I have one of Rusty's frames. I'm building a Hexa and George's QuadPowered board. I'm almost done but I'm wondering what others are using for landing gear. Could you post pictures of your setups. I'm looking for both with camera mounts and without.

Thanks in advance,
Jeff

Excellent idea

A couple people have used this camera mount from Infinity Hobby, and I just ordered the last one they had this morning to see how it works.

http://www.infinity-hobby.com/main/p...oducts_id=4758

People have used Trex-600 skids, with and without spacers over it to raise it higher. I'll let those people post their own pics, but it appears to be a good option, especially when there's no significant height needed to clear a camera.

When I don't have a camera, I simply use the pool noodles as you see in one of the pics. I always have them anyway for orientation, so why not let them be landing gear as well.

For real gear, I've mostly used some CF landing gear that I bought from HK. The problem is that they're still $36 for 4, and they're not unbreakable

I can easily make mounting tabs to allow them to be added anywhere there are Delrin block holes. I've been thinking about that, but I don't like the fact that the gear are so expensive. It also bothers me that they're not symmetrical, but it might not bother anyone else.

BTW, one of these pics shows an experimental plate that is used as a camera and battery mount. Ignore that for now

Rusty

Hi Guys;

Here's my submission I am using the same style of landing gear that Rusty showed in his design, but I'm not sure if it's the EXACT same size. The ones I use are the 150mm struts. I like this design because it has a very large footprint and since I started using it I haven't had a single tip over. The skids are 18" long, the gear is 14" wide at the ground, and has 6" of clearance. The white connectors are 1/2"x1/2"x1/2" hard plastic 3 way connectors designed for use with rubber hose. They are available from Lowes and Home Depot. I'll get the part number and post it. The struts fit snugly in the upper opening and .315 carbon tubes are a perfect fit for the skids. I have the long 18" skids reinforced with wooden dowels held in with gorilla glue. The entire landing gear unit weighs 185 grams including the 1.5 mm CF plate on the top. I use rubber grommets between the plate and the bottom of the octo. The small "tabs" on the plate are where I connect the camera pod - I am using OMM's pool noodle enclosure design suspended beneath the plate and so far have no visible vibration.

Anyway - it works great for me!

Greg

Nice helpful idea for a thread Jeff!
Added to the Quadrocopter and Tricopter Mega Link Index
Cheers,
Jim

I like what you've done Greg. Nice and wide to prevent tip overs. Also should help keep them out of the way of the camera.

On a side note, how are you attaching the braces between the arms. I've thought of doing something like that myself.

- Jeff

Hi Jeff;

The CF tubes (skids and cross brace) are a friction fit, the upright landing struts are also a friction fit, but I fill the rest of the round cavity with hot glue. I have found that hot glue gives a good, solid fit but doesn't actually adhere to the CF, so the struts can be pulled out if necessary - with some effort

Greg

Greetings,

I'm going to try to come up with a new leg arrangement that doesn't require the expensive CF legs, but in the mean time, "Tarro" told me about a camera mount that he's been using from Infinity Hobby.

http://www.infinity-hobby.com/main/p...oducts_id=4758

I ordered one of these to test, and I'm actually pretty pleased with it. It provides pretty good legs, and a basic fixed or tilting camera mount. It's also not outrageously priced like most camera mounts you find.

I didn't use the mounting plate they included. Instead, I made a plate that mounts via the 4 center holes in the bottom plate. At the moment, I'm using grommets for vibration damping, but as with all vibration issues, it may be better or not, so I've also made a plate with no grommets to test. I haven't tested either with a camera yet, but if there's interest in the mounting plate, I'll make it available.

Cheers,
Rusty

Rusty, that is not a friendly looking quad you got there. I keep looking to see if I can find an electric mini gun slung underneath there somewhere.

All you have to do is ask . . .

Originally Posted by pug398

Rusty, that is not a friendly looking quad you got there. I keep looking to see if I can find an electric mini gun slung underneath there somewhere.

Hey, at least it wasn't the double barrel quad

I've been known to fly with 900 MHz and 1280 MHz FPV cameras at the same time.

Rusty

Here is my Octo Vader.

Rusty,
Two FPV cams? Are you now doing 3d viewing experiments... What camera model are those?
Cheers,
Jim

Originally Posted by 13brv3

Hey, at least it wasn't the double barrel quad

I've been known to fly with 900 MHz and 1280 MHz FPV cameras at the same time.

Rusty

A few pics of different landing gear I have used on Rusty's Frame.

The third pic shows the height difference using the trex 600 skids and the landing gear from infinity hobby.

kevin

Originally Posted by jesolins

Rusty,
Two FPV cams? Are you now doing 3d viewing experiments... What camera model are those?
Cheers,
Jim

Hi Jim,

Here's the camera. It has good resolution, but isn't the best at handling changes in lighting. http://www.spytown.com/kpc-vbn190nhb.html

The 1280 MHz video is primary, and the 900 MHz is just a backup. This became necessary after the first FPV flight that I planned to leave my yard. As fate would have it, the VTX I had tested probably 100 times around the neighborhood bellied up just over my house, leaving me blind. Fortunately, I crash landed in my own yard, but it was just luck. Now I have two monitors inside, so I can just turn my head to look at the other if that happens again. Of course it never will

As for landing gear, it's cool to see all the solutions. I'm (finally) working on something I'll be able to add to the shop. Here's the first version, and I'll be working on the second revision this afternoon. Yes, the skids are the same as the arms

Cheers,
Rusty

Originally Posted by 13brv3

As for landing gear, it's cool to see all the solutions. I'm (finally) working on something I'll be able to add to the shop. Here's the first version, and I'll be working on the second revision this afternoon. Yes, the skids are the same as the arms

Cheers,
Rusty

Good job on the landing gear. Looking like a good add on for your frame.

Kevin