Tricopter vs Quadcopter - Viewer Response

by FliteTest | January 30, 2013 | (29) Posted in News

We do our best to read through the comments and emails and try to get back to everyone who has questions. Josh and David take some time to asnwer some popular question in this viewer reponse episode! 

Tricopters or Quadcopters?  Josh and David both have reasons why they like the tricopter.  Let us know which multirotor that you prefer to fly!

The H-quad is great because it can carry so much cargo, while the tricopter can zip around and manuever very easily.  Josh is planning to create a T-copter in the near future to combine the best of both worlds!

We get a lot of questions about the type of soldering station that we use. The Weller WESD51 is the exact station that we use.  It's an investment that has proven it's value!

Servos, what do the ratings and numbers mean? Rate torque and speed are what the numbers represent.

Giant scale RC planes in the future?  Yes!  Let us know what you'd like to see!

GoPro Hero3 as an FPV camera is still not the most reliable option. David recently had his black out on him in mid flight and had to land blind.  So be cautious when using the new GoPro Hero3 Black edition!

Yes, we hope to have more RC helicopters featured in the future!

Thanks again for the questions!  Be sure to check out the forums and articles here are the website to get answers to other questions that we haven't had a chance to get to yet!

Links mentioned in this epsiode:

Weller Soldering Station - WES51
http://www.apexhandtools.com/brands/weller/

More videos and tutorials from David:
http://flitetest.com/authors/RCExplorer

- Find this article & others like it at www.FliteTest.com -

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COMMENTS

constantmotion on January 30, 2013
What tripcopter frame does David currently use?
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liveyourdreamsRC on January 31, 2013
The one in the video is on his website rcexplorer.se under projects and it is his work in progress V2.6 HV Deluxe. Check it out under projects.
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RandallJ on March 19, 2013
Here ya go...
http://flitetest.com/articles/The_Tricopter_V2_5_build

See the links to prior builds for materials list..
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Good Kebo on January 30, 2013
Some ideas:
FPV Plane Smackdown: Ritewing Zephyr vs Skywalker X8

Make the scratch build the plane that is in my head:
Long Duration FPV plane with long skinny wings, maybe 2 motors on wings, able to float around up there for an hour or more using motors.


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Good Kebo on January 30, 2013
Also how about: Could you get Walkera Devo radio to review? Seems like most of the Devo models are modestly priced and have good features.
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liveyourdreamsRC on January 31, 2013
Yes! I like that idea, or even the original skywalker!
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Sonicg on February 1, 2013
Do a review on deViation for the Devo, those guys do great stuff!
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casehatter on January 30, 2013
I just got a Little Quad and as a plane guy I was thinking I bet a tricopter would be better.
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TECH GEEK on January 30, 2013
Can you review some of the planes on www.NitroPlanes.com? They have great quality planes at cheap prices, great customer support & and are USA based. I'd offer to let you borrow my $130 RTF TechOne Mercury FPV plane, but shipping is expensive. I got it here btw http://www.nitroplanes.com/02a-402-mercury-epo-red-rtf-24g.html
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Rol Rivera on January 30, 2013
could you guys please manufacture david´s tricopter design, id be willing to pay arround $50 to $60 even if it was fiberglass. it just seems to be a great design for the tail
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liveyourdreamsRC on January 31, 2013
Are you talking about the tail or the main frame? The main frames are for sale on his website (main frames) for $25- $30 depending on shipping.
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MidwestRob on January 30, 2013
I think the Finwing Penguin or Skywalker X8 would be interesting FPV builds.
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Winging It R/C on January 30, 2013
I really enjoy these little Q&R things you guys do. But I actually have a plane that I think could be a coop plane for you guys to review and possibly turn into a swappable. This plane is called the twins cargo plane. It is a large fairly easy to build plane that has a large door in the back to drop bombs and stuff. It might also be a cool plane for fpv. Here is a link to the rc groups thread that gives more building detail about this plane: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1124466 I think this would be a good plane for you guys to review but I do understand that you're quite busy so if you don't get around to it thats fine.

Thanks for considering my suggestion,
Bernjo64
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Winging It R/C on January 30, 2013
When will you guys do a build video on that twin engine plane. I have two motors in my basement waiting patiently to be used. :-)
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pitts special on January 30, 2013
What is better than bacon? MORE BACON!!! Great show, looking forward to the new scratch builds.
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ITCyoy543 on January 30, 2013
Whats this FT Cruzr that i see in the back ground? :D
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cloud9photos on January 30, 2013
i like that white and green plane you guys are teasing in the background. I cant wait to see the video of that! David's Tri-Copter design is fascinating as well I have been wanting to build either a quad or a tri copter, but I'm not sure which one is better to start with. No one at any of my local flying clubs has one so getting training or help will be tough.
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Adib Vahedi on January 31, 2013
That was an amazing video flite test you are the best!!!

Keep up the great work you inspire us!!!!! :)
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UndCon on January 31, 2013
HA!

You should see when a 6Kg Y6 crashed at the indoor event here in Växjö/Sweden
And when a helicopter crashed into a foamie airplane

Dangerous stuff...
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tramsgar on January 31, 2013
Yes, we should! Link please.
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bjw on January 31, 2013
how about a design for a swappable glider. It'd probably be good for fpv as well.
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tramsgar on January 31, 2013
Review some more HK planes, good ol' times.
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flynron1964 on January 31, 2013
great Q&A guys.
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SepolP on January 31, 2013
I would like so much to see you making a skywalker rc plane. Thank you and keep doing that wonderful work.
Greetings.
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Manfet on January 31, 2013
Is that the De Havilland Vampire in the background? Who let David put that green paint on it. The color sucks (even though they are flying in Sweden with that).
Since you wanted some names for bigger FPV Planes and scratchbuilts. I got a combination on both.
Built a big twinmotor for FPV. It shouldn't be that big of a hassle and my opinion is that it could quite be quite an alternative for the current FPV market. It is not as loud as all those pusher props and it won't cut your finger when starting or push your plane down when pushing to full throttle (like Bixler, Easy Star...).
And it is not that big of a hassle to put a GoPro in like on the Twinstar. In my opinion the Twinstar is too heavy with all of the stuff inside (FC, GoPro, big battery so you still have some flight time)...
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sokol on January 31, 2013
I liked the saab in the footage :) And I would love to see more heli related episodes
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liveyourdreamsRC on January 31, 2013
Me too, by the way matej do you fly scale or 3d?
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ipetepete on January 31, 2013
I would love to see some scratch built war-birds using the swappable technique. I've been meaning to design a P-51 with the swappable pod, just haven't gotten around to doing it.
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cem on January 31, 2013
Big FPV planes like Skywalker 198mm or Skyhunter would be cool to watch.
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liveyourdreamsRC on January 31, 2013
I would personally like a 3dhs plane for a Giant scale review. Also to you guys at FT, I have been looking around and it seems as if as long as you format you SD card every so often and get the hero three update, your GoPro shouldn't freeze up. Also to Dave, Finish your V2.6 HV Deluxe ASAP! Looking great so far, and can you guys at FT do a review on the V2.6 Deluxe because you only did the very first design of the tricopter and it seems as though Dave has improved upon lots of aspects of the aircraft. Keep the viewer responses coming!
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foamwingnut on January 31, 2013
I would love to see you guys fly FPV with a night vision scope. Can it even be done? Anytime food is flown it is always entertaining. Flying bacon? Another thing I'd love to see is a flite test road trip where you come out and fly with some of us groupies.
Thanks!
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liveyourdreamsRC on January 31, 2013
Yeah I like the night vision idea too. But can you use only thermal or can you get the green night vision stuff. The one by Trappy is fake and was actually an early morning flight edited into the green so things would show up better!
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liveyourdreamsRC on January 31, 2013
You guys should do another product update because I have seen some weird stuff on flikr and other places about what Dave has been working on. For instance is blimpy real? I want to know more about what is coming in more scratch builds like this. Also you have to do some reviews on the planes on the wall some of them have been there for weeks now! Just kidding but I would like to see more of those. I would like to see a large gas plane but also maybe a 71 in slick from 3dhs. For recommendations for helicopters for Dave, if you can get your hands on a goblin 500 maybe but that is for really hard 3d flying. Dave if you like a little all around good heli, go with the MSH mini protos because it can zip around but also fly more stable like if you want. Plus it's a 450, which means parts are relatively cheap and you can practice the 3d moves still. Can't wait for more. 5 stars.
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liveyourdreamsRC on January 31, 2013
Blimpy is a plane Dave built with blimp like balloons on the end and I think I found the picture in behind the scenes on the forum. You could probably find it by googling flitetest blimpy too.
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liveyourdreamsRC on January 31, 2013
Hey Dave, do you paint you cloverleaf antennas orange like on your tricopter? Also, has DJI sent you any NAZA stuff? Another idea I had was to have a video on how to choose your motor, speed controller(s), and battery(ies). Also Dave, what is the antenna sticking out just behind the GoPro on the tricopters?
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Sonicg on February 1, 2013
Do a FT swappable type plane that can easily be transported, for example the size of a tricopter when disassembled. I do not own a car and live in the city, to get to my fly site I rely on public transport.
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turmere on February 4, 2013
You say that one can use only CW props on a tri. How do I set that up on the kk2.0 board ?
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liveyourdreamsRC on February 4, 2013
You don't set the direction of props up as long as you set the board to tricopter. The board handles everything else. The only reason a tricopter can use only the CW props is because of the tilting tail. On a quad the torque of each motor turns the quad. Hope this helps. I don't own the board myself but have done lots of research on it and if it you don't know how to set it up, my best guidance for you is to download the manual.
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turmere on February 5, 2013
Thanks for the reply, Thought you had to use cw and ccw props since the motor layout shown in card states this. I will try and use only cw props and see what happens.
Thanks.
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AndrejSlo on February 5, 2013
I must say i did a couple of flights with my GoPro 3 Silver, And it never freezed in mid flight or had any other problems. I flew for 11mins at temps close to 0°C. Though it does tend to freeze at startups and i think always if you turn it on with DIY mini USB AV connector plugged in.
I would guess the problem only exists on Black Edition GoPros, which makes me kind of glad i did not get one.

Have you guys tried it at different settings? Maybe the problem is only at 1080p 60FPS because of the higher datarate?

Here's my LOS vid, didn't upload the FPV ones yet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9QRbe79laU
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Moetop on February 6, 2013
For yaw control, Instead of turning the motor could you put a horizontal fin underneath one or all of the props?

This is very timely for me. I have been amassing parts for a (insert number here)acopter, and just a few days ago I thought I would save some money initially as well as give myself some versatility by going Tri instead of Hexa, and if I needed more power I could always go Y6 config. I also love the idea of a T6.
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Moetop on February 6, 2013
I meant vertical fin, servo controlled .
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mipi on February 13, 2013
What would be the optimal arm length for tricopter when flying FPV and shooting videos?
Some cons/pros for different arm lengths would be nice.
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chikoseye on March 28, 2013
Hi Josh, David. I'm planning to build my first tricopter and decided to use turnigy multistar OPTO. I am a bit confused now because of the reviews I've been reading regarding Multirotor ESC's. Do I really need to flash the ESC? Will it have a big effect?
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Tricopter vs Quadcopter - Viewer Response