Altering the motor angle

[N017RW]

It seems some multi-rotor designers incorporate a slight inward cant to their designs, typically via the arms, of say 5 deg.
My understanding is that this can increase stability but lowers efficiency.

Has anyone any additional information regarding this design consideration or have performed any experiments?

Thanks in advance.

 

[OI Photography]

I haven't used canted motor mounts but I looked in to them for my hex. You generally have it right, the idea is they add positional stability by providing a measure of lateral tension on your aircraft in opposing directions, kind of the mirror effect of using guy lines to keep a tall antenna tower up. But all of that is at the cost of efficiency, as some of the thrust is being used for those forces instead.

I've only ever seen it used on some larger airframes, I suspect it's not terribly practical for smaller models, or quads in particular.

 

[OI Photography]

Also, I think the other supposed benefit was that it minimizes the amount of tipping in directional maneuvers.