I figured I would chronicle my build process as this is my first rotory of any kind. (Syma 3 channel does not count)
I went step by step from David's 2.5 log and bought everything Hobbyking would sell me. I got some spares in there and with shipping walked away $200 lighter. (spare motor and esc, extra nuts, bolts etc.) I learned in the process that all the lamenting I had over the hextronic swappable special was a result of a programmable esc I bought that had a brake on it. But thats another story.
The gear arrived in 10 days! What in the world HK? Time to find a decent material for the frame and some wood in good old imperial measurement America, off to Lowe's. 10mm wood translated to cutting my own or settling for 3/8 poplar instead of pine. Just the hairiest of hairs thinner than 10mm, by about 0.5mm.
I then found some 1/16 plexi which was marked as 1/8. (actually just the hairiest of hairs thicker... it's getting pretty hairy here) I am glad I brought a measuring tape so I would not have to use one off the shelf and put it back. But the wood sandwiched between two pieces comes up to 13mm, which is perfect for the frame.
Being that I am not equipped for cutting intricate lines through plexiglass I went with the coffin shape and just scored and cracked my way through it. It took a couple of tries to get two matching frames, but I drilled them out, cut the wood to 48cm, drilled matching holes 2 cm in on two of them and put it all together. That's it for today, I will start tackling electronics tomorrow.
I do like the clear look, and it shows how everything is set inside.
Please, anyone reading this don't be afraid to stop me with a "You'll be sorry" critique. I am learning about multicopters as I go. Now let's see if I can screw up some perfectly good ESCs.
I went step by step from David's 2.5 log and bought everything Hobbyking would sell me. I got some spares in there and with shipping walked away $200 lighter. (spare motor and esc, extra nuts, bolts etc.) I learned in the process that all the lamenting I had over the hextronic swappable special was a result of a programmable esc I bought that had a brake on it. But thats another story.
The gear arrived in 10 days! What in the world HK? Time to find a decent material for the frame and some wood in good old imperial measurement America, off to Lowe's. 10mm wood translated to cutting my own or settling for 3/8 poplar instead of pine. Just the hairiest of hairs thinner than 10mm, by about 0.5mm.
I then found some 1/16 plexi which was marked as 1/8. (actually just the hairiest of hairs thicker... it's getting pretty hairy here) I am glad I brought a measuring tape so I would not have to use one off the shelf and put it back. But the wood sandwiched between two pieces comes up to 13mm, which is perfect for the frame.
Being that I am not equipped for cutting intricate lines through plexiglass I went with the coffin shape and just scored and cracked my way through it. It took a couple of tries to get two matching frames, but I drilled them out, cut the wood to 48cm, drilled matching holes 2 cm in on two of them and put it all together. That's it for today, I will start tackling electronics tomorrow.
I do like the clear look, and it shows how everything is set inside.
Please, anyone reading this don't be afraid to stop me with a "You'll be sorry" critique. I am learning about multicopters as I go. Now let's see if I can screw up some perfectly good ESCs.