety of gimbals
and cameras on the market today
CONS
Battery box only ts certain height batteries on
our test machine, but Hobby Express has already
addressed the issue with a larger box on all
machines to follow.
No printed or online manual
Authors
Opinion
Upon opening the box for the Hex-
treme 550 Hex, I was surprised at just
how much they were able to cram into
such a small package. The idea of a
pre-soldered frame, which doubles as a
distribution board, as well as the motor
leads pre-installed on the arms are sure
to save some build time. The kit even
comes with LEDs that are pre-soldered
and while there are no printed or online
manuals to speak of, Hobby Express
does feature a how-to build video on
the website. I was able to assemble
the frame within one short evening and
had the electronics installed in another
night, eagerly anticipating some
warmer weather so I could get the Hex-
treme 550 up in the air.
76 MULTIROTOR PILOT
The main goal of this platform was to
oer aspiring aerial photographers the
opportunity to have another option when
considering the purchase of a 500-class mul-
tirotor for camera mounting. There are
literally dozens of options for hexacop-
ters, but the standout dierence between
the Hextreme 550 and all the rest is in the
power. The eRC 480 motors joined to the
eRC 25amp ESCs give this hex a power-to-
weight ratio that is sure to be tops in the
game. This setup, coupled with a carefully
programmed Naza-M V2, renders a rock-
solid platform in the stability department
while also oering up vertical climbing
power to spare as well as an agility factor
that most large multirotors are often lack-
ing. The 8x5 props that are recommended
for completion might seem small, but the
1000Kv motors really give the 550 a great
deal of power, opening up the envelope of
its ight characteristics and subsequently, its
ability to capture great video.
The build process, while not di cult, does
require a bit of patience as the only instructions
are the videos that Hobby Express provides on
their website. Said videos are perfectly e cient
for completing the build, but for an old-fash-
ioned guy like me, a paper printed version
would have been nice. For those that are expe-
rienced in the facet of building, programming
and ying multirotors, the assembly videos
may not even be necessary, but it is always
nice to have some sort of reference if the need
might present itself. The online videos do not
make any mention of cleaning up the frame
pieces to avoid any wires shorting out. I feel
it is important to note that I did spend a good
As I tend to do with most multirotor machines,
upon arming the motors, I punched the throttle
and let the Naza-M V2 do the rest. The Hex-
treme 550 took off like a rocket and at about
twenty feet, I eased back allowing it to settle
into a stable hover. To conrm that I had per-
formed the Naza dance compass calibration
procedure correctly, I took my hands off of both
sticks. Even with some moderate winds buffet-
ing the machine, it stayed right where I put it in
the sky. Bear in mind that this was done while
in GPS ight mode as the compass has no real
effect in manual or attitude mode.
Once I was sure that the GPS mode was
behaving as expected, I began some slow cir-
cuits around my local ying eld at RC Hobbies
and More in Winsted, CT. At close range, it was
easy to gain orientation of the 550, but I had yet
to really open it up. Once satised that all control
systems were working properly, I launched the
hex another hundred feet or so to attempt some
high speed runs. Again, the vertical prowess of
this aircraft is amazing, especially considering the
smallish 8x5 props being used for our test ights.
At such an altitude, I was ready and willing to
give it some full cyclic commands to see what
this machine was capable of.
Initial rollout was awesome as the 550 lurched in whichever direction I chose to point it
and while I did have the gains set at a good deal above the default values (something my 3D
thumbs were begging for), the machine remained perfectly stable through all of my abuse.
It was a bit harder to gain the orientation of the craft while at such speeds and altitude, but
with a thousand feet of wide open space in just about every direction, I was not worried
about any mishaps; especially given the fact that the Naza V2 had my back. Future ights will
probably feature our machine outtted with some sort of ns on the aft landing legs to make
guring out orientation a little easier.
The MaxAmps 5450mAh battery provided us with just about 10 minutes of ight time, but I
had the cutoff values set fairly high as we were dealing with some abnormally cold temperatures
on the day of our testing. Im sure we could have safely squeezed out a few more minutes with
this pack, but there is plenty of lateral room within the battery box to t another pack in there,
wiring it with a parallel connector. MaxAmps also offers custom packs built exclusively for mul-
tirotors, featuring huge capacities while remaining short in stature. As was aforementioned, the
kit that we received for review was still using the shorter battery box conguration. All newer kits
will have an expanded box allowing for bigger batteries.
IN THE AIR
PILOT REVIEW
I
HEXTREME 550 FPV HEXACOPTER
TRANSMITTER
Hitec Aurora 9x (192258)
RECEIVER
Hitec Maxima 9 Channel (27525)
FLIGHT CONTROLLER
DJI Naza-M V2
GIMBAL
Tarot T-2D (TL68A08)
CAMERA
GoPro Hero3 Black edition
(CHDHX-302)
BATTERY
MaxAmps 5450mAh 14.8v
120C 4S LiPo
PROPELLERS
Gemfan Carbon 8x5
CW, 8x5 CCW
deal of time rounding certain edges down
while covering others with medium-sized
nitro fuel line. The one nice aspect of the dou-
ble deck frame design is that it makes hiding
messy bundles of wire very easy.
ASSEMBLY TIPS
The sandwich style frame means that
many of the wires involved with the elec-
tronics will be passing between dierent
layers. It is a good idea to smooth out the
edges of each opening that will house any
wiring. Be sure to always wear a mask when
sanding berglass or carbon ber.
For FPV, the build videos are spot on, but
for a gimbal-mounted recording device, a
few minor adjustments must be made in
order to y the 550 in I formation to keep
the legs of the landing gear out of frame.
Bundle and restrain the wiring for the power
cables and ESCs prior to aempting to install
the baery box. Having the wires out of the
way expedites the build process greatly.
When aaching the baery box to the main
frame, install all of the retaining nuts on the
screws using only your ngers in order to
keep the long screws from falling out. Remove
each nut one at a time and tighten loosely onto
the frame until all nuts are in place.
THE LAST WORD
The vast array of 500mm-class multirotors
on the market today allows the buyer many
options to choose from, but if youre in the
market for something to hang a camera
o of while still having power to spare,
the Hextreme 550 Hex might very well
be the best t for you. The eRC motors
and ESCs really push this machine faster
and farther than most other comparable
platforms available. The alloy and ber-
glass construction looks great and provides
a rigid platform to mount all the necessary
components as well as a few peripherals.
The front of the 550, when own in V
conguration, oers a narrow window of
unobstructed view for a gimbal mounted
camera, but the FPV mounting plate is up
o of the frame oering full view. If a
gimbal is to be mounted, the 550 should
most likely be set up in I conguration,
requiring a lile bit of switching some arms
and motors around, but is easily accom-
plished. If you might be in the market for
an aerial camera rig that has power to
spare, the Hextreme 550 Hex might be just
what the doctor ordered. =
CONTACTS
GEMFAN gemfanhobby.com
GO PRO gopro.com
HITEC hitecrcd.com
HOBBY EXPRESS hobbyexpress.com
MAXAMPS maxamps.com
TAROT tarot-rc-heli.com
guide on page 81.
The upper deck of the main frame has ample room
for mounting whatever electronics you might choose
to nish off the hex build. Notice the compass mast is
mounted off of the main frame should you choose to use
the included acrylic dome canopy.
The Tarot T-2D two-axis brushless gimbal holds the Go-
Pro Hero3 camera in perfect balance, ensuring that any
captured shots or video will be jello and wobble-free.
The lower plate of the main frame also doubles as a
distribution board, featuring pre-soldered ESCs from the
factory, thus expediting the build process. The vast array
of wiring is all tucked neatly and out of sight above the
battery box once it is mounted.
We Used
www.multirotorpilotmag.com
GO PROFESSIONAL
CUSTOM XTREME CASES
PRODUCT
SPOTLIGHT
by Erick Royer
Do you love the new DJI Phantom FC40 or Phantom
2 Vision? We certainly do! So it was only natural
that we wanted to give it the best home we
can when transporting it from place to place and
storing it when not in use. Enter the Phantom P2 case from
Go Professional Xtreme Cases. Dont glance over the Xtreme
in the companys name, because this case is most denitely
extreme; both in design, durability and functionality.
When you transport your Phantom, you have to bring the
copter, charger, transmiter, bateries, tools and spare parts. It
is a lot to tote around. The Phantom case is completely and
precisely water jet-cut to exacting tolerances so you can ensure
the FC40 or Vision ts perfectly with no movement. The foam
also has compartments for optional FPV goggles, a charger, six
LiPo bateries, the Phantoms transmiter, four spare props and
four AA bateries as well as those for miscellaneous cables
and tools. The custom foam is housed in a SKB case which
is used by military and industrial leaders to meet exacting
military standards.
The case itself measures 20.25 x 16.93 x 8.78 inches and
weighs in at 13.15 pounds empty. Once your Phantom is safely
nestled inside the case, nothing shy of a bulldozer running
over it is going to aect your machine. Another nice feature of
the case is that it meets all ATA carry-on requirements, so you
can easily travel on airlines with your DJI Phantom. Of course
if you have to check it with your luggage, you can rest easy
knowing that it will be protected from the common abuse that
luggage takes from airlines and airports.
The Phantom FC40/Vision case, like all of those made by
Go Professional Cases, is made in the U.S.A. and comes with a
lifetime warranty. Price$198.00 =
CONTACTS
GO PROFESSIONAL CUSTOM XTREME CASES
goprocases.com
DJI Phantom FC40
80 MULTIROTOR PILOT
by Gene Payson
M
ultirotors are excellent aircraf for small farm areas up to a
few hundred acres per crop. They are easy to use and provide
excellent aerial information. Since they can y autonomously,
they do not require a lot of operator skill. The information
which comes from aerial imagery is extremely helpful in many
circumstances. Simply seeing all the same type of crop at one time in
one image from the sky using a standard daylight camera can be very
revealing.
The information gathered helps the farmer determine how
best to run their business. Aerial imagery helps determine
which areas of a farm are the most and the least productive for
a particular crop. If a particular area grows certain crops poorly,
then a business decision must be made as to how to improve
that area through the use of pesticides, fertilizer, water, etc. If
the remedy is cost justied then it should be performed. If the
remedy cannot be cost justied, then other actions can be taken,
such as crop rotation or not planting the area in the future.
Multirotors typically have short ight times of 10-40 minutes,
which is less than xed wing aircraf, so they are good solutions
for smaller areas. Larger copters can lif a camera(s) more easily
than a smaller copter, so larger copters oer beter ight times.
A typical camera system is a NIR (near infrared) camera and
a daylight camera. Some operate both cameras simultaneously
to reduce the ights required. Maxmax upgrades many o-the-
shelf cameras to
operate in the
NIR spectrum.
Maxmax also
oers sofware to
stitch the photos
together and
to evaluate the
crops. Tetracam
oers high-end
cameras and
sofware as well.
The NIR camera
is most important
because healthy
plants reect
more NIR than
unhealthy
plants. The
dierence is observed through NIR way before the naked eye can
see a dierence visually. The advantage of using the NIR image is to
determine problems early so that corrective action can be taken before
any permanent damage is done. NDVI is the index used to determine
the health of a plant. I encourage you to read up on NVDI if you are
unfamiliar with it.
Even daylight camera images are quite useful. From the air, it is
very easy to see an area where the plants are not as large and vigorous
as other areas. From the ground, it can be much more di cult to
determine areas of less healthy plants.
It is imperative that the multirotor operator be trained, though
training of completely inexperienced people takes only a few hours. An
operator must practice for several hours before atempting to use the
aircraf commercially. It is important to operate safely to protect your
investment and avoid injury to yourself and others.
Dozens of companies oer unmanned aircraf available for precision
agriculture. The prices range dramatically, so shopping around is
helpful. Multirotors have many other uses in smaller areas so having
a platform that is exible may be benecial to you. Search-and-
rescue, situational awareness, surveys, accident
investigation, radiation detection, noxious gas
detection, security and other uses require dierent
sensors. Some of these sensors are larger and
heavier than others, which is another reason to
obtain the largest aircraf that your budget will
allow.
There are no laws which govern the use of drones
at the moment. The FAA is writing laws now. Until
the laws are writen, the FAA requests that people not
use drones for commercial purposes. Rules should be
available by the end of 2015. We expect that the rules
will be more lenient on small copters. =
PHOTO COURTESY OF AERIAL PRECISION AG (VIA THE WEB)
P
H
O
T
O

C
O
U
R
T
E
S
Y

O
F

A
R
C
H
A
E
R
I
A
L

(
V
I
A

T
H
E

W
E
B
)
Multirotors for
Precision Agriculture
PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC NEWS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gene Payson is the Director of Flight
Training at the Unmanned Vehicle
University. He specializes in hands-
on pilot training courses which are
performed on a variety of xed wing
and multirotor aircraft. He also assists
students in obtaining employment in the UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems)
eld through contacts made on UAVcomparisons.com, UAV recruiters and
LinkedIn. Gene is also involved in non-military/commercial applications but
will occasionally y for the Air Force as an outside contractor.
Multirotor Source Guide
Please check with your local hobby store to nd products reviewed in Multirotor Pilot Magazine. Additional sources are listed below.
3D Robotics
7170 Convoy Ct.
San Diego, CA 92111
Phone: (858) 225-1414
Fax: (858) 605-4541
www.3drobotics.com
Atlanta Hobby
Phone: (678) 513-4450
www.atlantahobby.com
Blade
Distributed by Horizon Hobby
4105 Fieldstone Road
Champaign, IL 61822
Phone: (800) 338-4639
www.bladehelis.com
DJI
Phone: (818) 235-0789
www.dji.com
Email: us.sales@dji.com
E-ite
Distributed exclusively by
Horizon Hobby Distributors
4105 Fieldstone Rd.
Champaign, IL 61822
Toll Free: (800) 338-4639
www.e-iterc.com
www.horizonhobby.com
Eagle Tree Systems
4957 Lakemont Blvd SE
Suite C-4 PMB 235
Bellevue, WA 98006
To Order: (888) 432-4744
Information: (425) 614-0450
Fax: (425) 484-4131
www.eagletreesystems.com
Empire RC
950 E Baseline Ave, Unit 210
Apache Junction, AZ 85119
Phone: (480) 982-0909
www.empirerc.com
Email: info@empirerc.com
Estes
Phone: (719) 372-6565
www.estesrockets.com
Fat Shark RC
Vision Systems
Distributed by Ready Made RC
7719 Graphics Way, Ste F
Lewis Center, OH 43035
www.fatshark.com
www.readymaderc.com
FeiYu Tech
www.feiyu-tech.com
Email: sales@feiyu-tech.com
Flite Test
www.itetest.com
Futaba
Distributed exclusively
by Hobbico
P.O. Box 9021
Champaign, IL 61826
www.futaba-rc.com
Phone: (217) 398-3630
Available at your local hobby
store, or online at www.
towerhobbies.com
Gaui
Distributed by Empire Hobby
P.O. Box 50551
Mesa, AZ 85208
Phone: (480) 982-0909
Fax: (480) 456-1113
www.empirerc.com
Email: info@empirerc.com
Gemfan
www.gemfanhobby.com
Email: sales1@
gemfanhobby.com
Go Pro
Phone: (888) 600-4659
www.gopro.com
Go Professional Cases Inc.
7888-B Ostrow Street
San Diego, CA 92111
Phone: (855) 223-2932
www.goprocases.com
Email: info@goprocases.com
Hitec RCD USA
12115 Paine Street
Poway, CA 92064
Phone: (858) 748-6948
Fax: (858) 748-1767
www.hitecrcd.com
Email: service@hitecrcd.com
Hobbico
P.O. Box 9021
Champaign, IL 61826
Phone: (217) 398-3630
www.hobbico.com
Available at your local hobby
store, or online at www.
towerhobbies.com
Hobby Express
5614 Franklin Pike Circle
Brentwood TN 37027
Phone: (866) 512-1444
www.hobbyexpress.com
HobbyKing
www.hobbyking.com
Horizon Hobby
4105 Fieldstone Rd.
Champaign, IL 61822
Phone: (800) 338-4639
Immersion RC
www.immersionrc.com
Email: info@immersionrc.com
Leapfrog
www.lpfrg.com
Lulzbot
Phone: (970) 377-1111
www.lulzbot.com
Email: info@lulzbot.com
Lynxmotion, Inc.
Phone: (866) 627-3178
Fax: (450) 420-1447
www.lynxmotion.com
Email: support@lynxmotion.com
MaxAmps.com
1015 W Garland Ave
Spokane, WA 99205
Toll Free: (888) 654-4450
www.maxamps.com
Email: max-info@maxamps.com
Next Level Multirotors
Innov8tive Designs, Inc.
1495 Poinsettia Avenue,
Suite 144
Vista, CA 92081
Phone: (760) 468-8838
Fax: (760) 305-7749
www.nextlevelmulti-rotors.com
Performance Hobbies
15 W. Main St.
Webster, NY 14580
Phone: (585) 872-4990
www.performance-
hobbies.com
RC Logger
www.rclogger.com
Email: contact@rclogger.com
RobotShop
Phone: (866) 627-3178
Fax: (450) 420-1447
www.robotshop.com
Sony
Phone: (212) 833-6849
www.sony.com
Spektrum
Distributed by Horizon Hobby
4105 Fieldstone Rd.
Champaign, IL 61822
Toll Free: (800) 338-4639
www.spektrumrc.com
Tarot
Baili Road East Modou Xiaoqv
11-1101
32500 Wenzhou City Zhejian
China
www.tarot-rc-heli.com
Email: zhangdanchen@
hotmail.com
Thingiverse
www.thingiverse.com
Thunder Power RC
4720 W. University Ave.
Las Vegas, NV 89103
Phone: (702) 228-8883
Fax: (702) 228-8885
www.thunderpowerrc.com
Email: info@thunder
powerrc.com
Ultimaker
www.ultimaker.com
Email: info@ultimaker.com
Academy of Model Aeronautics ............................................ 44-45
Altitude Hobbies ......................................................................... 78
Atlanta Hobby.............................................................................. 78
Blade .......................................................................................... 4-5
Castle Creations, Inc. .................................................................. 35
Eagle Tree Systems ..................................................................... 19
Empire Hobby ............................................................................... 9
Futaba .......................................................................................CV2
Go Professional Cases ................................................................ 11
Heli-Max ........................................................................................ 3
Hitec RCD USA, Inc. .................................................................... 39
Hobby Express ............................................................................ 15
HobbyKing .................................................................................CV3
Max Amps ................................................................................... 33
RC Logger ................................................................................... 51
RobotShop Inc............................................................................. 25
Spektrum ...................................................................................CV4
Summit Aerospace Supply, Inc. .................................................. 58
Twisted Hobbys ........................................................................... 69
Walkera ........................................................................................ 69
Windsor Propeller ........................................................................ 69
XHELI ............................................................................................. 7
MULTIROTOR ADVERTISER INDEX
82 MULTIROTOR PILOT
by Matt Maziarz
Anyone who has
ever had the
pleasure of siting
in tra c has surely
dreamt of the day when
the daily commute would
be greatly expedited by
the advent of ying cars.
Such daydreams may also
be born from ones a nity
for old Jetsons episodes.
The engineers at E-Volo are
looking to make that dream
a reality with their invention,
the VC200, or volocopter.
They describe their aircraf as
a revolution in aviation as it
is a personal helicopter that
is easy to y and produces
zero emissions; not to mention the fact that it negates any
observance of the obligatory stop sign or red light!
The main design of the VC200 was introduced in 2011
with the concept machine named the VC1. This machine
featured a 16-rotor platform mounted on four arms that had
an overall diameter of 17 feet from one opposing prop to
the other. The entirely electric design garnered a Lindberg
Prize in 2012, awarded for innovation and to promote
meaningful advancements in green aviation. At this point, the
engineers and designers set themselves some goals in as far
as producing a machine that practically anyone could y, that
produced zero emissions and provided a safe environment for
the two people in the cockpit.
The concept of the early VC1 evolved into an 18-rotor
beast that is largely constructed of alloys and carbon ber.
Constructed by DG Flugzeugbau (DG aircraf construction)
at their factory in Bruchsal, Germany, the VC200 is capable
of sustained
speeds of up to
100 kilometers
per hour, a
ight ceiling
of more than
one mile, a
maximum
take-o
weight of 450
kilograms and
a maximum
ight time of
one hour. The
idea of having
so many rotors
for one aircraf
might seem
redundant,
but that is exactly the point in this instance. The employees
of E-Volo placed pilot safety as their top priority. Bearing this
in mind, by using 18 rotors, the aircraf is more than capable
of remaining in ight or at the very least, landing safely,
should any one, two or even three of the drive motors fail. The
prospective pilot is also greatly aided by the VC200s on board
avionics system. Generally speaking, the machine is capable
of semi-autonomous ight by programming GPS waypoints
into the computer. It also allows the pilot to control the craf
with litle other than a joystick. There are no foot levers for
pitch or yaw; everything involving course direction is all
generated by the slowing down or speeding up of the correct
motor or motors on the multirotor.
So let us recap. The VC200 is entirely electric, producing
zero emissions. It is easy to y and places pilot/passenger
safety above all else. It aims to revolutionize the way that we
travel, at least for short distances anyway, though I am sure
that someone locked
in a lab somewhere
is coming up with a
long range version of
a similar machine. My
only question for the
ingenious engineers
and designers at E-Volo
is exactly when can we
expect to be receiving our
own VC200 for review at
the magazine? =
RETURN TO HOME
CEO and chief designer, Alexander Zosel (right) stands proudly with drive development engineer, Thomas Senkel (left) within the frame-
work of their ground breaking invention. Not pictured is the third wizard behind the idea of the VC200, software engineer, Stephan Wolf.
An early test shot of the rst
ight using a remote control
to y the machine results in
celebratory cheers from the
designers and their staff.

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VOL 1, SUMMER 2014

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