BOLT is born

-
The latest project, a tiny Y6 hexrotor, is airborne...! I am really happy with the results, the copter is great fun to fly. Here is a video of it (it seems to be really hard to film it in flight...):


Shrediquette BOLT from W. Thielicke on Vimeo

I will use it mainly for FPV. The little thing becomes pretty fast for its size, it is very precise and fits through the smallest holes... It does even fly pretty ok when one propeller is missing.



 

Some details on this copter (more pictures on the BOLT page):

BOLT: Compact Y6 FPV hexrotor / hexacopter
  • Max. dimension 21 cm
  • Motor shaft distance 10.6 cm
  • Roxxy 1815/25
  • Airace propellers
  • "CCD-Killer" CMOS FPV camera
  • mGUIDE controller
  • Turnigy Plush 6A ESCs + I²C->PWM micro converters
  • 3S 1000 mAh battery

Comments

  1. Anonymous15 May 2011 at 08:38

    Hello William,

    Bolt looks great! It's so compact and it looks as it is perfectly stabile. Very, very good. Can you give any more details on the new micro I2C>PWM converters? PCBs, firmware, any info...

    Keep us informed and amazed!

    Best regards

    Vlatko

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sokonomi17 May 2011 at 22:07

    Whats the deal with the giant antenna?

    And do you think I could get anywhere near this with a mere three gyro Kkuk board?

    Ive got a CNC router and a blackboard 5.5 laying around and this thing looks like a proper barrel of fun to... BOLT around with.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ambrose Aus21 May 2011 at 16:36

    WOW. not much else to say but your copters are an absolute inspiration. and your giving attitude offering your wealth of knowledge freely is a credit to your good self. cant wait to see you continue to revolutionise this hobby!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous27 June 2011 at 12:06

    Hi, your copter is very beautiful.
    Can I ask you where do you bought these micro propellers?
    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous8 August 2011 at 00:06

    Excellent job, it is very impressive !
    And, what is this great song on the video please ?

    Thanks a lot.
    Best regards,

    Wanamoa.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous13 August 2011 at 06:47

    That looks freaking amazing. Are there performance advantages to a Y6 versus a tricopter? A friend of mine and I are considering starting a UAV group at HacDC(http://hacdc.org) and we want to get some hands on experience before hand, but we'd like to keep the cost down and a tricopter definitely has that over a Y6, but if we end up going with a Y6 afterwards to pick up performance it won't save us much :)
    Thanks for the cool machines and the great videos.

    ReplyDelete
  7. LordBraindead2 September 2011 at 10:11

    damn really nice built. really like it, and for those asking about the song:
    The Knife - Pass this on

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous10 September 2011 at 17:17

    Hi William, thank for your creations and your site. All your videos are nices to look.

    Could you please tell us what song you use for the Bold ?

    Best regards.

    ReplyDelete
  9. William Thielicke10 September 2011 at 22:07

    Hi,
    one post before you the name of the song is mentioned.
    Cheers,
    William

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous11 September 2011 at 22:18

    Hi William. Thanks for your answer. Your kopter and you are just amazing. Im looking foward to buy such. I hesitate with the DLX and the MM6 ?
    Hpe to meet you one day. Keny95-France

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous17 December 2011 at 10:59

    who is Cheers ı don"t find Cheers . who cherrs pyası give a link . good work

    ReplyDelete
  12. alfly038 May 2012 at 01:01

    hello William where i can buy the frame BOLT please ?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Bob-California13 June 2012 at 00:36

    I see you slowed down the video in order to make the Heli appear more stable and speeded up the video (flying thru window) to make it more accurate.

    Please provide original video so one can better judge the "true" flight characteristics.

    Thanks,

    Bob - California

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. William Thielicke13 June 2012 at 08:30

      lol Bob... I really don't need to speed up any video footage. Additionally, the slow motion (recorded with a high speed camera) is not intended to make the BOLT look more stable. Please inform yourself before publishing false pretences.
      But I will soon post some more FPV footage anyhow.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My 15 inch long-range setup for 2020 (with CAD files)

-
Image
This is my latest 15 inch ultra-long range setup with 50 minutes flight time: Propellers: 15x5.5" Tarot with custom hub  Motors: T-Motor MN3110 470 kV  Frame: 240g custom carbon structure  Lipo: 2x 4S 4000 mAh SLS 20C (parallel)  Camera: Micro Runcam micro sparrow  Firmware: INAV  FC: Holybro Kakute F7  ESC: Tekko32 F3  GPS: BN-180  Compass: QMC5883L  Receiver: FRSky R9 slim+  Hovering flight time is 50 minutes at 8.5 Amps and 40% throttle. Current goes up to 12 A when flying 50-60 km/h. Flight characteristics are really good when tuned properly (you'll nee a HUGE D-term). Here is the CAD file of the frame. INAV 2.4.0 PID settings:  set mc_p_pitch = 85 set mc_i_pitch = 60 set mc_d_pitch = 150 set mc_p_roll = 85 set mc_i_roll = 60 set mc_d_roll = 150 set mc_p_yaw = 200 set mc_i_yaw = 70 set mc_p_level = 40 set mc_i_level = 10 set max_angle_inclination_rll = 500 set max_angle_inclination_pit = 500 set dterm_...
Read more

Finished I²C to PWM converter and TriGUIDE mini

-
Image
The last nights were a bit shorter for me, since the PCBs I ordered at bilex-lp.com arrived. They look really good and seem to be of high quality (I ordered a different "solder resist" colour, well, I like bright colors, but anyway... ). So I had the opportunity to do my very first SMD solderings. This really seems to be comfortable... I will completely switch to SMD I think. The I²C to PWM converters work! Here are the features: Weight under 1 g Works with (most likely many) standard ESCs (currently tested: HK SS 18-20A, ...) I²C address selectable via solder jumpers (4 standard mikrokopter addresses dec 82, 84, 86, 88) Refresh rate selectable via solder jumpers (417 Hz, 292 Hz, 155 Hz, 49 Hz) Pulse width (I²C 0-255): 990µS - 2010µS Pulse width at startup (3 s): 920µS Motor off when no I²C connection longer than 256ms Motor off when microcontroller crashes (veeeery unlikely) Powered by the BEC of the ESC, or by an external 5V source (prepared as well) Very eas...
Read more

Aerodynamics in racing multirotors!

-
Image
Why future racing copters really should look different. by Dr. William Thielicke aka Willa aka Shrediquette ABSTRACT In this article I try to demonstrate why FPV racing multirotors need to look different. Some small modifications to the frame would (in theory…!) result in 70 % higher top speed! All that needs to be done is to align the arms parallel to the propeller flow, and to tilt the main body of the copter by about 40 degrees. I am presenting a very simple and robust racing copter design that incorporates these ideas. Furthermore, I am calculating the aerodynamic drag of different copter concepts using basic equations. The aim of this article is to make you realize the importance of aerodynamics and to stimulate people to design more innovative racing frames. INTRODUCTION Until recently, multirotors were mainly used as a “hovering device” and the top speed of these copters did hardly matter. Now, multirotor racing has become popular and all competitors are seeking ...
Read more

More propeller tests

-
Image
Recently, I discovered some small counter-rotating propellers that I didn't know before. I ordered some and did some tests. The red 4x4.5" props look really good, nice thin airfoils and a good precision. During the tests, they made the least amount of noise, and are currently my preferred ones. The performance of the 4x2.5" props is even better, but they have a pretty terrible sound and seem to be less balanced. Both propellers outperform the AirAce propellers, but this is not really a surprise because the AirAce have a smaller diameter and more blades. What is also interesting is the weight of the propellers. A propeller with a lower weight potentially has a lower moment of inertia which is beneficial for the control loops: AirAce: 2.1 g 4x2.5": 1.5 g 4x4.5" : 1.3 g So this is an advantage for the 4x4.5" propellers, especially because the weight of this propeller is more concentrated to the center, which should further lower the momentof inertia. ...
Read more

Part 1/3: Side Force Generators (SFGs) in FPV Racing

-
Image
Summary: FPV racing multirotors with side force generators (SFGs), will drift less during turns, making them potentially faster on race tracks  (watch the video comparison here ) . But the SFGs need the be carefully placed and dimensioned, so that aerodynamic centre and centre of mass are at the same position. Otherwise it will not work.  Introduction Recently, I was thinking about how to improve the handling of racing copters. I noticed since quite a long time, that different copters behave quite differently in fast turns: Some drift quite a lot (especially when they carry a larger battery or an action cam), others drift less. I was always preferring copters that drift as little as  possible. That is also why I am trying to reduce the weight of my copters as much as feasible. The amount of drift depends on the weight of the copter and the lift and drag of the fuselage for sideways air streams (side-slip). The larger the lift and drag, the more side force the fusel...
Read more