Idea IFlyaway - what next?

[HowDoIfly]

Beginner; lost orientation of Ifly4, emergency plan B to (crash land) aborted when realised it was possibly directly over a river, as I waited for it to drift back over land, next thing was out of sight. Never seen again despite many hours searching.

Despite this sad loss, it';s my first experience of quad and I';m not put off yet. So, what';s my next step?

Being on a budget, the Ifly (despite it';s awful customer service reputation) still seems ok for my needs (aerial videography) and as I';m left with spare parts (TX, RX, S3, charger, motor bearings, props etc) am thinking of sticking with Ifly4s or even saving up for the Apollo if it ever gets to market.

But what do I know?

Anyone got an unwanted Ifly they';re not using?

[dp106]

If I was starting out now I think I would get the Naza Lite with GPS.

[Hands0n]

I';d say that you should go for anything with GPS and a Return To Launch (RTL) capability.

If I had to do it all over again - I was a rank beginner - I would go for a custom build from the likes of Peter King who has a pretty good reputation from all I read and certainly knows his stuff. 

You can see what he gets up to on his YouTube channel where he demo';s builds for his clients before sending the quad-rotor out to them. Also loads of tutorials and other demos. See here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQx4lLeXHIzZPBBDHC50O2w

Peter seems to have settled on the APM flight controller with GPS that gives an awesome capability. Even if you fly out of range, providing its set up (I';m sure he does) it will RTL and land almost at your feet.

Having had a close escape in Saturday';s winds myself I am a major fan of GPS based RTL from here on in 

[guest325]

I';d say that you should go for anything with GPS and a Return To Launch (RTL) capability.

If I had to do it all over again - I was a rank beginner - I would go for a custom build from the likes of Peter King who has a pretty good reputation from all I read and certainly knows his stuff. 

You can see what he gets up to on his YouTube channel where he demo';s builds for his clients before sending the quad-rotor out to them. Also loads of tutorials and other demos. See here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQx4lLeXHIzZPBBDHC50O2w

Peter seems to have settled on the APM flight controller with GPS that gives an awesome capability. Even if you fly out of range, providing its set up (I';m sure he does) it will RTL and land almost at your feet.

Having had a close escape in Saturday';s winds myself I am a major fan of GPS based RTL from here on in 

+1 for all you say, I';ve got one of his quads with the Crius AIOP and am very glad I went for it, although I try to fly without any assistance from the FC it';s nice having it there as a backup if things go wrong - so far I';ve only broken 5 props and minor damage to my skids, that said most people would say I fly like a wus, true I';m afraid, I don';t like breaking my toys   

[Chami82923]

Definitely go for something with a return to home function, I have a GPS naza setup and have tested the rth function (I have a rth/fail safe switch) and it works a treat, gives you an extra level of confidence when flying as if it all goes t*ts up flick a switch and it lands at your feet.

[HowDoIfly]

Peter seems to have settled on the APM flight controller with GPS that gives an awesome capability. Even if you fly out of range, providing its set up (I';m sure he does) it will RTL and land almost at your feet.

Looking at Peter';s first vid, the APM looks very capable and is tempting me to consider a self-build. I';d be interested to know how this compares to the Naza many seem to favour.

[Hands0n]

Using Peter it would not be a self build. He uses the 450 air frame for which there are plenty of affordable spare parts. The APM 2.5 is at least head and shoulders with the Naza. It is more configurable so can involve a little setting up. Again, Peter does all that for you so the kit is ready to fly. Think of it maybe similar to iPhone (Naza) vs Android (APM) if it helps. Or am I now showing my geek :-)

Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[HowDoIfly]

Think of it maybe similar to iPhone (Naza) vs Android (APM) if it helps. Or am I now showing my geek :-)

Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

lol that does it for me, my mind';s made up, I';m going for APM on my next quad!

[MOFO64]

Considering you bought an I-Fly4 and it was too much for you, I';d suggest steering clear of the APM flight controller. It requires a lot of setup and is by no means suited to a "noob".

Do yourself a favour and buy a Naza-lite with GPS and you';ll have a much more enjoyable experience.

You can buy an APM later when you want the highly configurable settings it affords you.

[HowDoIfly]

Considering you bought an I-Fly4 and it was too much for you, I';d suggest steering clear of the APM flight controller. It requires a lot of setup and is by no means suited to a "noob".

Do yourself a favour and buy a Naza-lite with GPS and you';ll have a much more enjoyable experience.

You can buy an APM later when you want the highly configurable settings it affords you.

  I know where you';re coming from but please don';t assume my flying ability is any reflection of my h4X0r sKi77z.   

[Gaza07]

I would agree would some the above buy a naza lite and either a Dji frame with motors and esc';s or one of the clone rctimer packages, that way you have built it youe self and have a very reliable controller 

[Hands0n]

One of my big reservations with Naza M Lite is availability. They are currently as rare as Unicorn droppings.  By a lesser degree, ready-built APMs are to be had. 

And I';m still a bit of an advocate for Peter King in terms of supplying Ready To Fly which would have suited me down to the ground 6 weeks ago when I started this flying/crashing malarkey. Knowing absolutely zip about the various FCs then I';d have loved to have had an RTF (mine was from an eBay seller with a KK2) from him with an APM at what would have been 3/4 the price I paid.

I quite fancy getting a Naza M Lite to try for myself - then sell on - but the opportunity is unlikely to arise given the apparent supply situation.

Of course, I bow  to the far greater experience where my "logical" thought may be completely barking. 

[Toledodave]

Damn... thats sux. Bad enough to crash land but to lose it in the drink ices the cake. Thankyou thought as im putting flotation devices on mine now :)  Sry to hear bout your amphibious expedition.

[HowDoIfly]

I';ve trawled some more and I';m still leaning toward the APM or it';s clone over NAZA but it';s early days yet and I can still change my mind as I absorb the feedbacks, thank you all.

FC';s aside I';m drawing up a short list of the basics as I go. The frame will need to carry a gimble or some camera mount underslung, therefore it will need tall frame skids or similar. The HK H4 looks promising in this respect though I notice the 450 can also be fitted with skids. And the folding frame is also worth considering.

I understand low kv motors and large(ish) props are more suited to this and that maybe aim for an S4 lipo with 30A esc';s?

As for which vendor to use......Started drawing up a shopping cart list on HK but, despite trying to ensure I chose only UK warehouse stocked kit, it still insisted adding higher than expected shipping charges.... and when I tried adding other (supposedly uk stocked) kit, it refused, telling me I can';t mix n match from different warehouses.  :huh

EDIT:  Ok, I just trawled another vendor and am thinking about this combo...

X650 V4 2836-20A Set
http://www.rctimer.com/index.php?gOo=goods_details.dwt&goodsid=735&productname=

433Mhz ArduFlyer UAV GPS Flight Control System
http://www.rctimer.com/index.php?gOo=goods_details.dwt&goodsid=837&productname=

What do you more experienced flyers think? I read about CF';s signal absortion capability, would this frame be a problem? Is it OTT for a novice or does CF offer more resilience than other materials if it crashes?

[DarrenG]

I';ve got the Q650 frame, identical save for the cover. See my build log in the quad forum. A nice frame but some drawbacks.

[HowDoIfly]

I';ve got the Q650 frame, identical save for the cover. See my build log in the quad forum. A nice frame but some drawbacks.

Nice one, thanks for the heads up and taking time to post your work, reading now....

[HowDoIfly]

After further consideration, I bottled out of buying the X650 and have decided to try my hand building the SM550V2 instead. I do prefer the look of quads and almost settled on the 450 as it was advised such a safe bet but felt it might leave me wanting when it comes to videography.

In the meantime, following advice from the more learned, I got a little Viper (Hubsan X4) micro to practice collision-avoidance with. 

[HowDoIfly]

I was going to ask for advice on my latest plan but realised this is a quad sub-forum. New thread methinks. Thanks for everyone';s input, I do take it all on board.