-=Project: 550 NightFligt=-

[dadde]

Ok! Here we go!

The winter is coming to Sweden fast,
When I go to work in the morning; Its dark
When I go home from work in the evening; Its dark

I cant see in the dark so I needed to work around this, this is why I started this project.

step one: Night-blades!

An old pair of 500mm woodblades will do fine
http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4210.jpg

I used my dremel to cut out for the leds on the tip's
http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4212.jpg

http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4215.jpg

Time to cut out for the wires that is going along the whole blade
http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4216.jpg

It's there, it's just hard to see
http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4219.jpg

We need LiPo power
http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4221.jpg

http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4225.jpg

Flatening the ends on the LEDs that is going to be on the tip
http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4226.jpg

http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4229.jpg

Cuting out for the LEDs that is going to be on the leading edge
http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4230.jpg

I used CA to glue the leds and the wires down, and later Im going to fill it with epoxy
http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4231.jpg

Fitting the leds on the leading edge
http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4233.jpg

I sanded the leds sharp to make the light reflect better
http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4234.jpg

Ahhh, You got to love the smell of epoxy
http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4235.jpg

http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4236.jpg

I sanded the epoxy down using fine sandpaper(400-1000 grit)
http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4239.jpg

http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4241.jpg

[dadde]

Fitting the LiPo's and connectors
http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4242.jpg

I calculated that I needed a 10ohms resistor to not fry my leds and giving me the maximum use-time (4-6h)
http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4243.jpg

The jumper to turn on the leds
http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4247.jpg

The reason I shose Blue and Green is that both had the same specs. 3.2-3.4v (max 3.8V) and 20mA typ.
http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4254.jpg

http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4255.jpg

http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4256.jpg

http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4257.jpg

Total wheight of 1 night-blade
http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4258.jpg

Wheight of 1 stock blade
http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4259.jpg

Step two: The leds on the heli

I used these circuit boards, that is used for somting totaly diffrent but will work like a charm for me
http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4262.jpg

The chematics of the boards looks simply like this:
http://www.elecfree.com/electronic/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/curreg.thumbnail.jpeg
its a basic constant current driver
Iout=1,25/R

http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4265.jpg

I switched out the surface mounted leds to 5mm leds that I cut the ends off.
http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4268.jpg

http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4270.jpg

[dadde]

Exept for the ones on the tail, witch I wanted to be white.
http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4276.jpg

http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4278.jpg

http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4273.jpg

http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4274.jpg

http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4307.jpg

http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4309.jpg

http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4304.jpg

http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4305.jpg

http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4298.jpg

Exuse the mess :o
http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4300.jpg



To be continued...

[kgfly]

Nice work, looks great :)

Do I spy an A123 pack peaking out of the top of the canopy ? If so, I'd love to hear a little more about your setup (motor/esc/pinion), flight style and flight times

[dadde]

Indeed it is a 7sA123

My setup is
Stock Gaui ESC
Align 600L motor on 14/61 gears

Flyingstyle is "Noob3D" and flighttime the last flight was 5 minutes 26 seconds.

http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/k1.jpg
I have redesigned the pack since this pick but it looks pretty mutch the same.

[kgfly]

Thanks. Nice homemade battery mount too, clearly you are talented mechanically as well as electrically :) Looks like a Hercules BEC underneath the ESC there running off the 7s A123, is that right ?

[dadde]

Thanks!
The BEC is a Hyperion Titan BEC good for 40V
Works grate, it can hande all the digital servos mutch better than the stock gaui one.

[spork]

Very nice! You've got to post some night flying pics. The only question/concern I have is the battery attachment to the blades. With them aft of the bolt-hole they may cause your blades to lead and be less stable. I'd be tempted to use the bolt-hole to secure them with an aluminum bracket.

But maybe I'm over-thinking it. Let us know how it goes.

[dadde]

http://www.skolwebben.tibro.se/~t870317dawi/Hurricane/nattblad/IMG_4384.jpg

6m/s here in sweden, nothing more than hovering.
Film will come when the wether does.

spork: I dont belive there is any problem having the lipo on the blade but a bracket would work, whatever makes you sleep at night ;)

[dadde]

The weather wasent to bad yesterday:

FILM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFP1N_Ayq8E&feature=user)

[xStatiCa]

Nice DIY job!

It kinda looks like that pack is giving the bird to anyone or anything in front of the heli with that odd number cell up ;).