Newbie planning build... a few questions...

Your list looks pretty good... I started with a spreadsheet sim to yours, however, have gone over my costs etc, stuff like bullet connectors, extra motor mounts and props, due to chipping from testing/flipping, although I am still only around the £200 mark... beats spending near £1000 on s similar spec commercial machine!

So, does the entire rear prop/motor assembly tilt, or does it have a helicopter type swash plate assembly for tilting the prop?
 
All 3 props face up. The third prop with the servo just has the ability to tilt. A quad rotates yaw by reducing two clockwise, increasing other two counter clockwise rotors. A tricopter doesn't have that privilege so it tilts it's tail. The result is a sorta tipping when you yaw. Feels more like a plane, flys more like a triangle than a square...

I initially started with a $100 list and quickly moved up realizing that the $100 tricopter is gonna suck.
I'm not sure if the transmitter is going to be good: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewitem.asp?idproduct=28494&aff=210817 Hoping for some decent range for FPV.

My basic design is inspired by simplecopter.com:
 
Ha... that's a nice flyer... I hope day I can get half that much control!

I always thought the tri copters were steered by speeding up/slowing down the rear rotor, and by adjusting the forward rotors to match... so that's quite intesting, does it actually twist the tail boom?

I went with a FS-9 Tx unit... got it cheap on fleabay, a year old, but barely used and like new £50 with receiver and delivery... I liked the extra channels for adding gimbal control and the proposed parachute or lights... I was nearly going to buy the same one you got but went for this one at last minute...
 
For a tricopter, only the tail end twists. You see a little platform for the motor with the servo on it. That's this guys way of doing it. There are several methods but basically this is yaw control. Far superior to quads or most any other multirotor with no yaw servo or tilted tail rotors.

There are a number of mysteries about this guy's T-copter from simplecopter.com. I know he's using the SunnySky V2212-1400ka motors exclusively with a 4S pack, but he's using 8" low pitch blades that are inefficient, but highly responsive. He claims to get ~7min with FPV equipment from a 4S 2200mah. In one of his videos he says you can't use the crappy plastic props with 4S on those high RPM motors, but also says those 8x4.7 plastic props on a 3S pack will provide the same amount of thrust. My best estimate is that he's pushing 3.5kg thrust with any of his 4S 1300-14ookv setups.

So now I wanna run 3S 980kv sunnysky with a 10x4.7 prop...how much control am I gonna loose? How much fly time will I gain? I loose about 300-400g of thrust total.

As for the transmitter, I'm now onto this thing: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__31544__Turnigy_9XR_Transmitter_Mode_2_No_Module_.html
Awesome, but shipping is $25 and batt is another $15. Don't think I'll be able to mitigate the shipping so hoping to find something equivalent. I'll have to look for another transmitter (maybe the FS-9). Are the receivers interchangeable now that they use this 2.4ghz bluetoothy stuff?
 
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You can calc the flight time on E-calc... sorry to go about it, but I think it's really good even just to play about with is good nerdy type fun...lol

That Tx looks fab... and low price!!! Wish I'd seen tt, but I got mine back in Nov so maybe it wan't out then

His copter looks like an ace flyer! I think his numbers add up ok... he's only running 3 motors compared to the 4 I've been doing all my calcs on, and so kinda makes sense he gets good flight time from a small battery, also, I am running 3s, so I start out with a lot less power, so the packs run out quicker... I won't be putting anything on under 3s 3400

I bought some CF props (11 inch) or my maiden "flight". Broke one of those too, but the ppoint is... the additional inch, and lighter weight produced a distinct increase in performance... that's why I ddn't have time to try and save it.... It was way faster than I'd expected after I'd been testing with 9" platic items. Got a bunch of cheap ones now! I need to replace one of my beautiful CF porps now tho! They weren't too pricey, but long delivery from down under...

HK has a battery for that for <£4... I'm waiting for one... http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=34274
I'm sure that will do you... can you get that Tx from the UK warehouse? Fleabay?
 
Just clicked... That Tx is low price, because it does have the RF module, which you plug into the gaping space in the back... I could be wrong, but that is the 2.4Ghz RF that came with my controller... so that would be an additional cost, plus the Rx unit
 
I think the controllers are all universal, and the plug in mudule you get determines the Rx you need... pretty simple, but I'm sure it's pretty easy to confirm
 
wow you consider 7min good flight time? When I first started looking into these things I was expecting at least 20min and was dumbfounded when I saw some sport copters only do 3min on a 3000mah+ pack.

I've played with the calculator a bunch and have learned a lot from it actually. I already knew that a 4S pack doesn't really increase flight time, it just provides a ton more power. A lot of that power is up in the highly inefficient range of the motors and more than 50% gets wasted. Coupled with the added weight, you're not doing much more than getting more power.

So you had 11" props and that had good performance? From what I've read, it seems small, low pitch and fast provide the best response for sport. Long, slow, and high pitch are for efficiency but also difficult to hover with due to turbulence. What I want is maybe 75% of the control that guy has on maybe a 10" prop with a total similar thrust to carry a camera efficiently.

And yeah I just noticed it didn't have the radio as well. I guess it makes sense to have one that you can swap radios for farther range and such. I might just stick to the orange one because it's cheap, has decent reviews, and DD and Expo. I'm really at a loss otherwise. I have a really old Hi-Tech Tx that I used to use maybe 10 years ago, cost maybe $120 back then with a $50 micro receiver. Somehow I don't think it would work out...
 
The unit I have, has the old radio stuff in it, and the old unused ariel... the new module plugs in and takes over... there are PCB's for upgrades...
 
And no... I think flight times are pretty awful in general... have you seen that Amazon claims to be planning to deliver packages up to 30 minutes away... what batteries do they use? Or are they on compressed air or gas motors perhaps?
 
I believe it was a Hi-tec flash 4: http://goo.gl/g2Vkf3 (that's not mine, I gotta find mine). It's really old, I highly doubt it's gonna work out. It does however have a seemingly infinite range.

So I think I'm gonna go with the TH9X but I can't figure out if the radio is switchable. I would like the option to switch to a long range version if I get crazy with my FPV. Also, I can't tell if it comes with a receiver or not.

Still totally indecisive on the 980kv, 1050 or 11xx prop or 1400kv, 8047 prop. The other issue is should I even try to put a 10" prop on a tricopter or quadcopter? Especially one that will likely have 1kg of weight with FPV equipment.
 
I went for slower torquey motors and larger props for lifting heavy weights, camera etc... stability is obviously very imprtant, but I think this will work for me.

If you are looking to flip and loop it, I imagine the v fast spin motors with small light props spin up and slow very quickly, producing the results in the video above, which are v impressive.... My guess, if you want aerobatics, is to go for the high speed motors, and get a bunch of different size cheap props, and try them out... when you like a size, invest in some CF ones, and I bet everything gets better...

But if you lifting 1kg cam, I doubt you'll be able to flip like that guys above is... Too much inertia... I'd say 10 inch props may be inefficient with a 1400kv motor tho
 
Well I'm not really planning to do flips with a camera. the 1400kv can't take more than 9" props. It'll ESPLODE! I couldn't imagine needing more thrust than ~1100g/motor with an 8047.

The question is will I actually gain flight time with a 980kv over a 1400kv? Would a 680kv with 11" props be even more efficient? Very hard to say. The numbers read that a 680kv should be 20% more efficient than the 980kv, 10", but I'm not convinced. They weigh more and will require a higher hover throttle.

I feel like there should be only a minor difference between a 1400 and 680 with their respective props. It's ultimately up to the weight of the package. Both motors are similarly efficient in their respective hover ranges +/- 10-15%
 
Expo is exponential programming which means the control stick does exponentially more as you move it towards the edge. Makes it easier to do highly controlled slow flying and extreme maneuvers at the same time.

Dual Rates (DR) lets you change how much the stick movement does. Either lock it at a max or have a movement do double or somewhere in between.

Mixing expo and DR can provide excellent control as far as I can imagine and have read about. I feel expo will be more useful than DR. You pretty much can't do a flip without proper expo.
 
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