Raging Rotors: Shake Your V-Tail Feather!

I might still be recovering from the post-Quadcopter Championship party, but nothing like Raging Rotors to push me along the road to recovery. Before I continue with the fun, I’d like to give a shout out to our friends at HobbyTown Orland Park, Ares, Blade, Heli-Max, and Estes for their support and generosity towards the great success of this event! I had a lot of fun, as did our participants, and I cannot wait for the next time I get to strut my RC Stuff (read ‘Amateur Flight Skill’).

Now, on to business! I am getting excited for doing a build project and sharing it here with you guys, and have been debating if I should do something a little more ‘out-of-the-box’ than the average quadcopter. Honestly, who hasn’t done it on YouTube, Instructables, etc? As Brian, 3DBill, and I were setting up the competition this weekend, 3DBill wanted me to try one of his latest multirotors, a Quadcopter setup called the ‘V-Tail’. Built to fly like a tricopter (3 motors and a servo, see my previous article), the V-tail uses 4 motors but with the rear two motors mounted at an angle and near each other. 3DBill was able to provide some pictures for me so I don’t have to get too wordy with my description, so you can see those below.

I have to say, I have built a tricopter, but its flight abilities can’t hold a candle to the lightning fast reactions of the rudder (tail end) of this quadcopter style. In addition, its unique frame layout also make figuring out orientation from a distance a lot easier. Needless to say, I think I have found the platform for the upcoming USS BigSquid multirotor (cue Captain Kirk overacting)! Now I just need to start shopping (aka turn in ludicrously large expense reports)!

Once again, a big thanks to our sponsors for their support in last Saturday’s event, and big props to all the guys at BigSquid who made this a reality, besides being able to put up with me for almost 24 straight hours! With that, I urge all you pilots out there to Stay Shiny (and warm) and Keep Flyin’!