LOS Tri

By iamafaiq on Jul 08, 2019

19  719  10

3d printed PLA Whirlygig tricopter by 1Smug_Bastard. Been wanting something toothpick-esque in a tricopter and here it is.

Strictly LOS. I stink at FPV.

Inverted FC. Soldered servo to resource mapped led_strip tabs.

Fun build. Not a rocket. Not a slug. Just a nice flying experience.

Photos

Discussion

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daich   Jul 13, 2019  

wow!

BearPants   Jul 11, 2019  

In the middle of printing this and sourcing parts together. I had to order that servo from the UK lol

Rice_Bowl   Jul 10, 2019  

WHOAAA dudee how did you use the led pad as the servo signal? Also i hope you can show a bit of the flights (maybe a 3rd person cam?). Seems like a great quad!!

Kstone   Jul 10, 2019 

Dude, it's totally a Tricopter! (Imagine my best Cali-Girl impression)

You can remap the resources in Betaflight.

Rice_Bowl   Jul 10, 2019 

HAHHAHAH i forgott!! its a great tri? hahhaha

Kstone   Jul 10, 2019  

Quick question, how did you get your motors into the pico connectors? Did they come preinstalled like that? Dont recall my DYS motors having any.

Kstone   Jul 09, 2019  

Great build! How does it fly for you?

Side note: There is an update to the frame that should be stiffer and easier to print.

iamafaiq   Jul 09, 2019 

it flies great. thoroughly enjoyable. little bit of tail tuning but otherwise a solid performer. i printed out the stiffer version just have to transfer over the parts, but i may just build up another and see if it's temperament is the same. superstitious when it comes disrupting a well working craft.

thanks again for providing the files. i'm working on a mod just waiting on more servos.

Kstone   Jul 10, 2019 

If you have any areas of improvement, I'm all ears. (Can PM me too)

Also I have been considering adding a dedicated camera mount to the frame. With the current release, a camera has to be mounted directly over the FC, adding both weight and vibration to the combined stack.

What I propose is one of the following.

Option #1, Small platform forward of the Flight controller, thats just big enough for a 0 - 30 degree tilted 20 mm Camera. Did this earlier on Tricopter Whirlygig frames and it worked well. This has the advantage of front-loading the CG a bit by making the camera directly upfront.

Note: Front-Loading the CG keeps more of the copters weight off the tail, making Yaw easier to manage / tune. Normally with a balenced CG the tail motors works the hardest of all three motors. (during forward flight) Pushing the CG forward spreads / shares the motor load better. Resulting in smoother flight.

Option #2, Elevated / seperate platform above the FC. This would allow the Camera and FC components to be stacked right over each other without directly touching. The platform would be supported from three sides (think Triangle) and act to shield the FC during a crash.

Option #3, Combined 1 & 2... This would allow the Camera to be mounted forward, while still having the elevated platform to mount other hardware. This would give the greatest number of camera options as well as add some extra stiffness to the frame.

Kstone   Jul 10, 2019 

Here is a preview that I have not released yet. (3" frame shown) This is option "three" which came out really nice. Obviously this would be for the 3-4S builds and not the 2S as they simply dont have the thrust. Dont get me wrong, not saying it's impossible etc.

Now assuming there is demand for it, I do have the means to easily add this to the 2" frame as well. Would take all of 10 minutes to do.

As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome.

-1SB

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