the lightest 4" build 😝

By matthew saigon on Apr 18, 2020

29  1,497  30

5/19/2020: i finally got a set of gemfan 4024 to try. so far it feels good and you can buy them anywhere. this time i had to lower the throttle idle a bit and also scale down ( not clip ) the throttle to 80% and those two things help with the floaty-ness. also, i had to up P and D a bit too. because these props are a bit heavier. PID is in the picture. PID is ok, flyable but that's all i have for now.

5/4/2020: 16awg wires for powerline ( pigtail and battery leads ) is needed. you would get less voltage sag. to save weight, keep those wires as short as you can and have fun.

5/1/2020: i must say i absolutely love this thing flying in my small yard. it's not fast so don't try to push it or even fly in wide open space. it's very easy to control and quiet. use 2.5mm frame if you crash often and also use beebrain v2 canopy for more protection.

4/25/2020: i've used kk3.8" props before, but my builds were 80g - 100g dry which didn't feel good with those props. but this time, it feels a lot better with those kingkong props and 80g with battery.

about the setup:
--- it's not a powerful 4" setup. for powerful 4" setups you would need a lot bigger motors.
--- it's floaty. feels like very light 2s 1102 3in props setup, but of course, this is 4" so it can cruise faster.
--- it's extremely quiet. when it flies by you it sounds like a fly flying by your ear.
--- at this very light weight and with large props you don't really need tri-blade props. bi-blades are good enough and faster and more efficient.

let's say, you have 1s or 2s 1102 spinning 3" props and you like the setup.
or 1s or 2s 0802 spinning 65mm props and you like it.
and you wish you could blow it up to 4in. BOOM here it is. hahahaha

add newbeedrone canopy for more protection. 2 grams more.
weight: right now it weighs 52 grams without battery. keep the weight as low as possible. 1303 motors don't have enough power to carry weight.
frame: i made it up. i used " Pickle EVO2 nano MK2 : nano HD 3 inch quadcopter frame " 2mm thick and i cut up the bottom. weight 7g-8g. so sorry i don't know where you can find a frame like that. maybe you ask Alexandre Arvinte to make one ?
fc/esc: i use crazybee v3 10a esc with built-in frsky. or you could use eachine novice 3 12a esc with built-in frsky.
camera: one of those whoop camera. weight 1g - 1.8g
vtx: i use tbs pro32 nano vtx. or any nano vtx is fine.
propellers: hq4025, kingkong 3.8" ( i prefer kk3.8" props for this weight and setup, hq4025 feel heavy for 1303 motors )
motors: Amax inno 1303 4800kv
batteries: 2s 450mah - 550mah.

PID is in the picture.
idle throttle: 6.5%
throttle cut: at 70%
I term is a bit high. feed forward is a bit high. so lower them to see if you like it better.

note: this video is with 2s 450mah and kingkong 3.8in props. these props are the lightest 3.8in. narrow blades mean they're better on light setup and fast and efficient.


note: 8 minutes flight time, cruising around my small yard. with 2s 450mah.

just practicing, learning to fly better

Photos

Part List

Frame

Pickle EVO2 nano MK2 : nano HD 3 inch quadcopter frame by ledroneclub (4 builds)
Thingiverse.com
See Site

Flight Controller

Eachine Novice-III 135mm 2-3S FPV Racing Drone Spare Part AIO F4 Flight Controller 12A 2-4S ESC Frsky Receiver
Banggood.com
$48.40

Flight Controller

HappyModel CrazyBee F4 Pro V3 AIO Whoop Flight Controller for Larva, Sailfly, Mobula - FRSKY (32 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$47.99

Motors

4 x FPVCycle 13mm 5000kv, 6350kv Motor - 2mm prop shaft (43 builds)
Fpvcycle.com
$39.96

Propellers

10 Pairs KINGKONG/LDARC 3.8*3E Propeller Spare Part For Tiny Wing 450X 431mm FPV RC Airplane
Usa.banggood.com
$6.63

Propellers

LDARC PZ 15320 Servo / 3.8*3E Propellers for Kingkong Tiny Wing 450X FPV Drone Unbreakable EPP Flying Wing Racer Quadcopter (4 builds)
Aliexpress.com
$3.79

Propellers

HQ Prop Durable T4x2.5 Bi-Blade 4" Prop 4 Pack (26 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$2.99

FPV Camera

BeeBrain V2 Camera Mount and Canopy (38 builds)
Fpvcycle.com
$2.99

FPV Camera

199C V2.0 - 800TVL FOV 170 DEGREE NTSC FPV MINI CAMERA (3 builds)
Fpvcycle.com
$10.99

FPV Transmitter

TBS Unify Pro32 Nano 25-400mW VTX - U.FL (400 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$29.95

Batteries

GNB 600mAh 7.4V 2S 50C Lipo Battery XT30
Graysonhobby.com
$7.99

Batteries

RDQ Series 7.4V 2S 450mAh 70C LiPo Micro Battery - XT30 (2 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$7.24

Batteries

RDQ Series 7.4V 2S 650mAh 70C LiPo Micro Battery - XT30 (2 builds)
Racedayquads.com
$7.24

3D Printed

whoop canopy 14x14mm use foam tape to stick on fc by matthew04101 (9 builds)
Thingiverse.com
See Site
Show stores (7)

Discussion

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peri   Dec 01, 2020  

Nice one, looks very fast and agile. I quite like the flight times!

fly99   Nov 09, 2020  

Hello
Is it possible to fly with 2 cells 18650 li-ion
Thank you

matthew saigon   Nov 10, 2020 
1

this is an extreme overpropped build. it's good for 2s only or 1s with higher KV.
if you want to use 18650 li-ion, you should use 1404 motors.

fly99   Nov 10, 2020 

Thank you

Bob Tegland   Apr 20, 2020  
1

Why in your flight controoller section, do you not include the betafpv series motors? Even in 4" with 1507 3600 kv and 1404 at 3800 kv, they still have the JST plug that you can easily plug int the motors.

Show 1 more comment
matthew saigon   Apr 20, 2020 

i don't really fly 4in and 5in, so my knowledge of them is very low. i mostly fly light 2in, 2.5in and 3in.

Bob Tegland   Apr 21, 2020 

Yeah I got you. I am blown away how you got over 6 minutes of flight with a 2s 650mah pack. I was going planning to use 4s packs, but now that I watched your video, I am reconsidering the whole thing., Last one I had the emax 1606 3300kv's on a 4 inch and they were to much, By that I mean they killed my batteries esxcessivly. My friend went with the 14xx on his and he gets significantly more flight time, even with me flying it. Without sacrificing a noticable amount of power. I just got the new BETAFPV 20amp AIO in mail, I am excited to build another tooth around that really soon!!!

matthew saigon   Apr 21, 2020 

this setup doesn't have the power or speed anywhere near 1404 or 1606. betafpv has " X-Knight 4'' FPV Toothpick Quad " with 1505 motors and it looks pretty good. maybe you should check it out ?

Jodie Froster   Apr 19, 2020  
1

Nice build, your cam is pointing to the right pretty far

Show 3 more comments
Jodie Froster   Apr 20, 2020 

look at the motors in the dvr, you'll see what i'm talking about

matthew saigon   Apr 20, 2020 
1

you're right. thanks for pointing it out. i'll try to move it.

Jodie Froster   Apr 21, 2020 
1

I have been through a similar ordeal (mounting a tiny cam with a setup that requires "alignment" instead of a bracket that I can screw into, knowing it will be "straight"). It turns out, as you have seen, that you can definitly fly it just fine with the cam askiew. I wasn't even sure I should say anything, but yours is reeeeeety far to one side. That being said, your dvr confirms that you CAN def fly this rig as is.

Bob Tegland   Apr 20, 2020  
1

I went for the 1404 38000 kv on my tooth.

Kstone   Apr 20, 2020  
1

From what i saw in your video, the copter flies great. Its a bit floaty due to the prop inertia but thats not a bad thing considering how minimal the voltage dip is. (Your flights are 4-5 minues right?) The only problem saw as an issue was the battery placement should be faced into the direction of travel. This will reduce drag as well as make it less likely that the battery is damaged in a crash. Beyond that, you've a really slick garden flier!

Show 3 more comments
kwadkenstine   Apr 20, 2020 
1

You NEVA want to throw a battery to save the quad. . silly and dangerious . if the mass of the battery smashes the quad in a crash , the frame is too week. if you throw a battery then you have 2 uncontrolled missiles . my greatest fear is throwing a battery in tall grass . never find either again. as for battery mounting, WHERE EVA IT FITS

Kstone   Apr 20, 2020 
2

We"re talking about a 20-30 gram 2S battery, not the 100 gram (or >) batteries for a 5" or larger Quad. Besides, these small 2S batties run between 5 - 10 $ a pop vs the quad that cost 10-20 times as much. So yeah, if i had to choose between which I'd lose, it would be the battery. Besides, if your flying somewhere and your worried about it becoming a missle / fire hazzard, maybe the location choice wasnt the best idea?

kwadkenstine   Apr 20, 2020 
1

Sorry but i do not agree .

sergetania   Apr 20, 2020  
1

I love how floaty it is! Nice build!

Rice_Bowl   Apr 20, 2020  

This makes me smile hahaha...surely this is "safe" or atleast safer than 3-4s 3" quads right? its just so light and 2s looks great...like you dont need to go higher in voltage. how is your throttle? is it lacking at the top or bottom? or "equally districuted"?

matthew saigon   Apr 20, 2020 

to be honest, most people like 3" setup or even 2.5" setup with these motors, but a few people like it this way. the response is slow. the speed is not fast. but it's extremely quiet. it's useful for people who just want to cruise around for fun and not bother anyone around it.

Rice_Bowl   Apr 20, 2020 

yeahhhhh!! im that kind of dude tbh. I just want to enjoy flying. I dont go to any races or fly hard hard, but i just wanna feel like im floating yknow. I saw that you had like 7 mins flight time? was that the 650 or less? 4 mins is enough for me but its nice to cruise longer once in a while

matthew saigon   Apr 20, 2020 

yes 7 mins with 2s 650mah (43g). but some might prefer 2s 450mah (27g) for lighter weight. but i see many people like 4in 1404 for more efficiency. i already have 1303 motors and i like to do different builds with them. this is not a great awesome setup but more like, there could be someone who finds it interesting :)

volitant   Apr 19, 2020  
1

great build! perfect efficient garden flyer!

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