Homemade Frame: Flying Cake Pan

Flying Cake Pan Design.  Angle view.

After the failure to launch caused some catastrophic warping of the frame (which I believe is due to motor torque with blades on), I decided to build on from scratch.

The hardest part was trying to figure out what materials to use - I went with 3/4" square aluminum tubing for the arms, an 8 in cake pan for the chassis, and some 3/4" by 1/8" aluminum bar for support (the pan vibrated a lot until I added it for reinforcement).



Here are some tips on the build:

Flying Cake Pan Design:  Top View Showing Electronics.

1. Go to Dollar General or something similar - they sell 8" cake pans that are a thin aluminum and are extra-light weight (cheap)...  best of all it only cost $1!
2. Use three screws per arm - it will make them a lot more stable.  All the screws I used total cost about $4 at Home Depot - if you live close or go there often buy more than you need and return what you don't need as they have a good return policy.
3. Measure everything twice before you cut and before you start drilling holes.  Once you start drilling holes try to use previous holes as a guide or else the bolts might not go in clean (trust me).
4. Use some washers on the top side of the cake pan as that will help you have more area to crank down on when tightening.

I need to add some landing gear and a battery mount.  I'm not sure how I'm going to do the battery mount yet, but for the landing gear I'm going to use a couple of aluminum bars - they'll help strengthen the frame as well and might give me an option for a battery mount as well.

Expected re-launch:  4 days.