Safe maximum load on T-rex 450

[george7806]

I was wondering if someone could tell me the safe max. load I could put on a t-rex. I'm trying to mount a small digital camera in the front, just for fun, but I don't want to ground the heli by overloading it. I've read it here somewhere
that 1/3 of the heli weight would be ok to carry...is that correct?
Also I'm moving the battery into a trey towards the rear bottom, to have a good balance. Thanks in advance!

I'm flying an Align 430L w/ 25 Amp ESC and 2100Mah TP battery, 315 pro woodies, if it matters:-)

[Nate Dogg]

430l cc35 tp prolite 2100 and I carry a pentax optio 6s6 with camera mount, gimbal and shutter trigger. Can't even tell its there...

[askman]

with 315, I wouild say 1000gm total weight max. may be 1100 with 335. still, try to keep it light as possible. it is best that way. lighter it is, better it will fly.

[george7806]

Thanks guys. I have no professional camera mount, just want to take a picture of my sony cybershot DSC-W1 what can I expect vibration-wise as being the camera mounted directly on the frame? Are those high-end camera mounts come with shock absorbers of any kind? If I ask anything dumb , sorry...complete noob on AP.

[Tonystott]

Following Askman's advice, I have bought a Z-Power 450TH which I will run with an 11T pinion, and some Like90 313mm flat-bottom blades. All reports suggest that the flat-bottom blades provide a big increase in lifting efficiency, which can be "used up" as more effortless flying, extra payload capability or longer flight duration etc.

AUW is 1050gms as follows:-

Trex 450XL (700gms)
Askman AP mount (110gms net after removal of standard U/C)
Samsung Digimax S800 camera (169gms empty)
Metal body D/L video camera (60gms) - mail-order#$%
2 x Dimension Engineering voltage regulators powering cameras (11gms)
Shutter servo & wiring (10gms)

As regards vibration, try closed-cell foam as supplied in many of the Align plastic boxes, Futaba gyros etc.

I have not got mine airborne yet, but I am trying to use as many different densities of foam where possible, working on the theory that each density will be most effective at a difference vibration frequency. Sounds good in theory :)

[george7806]

As of my first pics, will be just automatically shuttered by timer on camera, as I only have a 6ch (JR 6102) transmitter. It's more like experiencing rather than taking pro pics.

[Tonystott]

I have the same Tx. In order to free up channel 5 for either tilt or shutter, I swapped in my GY240 gyro and put the 401 on my other Trex. Has your camera got continuous mode? If you have enough memory card, it will try and take continuous photos as long as you have the shutter held down (rubber bands?), but because it has to take the time to clear the buffer to the memory card, you will get a fair few shots. Much better than just going for a single shot with the timer.

Fun is what it is all about! Most people on here are doing it for the love of it, and to my knowledge, there aren't too many making their living solely from AP.

[george7806]

My camera has burst mode, so I could have the shutter jammed, and do multiple shots.
What does the GY240 has that the 401 doesn't?

[Tonystott]

No gain adjustment via channel 5! Adjustment of gain has to be done on the gyro itself with a small screwdriver. f course the 240 is not as good a gyro as the 401, and has no setting for digital servos for instance, but for the relatively serene requirements of AP, it is more than man enough for the job. The GY401 is way superior for 3D, so I am told, but I won't ever find out in person :)

[Renfield]

I stopped testing mine when it lifted a 14 ounce load. What the Trex CAN lift is not the problem so much as what your flying skills will handle. With the proper setup, it will likely lift it's own weight (22 ounces or so), but you'd be hard pressed to call it flyable.

Difficulty descending from a five-story shot angle increases in direct proportion to the load.

Burst mode on my 5.5 ounce camera provides a great selection of 6mp images, typically 200-300 shots. At 1.8 fps, with a 1 gig SD card, it will shoot longer than I can fly (without heat issues). And it frees me up to fly the heli. Also, the built in optical image stabilization feature works great to stop the shakes.

Knowing my personal limitations as pilot, I'd limit payload to 7 ounces. YMMV.

Good luck!
George

[Tonystott]

Just tried mine out hooked up to the e-meter. With a JGF 450TH and 11T pinion, with 335Pro woodies, power usage was just under 11amps at the hover (including power to the digital camera and downlink). It will be interesting when I get my Like90 313 flat-bottoms.

[Yukonho]

Tony have you done any flying with your flat bottom blades yet? I am interested to hear how they affected your flight time and flight characteristics. Our best headspeed for endurance was around 1800 RPM.
Colin

[Tonystott]

Still in the mail Colin! Sydney is evidently even more remote than Roberts Creek BC :):) I plan to do back-to back comparisons with the 313 flat-bottoms and the 335PROs. As I couldn't locate a motor able to run a 9T pinion, I will see what I can do to limit throttle to about 80%, which I will need to do to get HS down to under 2000...

Edit update: Blades arrived later today! Lucky I checked the mailbox on the way home tonight, as the postman very helpfully stuffed the envelope in the letterbox leaving 6 inches of the envelope sticking straight out! The very first thing I did was check to see if they had been broken. Phew!

Will test 'em tomorrow.

[Yukonho]

Never had a set broken in transport, glad to hear it didn't start with you!
We run our Rex at 1800 RPM. Seems to be the best number for duration on our machine. Also the lower headspeed makes the heli far less twitchy, a big bonus for video.
Be sure to let us know how they go for you.
Colin