Arcticopter II: Build part 1

Here's the basic RadicalRC kit assembly.  It's really nice. We're using the carbon fiber arms.  Everything fit together nicely, and we glued it up with medium CA.  Hot glue seems to be just fine to center the arms.

 

Wago connectors for power distribution, as noted here.  These have been great on the Arcticopter I.  These motors are a lot bigger, so it will be interesting to see the power draw through the connector.  The motors max out at 375 watts each, but this thing will be at airliner altitudes if you keep that much power for too long.







Here's the basic frame with motors attached.  It's very light and solid.  I had originally been a bit skeptical about the 10mm arms but am now a big fan.

The motor had an extended shaft.  Drilling through the carbon fiber arm was a no-go, so Andreas tried every saw in his shop to cut off the motor shaft.  None of them even scratched the shaft, which is why every RC toolbox should include an angle grinder with cutoff wheel.

Cover it up with tape to keep crud out of the windings and bearings, and clamp onto the motor shaft.

Dont' forget safety goggles!  Next time I'm going to try it with a (much smaller) Dremel cutoff wheel.  If that doesn't work then I'll just borrow Andreas' big cutting wheel.

There's a little sliver left on the shaft.  You can trim it off if you're so minded, but it's not necessary.

A lovely fit!  This is a shot of the lower arm, where the shaft came close to fitting... it was a bit easier to get a good picture.











Here's how the motors are mounted.  The bolts have "blue" removable threadlock.

Say hello to our little 4S friend.  One goal of Arcticopter II is to measure the payload size that can be reasonably handled.  The final Arcticopter will need to carry Josh's full-sized Canon DSLR... we probably should find out the target weight.

As you'll see in the flight videos, there's no problem blasting into the air.  Andreas has told me it's pretty good with 3S as well.





For some unknown reason, the Hobby King shipment did not include the expected fasteners.  Fortunately the local Ace has a nice selection of metric fasteners.  Judging by the price, they're made from an allow of platinum, iridium and gold.








The build went really smoothly, and the Radical RC kit was nice to work with. Andreas had glued up the  pieces and attached the motors... Everything on this page we did in an evening.

Continued in next post...