Build Update -- Arcticopter III

 Here's a followup to my original Arcticopter III build log.  I put an "experimental vehicle" label on one of the arms.  In case it gets lost, I hope this makes it slightly more that somebody might return it or at least not mess with it.  The frame is RadicalRC's Stinger kit with 600mm fiberglass arms.  This is a great kit, cheap, flexible, light, and strong.  Lots of accessory parts matched to the 10mm arms.

Motor: Hacker Style Brushless Outrunner 20-22L,  924 kV. Recommended by Davvid "dadde87" Windestål, and have been good performers both on this unit and the Arcticopter I.
Props: 10x4.5.  MontoRC props have been really good so far and need minimal balancing.  They're pretty stiff as well.
Battery: I've had good luck with Zippy 3S/2200/40Cs.  flying sedately, 25Cs weren't too bad.
Weight: 714g without battery, 915g with.

ESC: Proton 18's from Exceed Rc.  These are as far as I can tell the same pieces as the ATMEL Turnigy Plushes.  I got them with the idea of reflashing them, but haven't yet done so.  The power setup above maxes out at just under 10 amps on the bench, so for a while I was using a set of 10 amp ESCs, using the logic that full throttle for more than a couple of seconds would send the unit to points unknown.  I felt better when I saw Warthox using 10 amp ESCs!

 Here's my APM2 board.  I've mounted it on an "Eastbay Standard" foam mount, which allows me to move controllers between frames easily. You can see some mounting holes in the foam, but strapping it down with velcro works well enough for testing.

Look here to see how I cover the electronics.

The RadicalRC kit comes with wire legs, but they didn't work well for me since I take off from grass a lot, and they would sometimes stick when taking off.  I got the idea of using whiffle balls from Andreas... this is the smallest size, I think it's for practicing golf. Much merriment is made at my local flying club over this.  They zip tie very nicely to the RadicalRC motor mounts.

Here's another picture of the frame.  The receiver is a Turnigy 9x which I took out of the case.  It lightens things up a bit, and fits nicely between the upper and lower parts of the deck.  Now that everyhting's working well, I'll make some longer receiver cables and mount the unit.