CUSTOM-CRAFTED MULTICOPTERS
These open-build designs fly above the crowd. Make one!
“Roswell Replica” Wooden Quadcopter
Tattoo artist and hobbyist woodworker Greg “Grease” Lehman built an alien-inspired wooden quadrotor based on the original foam-and-paper Roswell Quadrocopter. CNC-cut and -milled from ash, oak, walnut, and padauk, it looks heavy but it flies. Grab EPS files for cutting at makezine.com/roswellreplica.
Laser-Cut MultiWii Quadcopter
Australian surfer and programmer Dylan Fogarty-MacDonald designed and built a hackable, easy-to-repair quadcopter from laser-cut plywood parts. No additional power tools are needed. Assembling it yourself brings the frame cost down to about $50 (not including motors and electronics). Get the DXF files and full instructions at makezine.com/lasercutmultiwii.
“Crossfire”: 3D-Printed FPV Quadcopter
Mike Bristol is an air ambulance/bush pilot in Alaska who likes drones, FPV “video piloting,” and jumping out of planes. He built the most popular 3D-printed multirotor shared on Thingiverse (thingiverse.com/thing:32281) — and don’t miss his aerial video of BASE jumping off towers (vimeo.com/79370836)!
Acrylic and Wood CNCed Hexacopter
Designer/fabber Jens Dyvik machined the entire structure of his hexacopter, including the propellers, which he CNCed out of lightweight wood. The body was laser-cut from acrylic, and then formed on an acrylic bender. There’s a second version in the works with wooden arms. Get the 2D and 3D design files from DyvikDesign at makezine.com/dyvikhexacopter.