Tricopter buildplan for a noob
PJaussie
Member
I just built one and the best advice I can give, is to watch all the tricopter builds on both the Flitetest channel and David Windestal's channel on youtube, specifically these two video's. I wached these a heap of times over and learnt everything I needed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCPMC_fiSMI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ4AaI6KPhA
Also go to David's website HERE and read up on all the different tricopter builds. You will also find links to print out the basic main body shape or buy it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCPMC_fiSMI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ4AaI6KPhA
Also go to David's website HERE and read up on all the different tricopter builds. You will also find links to print out the basic main body shape or buy it.
PJaussie
Member
I think that's as easy as it gets for building your own. You can make it a lot easier if you have him purchase a prebuilt one.
This one is more of a kit build (can't recommend it, just found it by searching tricopter kit)
http://lucasweakley.com/product/maker-hangar-tricopter-kit/
This is the one my son and I have from FT
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Some great suggestions here. I would ask what intimidates you about the above build options? If it's soldering, you may want to look at buying motors and esc's with compatible bullet connectors and a similarly compatible wire harness. I know that Hobby King sells those components. Some of those components might be more geared for quads -- the wiring harness in particular, but that's one way to simplify things.
All that said, if it's soldering that's the hurdle, I might suggest taking some time and a little expense (can be very little!) to invest in that useful skill. That's a great, almost critical skill for this hobby.
I learned as a teenager back in the mid 80's (yes, dating myself) with a cheap (but rather expensive for a 12 y.o) radioshack fixed wattage iron, a spool of 60/40 that I still have in storage somewhere (but the flux is dried out I'm sure), and a bottle of flux (which wasn't really necessary).
All that said, if it's soldering that's the hurdle, I might suggest taking some time and a little expense (can be very little!) to invest in that useful skill. That's a great, almost critical skill for this hobby.
I learned as a teenager back in the mid 80's (yes, dating myself) with a cheap (but rather expensive for a 12 y.o) radioshack fixed wattage iron, a spool of 60/40 that I still have in storage somewhere (but the flux is dried out I'm sure), and a bottle of flux (which wasn't really necessary).
A lot of the plans, especially from David W/rxexplorer's site, but also on FliteTest (where he posted the DIY Tricopter video) feature frames you can build yourself with just access to home improvement/hardware stores and "basic" hobby parts (motors, esc's, flight controllers, rx/tx you generally won't find in a home goods store).
If you're looking to buy parts from local stores, the difficulty might be finding a store that sells components. Nevertheless, all the hobby stores near me offer to order parts for you even if they don't stock it as long as you specify what part(s) you're looking for. Also, you may find you can 3D print parts in local places. There are more and more of those popping up. RC Explorer/DavidW has the gcode for his tilt mechanism posted, but you can also build his old tilt assembly using landing gear components you can order/buy from hobby shops.
If you're looking to buy parts from local stores, the difficulty might be finding a store that sells components. Nevertheless, all the hobby stores near me offer to order parts for you even if they don't stock it as long as you specify what part(s) you're looking for. Also, you may find you can 3D print parts in local places. There are more and more of those popping up. RC Explorer/DavidW has the gcode for his tilt mechanism posted, but you can also build his old tilt assembly using landing gear components you can order/buy from hobby shops.
You can't order from the FT store in the Netherlands? Ok, shipping is a little expensive, but I have no problem to order from Germany - and I don't think the Netherlands is seen as a hostile country by the US government.
You might have to pay additional customs, but everything else should be fine? For other parts you might want to look at HobbyKing.com. I usually don't recommend them for beginners, but IIRC the European Warehouse is located in the Netherlands.
Another option might be to order from David Windestal himself at rcexplorer.se. He is kind of the Tricopter guru of the world ;-).
