Mini-Dragonfly ElectroHub Build

by 150pilot | March 24, 2015 | (9) Posted in Projects

This is my Mini-Dragonfly. It is modeled after Josh's latest Dragonfly design.

It uses 5 inch booms mounted on the Electrohub frame. The motor-to-motor distance is 260mm between the Tri motors, oriented upwards. The distance between the center of each motor, and the center of the Naze flight controller, is 6 inches.

Everything is mounted on a T-rex 450 landing skid. This gives plenty of room to mount the battery and external voltage monitor under the Electrohub frame.

However, it only allows about 1/2" of clearance for the two inverted motors and the servo mounted under my Simplecopter.com inspired tilt mechanism.

I used this tilt design out of necessity as I had very little clearance/space for anything on the rear boom, and this also allowed the rear motor to stay in the same plane as the front motors, as well as kept the weight to a minimum.

 

I am really happy with this build. Initial flights have exhibited super stable flight characteristics. The yaw authority is enough to make my 250 mini-quads feel inadequate. It seems to have plenty of power with this 3S setup but I'm sure a 4S setup could easily be adapted for those feeling the NEED for balistic performance. It also has good visual orientation for those flying LOS, but I will soon be adding some FPV gear as I have become addicted to this method of flying. This multi-copter encompases all the fun of a mini-quad with the added benefits of a tricopter mixed in to a unique looking & performing multirotor in a sweet little package.

Specifications:
RTF Weight: 634 grams as equipped
Motors: SunnySky X2204S-16 KV:2300
ESC's: B-12A Ice Blue Series 12A SimonK
Flight Controller: Naze 32 Acro w/Baseflight (used for LemonRx Sat compatibility)
Receiver: LemonRX DSM2 satellite in SerialRX mode via a ZYX-S cable
Servo: BMS-385DMAX Digital/Metal
Props: 6"x4.5" HQ
Battery: 1800mAh 3S Nanotech
Flight Controller mount
Battery Voltage Alarm

 

COMMENTS

arbiter on April 7, 2015
Wow that is really cool love the way you incorporated the Ft quad hub and a mini copter
Log In to reply
Corsair2014 on April 2, 2015
That is sick!! very unique

Log In to reply
alfa7tango on April 2, 2015
This is the coolest ElectroHub design I've seen!! What kind of FPV gear are you planning on using?
Log In to reply
150pilot on April 2, 2015
Planning on using a 5.8GHz 32CH A/V 200mW Transmitter (TS5823), a 5.8G RHCP ántenna, a standard lens Mobius camera, and a KV-team minimOSD loaded with MWii firmware. I will be switching recievers to an FrSky D4R-II in order to recieve RSSI values on my OSD. I will be soldering up a digital-analog signal conditioner so the RSSI values output from the receiver will be displayed correctly on my OSD.
Log In to reply
alfa7tango on April 2, 2015
digital-analog signal conditioner? can you show us how to do that?
Log In to reply
150pilot on April 3, 2015
See Case 2 on this page:
https://code.google.com/p/minoposd/wiki/AnalogRSSI
Log In to reply
c180flyer on April 1, 2015
Very nice!

How long did it take you to build?
Log In to reply
Holski77 on April 7, 2015
Alright so who is going to make the first evenly spaced pentacopter?
Log In to reply
150pilot on April 7, 2015
What do you mean? I "evenly spaced" all the motors an equal distance from the center.
;)
Log In to reply
Flyingninja on April 2, 2015
Wow! Looks so stable. I thinks it would make a a great fpv ship!
Log In to reply
Elliot.G on April 7, 2015
Would it have been possible with the dimensions you had to work with, to be able to use a ToughTilt instead of a simplecopter design.

Im building a large Dragonfly, but this little guy has peaked my interest.
Log In to reply
150pilot on April 8, 2015
I don't think it would have been possible since the motors I used have a very thin profile and there wouldn't have been enough clearance for the servo.
Log In to reply
150pilot on April 2, 2015
It only took about six hours to put everything together after I gathered everything I knew I was going to need into a pile. The tail-boom with the tilt mechanism took the longest to make and get working, but overall, it was a really simple build after watching the "Tough Tilt Tricopters Build" video by Flitetest, and also due to the adaptability of the ElectroHub design. I started on a Saturday morning and was hovering it by that same evening. All of the parts used were from two previous quads that had been crashed and awaiting repair for some time. When I saw Josh's Dragonfly, the idea to create this from my existing scrap heap popped into my head. The ElectroHub itself was reused, along with the front 4 booms that had been broken in crashes were just cut down to 5 inches, drilled and reinstalled. That is the best thing about this frame is that I know it is easily repaired if I crash and brake any of the booms. I carry a couple extra precut and predrilled booms with me and can have them swapped out in just minutes and continue on flyIng.
Log In to reply

You need to log-in to comment on articles.


Mini-Dragonfly ElectroHub Build