Hello, Been waiting on Synapse for over a year & with no indication it's a priority any longer, wanted to ask the experienced, expert & sane members here what your thoughts were for building a state of the art copter over the next 4-6 mos. We will be flying Epic Dragon with 2000 ft follow focus / zoom (RT Motion 3.1 2 motors) and as heavy a lens as possible (sigma photo 18-35mm 1.8 among others) with a Paralinx Tomahawk HD system & gimbal (M10 or Besteady B4). Design goals are (obviously) highest weight capacity, stability, & flying time. We're currently looking at: http://gryphondynamics.co.kr/product/dodeca-1600-folding-framedc1600fx http://kopterworx.com/kw-12.html http://www.quadrocopter.com/Tigers-15x5-Carbon-Fiber-Propeller-Pair_p_896.html http://www.graupner.de/en/products/1736df13-32af-4183-aa8e-80f31a7f03cb/33032.PRO/product.aspx http://www.dji.com/product/a2 http://www.dji.com/product/dji-lightbridge (for pilot go pro) Any suggestions for components as well as input regarding "deca coax" config are most welcome. Ideally upgrading flight controller to Synapse if & when ships is desire able as well. I've flown RC since I was a kid, but am not up to date on current tech capabilities that will push power weight limits this far. My sincere gratitude for your input and expertise... PCG
For heavy lifting, motor & prop & ESC combination is most important part. Flight controller, frames are the secondary topic. So, I'll keep my notes as simple as possible. I'll recommend to setups: * KDE 4014XF with 18" props or * Tiger U7 / KW 12 Pro with 17-18" props. (15" prop will not generate enough lift or your payload) * If you go with DJI route, I'll recommend a Hercules III ESC. If you go with MK route, BL Ctrl 3.0 does the job. ) An octo setup will be sufficient for your needs. If you are travelling and/or want a copter with a smaller size, you will want to build an X8 setup. But always remember you will loose some efficiency with an X8 setup.
Paul, contact Quadrocopter and Kopterworx. Both have experience with HL machines and KW has built some HLs that still amaze me. And lots of information on HLs here and over at multirotorforums. What multirotor are you flying now?
Paul, I’d echo what Gary says. With $30-$40K worth of camera gear in the air, unless you’ve got some engineering background and a lot of free time (and money) to burn on experiments, I would lean towards one of the resellers and their already-spec’d heavy lift systems. There are a lot of variables at play, and there are a few folks out there who have built up some really good machines. Another to consider is Ziv Marom, and copter guy from near me here in San Francisco. He’s got some nice designs and some really impressive machines he’s selling now. And he uses them himself, so he has lots of experience (as do the folks Gary mentioned). You can find his stuff at http://flyingpov.com
Many thanks gentlemen. I'd rather go with turn key FF system but synapse seems further away then ever. I'll update with which way we go & appreciate the good advice.
With all due respect, I think we should petition Freefly to change the name of the Synapse to “Sasquatch”.
I met Mike from Freefly at the AUVSI show a few weeks back and talked to him about Synapse. He had one on a CS8 that was on display there so I got to see a beta unit in person. Obviously he could not give me a time frame on them but we did discuss some of the features it will have and he said they are adding and adding to the feature set as they get it ready for launch. It sounded like they had a bit of work to do on it yet, but a couple things he did share with me were really cool. But, like everything, once it is officially out I am sure there will be a break in period.