Servo - April 2013

vibrations caused by the propellers.

As I started to work with the APM 2. 5 and its new firmware, I came up with new design enhancements for the Kronos Flyer.

It's a modular design, so that only one or all of the enhancements can be added to the basic Kronos Flyer.

The frame in Figure 4 shows enhancements to three areas. Let's take a closer look at these.

KFE is Born

The original design of the Kronos Flyer was a real challenge. I wanted a frame that could be built with basic materials and tools. This way, anyone could recreate what I call "the reference frame" shown in Figure 3.

I also wanted to be able to add enhancements or upgrades to the designs that were a bit more sophisticated. These upgrades would take the basic frame to a whole new level. I call the enhanced craft the KFE for "Kronos Flyer Enhanced."

FIGURE 4.

shown in Figure 7 which was designed specifically for the APM 2. 5+ system.

One of the problems with many other platforms is the lack of room for mounting all your components. This platform has room for mounting the APM 2. 5+, GPS, telemetry radio, FPV radio, FPV camera, and GoPro camera — all on the inside of the isolation platform. This leaves the top available for mounting any size battery — everything from the three-cell 2,200 mAh battery shown in Figure 8, to the four-cell 5,000 mAh battery shown in Figure 9.

You might be asking, why did you mount the battery on top of the isolation platform? The answer is simple: It adds to the mass of the isolation platform. This extra mass keeps even more of the vibrations from transferring from the main platform to the isolation platform.

The isolation platform is made from 1/8" Baltic birch plywood. I had thought of using G10 fiberglass, but the ply is lighter, stiffer, and easier to work with than G10. The isolation platform has a stiffened support platform that

FIGURE 7.

attaches directly to the original Kronos Flyer platform.

The support platform is tied to the upper isolated platform via four isolation bobbins. These bobbins, plywood, and added mass make for a vibration-free platform.