RotorX Switchback Canopy with Swappable Camera Mount

thingiverse

I'm pleased to present this canopy for the RotorX Switchback with swappable holders for GoPro Session cameras. This approach could be applied to other frames as well, which will save printing new GoPro holders. This design requires 2x 20mm M3 pillars which slide into the canopy, and 4x 8mm M3 screws to fix the camera mount. So far I have experimented with 15, 18 and 20 degree camera angles with a GoPro Session, and in all cases the props and motor nuts are in view. This can be cropped out in post. By about 23-25 degrees the motors should be completely out of view. The canopy includes a mount for the TBS Immortal T antenna, and should fit the FrSky R9 T antenna as well. Take note that there is a thin gap in the antenna mount that will need to be broken open by hand once printed. As a RotorX Switchback owner, I liked the idea of offset motors and believe it makes smoother flights. The main point of frustration is that the stock canopy with the HD camera mount is simply a ramp set at a very steep angle around 40 degrees. For a 3" quad trying to lift 75 grams of GoPro Session, this made for flights that were too fast with not much power remaining for acro. The offset motors really lend the drone to slower smooth cinematic cruising style of flying. Over the months I went through various attempts to make a better camera mount and canopy, going for an all-in-one model. However this is hard to print cleanly and it uses a lot of support material. I realised that a two-part design would be much easier to print, and the modular design means different camera angles can be quickly and easily swapped onto the drone depending on the flying situation. Feel free to request other camera angles and suggest other changes!