Contrasting Forward Props

HiDesertHal

HiDesertHal

Well-Known Member
I was advised to install lighter-colored props to the 2 forward motors on my Hubsan H501S X4
to help identify which is forward in flight.

Should I spray-paint the props with Rustoleum Fluorescent Orange or just order a set of Gold props from Amazon?

What about painting the forward booms instead?

Thanks,
Hal
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:rolleyes: ... Back when I used to fly primarily LOS I'd just put some different colored reflective tape on the front and back arms.
It's not permanent, you have more than enough for many quads, it's quick and easy to do, and you can easily remove it after
you've decided you don't need the visual que any longer ;)
 
I would not paint the props out of fear of affecting weight and their balance - I would put something on the arms instead. I use red mylar on mine, but my quads are larger...
 
Hi Hal i painted mine didn't have any problems with balance i just made sure they both got the same amount paint with the spray can
 
003.JPG
How would that work for this bird, with its round, tapered arms with vent slots?

What about reflective tape (or bright paint) on the underside of the forward fuselage?
Hal
 
Last edited:
HiDesertHal said:
How would that work for this bird, with its round, tapered arms with vent slots?
Click to expand...

Wrapped around the arms so it can be seen from any angle, not just the bottom.


quad_stripes.png
 
Gyro Doctor said:
:rolleyes: ... Back when I used to fly primarily LOS I'd just put some different colored reflective tape on the front and back arms.
It's not permanent, you have more than enough for many quads, it's quick and easy to do, and you can easily remove it after
you've decided you don't need the visual que any longer ;)
Click to expand...

I'm new here, so what does LOS stand for?

Thanks, Hal
 
So, I had a scare yesterday. I wanted to fly my quadcopter that has an fpv camera and vtx installed on it. Attached to my transmitter is a monitor/receiver/dvr - wanted to record the flight on the dvr, but shortly after takeoff the video got choppy and the monitor blue-screened. While I was fiddling with the monitor the aircraft started drifting away as there was a breeze coming from the east. I put the aircraft in Loiter mode, but it didn't seem to work as it continued moving to the west. I hit RTL (Return To Launch) and it suddenly rose and headed off to the west even more. I switched back to Stabilize mode to regain manual control but by this time it was really high and heading west at a pretty good clip - perhaps the winds were stronger there...

I lost orientation and had to experiment with the aileron and rudder controls to ascertain which way it was pointing. As I was doing this, I saw that I was receiving video from the aircraft and determined that I had it pointed away from me. Using the rudder stick, I managed to turn the aircraft back around and head back towards me. I had to lose altitude, but had to be careful not to descend too quickly for fear of losing control flying through the prop wash. But with the breeze blowing from the east, I was flying into a headwind so I was able to gradually bring it back down and landed safely right in front of me.

I don't know what happened, but today I redid the compass calibration. It has been too windy to try to fly again - maybe tomorrow I can try once more. I don't know why the video turned so crappy after takeoff - I don't think I was on an adjacent frequency. I put on a different antenna and will see if it makes any difference. Will fly in the morning if it calm, test Loiter and RTL functions right off and if there's any problem, I will land immediately.
 
I start with the hubsan X4 then on to a 450 size , then a 500 then converted to a 900 later in its life , I also started to fly a tricopter which fly more like a helicopter in the way it banks and turns
When I start to fly the tricopter i used a red prop on the tail
 
Here is video of my efforts to improve FPV video quality - got a little better performance with a circular antenna on the quad, but still not good enough. Also, Loiter mode still isn't working...

 
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