The best way to record videos on a quad copter is to use a gimbal. But in order to use a gimbal you will need a landing gear tall enough for the gimbal to fit under. So this is my first attempt in making one.
Like with most things I build I over engineered it, meaning I made it too heavy duty for the quad copter I have and it is TOO heavy. The initial weigh was 300 grams.
I started with a sheet of 1/8" thick Kydex. Big thanks to Rey for supplying me with this great stuff. Kydex is tough and it will NEVER break but it is not very stiff like carbon fiber. Another drawback with Kydex is that it is kind of heavy. I stacked 2 sheets of Kydex and taped then together so I will have 2 identical piece after I cut and drill it.
Next, I cut eight 1/4" 6061 aluminum rod 5" long for the support.
Here are all the rods cleaned up on the lath.
Drilled and tapped all 8 rods.
So here is the tank.... all 300 grams of it.
With a 3s lipo and 8inch props I was barely able to get this thing off the ground and I still need to mount a gimbal and GoPRo (that is another 300g).
When I switch to a 10 inch prop I was glad to see that I am able to lift off the ground but I still need to trim off the excess fat.
The first thing I did was cut out the excess plastic in the middle of the legs.
Next I cut a little off the top of the landing gear so it will be shorter
Finally, I just the aluminum rods 2.5" shorter.
Now I ended up with a landing gear that weighs 159g. I am waiting for the gimbal to come in the mail so I can see how I should mount it.
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