Solo and the Fiilex AL250 question about weight

[Alderon]

Hello Community, I have a question that hopefully can get answered before I try this light out.

I just purchased the Fiilex Al250 and am going to attach the GoPro adhesive near the back next to the link area. Reason being is I have installed the GoPro Gimbal for the Hero4 Black.

My question is or rather Im looking for feedback as to if this will be too much weight for the Solo, having the Gimbal and The Al250 light attached. Will the weight strain the MotorPods?

Thanks All

 

[XevetS]

Would help to know what the weight of the Fiilex Al250 is?

Edit it weighs more than 1/2 a Lb.

But it looks like yes you can mount it with the GoPro and Gimbal attached,

 

[Alderon]

Yeah I saw that same photo, but the photo really doesn't help to assess if the weight would add strain to the motor pods. But from what I have read the Solo is designed to handle accessories so perhaps my answer lies in adding up the weight of gimbal and the 270 g fiilex light and what the Solo is capable of handling. Or just fly it and hope for the best.
Thanks for your reply

 

[XevetS]

Contact the company and ask them they designed it, If no one here has used it before you will not get the answer you are looking for....better safe then sorry

TEL (510) 620-5155
FAX (510) 620-4102
EMAIL [email protected]

 

[backcountryice]

Maneuvers alone will put strain on the motors and air frame. If you add a payload, you don't want to fly sporadically as this will strain the Solo not to mention maneuverability will be decreased.

I've observed my friend a number of times when they have flown a Sony mirrorless camera with a lens rigidly mounted to the solo body. It flew fine, though he flew cautiously (no crazy maneuvers, easy on the sticks) because the camera and lens are expensive. The camera body is 350 g and the lens he estimates the total weight was about 600 g (I'll confirm what lens because total seemed heavier than this) not including mounting hardware.

There are solo specs stating 700, 800 g max payload but the solo can lift 1500 g (see video of a Solo rescuing another Solo).

I'll be doing some testing in the next week regarding payloads and flight characteristics because I am developing sensors that solo will carry.

Doesn't seem like you're testing a huge amount of payload. I'd say mount it up, take it slow, and watch carefully how Solo behaves before you fly any missions with it. And don't forget to report back! I'm curious as to what the results are. Cheers

 

[Alderon]

Maneuvers alone will put strain on the motors and air frame. If you add a payload, you don't want to fly sporadically as this will strain the Solo not to mention maneuverability will be decreased.

I've observed my friend a number of times when they have flown a Sony mirrorless camera with a lens rigidly mounted to the solo body. It flew fine, though he flew cautiously (no crazy maneuvers, easy on the sticks) because the camera and lens are expensive. The camera body is 350 g and the lens he estimates the total weight was about 600 g (I'll confirm what lens because total seemed heavier than this) not including mounting hardware.

There are solo specs stating 700, 800 g max payload but the solo can lift 1500 g (see video of a Solo rescuing another Solo).

I'll be doing some testing in the next week regarding payloads and flight characteristics because I am developing sensors that solo will carry.

Doesn't seem like you're testing a huge amount of payload. I'd say mount it up, take it slow, and watch carefully how Solo behaves before you fly any missions with it. And don't forget to report back! I'm curious as to what the results are. Cheers

Awesome thanks for the info, a mirrorless camera and lens is more then what I have here so that helps.

I gave it a test today, nothing major, just brought it up 20 feet or so spun it around a couple of times and watched it, it seemed to drift to the left a bit but it may have been the wind. But all in all it seemed fine. This weekend is the big test however, taking it into the heart of the sierras for some night photography sessions, I shall report back how that goes. Thanks All!

 

[backcountryice]

Just measured the camera with lens: 474 g

 

[backcountryice]

Awesome thanks for the info, a mirrorless camera and lens is more then what I have here so that helps.

I gave it a test today, nothing major, just brought it up 20 feet or so spun it around a couple of times and watched it, it seemed to drift to the left a bit but it may have been the wind. But all in all it seemed fine. This weekend is the big test however, taking it into the heart of the sierras for some night photography sessions, I shall report back how that goes. Thanks All!

Cool, solo can handle loads if you pilot it carefully. Have a good flight in the Sierras.

One bit of advice I have is to be cautious when descending with extra load. The quads are a squirrelly if you decend straight down too quickly so fly in some direction when decending.

 

[wsalopek]

My question is or rather Im looking for feedback as to if this will be too much weight for the Solo, having the Gimbal and The Al250 light attached. Will the weight strain the MotorPods?

Thanks All

Yes, I believe the Solo will fly fine...I once strapped a Ricoh GR camera (about 270 grams) to my Solo, with the GoPro/gimbal attached as well...it flew....I could tell it didn't really like it...but it flew fine.

But...what about a Lume Cube?

That Fiilex is a nice, but much more expensive and heavy:

Fiilex:
270 grams, 2000 lumens, $350

LumeCube,
100 grams, 1500 lumens, $80

Even buying 2 Lume Cubes would be half the price of the Fiilex, and weigh less.

Anyway, I'm just wondering what the pros are of the Fiilex over the Lume Cube. Thanks...

--

Bill

 

[wsalopek]

Cool, solo can handle loads if you pilot it carefully. Have a good flight in the Sierras.

One bit of advice I have is to be cautious when descending with extra load. The quads are a squirrelly if you decend straight down too quickly so fly in some direction when decending.

Remember too the higher you fly, above sea level, the harder the Solo will have to work to lift a load, as compare to lower altitudes...so be careful that first flight at high altitude...(you didn't mention the altitude of your test flight as compared to you Sierras flight).

 

[backcountryice]

Remember too the higher you fly, above sea level, the harder the Solo will have to work to lift a load, as compare to lower altitudes...so be careful that first flight at high altitude...(you didn't mention the altitude of your test flight as compared to you Sierras flight).

Another good point. [emoji106]

 

[Todd Kennedy]

Hi. I’ve flown the combination your doing out about 900m, round a Mesa and back a few times. It’s ok but fight times are much shorter than usual and it makes a bit of noise and wind as you’ve probably discovered already. Have fun and show us your pics!

 

[Dave Tolsky]

See the article I wrote about night flight for Rotor Drone here www.aerialdomain.com and click on Published Articles. The AL250 was really designed to go in place of the gimbal or camera. It was designed to make the Solo a flying light source with a production quality light. Having said that, I have flown both camera and AL250 simultaneously. Just expect your battery life to be reduced a minute or two.

 

[Dave Tolsky]

It’s a good idea to have at least 2 batteries for the AL250

 

[Alderon]

Yes, I believe the Solo will fly fine...I once strapped a Ricoh GR camera (about 270 grams) to my Solo, with the GoPro/gimbal attached as well...it flew....I could tell it didn't really like it...but it flew fine.

But...what about a Lume Cube?

That Fiilex is a nice, but much more expensive and heavy:

Fiilex:
270 grams, 2000 lumens, $350

LumeCube,
100 grams, 1500 lumens, $80

Even buying 2 Lume Cubes would be half the price of the Fiilex, and weigh less.

Anyway, I'm just wondering what the pros are of the Fiilex over the Lume Cube. Thanks...

--

Bill

Hi Bill,

I chose the Fiilex AL250 over the Lume cubes based on the Fresnel lens on the Fiilex, which will give me a much more even light source then the Lime Cube.
The Lume cubes are a great product and can easily be used for what I am doing which is painting in subjects with light from above but I prefer the range of coverage from the Fiilex, but yes it is heavier then the Lume Cubes.

 

[Alderon]

Hello All,

Thanks for all the great feedback!

Took the Solo and Fiilex Al250 out to the heart of the sierras and after an incredibly long 3 hour kayak voyage to haul all my gear across a lake to camp on the other side I tried my first series of shots at blue hour.
The Solo did great up until a point I heard the motor pods whistling, concerned I cut it short and landed the Solo. I noticed the Motor pods were unusually hot to the touch.

Next night I decided I would try it again, the subject (old dead tree) required I go a little higher in altitude then the first night and although I got the shots I needed again the whistling started about 5-10 minutes in, I ignored it and took it easy, landed and again the motor pods were hot.

So I am not sure what the whistling is and or if the motor pods are hot due to the extra weight. But I have decided that I am going to remove the gimbal next time I take it out, to relieve some of the weight.
Anyone know where I can find a baseplate to replace the gimbal plate and or any other accessories for the SOLO? B&H has a few but not the baseplate. Also motor pods for the future, don't know where these can be purchased.
Was a ton of fun using this thing for this series of works and want to continue to do so.

This shot is the first night shot composited in photoshop from 5 shots.

 

[Alderon]

It’s a good idea to have at least 2 batteries for the AL250

Yeah two batteries is definitely a must. Although at 79 dollars per battery one will have to do for now. But it does require then that I have my idea and composition locked and ready before I use the Solo and light.

 

[backcountryice]

You can find the GoPro fixed mount on eBay for $15-20. If you want a flush plate you can either 3D print one or just get the fixed mount and remove the plate from GoPro mount (attached with the damper balls).

So I've done two weight test flights in the past week but haven't had time to post the videos up. I'll summarize:
- I lifted 600 g on a 1 meter sling without any noticeable behavior differences. Then I put 1134 g (2.5 lbs) on the same 1 meter sling which I could hear the motors working harder to maintain altitude. Ascent was understandably slower than normal, however, once I hit about 50% on the battery the solo struggled to maintain altitude.

I need to analyze the logs and see what was happening so I can have an actual diagnostic as everything is currently just observational.