"with Zhulong, its always lit"
Zhulong is a quadcopter which has the ability to spit real fire. It was developed with the intention of being used in Defense Applications. The quadcopter is manually controlled and has been equipped with an FPV system for remote, non-LOS(Line of Sight) operation.
Due to the nature of this project, the quadcopter was never actually flown with the Flamethrower Module active due to potential safety concerns.
The donor quadcopter.
The donor quadcopter was also made by me. It required careful choosing of parts, especially the brushless motors, propellers, battery and frame. The right specifications were needed in order to make the quadcopter have greater lifting capacity while still being efficient enough to maximize flight time.
The fuel nozzle and the igniter contact points.
The special feature of this quadcopter is the detachable Flamethrowing Module. The module was completely designed and fabricated by me. It is a tank with an integrated submersible pump, mounted on a square aluminium tube, acting essentially as a chassis.
A brass nozzle was used as an outlet for the fuel. The hole for the fuel was small enough to prevent any flashback yet big enough to spit enough fuel. It was mounted to the module using Kapton tape and hose clamps.
To ignite the fuel, I used a high voltage transformer, derived from an electronic mosquito zapper. Solid copper wires extend out till the nozzle and create a spark when high voltage is passed through them, thereby igniting the fuel. This method of ignition is especially more effective than any other due to the electric arc being virtually wind proof.
The control electronics are also integrated, and thus only require power(12V DC) and a signal from the receiver to operate. A physical arming switch is included to act as a safety cutoff.
An overview of the Flamethrowing Module.
The control electronics for the flamethrower module and the arming switch.
The front arms were wrapped with flame resistant fabric to prevent the motor wires from catching fire.
Side profile of the quadcopter.