Build Thread: Flight Tested CarbonCore Cortex 6.0Kgs Naza 3 Axis Gimbal 30min+

[CarbonCore Multicopter]

This Cortex now weighs 2630g, without battery, propellers or payload.
Weight wit a single 6S 10,000mAh LiPo Battery: 4070g.

We want to make this Cortex up to at least 6.0Kgs, so that the props can spin fast enough in the hover to actually provide some stability.
The motors and props chosen were for a target AUW of about 10.0Kgs. So this Cortex is going to be a light-weight rocket-ship!
Worst-case scenario would be if the Cortex was just too light. Then the props would have to spin so slowly for it to come down, that there won';t be any attitude stability left.

So, before we can program the Naza, we have to decide on what to use as a weight, or payload. Only then Can we know the vertical Centre of Gravity, to enter the GPS offsets.

[CarbonCore Multicopter]

We had a quick look around the office to see what heavyish and reasonably safe things we could grab:
Lots of tiger propeller adaptors. (Aren';t these normally a few quid each)?
Some old motors -very compact but we don';t really want to be adding any more magnetic to the Cortex - the GPS might not like it.
Stacks of carbon are also good and dense.

Se we decided on using about 120x Hexa950 skids at about 2.2Kgs.

[CarbonCore Multicopter]

The skids were taped together in blocks. Then fastened together with Velcro and more tape.
Then fastened to the Cortex, in the middle, with more vecro.

This Cortex now weighs 6310g, with a 6S, 10Ah LiPo, and 2.2Kgs of payload.



Note: IF this payload moves, it may take the long Rx antenna with it!
And that antenna can also touch a prop.

NOW WE CAN PROGRAM THE NAZA.

Now we know the final finished flying weight, and we';re not going to change the CoG again (at least not until after it';s flown once) we can now set the GPS offsets.

[CarbonCore Multicopter]

We had to go flying so will write about the Naza setup later!

IT FLEW and it wasn';t bad!

It';s got a wobble when you slow down but that might be the attitude gain too high...  Just needs more flying! 

Video next 

[CarbonCore Multicopter]

Cortex with Naza-M V2 first flight impressions:
After CSC the motors stayed at idle until the throttle stick was about half way, then the motors speeded up and the multi-rotor gently took-off. It stayed level and looked controlled.

We also need to make sure that the flight controller (Naza) flight mode switch on the transmitter, works the same for all the Cortex we fly - for the first Cortex Naza flight we weren';t sure what flight mode atti/GPS it was supposed to be in some of the time, but then we never intended to rely on the GPS. We intend to fly it and remain in control to see how it behaves.

It felt locked in so a right aileron/roll input was fed-in and the craft rolled to the right and stopped but it felt a bit quick and not too smooth. The control throws or rates on the transmitter were too high to make the flying look smooth at 100%.

The Naza settings we used were All Atti gains 200, and basic gains 100.
It might be flying like the attitude gains for elevator and aileron need to be turned down some.
The altitude felt very stable.
The Yaw was smooth and controlled - we will fly it more and try to just video manoeuvres.

We also use Dual Rates on the transmitter which we';ve got set to reduce the ail, ele & yaw inputs to just 50% of normal, and 30% Exponential - another setting in the transmitter to make the controls softer around centre stick.

The Cortex with the Naza is noticeably quieter than the Cortex with 5D, because it';s props are going slower with less weight.

The Naza LED kept giving us a continuous blinking red light which was a low voltage warning, and it made us land after about 7  minutes, which we';re guessing is about half the flight time.

Before next flight we';ll: Lower or disable the low voltage warning, maybe lower the gains some.

We haven';t found a recommended maximum airframe weight for the Naza, so we';re not changing the payload weight just yet.

[CarbonCore Multicopter]

We';re just editing the hand-held video from the flight test.  So we';ll take the propellers off again and plug the USB into the computer, and have a look at the setup assistant and firmware.  As we';ve decided to not really change anything on the craft before the next flight, updating the firmware might solve the "wobble" which was a slow-oscillation about the pitch axis when slowing down from forward flight, with about half a meter drop in altitude.

[CarbonCore Multicopter]

Removing the propellers, two of the 16 M3x9.5mm bolts with 2mm hex sockets rounded out. They were heated with a lighter flame and luckily did un-bolt. These were the bolts that came with the props.

However, the bolts that came with the motors - we saved them and they';ve got 2.5mm hex sockets :) So we';ll replace the props bolts with these ones.

[CarbonCore Multicopter]

Here';s screenshots of the DJI Naza-M V2 Firmware assistant on the computer.

Main Controller Firmware Version 4.00
GPS Mounting X=10, Y=0, Z=-12
Attitude Gains 200, Basic Gains 100
And X8 Configuration.

[CarbonCore Multicopter]

The first screeshot on the left showed us that for our transmitter, the switch we';re using to select the flight controller';s flight mode, is now set to "away" for Attitude mode.
Which we like because the transmitters got a few switches and it';s generally just easier to set them to all the same things for all models flown on that Tx.
So before we takeoff, all switches are checked to be "away" and that is also in Attitude Mode, which is how we want to flight test it. Because we don';t want it jumping in-and-out of GPS mode just yet.

The first level battery protection was set to 23.1V, which might be too high.
And the second level protection was set to 22.2V, which made the Cortex-Naza land early.

With a 6S LiPo battery, each cell can be used until it';s voltage drops to say 3.2V per cell. The voltage will recover and go up again slightly once the load is removed.
So for a 6S battery, we don';t want the voltage dropping more than 6x3.2=19.2V.

And the Max Height has been limited to 75meters. This seemed more sensible than the default 2000 meters because the craft is small enough after 50m!

[CarbonCore Multicopter]

And here';s the video of the very fist flight test of this Cortex

http://youtu.be/Eve_uY-Oxls

[CarbonCore Multicopter]

Next we';re going to update and change the firmware to see if it makes an improvement for the next flight - tomorrow!

[CarbonCore Multicopter]

No physical changes have been made to the Cortex since its first flight. (Other than the props being removed and then replaced after this settings-adjustment).
The assistant software showed the Naza firmware was already on the latest version of 4.00.
The Basic Gain (How much the multi-rotor responds to the control inputs) has been halved down to 50% for Pitch, Roll and Yaw. And the Basic Vertical Gain has been kept the same. We were hoping there was an Attitude Vertical gain, that could be turned-up, but no...
Reducing the Basic gains will make the multi-rotor respond to control inputs much more smoothly, and give the flight controller more time to respond. As well as making the operator use more of the tx control stick range.
On the advanced tab the only things we're changing are the voltage warnings and limits – we're not setting-up any failsafes at this stage, as we want to focus on how the multi-rotor flies.
First Level battery protection has been set to 19.2V,
And the second level protection that makes the Cortex descend, has been set to 18.6V.
Limits have both been set to 75 meters.
(We're wondering what the flight controller/multi-rotor does when it gets to the distance limits).
And we tried "Check IMU Status" in the tools tab. And it said "No need calibration. Calibration procedure can be skipped."

[CarbonCore Multicopter]

Battery charging next:
This will be the first re-charge of the 6S, 10Ah pack since the Cortex-Naza';s first flight (video above).

The pack';s sat-around for a few days resting at voltages of 3.9V/cell. And has been used some during the Naza firmware Assistant checks.
So the Cortex';s current consumption we';re going to work out from the flight time and estimated capacity used, will be an over-estimate, meaning the real current comsupmtion will be slightly less.

We';re going estimate the battery capacity used by doing the sum 10,000 minus what the charger puts back in milli-amp-hours.

Props-on and flying tomorrow! 

[CarbonCore Multicopter]

We didn';t get to do a complete flight so the battery will get fully re-charged and we';ll aim to estimate the amp draw of the Cortex with Naza after the next tuning flight.

[CarbonCore Multicopter]

And a flying she';s been!

I think I';ve turned the gains down 10% every flight from 180-180 Atti gains down to 150-150.

It';s getting smoother but there';s not substitute for being smooth on the controls 

I';m just editing some video next :)




The gains are currently
Main Controller Firmware Version 4.00
Attitude Gains 150-150, Basic Gains 100
X8 Configuration.

It has been strongly recommended to me to try Naza firmware version 2.1 as "it fixes all X8 bugs" I';ve been told... I';ll try it.

[CarbonCore Multicopter]

Wow it flew differently with gains down to 150-150.
This is now flying very nicely and is now FOR SALE and we can build several more exactly like it :)

Video and pricing to follow. We';re going to be very competitive on the pricing :)

The very next flight';s with a CarbonCore Gimbal.

[CarbonCore Multicopter]

Here';s a short video of the start of the 6th flight test.

The first flight video in post May 7th, the attitude gains were 200-200. It had slow large amplitude oscillations.
Now the gain';s are turned down, and right for the Naza V2.0, on V4.0 firmware, in a Cortex at 6.8Kgs, it flies very differently...

At 1:28 one of the lower red thumb grips to tighten the arms after folding, falls off!!!
This isn';t because they do normally fall off... because after a dot of threadlock they don';t...
Just in this flight I FORGOT to tighten ANY of the 8 thumb grips!!! And luckily nothing at all happened...
The O-rings to hold the shell on also prevent the lower thumb grips from turning - photo to come.
So this flight was cut short and we landed, tightened the arms and took-off again! More video to come :)

www.youtu.be/NgPcdD2FZpg

CarbonCore Cortex test flight with DJI Naza V2 flight controller.
The Naza is fairly inexpensive and very easy to install in a Cortex.

Basic Gains 100-100
Attitude Gains 150-150
6th Flight (gains started at 200-200 and have been turned down 10% every flight)
6840g Flying Weight Including:
2.2Kgs dead payload
Full Carbon Shell you could drive over
20.4Amp average amp draw for hovering and cruising
30 minutes flight time at under 7.0Kgs on a single 10,000mAh 6S LiPo battery, with 8x 4010 370 Kv motors turning 15 and 16" carbon propellers.

Please contact CarbonCore Multicopter for a quote or Flight Demonstration.
We have three of these in stock now.
CarbonCore@live.co.uk +44 (0)1904 345341

[CarbonCore Multicopter]

I';m now very happy to offer the CarbonCore Cortex with Naza for £1999.99 + VAT.

If this isn';t competitive enough for you, please call to let me know what you';re comparing it to. I promise a Cortex is lighter and probably stronger.

This includes:
Cortex Carbon Airframe
Upgrade to 385mm legs
Full Carbon Shell
8x 4010 370Kv Motors
4x CCW 15" Carbon Propellers
4x CW 16" Carbon Propellers
DJI Naza V2.0 Flight Controller with GPS
Spektrum DX7 Transmitter Controller
Spektrum AR600 Receiver
6S 22.2V 10,000mAh, 35C LiPo Battery.

All tested and all working! 

Please call 01904 345341 to see a test flight in the city of York, UK

We can ship these anywhere at extra cost.

And now to add a gimbal...

[CarbonCore Multicopter]

Now we';ve fitted the CarbonCore 3-Axis Alexmos Gimbal we can go flight testing to see the video! 
The gimbals are £399.99 with UK VAT.

The Cortex X8 Multi-Rotor in the above photos now weighs 6.0Kgs. It just lost 840g. It';s going to fly for longer than 30 minutes!
Including the 6S 10Ah LiPo and Camera.

Details on the gimbal are in the Gimbal are here http://www.multi-rotor.co.uk/index.php?topic=14654.0

If you';re in the North of England and would like to see this fly, please call CarbonCore on 01904 345341, you';ll be speaking to me! Cam.
I';d be very happy to hand this over to our customer in-person after a demonstration flight.
That way the transmitters, motor speed controllers and flight controller, and the gimbal controller are all-calibrated and working. Ready for filming.
The Camera would be extra and other equipment and tools are needed to charge the batteries and maintain the multi-rotor.

[CarbonCore Multicopter]

http://youtu.be/C1zSsYew_ec

Aerial Footage of the Cortex with Naza filmed from the Cortex with Zenmuse Z15 and Canon 5D.
Next flight: With CarbonCore 3-Axis Gimbal!

CarbonCore Ltd
Flight Tested Cortex with Naza Offer for £1999.99 + VAT.
If this isn';t competitive enough for you, please call to let me know what you';re comparing it to. I promise a Cortex is lighter and probably stronger.

This includes:
Cortex Carbon Airframe
Upgraded to 385mm legs
Full Carbon Shell
8x 4010 370Kv Motors
4x CCW 15" Carbon Propellers
4x CW 16" Carbon Propellers
DJI Naza V2.0 Flight Controller with GPS
Spektrum DX7 Transmitter Controller
Spektrum AR600 Receiver
6S 22.2V 10,000mAh, 35C LiPo Battery.

Basic Gains 100-100
Attitude Gains 150-150
6th Flight (gains started at 200-200 and have been turned down 10% every flight)
6840g Flying Weight Including:
2.2Kgs dead payload
Full Carbon Shell you could drive over
20.4Amp average amp draw for hovering and cruising
30 minutes flight time at under 7.0Kgs on a single 10,000mAh 6S LiPo battery, with 8x 4010 370 Kv motors turning 15 and 16" carbon propellers.

Please contact CarbonCore Multicopter for a Quote or Flight Demonstration.
These in stock now.
CarbonCore@live.co.uk +44 (0)1904 345341

[CarbonCore Multicopter]

We';ve just published our own aerial footage filmed from the CarbonCore 3-Axis Gimbal!

! No longer available

https://youtu.be/8SaeBXlX-rs