COMPILED BY THE EDITORS l [email protected]TESTED
26 http://www.popularmechanics.co.za _ AUGUST 2017
BUILD, CRASH, REPEAT
THE THING MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT FPV RACING AND FREESTYLE FLYING IS THAT YOU DON’T
SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN THE AIR. CRASHBOX DRONES WANTS TO SOLVE THAT. – LINDSEY SCHUTTERSTHERE’S NOTHING WORSE than repeatedly slamming
someone’s life’s work into the ground while they’re help-
lessly standing next to you. To his credit, Jonathan Heaney
was quite gracious in his stoic enduring of my terrible
“flying” as I experienced my third and final disabling crash
with a: “That’s what we’re here for.” That last crash was
prefixed by me almost beheading myself while trying to
hover for a picture with the first-person view goggles on.
He is correct, though. We are here to crash his designed
and patent-pending quadcopter frame. This model is called
the CrashBOX Flow and, though it won’t win you any races,
it should help you fly a little longer.
The secret is in the modular design. The arms are twin
carbon fibre rods that mount on a spring-loaded system
to join the body. Springs will contract like tiny shock
absorbers to dissipate impacts and, in ideal situations,
save you from broken propellors. Those carbon rods can
be replaced with 6 mm carbon kite poles. Prototypes are
currently 3D-printed, but will be injection-moulded out
of glass-filled nylon.uu I trashed an eighth-generation model, snapping three
props and unseating one of the arms as I ploughed into a
fence and a damp rugby field. I should’ve spent time on a
simulator the day before coming out to test out this quad.
I should’ve bought and built my own practice rig by now.
But I didn’t, because I want a DJI Spark. I want to fly hassle-
free and have time to enjoy the scenery without having to
worry about my gorilla thumbs being too aggressive on
the controls, causing me to over-correct and lose control.
A light touch takes time and patience. That’s what
makes drone racing so hard. The first time I ever flew aCrashBOX frames are designed with modular parts
so you only buy the exact thing that broke. We’re big
fans of the hinged cage because it makes it easier to
access components on the go. If anything, Heaney
should add in propeller guards, which can be
removed as the pilot gains confidence.RETHA FERGUSON