Raptor Camera ship AUW

[dreslism]

Just looking to see where others are at with their AUW of the Raptor based camera ship.

My setup is

Heli: Raptor Titan ( Stretched and running Funkey 660's ), with hacker
A50-16s, CCHV 85 ESC, Futaba 149PCM Rx, AP2000i, HV ubec,
and 2 x 5s 5000 FP Evo 20 NF.

Mount: Underslung HCS SPort 30 knockoff. Mount with tilt, downlink,
second Rx, and 2s lipo to run downlink and Rx.
( weight of mount as stated is 3lbs 2oz)

Camera: Rebel XT with kit 18-55 lens.

AUW of whole system: 14lbs 8oz :shock: :shock: :shock:

Anyone else want to chime in, it would be interesting to see where others are at with their AUW.

Thanks

[AZ ChopperCam]

12.2lb with my front mount, (2) 5s500 FP packs and GS180 video camera.

[dreslism]

12.2lb with my front mount, (2) 5s500 FP packs and GS180 video camera.

I knew you'd jump in here. I hate you. :wink:

Is your mount really that much lighter?

I think the camera weights are probably equivalent, although yours might be a bit lighter.

Were running the same batts.

With the GS180 you probably don't have downlink and lipo pack for that right?

Are you running ubec or Rx pack?

So we're talking about 2+ pounds in the mount??

[AZ ChopperCam]

my mount is something like 20 oz. and that's including pan/til servos, belts, etc.

I am running a 4 cell 1800 nicd pack on the boom for RX. I have a downlink on it that is powered by the RX pack off of a spare channel through the RX.

My GS180 weighs 1.5lb with wide converter.

[dreslism]

Ok, don't be shy, the rest of you better pony up your numbers when you get home tonight.

this will be good for all of us as we can compare heli's to mounts, to ....

[askman]

yup, cf nosecam is very light and strong. mine is about 18oz with both servo in its present guise, but will gain couple oz, when I add the roll and dampers. (100% CF) I am still running 550 on my setup, and 8S, and it is decent setup for small camera. (10oz or so that I am running at the moment)

[dreslism]

I hear ya askman. I just like underslungs for a few reasons, but weight is not one of them!

I may have to go with a front to get the weight down, but I will definately want roll leveling on mine.

[MLaBoyteaux]

I dis-assembled mine this weekend and rebuilt it as an underslung.

With a Sony HC1 with .7X wide angle adapter (2lb 2oz) mine weighs in at 14lb 5oz. The previous configuration was at 14lb 10oz, including a Duralite 4000 pack for running the downlink. I switched to a 3S 1500mah lipo which saved about 4 ounces.

With no camera and all batteries removed, the heli weighs 8lbs 10oz.

I'm running the FunKey 660mm blades and it has a Kasama head.

I made two flights with it this evening shooting test video and tuning. The video looks as smooth as before.

I feel like the underslung is easier to see at a distance when hovering for shooting stills and it now has self leveling pitch and roll with oil struts for dampening. I'm running a FlightPower 6S 5000 and a FlightPower 5S 5000 in an 11S configuration. This battery pack weighs 3 lbs even.

[AeroMattics]

Very Nice Mark! :wink:

[AZ ChopperCam]

very slick Mark! I might have to experiment with something like that!

[dreslism]

Hey Mark,

Not knocking a design or anything, but I can't tell too good from the picts.

What keeps it from doing the splits?

Is it just the screws through the metal cross bars up top and into the hdpe?

14 1/2 pounds coming down on that might pop the screws and let it do the splits right onto your camera.

I did not see a cross member on the bottom from middle of blue noodle to middle of blue noodle. That might help hold the mount together in case of hard landing or auto.

I know electrics are suppose to be more reliable, but DJ's post on his auto the other day brings us back to reality.

I guess I just like your camera and don't want to see anything happen to it... :wink:

[MLaBoyteaux]

You are correct, at the moment there isn't a cross member in there. I worry about the same thing.

There are features about the front mount I like, and there are features about the underslung I like. I'm curious to see the self leveling front mount design AskMan is working on, I've got some ideas, but decided to pursue the underslung.

This design is still evolving, by next week it should metamorphasize into the next phase.......and the splits will no longer be an issue.........

[WillJames]

Nice Mark!! :shock: :glasses2:

[dreslism]

Nice Mark!! :shock: :glasses2:

I do believe you owe us some numbers Will! :wink:

[Teej]

I don't have a scale accurate enough in the 10-15 pound range, but I believe mine is pretty low as it sits...although I could probably stand to remove some of the plastic like DJ did to Will's, plus I've got a few strips of wood bolted on right now that are destined to be replaced with CF or G10

On the other hand, I'm not carrying any redundant power, stabilizer or video downlink, and just a P&S digicam at the moment (Canon A620).

I'd guess I'm flying around 11 pounds right now but I'm finding that a handfull on 1450ish rpm.

My stats are:

TT Raptor frames
TT metal swash
Gohbee metal head kit (washout, mixing, block, grips, etc)
Ergo alum boom
Vario landing gear
No servo tray
eCCPM kit
DJ Raptorcam mount
2400 NiMH receiver pack
319DPS receiver
10s5000 Prodigy power
A50-12L
8.5:1 gears
MAH700 blades