Rotor Bones, FIRST Impressions.

Rotor Bones.  There are a few different multirotor kits available.  More than a few actually.  I've tried one or two in my attempts to get a multirotor flying.

Generally they're dedicated to one style or another, be that tricopter, quadcopter, or superduperlotsocopter.  Chad and the Flite Test team designed and are selling a more modular system that can be applied to many configurations.  The honor of naming the design was givin to the audience and the Rotor Bones name came to be.

I had been away from flying for a little while.  And was ready to get back in the air, mostly with the goal of doing aerial video and later some FPV.  Multirotors do a great job at this and are fun to fly as well.  So when I found a package of Rotor Bones examples in the mail, I was quite pleased.  (*Disclaimer*  Yeah, I got a free sample, so feel free to take that into consideration when reading my review.)

It's funny how expensive free stuff can be.

I went on a bit of a shopping spree for this build.

I used three of these motors at $9.50 each...

http://www.valuehobby.com/multicopters/multicopter-motors-and-escs/gforce-cf2830-kv800.html

and three of these esc's at $14.99 each...

http://www.valuehobby.com/multicopters/multicopter-motors-and-escs/hobbywing-skywalker-40a-ubec.html

and this, a signature series Dave W. body at $20.00...

https://store.flitetest.com/original-tricopter-body/

and one of these power distribution boards at $19.99...

http://www.getfpv.com/pro-tricopter-power-distribution-frame-plate.html

Three 1/2" poplar square dowels at about $1.50 each

Various nuts and bolts all easily under $5.00 worth.

I bought some props too, and wire, and I am sure there's something else I'm forgetting, but this is the major costs involved so far.

I was excited to try out the getfpv power distrubution board.  My first one I managed to overheat the connection pad while soldering, and it popped off.  Tip, if you use something like this, just heat it enough to tin it, then solder the wire to the bubble of solder material.

I didn't have much more luck with this one.  I managed to get some solder into the wrong parts of the first set of ESCs that I had bought, and that resulted in a short on the distribution board.  

So off came the board!

Since I had a burnt ESC and likely a burnt motor as well, I ordered three more of each.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=38691

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=30683

Installing the new electronics was a breeze.  Everything was looking great until I decided to try to figure out the KK board.

I'm a stubborn buffoon at times, and when it came to this step, it was a few days worth of stupid.  Impressive, even for me.

Follow the steps (all of them that apply) that are on this page, and everything will be fine.  It took me a little while to find this, then a little longer to actually use it the way it was meant to be used.

http://www.kkmulticopter.kr/?modea=manual

Finally I had everything wired up correctly, motors spun, and responded they way they should as far as I could tell.  It was time to put it in the air.  A few times.  But finally I was able to get it flying and was able to take some video...

So, here comes the review part.

First the bad.  

1) The snap together construction is just that.  It's not designed for large motors swinging large props.  I tried putting larger (11") props on this, and anything higher than half throttle created vibrations.

2) The motor mount holes make me uncomfortable.  Not for any real reason, other than asthetics.  Currently the ones I needed are alligned in a "+" format, where I would prefer them to be in an "x" format.  As it is, when I use the zip tie method to secure the motor to the frame (and this works AWESOME!) I have to run the inside zip tie across the mount to one side or the other of the arm mount.  It still holds just as well, but it bothers me, deep down inside.

Now the good.

1) The snap together construction is just that.  I didn't need any glue, so there was no chewing that crusty stuff off my fingers and spitting the flakes all over the bed, getting me in trouble with the wife.  So that's a plus right there.  Also there's no need for bolts or screws. (Except where the mounts attach to the arms.)  No screws slipping from the tip of the tiny screwdriver falling into the air vent, never to be seen again.  Nothing to vibrate loose to be lost at the field. No need for loctight that I've found so far.  Abusive landings will cause wear, and eventually they won't fit as tight, but so far they're great.

2) The snap together construction is just that, a snap!  In addition to not needing glue or fasteners it was easy to assemble.  They just make sense.  Mine arrived before Chad had written the instruction articles.  So I had to guess as how to put them together.  Other than the yaw control, I was able to do it with minimal help from the few online images available.  I will say I wish I did the mounting plates low instead of high.  For no reason other than asthetics again.  I was quite jealous of the systems in the Flite Test Rotor Bones episode, with the motors set low.

3) They're light, very light.  Properly constructed this thing would be a feather weight.  I used heavier components than I needed to, so I can't be proud of the final weight, so I won't tell you what it was... ;)

4) Astehtics.  These just look great.  It's likely why the zip tie issue listed above bothered me so much, because everything else about them just appeals to the eye.

5) Just the right size.  I had originally asked that we get a version with longer legs, thinking my camera wouldn't mount properly without hitting the ground every time I tried to land.  I was able to install a wooden mount under the frame, with the battery underneath that, and with the camera mounted out front.  There was plenty of clearance.

I will say that I feel Chad owes me a battery.  I am enjoying flying this thing so much that just after I landed a somewhat taxed battery, it decided to give up, and one cell went POOF!   No flames, just confettii blown across the grass.  All because I was enjoying how well this flew, I didn't land when the timer said I should.

All in all, I am very impressed with this modular system.  I look forward to the future developments, and hope this is just the beginning of a long series of well designed items to be found in the Flite Test store.