Welcome to, The Shed
The Editor in Chief said, “we need a new feature where we can highlight and assess new systems and products we’ll call it, The Shed.” I said… works for me. Although, I figure why limit ourselves to systems when we could review hard cider too? ;-)
The timing was fortuitous, as I had already had a system waiting in the wings (pun intended) as it where from a vendor in Germany, Bormatec. I had been sitting on a Cam-Flyer Q since April; the gentleman has demonstrated the patience of Jobe. The reward for this patience has paid off in spades as his product has been chosen to kick off this new feature.
As you the reader, may or may not know, I’ve been mentoring the C.K. McClatchy Robotics club. Not only is this an opportunity for sUAS News readers to learn about exciting new products, but also an excellent opportunity to condition my cadre of aspiring engineers for the indentured servitude known as, grad school. (Two birds one stone.)
On to the review…
For our first installment of the Shed, we have a quality product from Bormatec unmanned vehicles of Germany. http://www.bormatec.com
Several years ago I had run across their initial offering, the MAJA on the Internet. There were a few of us who thought the MAJA would make an excellent test bed airframe for a research project we were proposing. As anyone who had been around for a while knows, it is tough to find funding and that research project never got off of the ground.
Anyway, Bormatec has several offerings that include the aforementioned MAJA, the Vamp, and the delta wing Cam-Flyer Q. The later
being the subject of this review. First impression strait out of the box; a well thought out design that produced a very finished and cool looking product. The “Q” design lends itself to an easy breakdown for transport in a backpack or bicycle basket for the quick jaunt down to the park for a fly. Accentuating the positives of the park flyer class aircraft that lend themselves to the schedule of a chronic over-booker. So, that said, we have a pleasant little aircraft made of robust EPP foam that also employ Coroplast plastic in ways that facilitate the fold down wings and wingtips be secured with small nylon rods.
Bormatec purveys aircraft for the primary purpose of capturing aerial photography, FPV (First Person View) or carrying other payloads. The Q was designed for FPV. The design of the fuselage incorporated a slit that ran down the belly fore and aft, a hinged nose facilitating an easy and expedient installation of the camera and all of the wiring associated with this type of rig. After the build, all of the hinges and slits could be hot glued closed all neat and tidy.
The club doesn’t posses any of the accoutrements for FPV so we were flying ballast instead. The instructions appeared to have been
run through Google translator and sometime a little vague. Nothing someone with a little RC experience couldn’t overcome. We had her together for her maiden flight in relatively short order. The maiden was quick as we where at the end of a short school day. The flight characteristics were excellent, and she flew as good as she looked. Next year we hope to install FPV gear for some flights around the schoolyard and a flying test bed for future engineering projects.
If you are interested in having one of our staff review your product, drop us an email.
