Within the realms of freestyle quads, since they're inception, innovation has been constant. It's not a surprise, therefore, that various individuals and companies have been experimenting with machines that have tilting motors. Because of all this, today you can get yourself one of these: the Xray Tilt-Rotor from AimDroix.
So you've watched the video and want some more information on this mad machine? sure! Here's what's down with the X-ray Tilt-rotor.
Frame Spec:
2mm carbon fibre side plates
Arm damage reduction mechanism
Aluminum tilt gears (that make the arms tilt around)
Metal gear servos.
FPV camera is enclosed for full crash protection
Low CG battery location for added stability
Lightest tilt-rotor frame in the world at 200g (without battery).
A Closer Look
Michael shows how the geared servos translate their movement into the arms. This allows the quad to move forward without slanting the whole machine in flight as with other more conventional race quads.
A close up of the mechanism shows the high strength, robust gears which swing the arms around their pivots. As mentioned in the frame spec, this quad features a special system with specially designed weak points meaning that, in a crash, the gears and servos would be protected from the impact.
If you look closely within the frame, you can see the servo that drives both of the front arms.
All of this tech results in a, to some, rather strange looking movement through the sky! As Josh puts it, the Tilt-Rotor performs like a race car as it horizontally screeches about.
You have to give it a little throttle when 'pitching' forward, but not as much as you would with any other 250 sized quad.
As featured in our previous episode about AimDroix, the company is also producing a set of wings and a tail to convert this little machine into a crazy hybrid VTOL airplane. Check it out in our video.
It's a whole new experience for drone and plane lovers out there. As many love both sides of the hobby, it's the perfect way to combine each aspect!
Other Tilt-Rotors Out There
Although it is in many ways one-of-a-kind, the AimDroix Xray is not alone when it comes to Tilt-Rotor technology. There are several other examples of tilting quads that you may want to check out.
There's a company out there called TILT Drones that manufacture all sorts of strange contraptions capable of scaling walls and rolling down roads on top of flying. Most have one thing in common though: they tilt their motors.
Moving from the corporate world and back to Flite Test's routes in homemade creations, this quadcopter is a DIY project from way back in 2013 that was featured on the website diydrones.com. Check out the article on this project here.
As a concept, tilting rotors have been around for a while. It's not actually all that new - just take a look at the V-22 Osprey!
We hope you enjoyed the episode and this article on the Xray and are looking forward to more. Let us know about your experiences with this drone if you go ahead and pick one up!
Purchase your own Xray RTF Kit on our FT Store!
Learn more about the AimDroix Xray Quad (Tilt-Rotor) https://bit.ly/xraytiltrotor
AimDroix on facebook: https://goo.gl/AlgRkh
Check out other AimDroix video: https://youtu.be/rInUxB8t3Yg
Article written by James Whomsley
FliteTest.com Editor
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