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Current Status of the Project

A project log for Goliath - A Gas Powered Quadcopter

A BIG Gas Powered Quadcopter

peter-mccloudPeter McCloud 05/27/2014 at 12:172 Comments

Before documenting the previous steps, it seemed like a good idea to show where the project is at:

Currently, the frame is assembled from galvanized slotted steel and bolts.  This method was chosen over steel tubing or composites to speed up the prototyping process.  It will likely need a couple more cross members to increase the stiffness, but it's close to being complete.  The vertical shaft engine has been installed and the drive system is assembled with all of the belts, pulleys and tensioners in place.  A custom exhaust system was built using go kart hardware.  Also installed is a simple electrical system consisting of a small motorcycle battery just big enough for starting since the engine comes with an alternator.

The drive system has been tested by turning the engine over with the starter for a few seconds at a time. What's not complete yet is the fuel system, propellers, ducting and controls and the electrical system will need to be completed for the controls.

The next steps are completing the propellers and adding controls for the throttle.  After those items are complete,  The quadcopter will be tethered a small distance off the ground and the gas engine run for the first time!

In the future we'll add more details about what it took to get to this point in addition to updates as Goliath progresses. 

Discussions

zakqwy wrote 05/27/2014 at 13:25 point
Looks like a beefy frame. Have you started digging in to the thrust vectoring mechanism? How many degrees of freedom will each prop have?

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Peter McCloud wrote 05/31/2014 at 21:47 point
It is beefy, the frame is about 50 lbs. Haven't started on the thrust vectoring. I'd like to get it off the ground first (tethered of course) then work out the control system.

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