Bicopter kit – (Product archive)

The RCExplorer webshop has permanently closed down. This post is here only for reference. This item is no longer being sold. If you wish to make your own, you can download the design files for free from here

Are you looking for a challenge? Then you’ve come to the right place!

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Say hello to the RCExplorer Bicopter. Yes, Bi as in 2! This copter only uses 2 motors and 2 propellers to generate lift. Pretty cool eh? But you don’t get much control with just 2 motors, you need something more; Servos! Pitch and yaw are controlled by tilting the motors in either the same or opposite direction.
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This makes the RCExplorer Bicopter look freaking fantastic flying around. In full forward flight with the motors at full tilt, it’s reminiscent of the V22 Osprey. The RCExplorer Bicopter is designed to look as badass as possible, and I think we succeeded. The frame is entirely made from high-quality 3k twill weave matte finish carbon fiber. This makes the RCExplorer Bicopter frame lightweight, durable and worth drooling over.
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Just picture yourself rolling up your flying buddies and whipping this thing out. Guaranteed instant +10 to street cred and coolness (guarantee not guaranteed). The sharp-looking backend not only looks like a formidable stabbing weapon, it also makes the copter fly better. The weight is distributed more evenly and the leverage arm is longer, which should make the pitch axis more stable.
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This thing is a challenge. Are you up for it?

This thing is not like a crazy locked in quadcopter that obeys your every command. No, you have to fly this the way it wants to be flown. It is not easy and it will take some getting used to. Tuning is tricky, fiddly and might vary greatly depending on the electronics used (Pre-tuned starting PID’s available for the recommended electronics kit.). You can get yourself into weird situations very quickly and it currently doesn’t like flying backwards. What it does like is forward flight (both slow and flat out), lazy turns and hovering (as long as it’s not drifting backwards). You can do tricks as well, but be ready for some fun recovery manoeuvres. It is a very different flying experience compared to most other crafts.
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Building the RCExplorer Bicopter is also a bit of a challenge. Designed to be as cool looking as possible lead to some awkward spaces. Cable management skills will for sure make things easier, but you will probably still want to curse us a couple of times during the build. Update: The Bicopter now comes with a 5mm flat arm instead of a 10x10mm square tube arm. The build should be nearly identical as this arm is mounted in the same way as the square arm shown in the build video. The notches on the end of the arms help prevent the tilt mechanisms from sliding on the arms after a crash. The new flat arm leaves more space for wires to enter the frame, making the build a bit easier.
Please use this connection schematic rather than the one you see in the video

Once you’ve gotten through the build, mastered the flying and tamed the beast, the payoff is a freaking badass looking sci-fi machine howling down low across the field with tilted rotors. Only you can decide if that is worth it or not.


 
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Can we improve it?

Currently, the RCExplorer Bicopter is running stock betaflight firmware. This firmware is designed mainly for quadcopters and very little improvements have been done to other aircraft in that code. The handling of servos on both tricopters and bicopters is far from ideal. Luckily we have a very awesome community on this site. A community that has been able to improve on the tricopter code so much that it went from feeling like flying a wet eel to a homing missile. Together we can explore if it’s possible to improve the flight envelope of bicopters as well. Jump over to the forums and share your experience. Note: It is highly recommended to use the special position feedback servos. They will most likely increase performance vastly once the feature is implemented in the firmware.

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  • What’s in the box?

    Everything shown in this picture is included:
    1 FC Plate 1 Grill Plate 1 Side plates (pair) 4 Top plates 1 Top Wings (set) 1 Bottom Wings (set) 1 Bicopter Arm
    1 Bicopter battery plate
  • 1 Bicopter Screw Pack 4 40 mm black standoffs 2 Tilt mechanisms 1 Servo setup tool 1 Zip ties (bag) 2 Thin battery/GoPro straps

    Specs:

    Length: 238mm Width: 270mm Hight: 75mm Empty weight: ~165g All up weight (with electronics kit, without battery): ~285g CF parts thickness: 1.5mm Recommended battery size: 4S 1300mAh It is highly recommended to use the special position feedback servos we provide. They will most likely increase performance vastly once the feature is implemented in the firmware.

    Recommended electronics:

    We recommend the Bicopter electronics kit. It comes with motors, ESC’s, cables, propellers and the highly recommended special position feedback servo. This will be the setup we base our PID’s around. Other electronics will most likely need a different tune. Then you all you need is: 1 Kakute F4 Flight Controller 1 Power distribution board 1 XT60 pigtail (Or a matching power connector to whatever you already use) 1 Beeper A 4S LiPo battery with a capacity of around 1300mAh. An RC Transmitter and receiver (Such as the FRsky Taranis). Make sure the receiver supports PPM or SBUS (or serial connection of some kind)

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