No standoffs, just m3 bolts straight through, tight against the 10mm box section and tightened up, I'm aiming for ease of repair/replacement of booms in the field, plus it's 2 less holes that need to be accurately drilled over and over for new booms,
Only thing is the weight penalty with all the extra bolts but its not the end of the world.

Inspired by the blueskyrc spider quad.

Auw with the esc's and wiring loom and RX is around 700g plus battery.

It lives, still just needs some cleanup and final checkout before maiden.

Motors are turnigy 3020 1200kv
Props 8x4x3
Kk2 1.4

It's hard to see here, but the arms are the structure and the FC sits on top with a friction/zip tie mount. I'll be flying it with 4ah batteries for now, but I've got some smaller ones on order that should be more appropriate for it.

Originally Posted by brontide

It lives, still just needs some cleanup and final checkout before maiden.

Motors are turnigy 3020 1200kv
Props 8x4x3
Kk2 1.4

It's hard to see here, but the arms are the structure and the FC sits on top with a friction/zip tie mount. I'll be flying it with 4ah batteries for now, but I've got some smaller ones on order that should be more appropriate for it.

Flies like a dream. After crashing it becaus I failed to load the right motor layout it was off to the races. Timed the second pack, I was able to get more than 24 minutes on one pack running with a 10.5v alarm. Very stable and responsive, now need to try it in some wind.

My AUW tonight was just under 700 grams, almost half of which is battery. I don't think I have actually WOT yet, not enough room to do it comfortably.

The other thing to note is the ESCs are plush 10a which were flashed over to blheli right out of the bag. I just used a sharp knife and sewing scissors to cut a tiny opening in the heatshrink and then used my push and flash tool to flash them.

I have a busted 3s 4ah that I'm converting to 2s and expect to be able to fly that one tomorrow. Flight time should be similar, but the lower RPM should provide a more sedate flying experience.

Are those o-ring type prop savers with 3-bladed props?

24 minutes on what size battery?

Thanks.

Originally Posted by overmyhead

Are those o-ring type prop savers with 3-bladed props?

24 minutes on what size battery?

Thanks.

Yes, that was a real pain, I'm going to try and find some therabands so I can attach it better than the crappy orings. There was no properly sized adapter so I had to bore out the 5mm adapter. 8x4x3 was chosen based on ecalc showing that combo to be more efficient. Battery is 3s 4ah, but I think I can get almost 20 minutes on a much smaller pack.

Just got my first quad done. Can't take it outside and test yet. One thing is that the motors don't start at the same time. How do I adjust this? Thanks for any help.

Tom

Originally Posted by carr52

Just got my first quad done. Can't take it outside and test yet. One thing is that the motors don't start at the same time. How do I adjust this? Thanks for any help.

Tom

Double and triple check your ESC calibration. Then check the FC for a motor minimum setting and increase it some.

Couldn't find anything that said motor minimum. Where would that be? By the way I'm using a DX6i if that makes a difference. By rechecking the esc calibration do you mean redo the steps the 4th video show for holding down the 1st and 4th button on the FC while I plug in the battery? Did that.

Tom

Update: Found a setting on the FC called minimum throttle. I raised it to 20 and things seem ok now. I found that under misc settings. I know more when I can get it outside tomorrow. Was also wondering should I set the rates and expo low rates and high expo. Thanks for the help.

Tom

I highly recommend that you upgrade your firmware to the latest. I think we are at 1.5 now. It makes the self level feature much better and helps beginners a lot.

I really dont know how to do any of that. Even the self level thing. I saw on the FC that it is off. Do I have to put another wire on ch5 or something? I'm guessing by now you've figured out I'm new at this. I don't have the cable or what ever you need to connect to the computer.

Tom

Originally Posted by carr52

I really dont know how to do any of that. Even the self level thing. I saw on the FC that it is off. Do I have to put another wire on ch5 or something? I'm guessing by now you've figured out I'm new at this. I don't have the cable or what ever you need to connect to the computer.

Tom

To update your KK2 board, you will need a USBavr programmer.

the kk2 board should have come with v1.2 firmware, and it kind of sucks. 1.4 & 1.5 have GREATLY improved the auto-level feature. Its truly a night & day difference.

Taking another shot at a folding quad. This one is to accommodate 10" props and a Medium gopro FOV.This makes the main body longer which allows the legs to fold inwards but also makes it more difficult to get that body ridgid enough.

It not quite working on the stiffness side of things. I know if I glue the wood layers it will be super stiff but that defeats the replaceability aspect of components. Maybe I glue one side to the inner core and leave the other side bolt on. Maybe screw in to save weight.

phil

Originally Posted by Captain3D

Taking another shot at a folding quad. This one is to accommodate 10" props and a Medium gopro FOV.This makes the main body longer which allows the legs to fold inwards but also makes it more difficult to get that body ridgid enough.

It not quite working on the stiffness side of things. I know if I glue the wood layers it will be super stiff but that defeats the replaceability aspect of components. Maybe I glue one side to the inner core and leave the other side bolt on. Maybe screw in to save weight.

phil

The other thing that would help the stiffness is to increase the spacing between upper and lower plates. The increased length of the spacers would add minimal extra weight. Could move your existing square re-inforcing plates from outside the frame to inside, then just make the other spacers longer.

My folding X8 Octo has 1 5/8" (42mm) spacing between top and bottom plates and is very rigid. The plates are 2mm ply with a thin glass / epoxy coating for durability. Motor to motor spacing is 800 mm.

Malcolm

Well heres what I've got so far. The frame is made from CF arrows I got at Wal Mart and the rest is light plywood and epoxy.

Tom

Arrow Frame Quad Test (3 min 49 sec)

My first Tricopter, it's a RC Explorer / Matt Hall design.