Tricopter 2.5 Build and First Flight

by ghostrider03z | November 12, 2013 | (22) Posted in Reviews

Ask any questions below.

I got sick of not being able to tune my T-Copter from simplecopter.com to get stable footage like David can get. Now I'm not saying that his T-Copter is a bad design but if you have ever watched that guy fly, you know he does some amazing aerobatics with a multirotor. The T-Copter would be great if you want a fast copter, its just not really for me.

T-Copter: http://www.simplecopter.com/simple-tcopter/

I cut David from Flitetest's tricopter 2.5 frame on a scroll saw since I'm pretty cheap and didn't really want to buy the frame he sells here: https://store.flitetest.com/original-tricopter-body/ , I just eneded up cutting my own.

PDF Template For Tricopter 2.5: https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.flitetest.com/article_files/Tricopter_1365353510.pdf

 


I bough the camera tray from the flitetest store just because camera holders are one of the more important parts of a multirotor if you want to do AV.
Camera tray: https://store.flitetest.com/original-tricopter-camera-mount/

I also bought 25mm M3 screws from the flitetest store. In my case, they were just barely long enough to get the frame, arms, and camera tray all held together.

M3 Screws/Nuts: https://store.flitetest.com/m3-x-25mm-stainless-pack-button/

 

Put everything together frame wise, looks awesome. Now on to the electronics.

Motor: http://www.buddyrc.com/sunnysky-x2212-9-1400kv-ii.html

Buddyrc.com is the new epbuddy.com. Its really reliable, I get my parts in 3 days for really cheap shipping since they are in the US, like $4 cheap.

Esc's: http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__39708__Afro_ESC_30Amp_Multi_rotor_Motor_Speed_Controller_SimonK_Firmware_.html

These things are crazy thin and crazy good, not to mention a great price tag. I will for sure be getting these for any other multirotor I build.

KK2: .. We all know where to get those haha

2200 3s

These motors produce like 50-60 oz of thrust EACH if I remember correctly so this thing could carry a small cat. Not to mention they are SUPER quiet and don't have a annoying howl. I highly reccomend sunnysky motors.

Lets face it, this thing look sick. I am super happy I took the time to take appart my T-Copter and build this. It barely shakes in 14mph winds and I haven't tuned the board yet.

Even better yet...

THE ARMS FOLD!!

The T-Copter arms were supposed to fold back all the way but the placement of the esc's never allowed me to do that.

Along with the T-Copter arms being shorter, causing instabilities, the huge body frame just acted like a sail in forward flight. The main body on here is small (but not weak) and it doesn't catch the wind as bad.

I sound really negative against Matt Hall, but thats just my fault, I bought the wrong craft for my needs. I want some stable video and his T-Copter is better suited for aerobatics, and boy, they are good at that. Now I don't know if Matts Tricopter frame is shaky, I just know his T-Copter can be kind shaky. I was just pretty much "jelous" of the footage David got from his Tricopter considering his footage isn't stabilized in post. That is the main reason I switched. To put it simply, David's Tricopter is for AV and Matt's T-Copter design is for aerobatics.

This Tricopter is awesome, that is just it.

Thanks for watching/reading and I hope you guys enjoyed.

COMMENTS

Splat01 on November 12, 2013
Well done! What kind of flight time do you get with a 2200 3 cell?
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ghostrider03z on November 12, 2013
To be completely honest, I don't know. I'll get back to you in the next day or two with a full answer but right now from my best guess is EASILY 10-12 minutes
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liveyourdreamsRC on November 12, 2013
Great to hear your thoughts on this vs. the simple t copter. I wondering about which would be better before. Thanks and nice looking craft! great job!
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Corsair2014 on November 12, 2013
"KK2: .. We all know where to get those haha"

wanna share the secret?(: haha
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ghostrider03z on November 12, 2013
Chad's basement;) The swede is KK!!
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Corsair2014 on November 12, 2013
Haha. Wait. Is he really?????? I thought kaptain kuk was an old guy... Lol

If David is really him, this would make so much sense... Omgomg
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Splat01 on November 13, 2013
Sounds like the next podcast: "Who is Kaptain Kuk?"
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ghostrider03z on November 13, 2013
That actually would be kind of cool...I mean the man was able to make a gyro board with an lcd screen and write firmware for it, obviously he isn't your typical cubical worker!
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Corsair2014 on November 13, 2013
wait... nah so david isnt actually KK
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ghostrider03z on November 13, 2013
No that was just a joke, Kuk isn't even in America I think.
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sailorJohn on November 16, 2013
Just saw what kuk means in swedish
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ghostrider03z on November 13, 2013
Wow thanks guys for getting this to be a featured article!
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onemoreflite (John Michaels) on November 13, 2013
Nice build! Might I suggest securing those loose wires a little better, especially around the esc/motor connections...
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ghostrider03z on November 13, 2013
Yea, that is one thing I didn't do on here that I did on my T-Copter. I need to put a zip tie right by the bullet connectors on the esc so if a motor were to fly off, the esc wouldn't be yanked off also (Which is a tip from Matt Hall)
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torqu21 on November 21, 2013
I've got the simplecopter frame with a multiwii (not first choice) I can't get it in the air one of the two front rotors is always spinning faster than the others. Any suggestions on getting it airborne.... I'm getting desperate!!
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FlairFan on November 12, 2013
Very nice!
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Pav on November 14, 2013
Hello, what props did you use for the 1400kv motors and when you running on 3s?

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ghostrider03z on November 14, 2013
9x4.7 props.
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Pav on November 16, 2013
thank you for your reply!
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mioh on November 13, 2013
Great tricopter, article and video! :-)
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Smithy on November 12, 2013
Great video, good looking multirotor, nice job. :)
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liveyourdreamsRC on November 12, 2013
I also like how you combine both parts used by Matt from Simplecopter and also from David from rcexplorer. Very cool to see someone take it a step further and make their copter unique.
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ghostrider03z on November 12, 2013
Thanks guys for all the positive feedback!
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sailorJohn on November 15, 2013
see Ratfaello D'andrea The astounding athletic power of quadcopters .
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ghostrider03z on November 24, 2013
I really have no clue when it comes to multiwii, but make sure to set the endpoints of the esc's (search around if you dont know what that is or how to do it). Also a bad solder job could not be letting as much current to one of the motors. If the motors are ordered from different times, they could be made slightly different, affecting performance. Also you may just have a bad motor or esc. Start with the stuff you can do like setting esc endpoints. If the stuff like that doesnt work, then you may have to start buying stuff.
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kenc3dan on December 9, 2013
Your video has encouraged me to revisit my tricopter. I was using some banged up motors and some lousy ESCs and it crashed - no surprise really. I've got my FPV gear and new motors and ESCs, time to get to the bench and get it flying again.
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Tricopter 2.5 Build and First Flight