aa-jv 2 days ago

The OP VTOL drone is aesthetically pleasing, I feel, but is over-engineered for a task such as mapping long distances.

For your needs, a slow-stick with a KFM wing would suffice - the smallest, lightest, simplest, most capable airframe one can build, and that is a slow-stick[0] with KFM wings[1].

VTOL is cool for those of us raised on a healthy sci-fi diet, but is entirely unnecessary for a slow-stick, which can be hand-launched directly into the air (vertically) and landed at a stall within a meter.

Plus, it is small, light, effective and extremely simple, which means its a lot easier to repair and maintain. Add some ardupilot magic and you've got a really capable platform for surveys and reconnaissance.

tl;dr Consider building a small fleet of slow-stick+KFM planes, attach your camera to it, and do your survey that way ..

[0] - https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?1395335-Begin...

[1] - https://www.flitetest.com/articles/kfm-wings-a-basic-explana...

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tsungxu 2 days ago

Aesthetics follows function in this case. And agreed VTOL is not beneficial at hobbyist scale for most because of the ease and short distances required to hand/runway launch and land an RC plane

aa-jv 1 day ago

>Aesthetics follows function in this case.

Not sure I agree with you here. The very same functionality can be attained with far less plastic.