It's time for me to put the skids beneath you, though actually they're not so much of a necessity as they are with conventional rotorcraft (which have occasionally to land carrying forward speed). A power-failure in a quadcopter is a crash-landing while the same in an octocopter need not require a forced-landing at all. What neither can do in any event is to glide or 'autorotate' to the sort of landing that requires upturned skids.
What I have used here is the same spec of tubing used at the outset, and joined with a T-shaped 3-way tube-connector to stubs of four inches, capped with domed inserts. Assemble all parts of the skids first before sliding them onto the undercarriage legs, making sure that the inserts (which are domed in one direction only) are facing so that they provide an upward curve like a ski. Ensure too that the kitchen-cabinet brackets are set on the inside of the frame relative to the orientation of the skids.
You may wonder why we add stubs at all given that they require 3- in place of 2-way reinforced connectors, with their extra weight? This is clearer from the central image, showing how it allows the airframe to be set upright without resting on the motors or propellers which overhang the frame.
The stubs do at least provide a hint of helicopter and indeed could be extended at any time with horns by using angled tube-connectors in lieu of engineering. They also assist in orienting the aircraft under radio-control ~ ever the issue with quadcopters. Set in either direction, too, they provide mounting-points for a wheeled undercarriage.
The skids, paintwork and rivets add £77.30 to the build and raise the total to £196.63, not counting £8.99 for a new pop-riveter plus the cost of driving to Barnsley to collect the parts. The assembly weighs 8.80kg: 20 pounds of airframe for 200 of your sterling.
Flight-deck next, but don't hold your breath.
