I still have not received the Fighter. I am communicating with MFE about filing for a refund on September 16 before the 15 day dispute extension window closes if it is not delivered by then. I want the aircraft. It has been ordered since June 2 and has been in the USA since early August and still hasn’t found its way to me. I want it, and am willing to wait a bit longer but not if the refund period expires. I have told MFE this so we will see if an extension is granted. I went to the local post office to track the package and they could not tell me any more than the automated tracking website provides. The last recorded location is the Memphis TN regional hub on August 10. That location is 200 miles from me. There are no updates since then. I feel like it may be either still sitting in Memphis, or possibly it is in my local post office distribution center. Until it is scanned by a human, I am told the USPS has no way of locating it. In the meantime, I continue to wait.
I build and fly heavy lift copters and fixed wing aircraft. I use Mauch power modules in everything I build. I highly recommend them.
I use Max Amps and HRB batteries for anything over 10,000 MAH. With ten AH and under, I get good service with the Lumineer brand from GetFPV.
Dennis,
I hear you. I want mine too. Logistics for shipping these large packages seems really slow. Here is my last entry from USPS. Perhaps they are being stopped by U.S. Customs.
July 18, 2020, 12:37 pm
Processed Through Facility
BEIJING, CHINA
Thanks for this.
Based on shipping stories it will hopefully be a winter project/build for me. I can probably source some connectors, but I’d rather not have to worry about it.
No worries. Here’s the sensor sling load on a multirotor:
Preferred setup is on a VTOL since the air drag from FF will prevent the sensor from having pendulum motions that are prevalent on multirotors due to stopping at the end of a grid line then restarting (if that makes sense).
I’ll be doing testing with a dummy sling load to be sure everything is up to snuff. I think the main consideration is the added air drag which might not be as big of an issue for the Fighter VTOL airframe. I’m guessing I just plan for extra stress on the motor and frame and upgrade parts where necessary. I’ll search other forums for this specifically.
Cheers
Thanks for the image. What is the size of the quadcopter?
I don’t expect it will be an issue on the Fighter or Freeman. Both units have parachute bays under the rear part of the belly. Perhaps you can create an electric wench to lower and raise the sensor. You could experiment with releasing it at different lengths too.
Thanks Greg for the reply.
You had mentioned previously concern about being able to balance your plane with some battery configurations. Do you see that as a problem with my selections?
Also, the Mauch we page has sensor hubs. They seem to only be for batteries in parallel. Since I will have battery in series or single, it seems that they would not be useful for me. Do you agree?
Lastly, do you recommend a backup BEC for the Pixhawk 4? They offer those as well (for pixhawk 2).
Thank you again,
Tim
It’s not my copter so I don’t have specific details, unfortunately. The sensor (dark cylinder) is 161mm x 64 mm (6.3" x 2.5") if that helps for scale.
Another shot:
An electric winch* (not wench lol) would be neat, however, probably not worth the weight on this rig. I’ll keep it in mind for the future as takeoff/landing and transit with the sensor drawn in might be beneficial.
Thanks for the laugh, I needed that on a Monday 
Love those misspells that change the meaning and don’t get underlined. 
No, like Dennis, I use them on most of my builds, including single battery setups. I used to buy them from Craft & Theory or direct from Mauch in China. It looks like C&T is closed now but they have a Mauch distributor list posted here.
As far as I know, a Pixhawk 4 is the HolyBro version of a Pixhawk 1 (a.k.a. v2.4.8). I use the later one purchased on eBay for $50-$60. Refer to the Powering the Pixhawk section of the WiKi for more information. You can simply buy a second 5v regulator from Mauch for backup power or many times I use a programmable CC BEC. Don’t forget the diode!
I have been looking at the power modules from Mauch. Which series to you use? There are HS, PL and PC series.
Do you use the sensor hub as well when not using batteries in parallel?
Will there be problems with balancing the plane like you mentioned earlier in your posts?
Thank you,
Tim.
I get the HS Series. The modules are less expensive for my Pixhawk 1 (v2.4.8) hobby use and easily mount with Velcro or servo tape. You can buy 6s or 14s versions along with a second 5.3v BEC for back-up power on the servo rails.
HS-Series: Standard series available in 2-6S or 4-14S combinations.
PL-Series: Premium Line Series (2/4-6S and 4-14S) with improved current sensors and BEC’s, inclusive enclosures.
PC-Series: Power-Cube Series (3/4-14S), for professional setups.
I haven’t used a sensor hub. I just put the batteries in series or parallel and feed the result to the HS-Series Module. I check the battery integrity after each flight with my $3 Lipo Voltage Checker.
I don’t have a plane yet to answer that question. When watching the videos, the Fighter seems to balance nicely with twin 6s 16AH packs, yet there is ample room both forward and aft to move them around or use different size packs.
The VTOL looks rather well and in fact I already have the power pack (motors, esc’s, props,…)
But had to give up on my Freeman 2100 for the time being as it is currently just not possible to get anything out of China at reasonable cost.
3 postage attempts and 3 month and still nothing.
…I guess will have to wait until some time next year.
I finally got some action on my USPS tracking for the Fighter!
Inbound Into Customs
Your item is being processed by United States Customs.
September 14, 2020, 10:55 am
Processed Through Facility
FOREIGN CENTER, JERSEY CITY NJ 099
Do you use the PM07 Power Management Board? Or do you use an alternative?
No, but you can. I have so many regulators that I typically use an array of different ones I have on hand. Below is my Freeman setup. The blue 5v CCBEC on the lower deck is for Pixhawk servo power and backup. The 12v regulator is for camera and gimbal. The 6v regulator was for tilt-rotor servo power, which is not needed on the Fighter 4+1 VTOL.
Hi Greg,
I hope you get yours soon. Mine came through the Jersey City center on August 14 and did not show up on tracking again until September 6 when it was 200 miles from my home. Unfortunately, I have not had another update since other than “In Transit to Next Facility”. I have asked MFE for an extension of time to give the USPS a few more days to deliver the package. I have not received an extension from them. I did receive an offer of a refund. If I do not receive the plane by Thursday, or receive an extension of the time to request a refund, I will cancel the order and request a refund.
Dennis Lott
Yeah, that’s really odd. It’s like the package made it through customs but then USPS lost it. Normally, it would get scanned into the wrong “Next Facility” and then get corrected. Hopefully, the label didn’t fall off.
Correction: 0.55 kg outside of airframe, 0.45 kg inside airframe. 1.0 kg total payload
Hi Greg,
I have one since long time but never used as I didn’t bought mauch bec. One thing that i never understand is their “special” bec. Why 4 cables ? Did you already open the shrink tube to check ?
Hello Greg, Sylvain
I also have bought some Mauch but not the Bec. I just read that basically we can use our own Bec. The 4 pin connector is just double ++ and double – a kind of redundancy. I am just about to use this Mauch with my own Bec, but need confirmation from some one who has experience using Mauch. Is this correct ? I Need advice Greg. Tks.
Tony
Hi guys,
Tony is correct. You can use your own BEC. Mauch just makes it easier for most customers by offering a plug-n-play BEC at 5.35v. Here is my adapted version of the Mauch notes.
Why the cable from UBEC to the sensor board is 4 pol (or 4 wires)?
- To reduce the resistance in the power line and increase the safety, or should we ask, why does the DF-13 power input of the Pixhawk have 6 pol (or 6 wires) +/+/I/U/-/- ?
- There are two wires for positive and two wires for negative, used to reduce the risk of failure.
Cheers!