XL8 Li-Ion Cruiser

By jdmkramer on Oct 14, 2019

30  2,156  8

Originally built to see how 4 & 5S Lithium Ion packs would turn 8" bi-blades on BH 2806.5 1700Kv, I was having a hard time with vibrations so I started flying 7" tri-blades.

I've flown this build on several DIY LiIon packs:

I love these motors on pretty much any cell / prop combo, but 5S & 6S LiIon and LiPo on 7" bi or tri-blade seem to be an excellent balance of performance and endurance.

The iFlight XL8 frame is my first iFlight purchase. I picked it up from amazon, along with their 3D printed Session mount. The print came with an ND filter, which was a pleasant surprise. The frame carbon fit and finish seems to be pretty decent. Fantastic for the price. I ended up removing the session mount after about a week when I finally got around to buying a Hero 7 Black. Long range cruising videos are my favorite thing on youtube, so I'm hoping to make some of my own. Here's the first "pretty" test flights with the XL8 and Hero 7:

Here's some night derping on 5S LiPo w/ 7" Triblades (Gemfan I think):

Here's my more recent 6km / 3.8 mile (max distance LoS) flight on HQ bi-blades (old greenies). 7.2km / 4.5 miles following the bend of the shore makes this a 9 mile round trip for my new 6S LiIon:

Photos

Discussion

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lorenzo220580   Jul 12, 2020  

is this esc enough for this motor?

lorenzo220580   Dec 10, 2019  

what do you think about 6s lipo on this motor with 7 inch props?
ps:nice build

Thomaat   Oct 14, 2019  

What cells would you recommend the most out of the bunch? That long range test looks really interesting!

jdmkramer   Oct 15, 2019 

Depends on what you're after. These 21700 are pretty damn nice though. Going to try some molicel next.

Thomaat   Oct 16, 2019 

What is the best bang for your back then?

jdmkramer   Oct 22, 2019 

The Liitokala Lii-50 are a pretty crazy value. Huge capacity and decent amps. I figured they would die off quickly or fail but I've got loads of flights out of my big fat 4S1P packs.

joshielevy   Oct 16, 2019  
1

Watching the vids with my son - "no he's GOTTA turn back now!" Just amazing the range you're getting!

TheMrJahn   Oct 14, 2019  

Cool!

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