Quadcopter Arm Length

by rcjoseb | September 19, 2012 | (6) Posted in Tips

In this video I explain how you can use the Pythagorean theorem to determine the minimum quadcopter arm length based on the prop size being used.  When getting the values, it's always best to round off to the nearest number, i.e. 10.125 to 11 so that you can cut the arms easily and it's always best to have a little bit more length instead of less.

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COMMENTS

Jake Wells on September 19, 2012
Pretty cool Jose. How did you figure out that the minimum distance should be at least half the prop? Why is it ideal to have the distance between props a full prop length apart? I like mine as close to each other as possible. My copters seem to fly more stable the less distance I have between props. But I came up with this through trial and error. Just wondering if theres actually something written about this.
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rcjoseb on September 20, 2012
Thanks. I had read it somewhere on a forum. The closer the blades the more agile the quad. The farther away the more stable. I figure at least half a prop length is in the middle of both flying types.
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Bollie on September 20, 2012
Great article, I'm looking at putting together my first Quad soon and asked myself the same question a few days ago except in reverse 'what prop size should I get for a particular frame'. Didn't even occur to me to use Pythagoras. The only down side to your article was the flashbacks to my Y7 maths teacher (shudder)
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rcjoseb on September 20, 2012
Thanks. I remember a Turkish control systems class professor in college. He wore wooden shoes and almost everyone in the class got a D.
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Quadcopter Arm Length