X Craft Review

by FliteTest | May 25, 2016 | (0) Posted in Reviews

We were fortunate enough to test one of the first X Craft X Plus One aircraft, a hybrid tailsitter-type VTOL featured on Shark Tank.The X Craft needed some assembly, and Peter pieced it together in about 30 minutes. The radio was also not set up, so Peter had to program it.

The aircraft comes with decals already on the airframe and is made with fairly rigid foam. The X Craft also features APM technology.
The X Craft doesn’t have traditional control surfaces. It starts in flight by hovering like a quadcopter, then when you flip a switch on the radio, it transitions to a VTOL and controls like an airplane.The aircraft uses a lot of off-the-shelf technology like Multistar ESCs, suppo style motors and Turnigy parts, and it comes with a budget radio that was a letdown considering the price of the aircraft.The GoPro mount only had a single gimbal, so we had to pick which direction we wanted the camera to face (which could make FPV difficult). Small movements are also reflected in the footage, making it shaky.

Despite a hover that drifted a lot, the X Craft flew respectably after the switch to the VTOL. However the lack of control surfaces made it difficult to fly. Peter tried to flip back to hover mode but it ended in a crash. There wasn’t too much damage, but the bottom pylon did come loose. We made some repairs, then tested it again. The forward flight didn’t work very well, the aircraft crashed pretty quickly after Josh took off.

The good notes on the X Craft were that it had illustrated instructions, it was easy to put together, the hover worked well and it looks really cool. On the flip side, the aircraft came with zero programming, forward flight was difficult and the aircraft was susceptible to winds.

Thanks to X Craft for letting us review their prototype!
Share your X Craft flight experiences and hacks with us in the comments below, on Facebook or in an article!

LINKS TO X CRAFT MANUALS AND RESOURCES BELOW:

 

COMMENTS

krinaman on May 26, 2016
At $2000 they are out of their minds

http://www.horizonhobby.com/product/storefronts/multirotor-new-releases/all-new-releases/x-plusone-platinum-rtf-black-carbon-skin-p-xcrxp1002
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Epitaph on May 27, 2016
It's a lot of money for a wing with SUPPO motors, Turnigy parts and a Flysky radio. That said the basic idea isn't bad, but I can't see it getting much in the way of flight time with all those motors running. Now, it had been fitted with elevons and maybe a 5th larger, more efficient motor on the back in the centre, it might be better... so it would hover with the 4 motors as it does now, but once it transitions into forward flight, those motors shut down and the larger motor in the tail starts to fly like a flying wing with elevon control... I think that would be a lot more efficient on the battery than 4 SUPPO's fighting to keep it "level" and running as fast as they can to get speed...
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stephenkrall on May 27, 2016
Yea, that price point is tough to swallow until they improve the flight characteristics and the radio that comes with it. I would not be too sad about crashing it because that is what prototypes are for....Testing. You are doing a public service by saving people money until the product is improved. This video sort of reminds me of the gyro copter episode...not knowing how this thing would fly.
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Sunspot on May 27, 2016
For that money you can buy THREE Phantom 3 Advanced Quadcopters. Gimbal, camera, everything but a phone or tablet. With this thing you don't even get a camera! Sharks are going to lose some $$ on this one...
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danield on May 27, 2016
I have no problem, I can't afford it and I already know how to crash
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Gryf on May 28, 2016
I hope that was a really early development model the guys flew, because $2K for that thing is inconceivable, even if it does have a carbon skin.

I see that the website mentions using the model for hovering aerial vids. With the camera on the nose? Right...

Gryf
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danallen82 on June 1, 2016
I bet the price tag is because the sharks need to recoop their investment. I can't believe they are using that motor setup, that's old tech back in the early days of multi-rotors. I think they shouldn't have gave FT such a terrible prototype to review, their reputation will be suffering. Well it still has potential with the simplicity of the design.
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tonyl123456 on June 28, 2016
That radio is your problem
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X Craft Review