Tricopter 2.5 Build and First Flight

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.