Monarch Quad
- Aviation has been a passion of mine for a long time. I love things that fly, and I wanted to build one for myself, so I decided to start with Quadcopters. Since I’ll be new to flying them I decide to make one that is safe for a beginner to fly. Hence the propellers need to be protected from damage, both to themselves and to others.
- The best way to do that is by keeping the props in a protected cage. I’m not the first person to come up with such an idea, there are many other drone frames with protected props. Like the lumenier Danaus.
- Taking inspiration from the Danaus, I set about to design something similar. Enter the Monarch (like the butterfly)
- Designed using Rhino CAD, it’s a 230 size quad with ample space for all the electronics including a camera and VTX. Designed in 2D as I’ll be laser cutting the frame.
- The frame is laser cut from 4mm plywood. I used 3mm for the top to reduce weight.
- The frame along with the nylon standoffs comes to about 170 grams. Wiring the ESC and motors to the power distribution board.
- Adding the flight controller, I’m using a Spracing F3 flight control board, running betaflight.
- The receiver is attached to the bottom end of the frame with zip ties. I’m using a Flysky 8 channel ppm receiver. It does not have an SBUS output hence I have to connect 8 wires (PWM) to the FC.
- I fixed the propellers and closed up the frame with the top part using nylon standoffs (Caution: These are not the strongest, they come apart in the event of a crash).
- I added a simple foam landing gear to the quad to protect it in the case of a rough landing.
- I attached a 3800mah battery on top of the drone using zip ties. Finally, she’s ready for the maiden flight. The AUW of the drone is about 750g with a 3800mah battery. I have not yet added a camera and VTX to it, I plan to do it once the drone is properly setup.
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Specifications
- Spec 4X Racestar 2204 racing edition motors
- 4X BL-Heli 28A ESC
- 1X Mateck power distribution board
- 1X SP racing F3 flight controller
- 4X Kingkong 5040 props
- Frsky TH9X radio with 8Ch receiver
- 3800mah 25C lipo battery
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Monarch Quad A 230 size quad with laser cut frame and protected props.
- Monarch Quad
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