A couple months ago I figured it would be fun to build another 5" quad. Since I already had a freestyle quad (the primary quad I fly most often), I decided to make this one a racing quad. I noticed a few European racers fly box style frames, and thought they are an interesting concept, so decided to go that route.
Frame
I like the idea of open source designs, so decided to go with the TBS Source V. Once assembled, everything is under tension and super rigid. I used the optional upgraded brace only in the front/top location, since that seems the most susceptible to crash impact. The frame is a bit more difficult to work with compared to a standard (non-box) frame. While relatively easy to assemble with the help of a small rubber mallot, taking it apart again is more difficult. Even removing the top plate takes significant effort.
Kudos to TBS for releasing the frame as open source, and to the people who designed the nice printed parts and shared them on Thingiverse.
Motors & Props
This being my first racing quad, I chose to go with something that seemed typical & proven for this kind of quad: 2207 motors, 1700kv, 6S, with aggressive props (Gemfan 51499).
Mounting the Vista Unit
I tried a few options, but with the height of my stack the most practical solution was to add mounting holes to the frame top plate and bolt the Vista to it. It just fits, using 3 of the 4 screw locations (the 4th screw interferes with the USB port on my FC, so I just left it out).
LEDs
I used this opportunity to also get LED racewire out of my system. This is one of my favorite thing about this quad, even though I obviously can't see the lights as I'm in the goggles. Makes it very easy for others to see the quad when I'm flying in the evening. It is also a good way to get soldering practice, since it adds 24 solder joints to the build.
Weight
362g without battery
Impressions from flying it
- It's a ton of fun to fly!
- It feels punchy, yet very easy to maneuver and get it to go where I want. In that sense it feels significantly more precise compared to my freestyle 5" quad. It handles sharp/tight turns with ease, with dynamics that feel quite different from my 5" freestyle. I don't know how much of that is due to characteristics of the box style frame, vs. just the general motor/prop/bottom-mount battery differences.
- Landing with a 45 degree camera angle took some practice!
Photos
Part List
Show stores (4)Guides & Reviews
FPV has had quite a journey. Just a few years ago we started racing drones around a track and doing flips over trees, but professional cinematic FPV is a more recent development. DJI has always owned the drone photography market, but smaller acrobatic drones are starting to enter the market. They have the advantage of close proximity flight indoors and around people. There's more artistic freedom and..
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For the longest time we've been limited to 3 to 4 minutes of flight and lots and lots of batteries. With more efficient motors and frame designs it's now possible to push the envelope much further. This guide will walk you through the process of building a micro long range quad capable of flying 8-30 minutes and more than 4km. The build is moderately difficult, but with the right tools and steady hands..
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I really like your style - I may end up putting mine together just like this (it had a pretty major crash that hurt the frame, but I'll probably dig it out and fix it - this was the inspiration).
Thanks, that is great! I just checked out a few of your builds. Especially like your detailed writeups, very informative. I'm considering building a 7 inch, and found your post on your recent SourceOne build helpful.
Glad to be of help.
I did pull the trigger on all $4 worth of parts to get my SourceV back together, so yours is more than just an inspiration. It'll have the matching LED configuration again - and the prints you're rocking are probably going to be what I run (especially since my alternative frames are Neutron-R's, which have the exact same standoff spacing).