Hello everyone,

I have once built a hexacopter using ZMR 1804 motors with 5030 propellers using a scratch built and designed 3D printed frame (with carbon rods as arms). It used to be a quad, but after crashing it I have redesigned the machine to a hexa. It's flight controller is a KK2. I had no FPV at that time and afitted it with a tiny 1000mAh battery. This was back there in Brazil, I have then moved to the US for a one year stay and did not bring the aircraft.

The problem with this machine was it's short flight time. My computations showed that upgrading the kit to a 6000mAh would give me around 16 minutes of hover time.

Here at the US I have recently bought a Naza M Lite FC, which I know is outdated, but I found it really cheap and even cheaper if I upgrade it to V2 firmware, which I hope will be possible. I also ordered an Eachine TX02 camera/VTX/antenna combo and an N2 OSD. As you can see, I intend to go FPV on the cheap.

While keeping things on a budget as much as possible, I would love to build something that could stay longer in the air while still carrying a little bit more weight. My goal is around 30 minutes of hover time carrying a gopro with gimbal.

So, I would like to have recommendations on motor and propellers sizes and brands for this projects. Something that would have a reasonable cost/benefit ratio and that would allow me to stay for a while in the air.

Sorry for the lenghty post and thank you in advance for any help.

gopro with gimbal and 30mins of flight time...hmm...13"-15" props, 500-600kv motors and 10 000mah 4S battery or lower KV motors and 8000 mah 6S battery. Some 18650 packs could also work.

Originally Posted by TeeSCee

gopro with gimbal and 30mins of flight time...hmm...13"-15" props, 500-600kv motors and 10 000mah 4S battery or lower KV motors and 8000 mah 6S battery. Some 18650 packs could also work.

Thank you!

I have found these, which seemed pretty close to your specs (a little bit too high KV) and with a rather decent price:
https://www.getfpv.com/tiger-motor-m...RoCj6cQAvD_BwE

Do you think it would have to be a hexa or could I go with a quad configuration? I'll do the math and I will post my flight time estimate here as soon as I have some time. Right now my main doubt is about which frame to use in order to estimate the multirotor weight.

I would go with a wide motor over a tall one. The wider motor will produce more low end torque to turn a large blade easier (Some will disagree, but seems most UAV's for AG work use large diameter motors over tall ones). Something in a size like this:

4112-320KV Turnigy Multistar 22 Pole Brushless Multi-Rotor Motor With Extra Long Leads (not necessarily recommending this particular motor itself, but size and looks. They are cheap, however, and most will not hog alot of amperage.).

6 motors, while more stable, will always consume more power than quad or tri motor.

I use these emax 3506 650kv motors with 12x4.0 props on a quad with 5000mah 4S lipos. I get about 10mins with a gopro and gimbal. I also tried 3x1300mah 5S lipos and I got an easy 15mins in -5c weather, so with a 5S3P Samsung inr 18650 30q pack you can propably get to 30mins....

As it comes to the costs you might want to take into account that less efficient motors nedd more powerful batteries while more efficient motors will allow for cheap batteries.

Originally Posted by propflux01

I would go with a wide motor over a tall one. The wider motor will produce more low end torque to turn a large blade easier (Some will disagree, but seems most UAV's for AG work use large diameter motors over tall ones). Something in a size like this:

4112-320KV Turnigy Multistar 22 Pole Brushless Multi-Rotor Motor With Extra Long Leads (not necessarily recommending this particular motor itself, but size and looks. They are cheap, however, and most will not hog alot of amperage.).

6 motors, while more stable, will always consume more power than quad or tri motor.

It makes a lot of sense, but these Turnigy motors scare the hell out of me. They look so cheap and unreliable. I'll look for something better at this size.

Originally Posted by Woga65

As it comes to the costs you might want to take into account that less efficient motors nedd more powerful batteries while more efficient motors will allow for cheap batteries.

You are right, perhaps picking better motors will translate to lower costs in the long run, since batteries will eventually have to be replaced.

Originally Posted by TeeSCee

I use these emax 3506 650kv motors with 12x4.0 props on a quad with 5000mah 4S lipos. I get about 10mins with a gopro and gimbal. I also tried 3x1300mah 5S lipos and I got an easy 15mins in -5c weather, so with a 5S3P Samsung inr 18650 30q pack you can propably get to 30mins....

EMAX motors look rather interesting, I've been looking them up for a while. But these batteries are new to me. Could someone point to more info on them to me?

Look up EndOfDays and the quad project he did. A 4in1 esc, 2 carbon fiber tubes, 4 rctimer 5010 (or equivelent), 17.5", and a 4s4p of ncr18650ga's will get you in the air for over an hour, less with a camera.

Originally Posted by eshneto

It makes a lot of sense, but these Turnigy motors scare the hell out of me. They look so cheap and unreliable. I'll look for something better at this size.

Which is why I stated I wasn't recommending this particular motor, but to show the size and visual.