Please share your techniques for building and using multirotor test stands.
How about a few quick items (more content, perhaps, later)
Here is one I use, I call it the PIDrig.
[attachment=2]PIDrig.jpg[/attachment]
And here is the physical rig, and some random fat guy 
[attachment=1]PIDrig-photo.jpg[/attachment]
The “design”, if you can call it that, is intended to:
- Support rate/stabilise tuning of one axis (i.e., tune roll, or pitch, not both at the same time.)
- Be easy for anyone to build, even if you don’t have woodworking gear.
- Be easy to source parts (home depot, a skate shop, and 3D printed parts)
- Support multicopters from 9" to well over 46" in diameter
- Collapses down for transport easily, without removing any fittings
- Uses a chain to rapidly set and lock in the multicopter
- Uses adaptors (or, my custom multicopters have the “adaptor” built in already) to support any 'copter, X or + configurations, but the adaptors for Y, X, and H are more complicated. V configs are not presently supported… but then, I haven’t built any H or Vs yet.
Here are the plates to which the adaptor+copter spins on, with bearings press-fitted (perfect fit!)
[attachment=0]IMG_5703.jpg[/attachment]
The wood is all pressure-treated 2"x4"x8’, and some of them are cut in half. You can optionally knock 45 degrees off both ends of two boards for a better fit. Home Depot will do most of this for you, free of cost, when you buy the wood.
If there is interest, I’ll post up the Sketchup files for the 3D part, list the BOM, and provide some instructions. There is a lot of room for improvement, I just wanted it to be something that will last a long time, is easy to build for anyone, with nothing more than a screw driver (well, you’ll need a 3D printer or a friend who can print the brackets for you)
It’s designed to flip around, into another configuration, to function as a suspended, tethering rig, also, but I have not used it that way yet.
Cheers.