Mini T-Copter (TriCopter)

The idea of a Tri-Copter is for more helicopter like flying and better yaw performance and this was what I was after (I already have a 200QX, see my other posting). I love flying this Copter. It flows through the air and is fast (if you want). Looking through ThingiVerse I came across the one by Kezat and decided to elaborate on that design since the design of the arms and attachment method was unique. This one takes the Y and makes it a T plus provides a Cap to protect the electronics and gives a place for the receiver to hang. I also designed legs to land on which also reinforces the arm and body connection. Last two items is the mounting of the motors was sized up for the sunny sky 2204s 2300kv motors (hover at below half throttle), and the servo deck is underneath the tail and designed for a 9g servo (TGY-9025MG is what I am using). Balance is spot on with a 3s 650 battery hanging below the electronics using a velcro strap. (7 minute flights)

I used 4lb fishing line on both sides of the servo (Push - Pull) to connect the servo arm to the motor mount arms.

I have also included the MultiWii screen for the PID values v2.1 (I fly MutliWii). It flies amazing.

1-28-2016 - Just added a main frame that will mount a Naze32 Bd. What will follow shortly will be another top plate that will allow the mounting of an FPV camera, Video Transmitter, Servo for auto tilting of the FPV camera by the Naze32 Bd (or manually through an extra ch and slider). The CC3D will also fit, but I suggest the Naze32 as it is better supported for Tri-copters.

12-28-2014 - Updated the bottom plate with reinforced mounting holes and re-uploaded the tail with .stl's that contain no manifold errors. Been flying hard, spectacular crashes, no broken plastic, .... just broken zip-ties as it was designed.

11-27-2014 - Happy Thanksgiving! I upgraded the tail boom and thickened the top and bottom by 1mm each to strengthen it against those ooooops moments. The tie wraps are suppose to break not the tail boom itself. I also print the tail boom @ 100% infill. Enjoy.

11-1-2014 - Added a bottom plate so your wiring can move down instead of sitting directly below your controller board and to give a smoother place to hang your battery.

10-26-2014 - Updated the body to reinforce the tail section from the occasional oooops. Improved the Arm Clamp Plate to allow the arms to "pull" into the mount points better. Added side bars to the mount points to stabilize the side to side arm movement.

9-28-2014 - To each his own, I downgraded to 2.1 until I can figure out better settings for 2.3. I get better dynamic range on my stick movement with 2.1 plus in level mode it won't try and flip if you go past 3/4 stick. Take it out of level mode and it flips over in a second. The PID settings shown are for 2.1 and not 2.3. Also added a new part to clamp the tops of the arms to keep them from flexing up with anything less then an absolutely tight zip tie. Right now the compass in the multiwii is to close to the motors and does not work well with the interference. I'll be trying some longer arms soon. Please give me feedback in the comments on your setup and findings. Enjoy.

9-26-2014 - This tri is amazing fun. Sounds like a Formula 1 racer when you rip through the sky screaming across the horizon. it's fast, it's agile, it carries FPV gear will little effort. I'll be updating the FPV capabilities soon with extra trays. Print the tail out at 90% fill for strength. The rest of the parts have been printed at 40% for lightness. The arms have proven plenty strong at 40% fill. If you use the tgy-9025, you will need to reverse the servo direction in the software (if you are using multiwii). I have since upgraded to ver 2.3 from ver 2.1 and it is incredibly responsive. Not in level/horizon mode I have successfully flipped it end over and it pulls that off smoothly.

9-13-2014 - Bumped up the rate on the Yaw (rudder/tail servo) to get more hell like response (that's why we build a tri). Also been playing with the alt hold (BARO) and Level settings (ACC) to trim these out. Raining today so not much test flying; should be good tomorrow. New settings are reflected in the revised MultiWii Config image.