title: Tricopter description: 3S LiPo, Quanum Trifecta frame, 2204 2300KV motors parent: quadcopters position: 60 date: 2016-05-25
As a second attempt for a self-built copter, after my far too big X666, I decided to try and build a Tricopter. These only have three motors, with the third degree of freedom (yaw) being provided by tilting the back rotor using a servo.
Here are some recordings of the FPV footage. Be aware that these videos are recorded from the received signal on the ground. Not only can you see lots of interference and other HF problems, the loss of quality from the video recorder and the YouTube encoding is also very noticeable. In real-life, the picture doesn’t look that bad.
I quite like the Trifecta frame. It can be folded down considerably for easier transportation and storage, while still being surprisingly sturdy.
You need to use a relatively small battery, otherwise the copter is too high up, the back foot not reaching the ground, balancing on the battery. I printed a longer foot because of that.
I had some problems with the first servo I tried, but after switching to the metal gear servo listed below, the yaw mechanism has worked perfectly.
The prices listed below are just what I found while doing this page some years later, not the real prices I paid back then.
Here are some more photos.