Real big drone frame.

[inner knoll]

Hey guys so I know it's possible to buy these custom drones and pieces motors and blades and frames and all that. I want to push the limit of what I'm allowed to fly and get as close to 55 lb as I can by making a really big drone. I'll make the frame myself if I have to in any suggestions for that would be great as well but I'm hoping that I can buy a pre-machined or printed frame that's the size that I'm looking for to use as a good starting point. Any help is very appreciated. 🙂

[faint phoenix]

why a really big drone? whats the 55lb payload? a printed frame is a really bad idea. have you ever flwon any other drones?

[inner knoll]

Iike building things and want a challenge. And I'm not going for a 55 lb payload just a drone with batteries roughly 55lbs or below. Guess it doesn't necessarily have to weigh that much but I want to build a big drone I think it would be fun. 🙂 I've flown some smaller quads like 7" and 15" models with o4 air units in manual. I'm not a master at acrobatics yet but It feels more natural to fly in manual than sport now.

[steel oasis]

'Smaller quads like 7" and 15" models'

jesus christ man

those arent small

[faint phoenix]

I dont think 7" and 15" are small man

[inner knoll]

My bad they seemed kinda small to me xD haven't flown anything mini yet so I wanna get a nice little 3" or something eventually. Just trying to build a neat little squadron of quads :b

[wraith aspen]

If you're planning on making the frame yourself you'll either want a CNC machine or someone to make it on carbon fibre. A 55lb drone with 3d printed parts would be an absolute death trap. Otherwise you're mainly looking at cinelifter frames at this point but most of them are purpose built for holding fancy heavy cameras

also a 15" drone is pretty huge, how much bigger than this are you wanting to go?

[inner knoll]

i was thinking something roughly the size of an agricultural drone :b lol i do want to get a 15 tho. ripped around with a LR for a bit and man that was fun.

[thorn solstice]

Youve never tried a 5" or smaller???

Get a 3.5"

And become enlightened

It is an entirely new experience and they are not slow

But for a big frame you'll probably want cf tubes. You could potentially print the end pieces that connect everything together though.

Reminder that the pids will be ridiculous and it likely wont be safe to fly on stock pids

[wraith aspen]

Recommended btw, get a Grinderino or an Aos 3.5 with the Chris Rosner tune and you won't look back

[inner knoll]

Is that available with a o4 air unit? Pro hopefully. I want some kind of tiny whoop just haven't decided which one I want yet and not a lot is actually available right now as I've been searching.

[faint phoenix]

with a custom prit you can fit a 04 pro in a grinderion and also teh aos, the volador 04 frame has native 04 pro mounting

[inner knoll]

I have a little neo I fly in mnaual but want a small fpv drone too just haven't decided on 1 yet

[inner knoll]

Oh ok that works then 🙂

[wraith aspen]

If you have some space to fly a 3.5 i'd go for that

[faint phoenix]

d you have a ELRS radio?

[wraith aspen]

for a smaller garden or indoor and stuff get a 75 whoop

[faint phoenix]

and a charger for the batts?

[faint phoenix]

only indoors flying 65mm is king imo

outdoors and indoors is 75mm imo

[wraith aspen]

Agreed

[inner knoll]

Theres a lot of space where I live. My property is a decent size and there is a 700' ceiling rc field near me. I have a lot of equipment to get but I want to stick with the goggles and controller i use so (dji 3 platform combo) i know I'll need to get some with o4 or convert later. Definitely do need something for indoor eventually also.

I don't actually own any of the drones that I've flown other than my 3 dji drones so no batteries and chargers yet either. The avata 2 is pretty wild in manual tho. Dives really nice but needs a smooth early arc to recover which can be a let down. Tho video speedup is always a thing I guess.

[wraith aspen]

Gotcha, well if you're planning on going down the custom drone route you'll want an ELRS Radio, the Radiomaster Pocket is pretty cheap and does the job perfect.

I would keep playing around with the Avata if you're enjoying it, when you do make the jump to a freestyle build you''ll notice a big difference I think

Or find a FC with DJI input if you want to use the same controller but I don't have much knowledge around that i'm afraid

[inner knoll]

A lot of the custom fpv that have o4 units come with the pnp for the fpv controller 3 so wouldn't that be ok? Or is there an advantage to elrs I'm unaware of? I know a combo of o4 visual and elrs control is possible but I already have a controller 3 so just trying to get more information before switching eventually or not. 🙂

[empty kettle]

55lb is crazy.. What are you planning to do with a drone like that? Look up X class frames. Anything bigger and you're gonna be paying some big bucks

[inner knoll]

yea i think thats a great place to start! i wonder if there is a site i can buy a drone ready to fly with that frame on it. if not good a time as any to learn how to build.

[empty kettle]

Yeah idk if there is any RTF X class drones tbh, its not really a beginner thing whatsoever lmao

DJI does have there own lineup of agriculture drones but they cost as much as a car

IMO its not a good idea.. Get a couple years of experience first at least

[inner knoll]

ive always had a habit of throwing myself in the deepend when it comes to hobbies so guess its time to suck it up and start buying parts lol. might still get a tinywhoop type thing to play around with in the meantime.

[empty kettle]

Yeah thats on the far side of the deep end xd

[empty kettle]

Get a 5inch quad since you said you already flew a 7 inch. 5 inch is just as fast but more agile

tinywhoops are good for indoors

Some people fly them outside tho

[inner knoll]

and yea i want their ag drone eventually but ill let my business buy that so i can potentially get a lot of that cost back come tax season. not doing that for a year or 2 anyway. insurance will go way up with that 1 im sure lol. any yea i was thinking that. others saif 65 or 75. i assume theyre just mm instead of sae measurements yea? seems like it just depends who makes them.

[inner knoll]

guys recommending the 75s. thought?

https://usa.banggood.com/Flywoo-FlyLens-75-O4-or-O4-PRO-2S-Whoop-RC-FPV-Racing-Drone-BNF-with-GOKU-F405-FC-HD-Digital-System-p-2028217.html?utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cpc_organic&gmcCountry=US&utm_content=minha&utm_campaign=aceng-pmax-usg-pc&currency=USD&cur_warehouse=CN&createTmp=1&ID=62814506331039&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cpc_us&utm_content=nolan&utm_campaign=aceng-pmax-usgmc-usfeed-all-kon-240605&ad_id=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21350814717&gbraid=0AAAAADshcaVt8KzJvEMTKhUpJPOoRJkQv&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_L_FBhDmARIsAItqgt5Txw7XjAuScjhr-JQXb9vhKwLLE2nXtV6NGnyD48V9dnwG4R21xU4aAjGfEALw_wcB

[faint phoenix]

Its not gonna freestyle really or that good, maybe only for cinewhoop stuff but thats kinda it with this specific quad

[wraith aspen]

If you can source a 04 Meteor 75 i'd go for that instead

that + radiomaster pocket will still be less than the Flylens

I have a whole fleet of quads and my walksnail 75 is still my favorite, can fly it around my apartment and can also rip it outside and dive buildings, power loops etc.. It will just not feel quite the same as a freeestyle quad, also a nice entry for you to start understanding rates and stuff If you want to go down that rabbit hole. Eg. lots of people put a throttle cap on for indoor flying etc

Althought if you're more interested in stable pretty footage without much acrobatics then go for the FlyLens

Watch FPV vegan on youtube, he mostly flys 75, you can get an idea of what they can do

Some wild stuff like diving the empire state building in there too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE8gntoymkA

[faint phoenix]

Fpv vegan doesnt give a shit about laws btw

Iirc

[vale karma]

then again what fpv pilot does

[wraith aspen]

Was about to say the same thing, just move if someone asks you to and you're fine