There’s a bit more than meets the eye when it some to quads and Tricopters, this aritcle will dive into the issues and help explain the differences between Tricopters and Quadcopters.

Simple or complex mechanics?

Quads are simple with 4 motors directly connected to the frame and propellers. There are many frames available all you need to do is chose your size and frame material.

Tricopter’s however are a bit more complex when it comes to mechanics, a quad can control the yaw by changing the speeds of the blades, a Tricopter uses a moving motor to control yaw and  requires a servo to pivot the angle of the rear motor.

Battery Life

Tricopter’s just need 3 motors and 3 propellers and a small servo. They are more efficient if propeley tweaked, this will usually result in a better battery life then similar class Quads. Of course to counter this you can also put a larger battery in your quad and extend your flight time.

Budget

As a Tricopter need one less motors in similar sized setups a tri is usually cheaper. Quads have 4 motors and 2 spin one direction and the other 2 spin around the opposite way. In a Tri all the motors spin the same direction so you do not need 2 types of spare props and motors.

Reliability

A Quadcopter has the theoretical ability to safely land if a motor fails however only high end control boards have this function. In a Tricopter if a motor fails there is no way to safely land. If the control board you get does not have the safe landing function then this advantage is moot.

Tricopters have a rear motor swivel and servo arm; because of this a quad has better chance of surviving as all it has is a motor and a blade it can withstand larger crashes to the ground.

What is the best?

There is no one answer for this, it is more up to your preference and reason for building.

If you want a long flight time a tri might be the way to go, as long as you have decent skill and wont crash often it is more reliable then a quad. It also has slight faster yaw rates.

Quads are by far the most popular choice and they have a wide range of frames and motors available. If sucking the most time out of your flight is not top priority and you don’t need super tight yaw spins a quad is better.

If you are new to this hobby; I would also recommendIf you are new to this hobby a quad as they are much more crash friendly and you can grab some cheap prebuilt quads to learn the basics.

If you have decided what is the best for you and want a bargain we have a wide range of Quadcopter Parts and a few Tricopter frames too.

Reprinted from Banggood Blog, the original link: http://t.cn/RA549Bg