Solo drone floats prototype

1013D · Jul 11, 2015

Just got it finished. Did some static float test and it is very stable. Still have not gotten it into the air yet though.

Currently weighs 150grams, about 0.5lbs. I prototyped the frame with fiberglass, instead of carbon fiber...once the design is proven out, I will get a carbon fiber frame made and that will bring the weight down some.

MGOSAN · Jul 11, 2015

don't forget the waterproof Gopro without the housing

Cadz11a · Jul 11, 2015

Nice work. Did you use pool noodles?

1013D · Jul 11, 2015

Cadz11a said:
Nice work. Did you use pool noodles?

No, it's all production level materials, though it is likely the same type of foam that pool noodles are made of.

1013D · Jul 11, 2015

MGOSAN said:
don't forget the waterproof Gopro without the housing

Not sure what you are getting at...don't think it is waterproof in the frame mount.and the solo certainly is not sealed if it flips over.

Olympian · Jul 11, 2015

I did something similar with my HK Nova quad... using wal-mart pool noodles
Had to extend floats ,, because of a previous version's nose-over dunking .. now they are (unfortunately) visible in the camera view.

RyanG · Jul 12, 2015

About the Gopro I think he was saying you need to get something so it doesn't go in the drink.

That being said.. IF It's 3DR's fault and not the operator, they will (supposedly) replace the drone AND the Gopro.

That being said I think this is awesome and I would rather have the Gopro ruined then losing the Gopro AND the Drone in the ocean.

Nice work. I would love to know if you are willing to sell these, and if so .. count me in.

Ryan G

1013D · Jul 12, 2015

Well if it flips over everything is getting wet. No way around that.

I will do some take off and landing on water tests with it. But it's main purpose is to ensure you can recover it if you have to land, or crash, on the water. Ideally you would still plan to takeoff and land on land. These floats are more like insurance, in case something goes wrong.

I do plan on producing these for sale, once everything is tweaked. Carbon fiber is expensive though.

rrmccabe · Jul 12, 2015

Be interested to see how it flies. I would thing it has to be hinder performance. @1013D, do you do a lot of water flying?

I have with my Phantoms but the SOLO has not been over even a puddle yet

1013D · Jul 12, 2015

Olympian said:
I did something similar with my HK Nova quad... using wal-mart pool noodles

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Had to extend floats ,, because of a previous version's nose-over dunking ..

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now they are (unfortunately) visible in the camera view.

The phantom and nova have nice tall landing gear and built in cross members which is easier to mount stuff too.

The Solo has fairly low landing gear and no cross members so I had to make a rigid frame to mount the foam to so it would not sit to low in the water. And at 3.5 to 4lbs, the solo is fairly heavy.

Normy norm · Jul 12, 2015

1013D said:
Well if it flips over everything is getting wet. No way around that.

I will do some take off and landing on water tests with it. But it's main purpose is to ensure you can recover it if you have to land, or crash, on the water. Ideally you would still plan to takeoff and land on land. These floats are more like insurance, in case something goes wrong.

I do plan on producing these for sale, once everything is tweaked. Carbon fiber is expensive though.

Sign me up for one

1013D · Jul 12, 2015

rrmccabe said:
Be interested to see how it flies. I would thing it has to be hinder performance. @1013D, do you do a lot of water flying?

I have with my Phantoms but the SOLO has not been over even a puddle yet

There has to be some performance drop. They add weight and drag, but since the gps flight modes are restricted to less than 100% of the full potential of the solo anyway, I doubt it will be noticeable.

I have a mile wide river right behind my house that I plan on trying to cross....but I wanted some floats before I try it. That is my main motivation to get them done.

GoodnNuff · Jul 12, 2015

rrmccabe said:
Be interested to see how it flies. I would thing it has to be hinder performance. @1013D, do you do a lot of water flying?

I have with my Phantoms but the SOLO has not been over even a puddle yet

I have to agree. Seems every few months someone was trying to come up with the same idea for the Phantoms in all their various forms. They either affected flight times and aerodynamics, or were in the frame so that the ideas were all eventually abandoned. Curious to see how yours plays out.
It would be great to have this security.

147-Aerial Imaging · Jul 12, 2015

1013D said:
Well if it flips over everything is getting wet. No way around that.

I will do some take off and landing on water tests with it. But it's main purpose is to ensure you can recover it if you have to land, or crash, on the water. Ideally you would still plan to takeoff and land on land. These floats are more like insurance, in case something goes wrong.

I do plan on producing these for sale, once everything is tweaked. Carbon fiber is expensive though.

I'm definitely interested if and when you go in production =)

RyanG · Jul 12, 2015

Me as well. Sign me up.

Ryan G

1013D · Jul 13, 2015

test flew it today. Just a small amount of the right side float was visible in the solo app.

performance seems the same to me. got up to 33mph. it may be a little slower on climbing, but otherwise it flew great (I always fly on fastest settings FYI).

did a water landing and takeoff in a little retention pond without problems.....though I think this changed my return to home point since I disarmed and rearmed the motors, which I didn't think of when I hit the home button again later and may be why my manual landing was harder than usual.

One other plus of having these floats on is if you do land hard on land they absorb some of the force and actually allow it to bounce fairly well.

should be able to put some video up later this evening.

rrmccabe · Jul 13, 2015

1013D said:
though I think this changed my return to home point since I disarmed and rearmed the motors.

Yea that will do it. @David Weston tested that flying at the golf course. Power down and back up is all it took.

1013D · Jul 13, 2015

just looked at the video. I got 13:30 out of a full battery (8 percent left). I was flying aggressively, but the extra weight and drag certainly did lower the flight time some. (I have gotten 17 minutes out of that amount of battery before, but then I was not flying aggressively).

I think Carbon fiber is a must to keep the weight down, and not lose too much flight time. and of course keeping the flight speed well below 33mph while carrying the extra drag of the floats will help too.