Sand & Sky - 5" Chameleon TI

By lasergoat on Dec 23, 2019

4  498  0

TopView

I was so inspired by The Golden Chameleon that I made a similar build but using the "sand" pattern from Stikit Skins.

Starting with the Armattan chameleon TI frame, I painted the edges orange with Sharpie oil paint pens and added the sand skin. I got these red motors from Raceday quads on clearance for $19/each. I added some TPU parts from Brain3d and got the Axii stub holder custom made to be a blend of yellow, red and black to go with the color scheme.

One tough part of this build was the extra carbon shim that goes between the main frame and the titanium camera housing - the screw hole was drilled slightly out of place by the factory, so I had to painstakingly file the part to be skinnier so it would fit.

One thing I wish this build had was a current sensor on the esc. This build is for 6s but I will mostly fly on 4s. I had to 3d print a micro camera mount from Thingverse. I also had to order some m2 screws of various lengths to attach the mount securely, since my nylon m2 screws weren't holding tightly.

I used blue loctite on every screw. The board is a Lux f7 and was very easy to set up. It has built in PWM camera OSD control, and you don't need to do anything weird for smart audio or sbus.

I'm using the TBS Unify Pro32 vtx and the Frsky XM+ w/ diversity receiver. I wrapped both of these items in black electric tape to keep grass and dirt out. The Pro32 is a very nice item and helps with a clean build since it's a perfect little tidy block shape.

330Cap
I'm using the 330µF capacitor with the WaFL Cap Cap - which let me cleanly mount it to the bottom of the frame in a little cubby there with a zip tie. I love this build because the titanium is so shiny, the whole thing feels so rigid - and it's a heavier build. The camera has an amazing picture also - I won't be flying it with a GoPro - just flying it with dvr for fun.

Ps, a really great tip is to attach the foam landing pads with a zip tie. My other quad has had the same ones now for about a year - they wear down but don't come off - and I tend to do a lot of sliding landings.

Photos

Part List

Frame

Armattan Chameleon Ti 5" Frame (54 builds)
Getfpv.com
$99.99

Flight Controller

Lumenier LUX F7 Ultimate Flight Controller (Dual Gyros) (33 builds)
Getfpv.com
$79.99

ESCs

Lumenier BLHeli_32 32bit 50A 4-in-1 ESC 2-6s w/ BEC 2A/5v, DSHOT / Proshot (7 builds)
Getfpv.com
$58.99

Motors

4 x T-Motor F60 Pro II 2500Kv Motor- Choose Your Color
Racedayquads.com
$77.96

Propellers

DAL Cyclone T5046C Pro Tri-Blade 5" Prop 4 Pack - Choose Your ColorCrystal Black (3 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$2.99

FPV Camera

Caddx Ratel Starlight HDR 1200TVL Micro FPV Camera - Choose Your Color & LensRed / 2.1mm (114 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$29.99

FPV Transmitter

Original FrSky 2.4G ACCST Taranis X9D Plus Transmitter With X8R Receiver (62 builds)
Banggood.com
$219.00

FPV Transmitter

TBS Unify Pro32 HV 5.8GHz Video Transmitter (MMCX) (120 builds)
Getfpv.com
See Site

Antenna

Lumenier AXII MMCX 5.8GHz Antenna (LHCP) (5 builds)
Getfpv.com
$14.99

Receiver

FrSky XM+ 2.4GHz Micro ReceiverDefault Title (1149 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$15.99

Goggles

Fat Shark Dominator V3 FPV Goggles (63 builds)
Getfpv.com
$299.99

3D Printed

XT60 & XT30 Single Charge Indicator Covers
Brain3d.co
$8.00

3D Printed

Armattan Rooster & Chameleon Ti Antenna Mounts (5 builds)
Brain3d.co
$7.00

3D Printed

Armattan Rooster & Chameleon Ti Bumper (2 builds)
Brain3d.co
$3.00

3D Printed

Armattan Rooster & Chameleon Ti Soft Mount Arm Guards (Set of 4) (3 builds)
Brain3d.co
$10.00

Hardware

DYWISHKEY 420 Pieces M2 x 4mm/6mm/8mm/10mm/12mm/16mm/20mm, 12.9 Grade Alloy Steel Hex Socket Head Cap Bolts Screws Nuts Kit with
Amazon.com
$14.69

Misc Parts

Armattan Chameleon TI (3 builds)
Stikitskins.com
$9.99

Misc Parts

WaFL’s Cap Cap 5 Pack - Choose Your Color (6 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$4.99

Misc Parts

Ummagawd UMMAGRIP Universal Super Sticky Battery Pad (174 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$4.99

Misc Parts

Multirotor Foam Landing Pad 4 Pack - Choose Your Color (6 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$3.05

Misc Parts

Forever Tubes (Black Caps Included) (18 builds)
Brain3d.co
$3.00

Misc Parts

Monoprice Cable Tie 4 inch 18LBS, 100pcs/Pack - Red
Amazon.com
$0.69

Video Receiver

Furious True-D V3.5 Diversity Receiver System Firmware 3.8A (FatShark Attitude Version)SKU: FPV-RX-TRUD3.8A (27 builds)
Furiousfpv.com
$68.00

Battery Charger

EV-Peak PU3 250W 16.5Amp Power Supply for DC Battery Chargers
Getfpv.com
$54.99

Battery Charger

ISDT T8 BattGo 1000W 30A Smart Battery Balance Charger For 1-8S Lipo Battery (4 builds)
Banggood.com
$136.49

Soldering Iron

Hakko FX888D29BY/P ESD-Safe Digital Soldering Station w/ FX8801 Soldering Iron and T18D16 Tip (Gold) (5 builds)
Amazon.com
$104.95
Show stores (7)

Discussion

Sign in to comment

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