News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Drone Bubble Bursts, Wiping Out Startups and Hammering VC... by StavrosK on Wednesday September 04, 2019 @10:13PM (#20883289)
I made my own flying wing for about $300 all in (the controller and goggles are usable with any other open-hardware drone, though). It's really fun, I recommend it, and it's not as loud since it only has one motor.
Re:Drone Bubble Bursts, Wiping Out Startups and Hammering VC... by justinclift on Thursday September 05, 2019 @12:38AM (#20883868)
Did you document the build or put info about it online? :)
Re:Drone Bubble Bursts, Wiping Out Startups and Hammering VC... by StavrosK on Thursday September 05, 2019 @06:11AM (#20885308)
No, it is a fairly stock one. However, tell you what, if you want you can follow me on https://www.instagram.com/stavrosware/ and I'll document it there (I'm rebuilding it).
Re:Drone Bubble Bursts, Wiping Out Startups and Hammering VC... by martin_a on Thursday September 05, 2019 @04:22AM (#20884864)
Wow, that is impressive. I thought I would have to spend around double or triple the amount to get started with this. Would be really interested if you could share some details on this.
Re:Drone Bubble Bursts, Wiping Out Startups and Hammering VC... by StavrosK on Thursday September 05, 2019 @06:18AM (#20885327)
Certainly. I am also rebuilding the wing and another commenter asked for info, so I can post photos and details on https://www.instagram.com/stavrosware/ if you want.

I bought a Taranis QX7 remote controller (~$100), which is amazing and I love it and you can use it with any other RC vehicle you want. I even hook up the receiver to my hardware projects so I can control them remotely.

You also need an FrSky XSR or R-XSR receiver (~$10), a Beitian BN-220 GPS (~$10), a motor and ESC (be careful, get a plane ESC, not a quad ESC, the plane one is larger and has better heat dissipation, ~$30). You need two small servos for the elevons, those cost about a dollar each. You also need a good soldering iron (the TS100 is $35 and is amazing.

For the controller, the Kakute F7 is fantastic and costs $45ish. It can fly in modes ranging from manual to completely autonomous (you get a Google Maps interface and mark where you want it to go and it just flies to those points). This may be a bit overkill, as it's the best board around, you can get a cheaper one (or maybe one that is made specifically for planes) no problem, but it's only $10 cheaper.

The FPV goggles can cost around $30 for some cheap ones, adjust those to taste.

I think that's it for components, although I should probably do a proper writeup if people are interested. There's much info out there already, but it might not be concentrated in one place. Let me know if you have any more questions!

Re:Drone Bubble Bursts, Wiping Out Startups and Hammering VC... by martin_a on Thursday September 05, 2019 @09:59AM (#20886693)
I think the biggest point might be the Wing itself. Did you built that on your own or did you use a pre-made model?
Re:Drone Bubble Bursts, Wiping Out Startups and Hammering VC... by StavrosK on Thursday September 05, 2019 @10:06AM (#20886765)
Oh oops, I forgot about the body. I bought an AR.wing, I think it was $80. I was wondering why the total only came up to about $200...
Re:Drone Bubble Bursts, Wiping Out Startups and Hammering VC... by martin_a on Friday September 06, 2019 @05:49AM (#20894315)
Looked into the AR.wing yesterday and that seems to be a great model. I will totally look into this, thanks for all your information!