Mockup

my "perfect" F7 Acrobrat

By jpeterson on Jul 12, 2020

12  380  4

Time to Join the BratPack! I wanted a sub 250g jello-free build that could fly in places I didn't want to bring my big 5 inch. I decided to go with the acrobrat frame because of the clean and dirty sections, and I couldn't be happier. It is on the heavier side, So if youre more concerned with crazy freestyle, choose a lighter frame. I built the rest of the quad around the frame. decided on 1408 motors, and I wanted the xing ones but they were out of stock and I didnt want to wait lol. ended up going with GepRC 1408 3750kv motors, and i'm super pleased with them. Even on 3s they still perform, although the hover throttle is about 30%. Although, they do use the same shaft as the bigger 22xx and 23xx motors, the ones that use an m5 nut? I think thats what they are called. And it might be smart to look for the motors meant for t props since I think you'll save a couple grams. 3x4x3 props worked best for me, on a tiny 550mah 3s lipo I was seeing flight times of about 2 minutes if I was going hard, or 3-3:30 with medium to light freestyle. 650 4s bumps that up into a more respectable 3-5 minute range depending on the flight.

For camera, I am just using a caddx Ratel i had laying around, beacause I really like the image. I want to upgrade to a tarsier soon, but Its been out of stock so the ratel is a placeholder.

This is my first real 3 inch quad that isn't like a little toothpick, and I love it. Everyone has heard people say "oh it flies just like a 5 inch" and sorry, it isn't true. They are different quads. But it flies pretty damn close. I actually prefer my acrobrat now more than my daily 5 inch. It's hard to place what it is. but its just so fun to fly. I 100% recommend to anyone seriously in the hobby to build your "perfect" micro drone because they are really a blast to fly.

weight as pictured - 187g

Advice to beginners:

  • DO NOT skip a smokestopper. Trust me. Don't do it. they are like 3 dollars and can save you hundreds of dollars in expensive electronics down the road.
  • Be conscience of where you fly bigger drones. lots of people out there dont like our hobby. If you can afford to have many drones, get lots of different ones for different situations.
  • Learn to build quads. When i was new, I was always scared to build a quad. I liked BNF because it was easy. if you learn to build quads, you can tailor it to exactly how you like and it is way more fun to fly.
  • Lastly, have fun with it! Building quads shouldn't be a chore, so don't make it one.

UPDATE: for fun, I hovered the quad on a 4s 650, which puts it at an even 260 grams, for as long as possible. It never gained more than a few feet on altitude, but I did kinda fly circles around my backyard cause hovering was boring lol. but i achieved over a 6 minute flight - 6:26 until it was at 3.6 per cell with the 3x3x3 props.

Photos

Discussion

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SD_AE86   Jul 14, 2020  

Nice build, I just love this frame, just finished a budget build acrobrat myself for mid/long range light freestyle.. I think 3750kv would be Ideal for cruising & acro 4000+kv motors seems to drastically cut flight times down to 2-3 minutes.

jpeterson   Jul 14, 2020 

I totally agree. once you start pushing up into the 4000+ range the flight times just aren't there. It's fun to fly with crazy punchouts, but on a build like an acrobrat which is more about jello-free mid to light freestyle, 3700 is pretty good. Honestly though, after running some more packs through, going with a 3500 or even A 3300 might have been better. But of course you can always offset motor kv with either really high or really low pitch props. a 3300 on a 3x2.5x3 prop would fly for aaaaaages

MakeitHappen   Jul 13, 2020  

Nice build! Just finished my build, but do not have it posted. Tarsier, Mamba mini, Rushtank VTX, but I slapped on some betafpv 1505 3600kv (had them for another build) with HQ 3x2.5x3, also tried 3x3x3 on 4S 650. Flight time is like 2min 30 medium flying. Thinking of 1507, cause this one feels heavy. But then again I wanted to stay with T-mount style pros to save weight. Any suggestions? Thanks!

jpeterson   Jul 13, 2020 
1

hmmm. yeah 1505 might be a little undersized for such a haeavy build. if you want t style props, check out the emax 1408s. Ill link them at the botom of this post. thy are like 13 bucks, so you wont be breaking the bank. 1408 3600kv should run perfect on a 650 4s. other than that, I know t-motor has a 1507 that has t style props, but they run like 20 bucks a pop... so Id probably go with emax.

https://www.racedayquads.com/products/emax-rs1408-performance-brushless-motor-3600kv?variant=21235673989233&currency=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoJTgov7K6gIVLh6tBh2feQhpEAQYASABEgKAj_D_BwE

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