Tricopter VS V-Tailcopter

[TorqueRanger]

I am a newbie to multi-rotor and I want to build a Tricoptper or V-Tail copter..... But my question is what is the difference between the 2 as far as flying them and durably ??\




Thanks
JAy

 

[Cyberdactyl]

Tricopter has 3 motors and requires a servo for yaw movement (clockwise and counter-clockwise rotation).

V-tail has four motors and gets its yaw motion from the two rear motors being at roughly +60 and -60 degrees to the vertical.

Tricopter is probably slightly more difficult to build because of its yaw mechanism.

Which handles a crash better? That's all dependent on how they are built. But I'd say the V-tail would handle a crash better, but I could certainly be persuaded differently.

 

[TorqueRanger]

Tricopter has 3 motors and requires a servo for yaw movement (clockwise and counter-clockwise rotation).

V-tail has four motors and gets its yaw motion from the two rear motors being at roughly +60 and -60 degrees to the vertical.

Tricopter is probably slightly more difficult to build because of its yaw mechanism.

Which handles a crash better? That's all dependent on how they are built. But I'd say the V-tail would handle a crash better, but I could certainly be persuaded differently.

Thanks but I know the physical differences but I what I am trying to figure out if they fly different or about the same and is one better than the other???

 

[Cyberdactyl]

I believe a tri has a faster yaw rate. . .all things being subjectively equal.

V-tail would inherently have more lift capacity.

 

[crlock]

The difference is that tricopters are way cooler they look like a hunter from terminator

 

[Daveed]

Can i use smaller motor with smaller props on the back of the vtail?

 

[greencardigan]

Yep you could use smaller motors and props. I guess you just need to make sure you are getting enough thrust from the smaller motors without overloading them.

I have just used the same motors all around and slightly smaller props on the rear. It seems to fly great. Using the same motors all around will make it easier if you want to have a few spare motors.

 

[Daveed]

U mean the back 2 motors together putting as much thrust as a single front one?

 

[greencardigan]

Yes, I think that's the idea. Although I don't think it matters too much.

 

[Cyberdactyl]

Mathematically, if you have your back motors mounted at 45 degrees, and they are the same size as the front, the Z-direction thrust is equal to one of the front motors. Of course 45 degrees is probably not the best angle. More like 30-40 from the horizontal.

 

[kah00na]

I've been flying a tricopter for a few months and I'm in the process of building a V-Tail. I went with the tricopter over a quadcopter because I thought it would be cheaper overall - it may have been but really the cost is pretty close to the same if you are starting with nothing (like me).

I'm building the v-tail quadcopter now because I want to use it primarily as an FPV system whereas my tricopter is more for fun and acrobatics.