I saw something new at the AMA Expo today. It is a new quad from a company called Turbo Ace, and is called an X720. It comes assembled, and includes motors, ESCs and the stabilizer electronics. Supposedly, it has both auto-leveling and altitude hold functions, so it sounds like something equivalent to an FY-90Q plus an altitude sensor integration. The retail price is $ 499.95.



Here's the simple brochure they were handing out:




They aren't quite available yet, but are supposed to ship before the end of the month. They were accepting "pre-orders", via Wow Hobbies, which was right across the aisle from Turbo Ace, for $100. I went ahead and pre-ordered one.

As it says in the brochure, the camera mount is not included. The guy in the booth said it will cost $150. It is dampened mount, using small RC car-type shocks, and with vertical dampening as well. Looks pretty nice, actually.

I tried to get a look "under the hood", but the guy would not cooperate. He did confirm, at least the it has gyros and accelerometers, and it definitely has a baro-altimeter sensor.

I don't know anything about the motors, but they look a bit odd, with large diameters, but short stator lengths. I'm guessing they are pretty torquey, for their size. The ESCs are only 10A, but they are using 12" props, which was a bit of a surprise. They claim a payload capability of about 3 pounds.

One thing I wasn't crazy about is that the orientation is fixed in the "+" configuration, and the guy said it would not be easy to switch to an "X" format, but that others had asked about that as well, and that they might look into that.

Anyway, if this does, in fact, have altitude hold, and it doesn't have the sort of "early version" issues that initially have plagued the FY-90Q and X650 systems, I think 500 bucks is a fair price for this setup. The machine looks well-built, with CNC'd alloy motor mounts, stiff "arrow" arms, and a solid set of landing skids.

-- Gary

Wow, looks like the Chinese are copying each other now. That looks like an Xaircraft quad.

It does look similar. It has a bit smaller "wingspan", though 580mm vs 650mm. The X650 is $100 more, but it does include a camera mount, although it is nowhere near as nice as the one shown with the X720. The X650 does not yet have altitude hold, and it appears the software/firmware in the FC1212 still needs a bit of tweaking, to eliminate some wobbling effects many have experienced. On the other hand, the X720's system is unknown/untested (by independents...), so who knows what sort of issues will surface. It sure would be great if it worked solid, right out-of-the-box.

-- Gary

Now this is getting funny. A copy of a copy. This looks exactly like the T580 which was a copy of the X600.

- Jeff

Yes, this does look like it is the same. Actually, the T580 looks exactly like a second unit they had in the booth today. The guy said it was a "precursor" to the X720, and that the X720 has upgraded motors. They definitely did look bigger, for sure. The other model had what looks like the same blue motors as what is on the T580.

So, what happened to the T580? The thread seems to have stalled. I also don't see it listed on CNCHelicopter's site, although the link in the thread works, and it looks like it is available.

-- Gary

Yes this is definately the Lotusrc T580 .
And they fly very well out the box , see my video in the Lotus t580 thread .

hmmm nevermind

I do know XAircraft outsourced some of their parts to a second company and that second company stole the plans and started a quad company of their own. XAircraft changed outsourced companies...

- Jeff

I'm confused. They are trying to market it and they would not show you under the hood? That would have turned me away for sure. What was the reason they gave not to let you look at something you were thinking of buying? I have a feeling they do not even know what they are selling and I bet it does not have an alt hold. They prolly do not even know what that is. Look at the desc as it says alt hold gyro. There is no such thing. A baro is not a gyro as far as I know but I cold be wrong. It is a T580 w/diff motors. I wonder if there was some sort of name branding on the inner parts like the company that really made it. The T580 is $500 also and has no baro sensor.

The guy was not an engineer, and was by himself, when I was there. He was not interested in taking it apart, just to satisfy my curiosity. It was pretty crowded at the time, and he was getting a lot of questions.

I have no reason to think this does not have the altitude hold capability, even with the misnamed feature, as that is pretty common with Chinese product literature. Things get lost in translation all the time. Another reason is that everything else is identical to the T580, which does have a baroalt pressure sensor, so it would surprise me if it didn't have this function.

-- Gary

Originally Posted by GGoodrum

The guy was not an engineer, and was by himself, when I was there. He was not interested in taking it apart, just to satisfy my curiosity. It was pretty crowded at the time, and he was getting a lot of questions.

I have no reason to think this does not have the altitude hold capability, even with the misnamed feature, as that is pretty common with Chinese product literature. Things get lost in translation all the time. Another reason is that everything else is identical to the T580, which does have a baroalt pressure sensor, so it would surprise me if it didn't have this function.

-- Gary

You are right. I forgot the T580 has a baro sensor. CNC was selling it but took it off their site. I like the motor mounts much better in Silver. The T580 Blue mounts are ugly.

Any idea why CNC took them off their site?

Flyfpv, did you ever get your T580 back in the air? Are you still planning on selling these?

-- Gary

Originally Posted by GGoodrum

Any idea why CNC took them off their site?

Flyfpv, did you ever get your T580 back in the air? Are you still planning on selling these?

-- Gary

Hi Gary , I should have the replacement motor any day now so I can test further.
I am hoping to stock them but it will depend on satisfying further tests.
From what testing I did the results were positive though and the quad did represent good value , especially being pre built and flew straight out the box.

Has anyone seen the film "Multiplicity"?

Originally Posted by flyfpv

Hi Gary , I should have the replacement motor any day now so I can test further.
I am hoping to stock them but it will depend on satisfying further tests.
From what testing I did the results were positive though and the quad did represent good value , especially being pre built and flew straight out the box.

Ah, okay, still waiting on parts. It look like it doesn't have the same sort of wobbling issue I've seen with the X650 setup, and having altitude hold would be a great additional capability. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the results of your continued tests.

Anyone know why CNCHelicopters stopped listing the T580?