Category: Blog

The Mini Tricopter arms are finally back in stock, which means that the Mini Tricopter kit is also off backorder. The Full size arms are, according to the tracking, scheduled to arrive on the 31st of March.

In the meantime I’ve done some tests with 6×4.5×3 props on the Mini Tricopter and it’s pretty awesome! The motors have so much torque that they still come down almost cold. Will do more tests to see how well the setup holds up compared to the standard 6×4.5 which have phenomenal performance. Have any of you tested out any other prop configurations?

We’ve run out of arms for both the MiniTricopter and the Tricopter V3.5. The sharp corner arms turned out to be too difficult for the manufacturer to make reliably and the yield was low. (Though they didn’t inform us of this until we put in the latest order). So now we’re going back to the rounded corner arms again. But from the new manufacturer, so the quality will be improved compared to the very first arms we sold. The new arms are being made and will ship out to us soon.

In the mean time we can offer the tricopter kits with “second quality arms” at less than manufacturing cost. A $7 discount is available for the Tricopter V3.5 kit and $5 discount for the MiniTricopter. Use the discount code uglytriarms for the Tricopter V3.5 kit and uglyminiarms for the MiniTricopter while in your cart. For spare arms (both full length and 1/2 length) that are not part of a kit you can use the coupon code uglyarm ($1 discount per arm). Make sure that the coupon code works before proceeding to the checkout page.

By “second quality” we mean that the arms have not passed our usual quality control and may be scratched, somewhat uneven on the surface, of a little bit uneven length/width, or with other minor faults. They are still straight and fully functional (maybe a bit of sanding down of a bump might be needed, but not more that that). These arms are available and in stock even if the “normal quality” arms are on backorder, which means that your tricopter would be shipped without delay. The arms may be of the rounded or sharp edge design, but they will not be mixed. You cannot choose which type you will get.

Finally! After months and months of testing different motors, ESCs and props, I’ve finally found the optimum combination of components

The kit contains the brand new, custom wound 2217 stator size, 1300KV motor. Tuned specifically to provide the best efficiency during hover yet still have tons of power for when you need it.

The über awesome motor uses a 4mm shaft to better handle impacts and abuse. It weighs 77g with cables, which means it has a lot of copper in the windings which provides mounds of torque to swing 8×5 propellers on 4S, or 9×5 on 3S.

To turn the super awesome motors 3 LittleBee 30A ESC’s are used. These ESC’s use the Silabs C8051F390 processor with dedicated gate drivers to achieve super fast switching which increases efficiency, throttle response and thrust generated by the motor. They work on 2-6S and are flashed with BLHeli 14.3 with dampened light enabled by default. They are also Oneshot125 compatible and together with the active breaking they give a really crisp and precise control over the copter.

Also included in the kit are 3 – 432mm long 18 gauge power and servo wires, the perfect length for the Tricopter V3.5.

A power package is only as good as the propellers providing the thrust. After testing many, many props these are by far the best ones I found. The 8×5 Thin electric by HQ. They are carbon fiber reinforced to provide good stiffness, they are light weight which improves quick throttle response (which makes the copter more stable as the updates from flight controller is executed quicker), They also have the best “out of the package” balance out of the bunch (you should still always balance your props!). They are also very efficient on this setup and they cut the air better than other multirotor specific props.

Lastly, the kit also includes the raining champion of tricopter tail servos, the Blue Bird 210 DMH. Tough, powerful, precise and reliable, this servo performs again and again.

The price tag for the Tricopter V3.5 power package is $150. Get them while they’re hot!

Just added some small items to the store, such as;
Some really nice quality 6mm and 3mm Wire Mesh Guard different colours,
A loud 5V active beeper/buzzer to use with the Naze32,
Separate BEC components for when you have a really bad crash, or want to upgrade your non BEC PDB,
Separate pin header in case you accidentally soldered it to the wrong side, or smushed it in a really weird crash.

Remember that I always say in build and setup videos to remove the props (or not to mount them) when doing setup on the computer while having the battery plugged in?

I though I would do a demonstration video as to why you should do just that.

Charpu had his quad going bananas while doing throttle calibration. His story is very entertaining and a great reminder that it can happen to anyone of us. Watch the RotorRiot episode here:

Have you’ve had any similar experience? I would love to hear about it in the comments!
Stay safe

I’ve been working on this for quite a while. I hope you guys enjoy it!

For those who are interested in how things are made, I’ve just finished up a over 100 picture build log on the Duck from Hell. Please don’t try this at home though as you could very easily burn your house down.
(Go to a friends house) No but seriously don’t do it. For educational purposes only 🙂

After searching and searching after the perfect tricopter V3 motor I ended up getting custom ones made. The results on the test bench were spot on! So I decided to build Tricopter V3.5 from scratch with the new electronics and while I’m at it, why not make a build log as well.

I’m on the FT after-hours podcast again. In this massive 2 and half hour long podcast we cover tech questions, rant about the FAA and Swedish regulations and talk about our best full-scale experiences.

Listen to it through Itunes or download the MP3

Air bears is an absolutely awesome organisation dedicated to connecting RC pilots and local authorities to help in Search and Rescue missions of missing people.

It’s a volunteer based system. If you have a multirotor or fixed wing platform that you can keep on standby to help the local police or fire department in your area, you simply sign up on their website (there is a onetime fee of $25 to cover the registration process and you get a T-Shirt). You’re now registered on their global network of pilots. An online map will help the local authorities that need help, find the closes pilot and quickly get in contact. You can also help spread the word to your local authorities by giving them this brochure.

The goal of Air Bears is to have global coverage of standby ready volunteers to help reunite missing people with their families. If you don’t have an aerial platform that you can have on standby you can help out by donating to the cause.