Droidworx VM Series Manual
1
- S erieS B uild M anual
Droidworx lt d n e w Z ealand
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ContentS
3Flight operation and safety
4Operation and Safety
6Pre-Flight Safety Check
7Do’s and Dont’s
8Assembly overview
9Required Tools
10 Assembly Overview
15 Assembly Instructions
16 Part 1: Landing Gear Assembly
21 Part 2: Center Plate and Boom Assembly Instructions
22 VM(X)4
29 VM 6
32 VM 8
36 VMX3
39 Part 3: Engine Mount Assembly
43 Part 4: Crash Cage Assembly
47 Part 5: Dome Cover Assembly
3
Flight operation and SaFety
4
operation and S aFety
This is a quick guide for those new to Multi-Rotor craft oering
some basic safety and operational procedures...and are
recommended standard operating procedures for those piloting
Droidworx or any multi-rotor craft.
Please read the instructions for the relevant Flight Control
electronics before proceeding. Go to the web site of your ight
control system and make yourself well acquainted with the correct
procedure for the electronics installation and software operation.
Caution: never connect and start the engines for the rst time with
the propellers attached....and always balance your propellers;
unbalanced propellers can cause excessive vibration which may
lead to material fatigue.
Note: check the orientation of the ight controller you are using
(which way is front) and also the engine assignment conguration;
for instance which is engine 1,2,3 etc. and check also that your
propellers, clockwise and counter clockwise, are also installed
correctly before your rst ight.
Before the rst ight hand test your craft – arm and calibrate your
electronics, hold the craft with both hands by the landing gear
skids above your head with the front facing away from, and to
the front of you, make sure you are well clear of obstructions and
other people. You may need the assistance of another person
for this test. Raise the throttle to around 25% and gently move
the craft around the axis’ roll (tipping the craft left and right) and
feel for a steady and smooth resistance to your movements, do
the same for pitch (tipping the craft forward and backward) and
also yaw, rotating the craft clockwise and anti-clockwise whilst
keeping it horizontal. If the craft oers smooth resistance to your
movements it will y correctly.
Your rst test ight should be in an open eld in low or zero wind.
A sports eld (not currently in use) is a good option; choose a site
with short or mown grass. Do not takeo from dry dusty sites.
Make sure any onlookers or spectators do not gather about you…
if so ask them to move away from you in a perimeter not less than
50m (150 feet) diameter around you.
Make sure that you have fully charged your transmitter and
onboard battery packs. Make sure that the antenna of your Radio
(TX) is up and correctly positioned; make sure the receiver (RX) for
your craft is well positioned within the craft and secured and that
the antenna is facing downward and to the back of your craft and
not touching any part of the craft.
Place the craft on level ground and turn on your transmitter –
check that you have the correct model selected on your TX.
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Set the transmitter timer to about 80% of the known ight duration.
Connect the battery to your crafts FC inputs and wait for the
engine controller beeps to stop.
Stand about 4m away from your craft and behind the craft with the
craft facing directly away from you.
Check the 50m ight safety perimeter you have established, also
checking behind you for children running in to see what you are
doing.
Survey the area; look for obstacles that you might not have seen
previously, like power-lines and overhead wires.
Never y your craft near a controlled aerodrome or in controlled
airspace.
Check the weather conditions, the wind speed and direction. Do not
y in gusty strong wind at any time. Always try and y the craft with
the wind at your back so the craft will drift directly away from you.
Always keep your eyes on the craft when in ight – if people approach
you inside your safety perimeter to talk to you or to ask questions
whilst you are ying the craft do not engage in the conversation and
ask them to stand well clear of you until you have landed.
Re-check your perimeter and raise the throttle slowly and check to
see if the craft wants to tilt to one direction or another; sometimes
you may need to adjust the trim on your TX to get a level ight,
however most times the craft will y perfectly rst time if you have
installed the electronics and the software has been set correctly—
check with the Flight Control manufacturer for standard or beginner
settings for the craft.
Take os are sometimes easier with a short burst of power to lift the
craft o the ground.
Hold the craft in a controlled hover directly in front of you about 2-3m
o the ground away from “ground eect” prop wash. When you have
mastered this hover position you can then move on to rolling the craft
gently from side to side and forward and backward. Make sure that
you always stand behind the craft, this makes for easy orientation of
the ight controls.
Repeat this exercise several times before you take the craft any
higher.
Always y the craft well away from people and / or property. Always
check for children nearby.
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pr e - F light S aFety C h e C k
Thoroughly check the craft before every ight…
• Check to see if any wires have come o
•Check for loose bolts on the assembly
•Check that the battery’s are secure
•Check the battery voltage, and if you have more than one battery, check your spares too
•Check the propellers for marks and nicks
•Check the propeller nuts or bolts, make sure they are tight
•Check the engine mounts and the bolts and nuts for tightness
•Check the Transmitter battery voltage; never y the craft with a low voltage reading on your transmitter
(check with the manufacturer of your equipment for minimum and maximum voltage readings).
•Check that the transmitter antenna is not damaged.
•Check that the craft receiver module is well connected and that the antenna’s are properly positioned.
•Take a good look over the craft from all sides to make sure that nothing appears unusual or out of place.
•Check your ight perimeter.
•Check for power-lines and overhead obstacles.
•Assess the weather conditions, wind direction and speed. An anemometer (hand held wind speed meter) is a good tool
to have, otherwise use some dry grass or a tissue, throwing in the air to gauge the wind direction.
•Do not y in gusty and turbulent conditions.
•Set your transmitter timer to 80% of the known battery duration.
DISCLAIMER:
Droidworx NZ Limited disclaims all warranties, whether express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and tness for a particular purpose. Droidworx NZ
Limited does not assume any lyability, whether direct or indirect, from the use of the
VM-Series Craft. Droidworx NZ Limited shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, punitive, contingent or consequential damages to persons or property caused by the VM-Series
craft. In no event shall Droidworx NZ Limited be liable for personal injury up to and including death.
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do’Sand d ont’S:
•
Never y in strong wind – the operational safe wind speed for these craft is about 10-15 KPH.
•
In the event of a crash or a hard landing, always check the craft for damage before taking o again. In this instance, you must also
check that you do not have dirt or grit in the engines; this can cause an engine or engines to overheat and fail in ight resulting in an
out of control craft and serious damage or injury to the craft , other people and their property.
•
Your launch eld should preferably be open and at with short grass. If it is necessary to take o in a eld which only has long grass,
manually atten a 1.5m diameter take o perimeter with your feet.
•
Always have a ight plan – visualize your ight path and check again for obstacles.
•
Never y the craft out of direct line of sight and always keep your eyes on the craft whilst it is in the air.
•
Never y the craft above 400 feet in height (the length of a football eld).
•
Never y near people – A 50m (150 ft) perimeter around and above people is a recommended minimum and operational law in
most countries.
•
Always set your transmitter timer before each ight to about 80% of the known ight duration for the battery pack’s you have installed in the craft.
•
Never turn your transmitter o in ight.
•
First person view ights are against the law in some countries – check the relevant aviation safety authority in your country before ying FPV.
Always have a “spotter” with if you do y FPV.
•
Never let friends y your craft unless they are well schooled in the discipline.
•
Never y under the inuence of any substance or alcohol. Whilst there is a minimum blood alcohol level allowed for driving an
automobile in most countries, the law for pilots in command of ying craft around the globe is universal…there is a zero limit tolerance.
•
Always turn your transmitter on before connecting the battery to the craft...and always disconnect the battery from the craft before
turning your transmitter o.
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aS S e M B l y overview
9
M4 3mm Hex Screw Driver
M4 7mm Hex Driver
3mm Phillips Head Driver
M3 2.5mm Hex Screw Driver
required t o o l S
M3 6mm Hex Driver
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aS S e M B l y i nStruCtionS
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part 1: landing gear aSSeMBly
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landing gear aSSeMBly
2
2
2
4
2
1
1
1
2
Gear Rail Bracing Plate
Gear Rail Isolator Pad
Landing Gear Plate
LG Skid End Cap
POV Mount Side Plate
POV Mount Bottom Plate
Velcro Strap
Battery Strap
Battery Mounting Plate
Gear Rail Bracket
Gear Rail Tube
Landing Gear Skid
Socket Head Cap Screw M3x8mm
Socket Head Cap Screw M3x12mm
Nyloc Nut M3 SS
Nylon washer M3
Spacer M3x2mm Nylon
Rubber grommet 9.5mm
2
6
2
12 (1)
2 (1)
2 (1)
14 (2)
4
12
Parts + SparesParts + Spares
1406-0130
1406-0145
1406-0200
2503-0030
2506-0020
2506-0170
2506-0190
2506-0200
2506-0250
Product Code Product Code
1402-0010
1402-0020
1402-0030
1402-0050
1406-0030
1406-0040
1406-0050
1406-0060
1406-0080
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Fit the four rubber grommets to the poly-
composite gear rail brackets as shown.
Fit the four rubber grommets to the
carbon-bre battery plates then feed the
battery strap through the slots and loop.
Slide the battery plates onto the gear
rail tubes as show below.
1
2
3
x4
x2
x4
x2
4
Fit the four rubber grommets to the
pov mount side plates.
POV Mounting Side Plates
x4
x2
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Fit the M3 x 12mm screw through the
landing gear plate and add 2 of the
nylon spacers.
7
5Slide the POV mounting plates onto the
gear rail tubes in front of the battery plates.
Adjust the distance between them to t the
POV mount bottom plate (g 1)
6Lastly slide the gear rail brackets onto the gear rail
tubes ensuring the tabs face inwards and are at the top.
g 1
15
810
9
Attach the four M3 x 8mm screws
through the landing gear plates into
the threaded ends of the gear rail
tubes; place a nylon washer under all
of the screws. Try not to over tighten,
just make rm contact.
The remaining gear rail tubes can now
be attached as landing gear brace
tubes with M3x8mm screws. Place
two on each side at your desired
spacing.
Pass the M3 x 12mm screw through
the landing gear bracket you set
up earlier and secure with the M3
nyloc nut. This part shouldn’t be fully
tightened until after the landing gear
assembly has been tted to the craft.
Repeat steps 4 and 5 with
the second landing gear
plate so your setup looks
like this.
x4
x4
x8
x8
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NOTE: When tightening
each screw make sure
you secure the opposite
end. Failure to do so
may damage the bond
causing the inner tube
to spin. There is no
functional or structural
disadvantage if this
were to happen - just
secure both ends whilst
tightening.
x2
16
Fit the rubber grommets to the end of the
landing gear main plates and slide the
landing gear skids through. Make sure
that both skids are even with one another.
...nally slide the Rubber Cap over all
four skid ends.
The nal step is to ax the Droidworx
Landing Gear Sticker to the front
landing gear plate and your setup
should look something like this.
12 13
x2
x4
17
RETRO FIT XM LANDING GEAR TO YOUR AD/VM CRAFT
1
4
4
4
2
2
Universal Landing Gear Mounting Plate
Socket Head Cap Screw M3x40mm
M3X6mm Spacers
Nyloc Nut M3 SS
Socket Head Cap Screw M3x25mm
M3 Locking Washer
Parts + Spares
Product Code
1404-0094
2504-0010
2505-0250
2506-0170
2506-0490
2504-0030
18
13
2
...followed by the Universal Landing
Gear Plate.
Secure with the M3 Stainless Steel
nuts.
Firstly remove 4 of the inner boom bolts and
replace with the M3x 40mm SS bolts as shown
below. Note where the notch on the center
plate is.
Flip your craft over. Slide the Spacers
onto the ss bolts...
x4
4
x4
x4
19
x2
57
6
Your clip fastens to the holes
highlighted below.
The orientation of your clip should
look like this.
Fit your Gear Rail Mounting Bracket using the SS bolts from
the previous Landing Gear. You will need long nose plyers to
attach the SS nuts.
Use M3x12mm Socket head Cap Screws
and M3 Locking Washers on the raised
section of the clip, and M3x8mm Socket
Head Cap Screws and Locking Washers on
the remaining two holes.
Note these parts come with your Landing
Gear Kit.
8
x4
x2
20
911
10
Once snapped in place your Landing Gear
can be further secured by inserting the
M3x25 SS Socket Head Cap Screw with
Locking washer as shown here.
Build your Landing Gear and Gear Rail Assembly as shown
in the corresponding sections.
Always clip on from left to right.
x2
x2
This manual suits for next models
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