Comparing the older HybridOne based frame with the Stuiterbal-1 frame
I was still flying with a slightly modified version of Thomas den Braber's HybridOne frame. Now, those quadcopters are barely alive after last season. Arms are flexible, holes in the main plates are almost 4mm instead of 3, all screws are bent, and there is even a crack in the flightcontroller. Time for a couple of fresh racers for 2022.
Now, that Hybridone frame is pretty durable. But it has the same 'disadvantage' as almost all drone racing frames: the bottom mounted battery is quite vulnerable. And when the battery and quad separate after a hard crash it might take half an hour to find it again in tall grass.
So, I decided to do a test with the battery on top and electronics on bottom. Like the Ummagawd and Five33 Footy frames. This way it is close to impossible to separate the battery from the quad; it is even impossible to unplug the XT60 when the strap is fastened. And the center of gravity is quite close to the center of the props.
Today was testing time. So I modified the Hybridone canopy to fit the HDZero VTX, printed it in polypropylene (only 14.5 grams for the entire canopy!), and went out with the MRO guys for a back-to-back session with the Stuiterbal-1.
3 degrees centigrade outside, misty, cold. But I had fun and I have my data. Guess which frame I prefer?
Videos are HDZero DVR recordings with some colorcorrection/sharpness/lens distortion and motion blur added in Resolve.