TigerPilot, yea i thought about that...but the price out weighed the downside in my mind.....i wanna know how they get the raw mateirials, manufacture, ship, and still make a profit.....man my mind cant get around it....also here is a link to the motors i got. randy.http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=7707&Product_Name=TGY_AerodriveXp_SK_Series_28-30_750Kv_/_245W

 

got the mounts and motors installed this mornin...got to tidy up a few loose wires, but besides props its ready to go. my local hobby shop don't have the props i need, so i had to order. i fired the tri-copter up, and everything looks great. all the electronics are working nice. wont be long to test fly, and tweak some settings. randy.

 

Wow Randy looks super! I tell you you really went to town with this one, I am amazed how quick the build really was minus all the waiting for shipping.
Mark

 

yea mark, there is really not much to build....tell ya what thou, tons and tons of soldering. i still cant believe the hardware is so inexpensive...for the $14 motor, it costs like $70 at the lhs.

 

Having the three identical gyro gains tied to a single channel caught me a little off guard. But apparently it works do to the overall symmetry. Should be a very stable craft when dialed in.

 

t-bird, the 3 telebees are shared to a 3 to 1 gain plug. and the gain is controlled by the throttle setting. the pitch curves actually control the throttle, as its set-up in a 120 deg. heli swash heli mode. they still work independently, as each gryo controls its own channel and arm the motor is on. the yaw gyro is on its own gain channel "gear" as its separate from the motor controllers. it just tilts the elevator motor. my props should be here soon. randy.

 

OK fellas, Trish....i could not take waitin any longer....i dug around the box oh junk and found 3- 10in dia props. the two orange ones had a 1/8dia center hole, so i crammed a drill thru them, wile sloppy i stuck them on. also they have a 4.7 pitch.....the odd prop is a 10in dia but a 3.8 pitch. all i wanted to do was check the electronics and gyro and control movements. so i didnt bother to balance anything. the orange center holes were so sloppy it would of been a waste of time anyhow. please excuse the bad video as i had the wrong setting. after i was done monkeying around, i went out front to check my mail....as i did i tripped over the box of props that tower hobbies sent....go figure, lols. i will get the right props on the tri-copter and balance them good. i will get the real maiden flight in the back yard. this time i will set the camera good, lols. randy.

 

Randy that is awesome! you are almost there!!!
Good job brother
Mark

 

yoram, got props, but no chance to try them. to cold out, and no room in house..will report when i can give it a try..randy.

 

KX-5, the tri-copter is done....I'm down with the flying, the weather here is cold, the high yesterday was 7deg.f. and today its 15deg.f. i will get some photos of the rudder up promptly. randy.

 

KX-5, here are some rudder "yaw" photos. the mount is a old heli grip i mounted with a aluminum arrow shaft. the grip space was filled with spruce wood. the mount itself is a piece of .125in. aircraft ply. the braces are the same material. sorry for the spam, i just wanted to make sure you could see all around. i tacked a lil ca after i zip-ties the shaft in groove.randy.

 

KX-5, the heli part i used is called a main blade grip. all the black plastic, outside the servo case is the heli grip. the only reason i had it it was all i had left of my bad heli experience, lols. it is way overkill to build it in this fashion....if i didnt have the part laying around i would of built it exactly like signguys in the e-zone. his is simple, and proven. the tri-copter post in in the aerial photography section in the e-zone. as soon as the weather breaks a lil, im gonna fly in the backyard, and see how stable it is. randy.

 

went to lunch today with a friend...he wanted to see the tri-copter since i have it done. we decided to give it a try since we were having a heatwave in mi today. it went up to 26F deg. for the high...it felt like summer coming, lols...we ran down to the corner park, and did the first real flight on the tri....man i can say this thing is rock solid stable...i really didn't fly around, but i held in a solid 10-15 foot hoover to test the controls...it was awesome, wish we shot video, but the flight wasn't really planned. i think my big grin would of filled the video anyhow, lols. randy.

 

That's great Randy.
Glad to hear it flies.

 

thx fellas...next week its supposed to get up to 40 here for a few days...i will try to post some video. i am also looking to make some landing skids for it. randy.

 

Were supposed to have a warm spell here as well Randy, looks like we are going into the January thaw
Mark

 

i was going to make some elaborate landing gear for the tri.....went down and dug thru my junk box and found some wiffle balls. two zip ties per ball, nice and quick. randy,

 

That turned out great Randy! can't wait until you get the chance to fly
Mark

 

big surprise ehh??. lols.....doing some final tweaks on the tri....first flight was rock solid, but the fellas in the e-zone it can be a lil better with a little dihedral. they say to tilt the motors on about a 5 deg angle, towards the center. this creates kinda like a "cone thrust" directed towards the center... also i blew a z-axis chip on the phlatty and wile i wait for it, i programmed a fuse body for the tri. Erik "TV casualty" got me geeked up to try vacuum forming. i don't have any experience at that, but i can always cut the mold for some carbon fiber, or glass lay. i really think it will help orientation. mark, Trish i can bring along with your wing to Toledo for some display. hopefully it comes out like i have visioned in my mind. randy.