Air support

Vulcan 1200mm
Raven Octocopter
An ideal platform for professional video and photos
By Kyle Matthew Photos by Robert Hicks

W
hen I think of a raven, I picture a large, heavily
specifications built crow with black plumage or something
MODEL: Raven rapping on Edgar Allan Poe’s chamber door. Alex
1200mm Octocopter of VulcanUAV has a different idea: a monster
MANUFACTURER: octocopter that can lift almost any size camera you dare
VulcanUAV Ltd. to put in the air. But it is still black. The Raven is a super-
(vulcanuav.com) heavy lift airframe ideal for professional aerial photography,
TYPE: Octocopter surveying, security and other commercial applications, as
FRAME DIAMETER: well as the serious hobby flier. The Raven frame, landing
1200mm gear and motor mounts are made from high-grade carbon
READY-TO-FLY fiber and the arms are aluminum alloy making it one of the
WEIGHT: 29 lb., 13 oz. strongest and stiffest airframes available. The four arms
(with Zenmuse, Canon are arranged in an X8 configuration, house two powerful
camera and batteries) motors each, LED lights and incorporate a unique cam lock
RADIO REQ’D: quick release system allowing them to be folded for easier
6-channel (8+ transportation and storage.
channels rec’d.)
PRICE: $3,500 Unique features
The Raven comes with RCTimer high-clearance retractable
HIGHLIGHTS landing gear, and with the landing skids retracted the
+ Extremely stable camera has the freedom to rotate through the full pan
flight performance axis of 360 degrees without any viewing obstructions.
+ Robust design Additional equipment I used are DJI’s WooKong-M flight
+ Super-heavy lifting controller with GPS, Zenmuse Z-15D MKIII gimbal with
capabilities Canon 5D MKIII camera, On Screen Display (iOSD MKII),
and a 5.8GHz video system to transmit video down to the
The WK-M flight controller can pilot for First-Person View flights or for a separate camera
been seen as well as the GPS operator. A 2.4GHz Bluetooth downlink and ground control
antenna, Danish Aviation long With the landing gear raised, the Canon camera has a clear
range receiver and iOSD. Also in station allows the operator to program waypoints, view
view through its 360-degree rotation. 
view are the red antennas from aircraft location, heading and altitude, and other flight data
the long-range receiver and the on a iPad or laptop.
quick Cam levers.

My Raven kit came well-packaged and consisted

of two frame center plates, four aluminum alloy arms,
eight motor mounts, an anti-vibration plate with rails,
programmable LED system, extended (450mm)
retractable landing gear, two standoff plates, cam quick-
release levers, pillars, nuts, bolts and washers. In addition
to the included parts I added a Zenmuse quick release
plate and a 400A power distribution board.
I was fortunate enough to get one of the first Ravens
created, so the manual hadn’t yet been written. Luckily
I had experience building Vulcan UAVs, having already
built their SkyHook hexacopter. Construction was
straightforward and similar to that of the SkyHook. The
Vulcan Power Distribution Board is a single-side board
capable of handling 400A with eight or more speed
controls with a total of 13 pairs of solder pads. Due to
the relatively thick copper, a powerful soldering iron is
recommended. Mounting holes for this board are pre-
drilled in the Vulcan bottom frame plate. I covered the bare
leads with hot-melt glue; this non-conductive adhesive
secures the wires and protects the solder joints from
water and corrosion.

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 Flight Report
Assembly at the field or worksite involves
unfolding four arms and locking them in place
using the quick-release cam levers. After
liftoff, setting the throttle stick to the mid-
stick position established a hover, at which
point I raised the landing skids. I put the Raven
through its paces for the next 10 minutes in
all three modes of the WK-M (GPS, attitude
and manual). The Raven is smooth with
impressive climb performance and the ability
to handle high winds made for a relaxing
flight. After approximately 13 minutes, I
brought it into a 10-foot hover, lowered the
landing skids and slowly descended for a soft
touched down. After the 13-minute flight, I
put approximately 8,600mAh back into each
16,000mAh battery, which means I can get
at least 20 minutes of flight time. The TATTU
LiPos performed flawlessly and were well up

to the task of providing power to this massive

system. I’ve made more than 10 flights with
the Raven while I dial in the WK-M gains; each
flight gets better and better.

General Flight Performance

Stability: My initial flights were in attitude
mode, these were gentle liftoffs and landings,
then progressing into a basic flight profile.
This is a good mode to get a feel for how the
Raven handles. Performing sweeping turns,
figure-8s and buzzing around in this mode is
exciting. GPS attitude mode is much the same
The rigid and strong airframe except you have the ability to hold a position
coupled with the powerful over the ground as well as the added return
WooKong-M flight controller
home features. This is a great mode for aerial
allow the author to easily keep
the Raven in a stable hover. photography and videography. The Raven was
rock solid and held its position extremely well
in 18mph winds.
Response: In GPS mode, tracking in a straight
line is automatic; in attitude mode you’ll have
to compensate for wind drift. On the first
flight the aircraft would descend in forward
flight, raising the vertical gain on the WK-M by
20% fixed the problem.

Pilot Debriefing
Professional-quality, vibration-free video has
become the standard for VulcanUAV and the
Raven falls right in line with that concept. The
Raven is built like a tank, yet remains agile and
very capable in the air while also having the
ability to sit as still as a rock for the perfect
shot. In the end, I think Alex’s idea of a Raven
might be a little cooler than mine, but at least I
can quote my Raven, “Nevermore.”

January/February 2015 3
 Carbon fiber is highly conductive and speed controls on the top of the bottom
the aluminum arms have sharp edges, so frame with double-sided foam tape and
I covered all of the wires with polyester drilled holes for additional zip-ties for extra
braided sleeves. It’s always a good idea to security. The speed controls are near the
have a plan for where you wanted to locate edge of the plate to allow for plenty of
all of the electronics, route all the wires airflow for cooling. The WK-M IMU V2 is
and test everything before closing up the placed in the center on the top plate with
frame. Double check the correct position its supplied foam tape. The iOSD, PMU and
of each arm according to where you want 2.4GHz downlink are also on the top plate.
the LEDs placed, I chose red back left, A 12-channel Danish Aviation UHF receiver
green back right, white strobes in front. and the main flight controller are placed
I programmed a double-flash strobe on the first standoff plate and the foldable
pattern and mapped its activation to a GPS antenna is on the top standoff plate.
switch on the transmitter. Once the frame Underneath the 12 gel anti-vibration plate
was together, I used blue Loctite on all the is the Zenmuse controller, HobbyKing
frame bolts. OrangeRX 9-channel receiver for camera
After I installed the T-Motor U7 420KV control, video transmitter and Zenmuse
motors, I mounted the T-Motor T80A 5D MKIII gimbal.

LiPo Power
I use only top-of-the-line equipment on my large
multirotor aircraft and I needed a powerful and reliable
battery that would give me the most bang for the
buck. Enter two GensAce TATTU 6S 16,000mAh 15C
LiPos wired in parallel to give me a 32,000mAh pack!
TATTU batteries are specialized for the UAV market.
The batteries did not come with any connectors, so
I used XT90s and they were fairly easy to install. I
The T-Motor U7 motors are reliable,
smooth running, light weight and
also installed a HobbyKing Balance Plug Saver, which
highly efficient. They include a 6mm makes plugging and unplugging the balance-charge
prop shaft and a three-hole mount lead much safer and more convenient by providing a
adapter and when coupled with the nice hard finger grip. I initially charged the packs at 1C
T-Motor T80A speed controls, make
the perfect combo for the Raven.
and then flew them on the Raven for a quick checkout
flight of approximately 8 minutes. After a few more
flights, I bumped up the charge rate. My Progressive
The Right Combination RC iCharger can put out 30 amps at a time, and for
a 16,000mAh pack this translates into just under a
When I told Jim from MontoRC (montorc.com) about the Raven he immediately
2C charge rate. The TATTUs handled this rate with no
suggested T-Motor U7 420KV motors, T-Motor T80A speed controls and Tiger 18x6.1
problem and were quickly charged. After each flight,
carbon-fiber props. Jim also suggested I use T-Motor 24K 4.0mm connectors which
the TATTU packs were just slightly warm to the touch.
were a perfect fit for the speed control and motor leads. When I removed the motor from
I was able to get a flight time of 21:46, I landed when
the box I could tell I had a serious piece of equipment in hand. The motor feels solid and
the On Screen Display indicated 19.6 volts. I was very
looks the part too. The motor is all black, sleek and looks awesome.
impressed with these packs and will be picking up a
Next on the list of the suggested power setup were T-Motor T-80A speed controls,
few more for future projects.
which can easily handle anything the U7s can throw at them. Programming can be
done via your transmitter but I used a T-Motor programming card, which made setup
a lot faster. I was also able activate the music function of the speed control (there are
The VulcanUAV Raven
15 songs from which to choose!). The T-80As’ extremely low output resistance, super
current endurance and multiple protection features (low-voltage cutoff, over-heat and
Bottom Line is a solid frame with
high quality parts. It’s designed for strength so
throttle signal loss) made them the perfect choice for this project.
it is a heavy and sturdy frame, which is why it
Last are the Tiger 18x6.1 carbon-fiber propellers, which come in a left and right pair.
can handle such large loads. The Raven’s highly-
Five out of the eight props I received needed slight rebalancing, but nothing like what I’ve
efficient dynamic power system provides users
had to do in the past with other props.
with improved stability, greater payload lifting
This power combo is a winner for any large multirotor aircraft! I flew it with two
capability, and longer flight times. The super rigid
GensAce TATTU 6S 16,000mAh LiPos in parallel with flawless performance. The U7s
construction coupled with the ability to carry heavy
provided plenty of power to lift the Raven off the ground without even breaking a sweat.
high-end camera systems makes this an ideal
The T-80As and LiPos barely got warm, which proves this is a very efficient power
platform for aerial photography and videography. K
system.

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