Tri-Copter Build
Hello All,
After deciding I did not have the heart to drive my Blade 400 into the ground, I sold it. But after a while I started to miss the feeling of flying a chopper, so I started looking for another one. That is when I stumbled across a Quadro-Copter, but it was a bit too complicated with programmable boards etc. Then I came across a Tri-Copter. No extra program boards required. Just some gyros and a Heli Radio. The Heli Radio I have, the gyros I could buy... so I started reading, and one order for bits and pieces later, and I started my build.
Basically a Tri-Copter is a central frame with 3 arms with 3 motors. It operates rather strangely though, as it is the only aircraft that I know that does not use the Throttle channel in the RX. I will explain that later.
For this build I would need the following;
3 Motors
3 Gyros (for the motors)
3 Escs
1 Tail Gyro
1 Servo
1 BEC
3 X Arms
and other bits and pieces.
I elected to use 3 X square carbon rods for my arms. Mainly because of the rigidity, but you could use wood stick. I just could not find any straight enough. Each arm needs to be exactly the same length from where the motor will sit, to the centre of the frame.
I am not going to go into a complete blow by blow build, but will outline some of the more interesting details.
One of the tricky parts of the build is making the pivot for the rear motor so it can tilt. I used a T-Rex 450 blad grip and glued it inside the carbon rod. There are plenty of ways to achieve this, so have a look around.
Each motor is controlled by the gyro, not the throttle. It uses the Pitch Curve in the programming to increase the output of the ESC. There is a 4th gyro that runs a servo on the rear motor to tilt the motor left or right, which will act like a rudder. It sounds complicated, but in fact it's quite a simple thing. The wiring harness is a little tricky, so you will need to sharpen your soldering skills.
If you want to read more about Tri-Copters, I would suggest reading this thread on RCG. It is where I started and there is plenty of good info.
This is the maiden flight, and I have since made some tweaks and she will practically hover hands off.
My Thanks go out to those on RCG for all their help.
Cheers
The Mongrel
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