Catalyst Machineworks Merica 5"

By wrong17 on Nov 21, 2018

6  402  1

Once again, I am not surprising to see the quality of the frames designed by Catalyst Machineworks. They really think outside the box. As I was putting the frame together I kept thinking to myself “hey that is something different and what a great idea.” I have built a lot of different frames and this one I need a reference picture for me to assembly. I guess you can look at it as a good or bad thing because that means there are lots of different parts. Yet at the same time, these strange parts serve a purpose.

As you build this quad you have to plan a little differently. It is kind of has a modular setup because how the TPU pod houses everything except the ESC. It would be ideal if you used a 4in1 ESC and Flight Controller that uses the cable that you can unplug and not solder. I also stuffed the TBS Unify VTX in the pod, so hope there is enough air going inside it to keep it cool. After going through 3 packs back to back I did not have any issue with the VTX so I think I am in the clear.
For the first few flights I did not like how the Gemfan 5152 felt, nor did like the Dal Cyclone Cyclone 5046. But for some odd reason, I really like the Emax Avan – R 5x3. One thing I really like is how it has almost not prop wash. I guess the offset arms really do make a difference.

Photos

Part List

Frame

Merica 5 Inch - no canopy (23 builds)
Catalystmachineworks.com
$55.99

Frame

Merica HD Canopy (Adjustable 30 - 50 Degrees) (10 builds)
Catalystmachineworks.com
$19.99

Frame

Merica Session Mount Top - Adjustable (4 builds)
Catalystmachineworks.com
$13.99

Flight Controller

HelioRC SPRING IMU-F Flight Controller (45 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$37.55

ESCs

DALRC Rocket 45A 3-6s BLHeli_32 4-in-1 ESC (10 builds)
Getfpv.com
$65.99

Motors

4 x T-Motor F40 III 2306 2600KV Motor
Store.rotorriot.com
$96.00

Propellers

EMAX AVAN-R 5x3 Propeller (Set of 10CW, 10CCW - Red) (8 builds)
Getfpv.com
$9.99

FPV Camera

Foxeer Camera, Foxeer Mini FPV Camera - Foxeer antenna (24 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$36.89

FPV Transmitter

TBS Unify Pro 5G8 V3 (SMA) (197 builds)
Getfpv.com
See Site

Antenna

Realacc UXII 5.8G 1.6dBi RHCP/LHCP TX/RX FPV Antenna SMA/RP-SMA Male (19 builds)
Banggood.com
$6.99

Receiver

TBS Crossfire Nano RX Special Edition (412 builds)
Pirofliprc.com
$34.95

Batteries

FlexRC FPV Racing Drones | FPV Multicopter Store | Quadcopter Parts (101 builds)
Flexrc.com
$52.50

Radio

Team BlackSheep TBS TANGO 2 V3 PRO RC RADIO (103 builds)
Heli-nation.com
$199.99

Goggles

DJI Goggles 2 (7 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$648.99

HD Camera

GoPro Bones - HERO10 Black (FPV Lightweight Drone Camera) (3 builds)
Gopro.com
See Site

Battery Charger

HOTA F6+ 1000W 60A 1-6S Quad Channel AC/DC Smart Charger - Grey
Racedayquads.com
$185.99

Battery Charger

HOTA D6 PRO Dual Charger 1-6S AC200W/DC650W 15A w/ Wireless Cellphone Charging - Black (14 builds)
Pyrodrone.com
$117.98

Soldering Iron

TS100 Portable Programmable Smart Soldering Iron (264 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$58.99

Backpack

Lowepro QuadGuard BP X3 - Drone Backpack for 4 FPV Quad Racing Drones and 15" Laptop w/Exterior Mounts (Black)
Amazon.com
$286.00

Accessories

iFlight Crystal HD Patch and Stubby 5.8GHz RP-SMA Antenna Set for DJI - LHCP - Carbon
Racedayquads.com
$56.99
Show stores (11)

Discussion

Sign in to comment

drumdude0   Nov 21, 2018  
1

that punchout...wow

Guides & Reviews

Jun 21, 2021

AirbladeUAV has done it again and this time they've brought long range to the 5" class! Based on the popular Transformer Mini, the new Transformer 5" Ultralight adopts a lot of the same design philosophies with larger props and more payload capacity. It can fly upwards of 20 minutes on a 4 cell Li-Ion battery pack and in ideal conditions it's got a range of over 4 to 5 miles. In this guide I'll walk..

Read more
Mar 04, 2021

With the release of the DJI FPV Drone cinematic FPV has become a lot more accessible, but you certainly don't want to crash a $750 drone! The QAV-CINE Freybott is a compact, lightweight cinematic FPV drone that can take a hit and keep going. It's a lot safer to fly indoors and around people. With a naked GoPro or the SMO 4k you can capture some great stabilized footage. In this guide I'll show you..

Read more