by Doug Millen

The most advanced RC Helicopter I have built to date

Building helicopters is fast becoming my main addiction (like I need another). It has been one of the hardest and most challenging things I have done in my life. Building and flying helicopters in the mountains is no easy task. Every trip we have failures, but we learn from our mistakes. I have made a lot of mistakes since we started but the helicopters just keep getting better and so do my flying skills.

 

This is the fifth helicopter I have built. This one is made completely from scratch and of my own design. I have incorporated the best features I have seen and I am using the ARDU auto pilot system APM 2.0. APM is the world’s leading open source UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) autopilot. It’s basically a robot that flies!

ARDU will know where he is, how to get home and able to run a mission with many way points, all on his own. Plus he will be sending back live video and filming with a GoPro Hero 3.

This rig will have all I am looking for (I hope) and teeth for the mountain winds. Here is a video of me fighting the wind in Huntington Ravine with the “Pocket Kong”. Clearly more power is needed for control.

It all starts with an idea and a drawing. I had been thinking for awhile what my next build would be. I would incorporate all I have learned over the winter. The plan was to make a Quad copter for stability and with enough power to battle the mountain winds and be able to survive a crash with minimal damage.  The helicopter must be easy to repair and parts readily available because, “you’re gonna crash” and  break some parts. That’s a given. It must also be easy to transport and backpack to where we want to be. UP high!

Below is my latest effort to get even closer to that perfect helicopter I have envisioned in my mind.

The Building of ARDU

Planing for the main controller (MC), GPS and radio Receivers.

 

Planing how the engine speed controllers (ESC’s) will fit into the frame, a very tight space.

The layout of the MC, Receivers and Telemetry for ARDU on the top deck.

The main frame cut out and ready for sanding. I used 1/4″ marine plywood. It’s what I had around and should work great.

Cutting out the poplar motor arms to receive the motor mounts. Wood is a good material for helicopters. It is light, strong, cheep and vibration resistant.

The motor mounts ready to be glued to the arms.

Gluing the plywood motor mounts to the arms.

Gluing the side rails to the main frame.

The Frame is ready for some paint and final assembly. Notice that the arms will fold back and hit the wood stops during a crash. This helps absorb energy. I got this trick from  building my Tri copter “Woody”. It works great!

All the components ready to put together, I hope everything fits!

A coat of paint to protect the wood and make it look cool.

The main power distribution board with ESC’s attached. A big power system (30A ESC’s) to battle the winds.

The bullet ends of the ESC’s  need to be soldered on and then shrink wrapped.

The motors mounted and ready to go. The motors are held in place with zip ties, the weak link in a crash. The motors just break the ties and eject instead of letting the force damage the motors. I used the Avroto M 2814-11 Short Shaft 770KV Brushless Motors for this build. A good, strong and reliable motor.

A tight squeeze for the ESC’s and Power Supplies. It’s going to be hot in there  in the summer, so I need to figure out how to vent it. I have installed a temperature sensor to keep an eye on the heat. It could be a problem, but not in the weather we like to fly in.

ARDU ready for the final test assembly

ARDU 1.0 ready for programming, testing and tuning.  A sweet looking unit.  I can’t wait to fly it!

 

I hope it doesn’t smoke when I plug it in!

Stay tuned for part two – The Programming and Testing of  ”ARDU”

 

 

Up to now we have been flying blind. But that will change. I just finished building a ground station down link that will receive live video from the GoPro. We will be able to see what the camera is seeing as we fly. This will help us better compose our footage and save valuable flight time.

I also received my new GoPro Hero 3 Black. My original camera stopped working after a bad firmware up-date and had to be replaced. Looks like they got it right this time. Everything is working as expected. What a pleasure it is to operate the camera with the phone app.

The complete Aerial Filming System: Photohigher AV130 Camera Gimbal, GoPro Hero 3 Black, The GoPro phone app.,  a 1.2Ghz video RX with a 1500mW TX and a monitor for live video feed back.

 ~ Doug

The latest build in progress

Just starting a new build.  A  small quad copter. I am hoping for more portability, longer flight times and a true FPV (first person visual) experience. Oh, and more power!

The photo shows the basic frame and arms. This is a Team Black Sheep Discovery frame. Not easy to get but awesome! I am looking forward to building this new rig.  Look for updates as the build proceeds.

~Doug

While we are still trying to figure out what makes the helicopters fall from the sky on cold days.. (not good!)..  we ended up testing one theory long after the sun went down.  Maybe next time, both the chopper and the pilot will have night vision goggles.

The first night flight of the WooKong (click here)

What’s being affected by the cold? It is the batteries?  The controller?  The on-board electronics?  We are close to an answer!  Just as the warmth of March starts rolling in, of course..

-Submitted by Courtney Ley

 

Meet the newest addition to my editing room. I just purchased a 2-TerraByte G Drive with FireWire ports for storing all the video files. I will still be using my USB 1-TB Seagate drive for the backup, but all my editing will be off of this drive. I can now clear out my computers storage, which was almost reaching max! It’s amazing how much room these files take up, and we haven’t even really started getting the GOOD footage. I see a second G Drive in my future..

-Submitted by Courtney Ley

Well, it’s back into the editing room.  We are getting ready for the Catskills Ice Festival this coming weekend and along with tuning the helicopters, the footage needs a little tuning as well.  I won’t be able to go, but I’m handing off the film to Doug to bring down with him and show off during the festival.  Learning Final Cut Pro has been quite the undertaking.. from figuring out how the program deals with files and file types, learning how to apply the endless array of image and video filters, how to adjust those filters, crop, stabilize, change speed, add text, add transitions, you name it.  And now that I am getting a grasp on editing and discovering new filters and effects to improve the quality of the video, I am spending more time in front of the computer doing it.  Yes, late nights are no stranger here.

I can’t wait to see the footage Doug gets in the Catskills.  It will be added to the growing library of clips for my hard drive to file and my editor to play around with.  Soon after the ice festivals are over, we will be posting some footage to the site, so stay tuned!

-Submitted by Courtney Ley

With Helicopters something always needs fixing or improving.

I was trying to carry too much and I dropped the radio breaking 2 switches. We lost the day of flying but the fix is easy! Go to Radio Shack and buy new switches. They fit perfect!

 

We were having problems with the cold (single digits) at the Smuggs Ice Bash. We think it is the radio so I got an insulated carry case that we can put hand warmers in…Let’s hope this works.

The new logo for the Kongs….UP! …YES!