The Build

When I purchased the Hurricane 25 frame from CNC drones, I tried to make the most of it with the flat rate $10 shipping they charge. So, I also picked up its little brother too, the Hurricane 20. I happen to have a set of 1303.6 5555kv motors already, so I pretty much had everything ready to build it. I never thought much about the carbon fiber whoop frames because I thought the plastic ones would be more durable. Recently I have been hearing a lot of people raving about the Lumenier QAV-Pro Micro Whoop, so I picked up both versions of the Hurricane frames because I hope it will perform the same way because they have very similar design. Hurcan Yilmazer, the frame designer also made a 3.5” version too, but I do not have any need to lift anything bigger than a GoPro, but I do not plan to buy that one.

The reccommended motor for this frame is a Mamba 1105 5400kv, but I plan to use 1303.6 5555kv instead. In terms of motor volume, they should be very similar but the 1105 might have a little more torque because of the taller stator. I could not find the APEX 1303.6 5555KV motors because Pyrodrone no longer carries them. But they look identical to the FETtec 1303.6 Motors, so I am pretty sure they are the same exact thing. The frame designer suggested 1105 motors but I already had the 1303.6 motors already, plus they have a slightly larger volume. BUT...... a taller stator might be better overall because it will offer more torque. Here is the calculated stator volume. But as we all know there is more than just stator size, the magnet type, air gap, bell design, and winding make a difference.   
1303: 398.20 mm³
1204: 452.39 mm³
1105: 475.17 mm³
1306.6: 477.85 mm³

The JHEMCU GHF405 PRO BLHELI_S 45A is an overkill for this build but that is the only thing that I had available. I am happy that I ended up with this board because it has some of great features that made this build easier to work on, like the huge soldering pads and plug for DJI Air Unit.

This is a smaller frame, so all the wiring needs to be super tight because around the outer edges or it may get caught in the props. To keep the weight down, the case for the Caddx Vista was removed. I used 3D printed spacers to evenly space the boards apart. To secure the camera cable in place I wedged a small piece of double side tape between the stack so I will prevent the cable from popping off. Please note, I did not remove the plastic backing from the double side tape, so it is only acting as a firm wedge on not a tape. I only put this directly over the camera cable and not the entire Vista board. In the past I tried using some dense foam, but it got soft overtime because of the heat.

Since this frame is so small, I had to use a mini-USB adapter to plug the FC into the computer. Unless you have a 90-degree USB cable there is no way to access the plug because the motor is in the way. Good thing I had one of these iFlight adapters!

To save some weight, I modified the HD camera mount so it is fixed at 15 degrees and lowered it so it is closer to the frame to give it better CG and better clearance through gaps.

Test Flight (Betaflight 4.3.0 UAV Tech Cinewhoop Preset)

To start off, I used the Cinewhoop preset within Betaflight that was from UAV Tech. While cruising indoor and outdoor it was great. But that was after changing the throttle MID and EXPO because it was overly sensitive. At this point, the battery of choice is the GNB 720mah because it only weighs 67g and has a good balance between flight time and low weight.

When I first flew this quad inside the house, it dawned on me why it is good to have a small cinewhoop. Because the quad is smaller and lighter, less air is pushed around and that means no turbulence. Now I can fly down a narrow hallway and not feel any of the dirty air circulating back to the quad.

But when it took this thing outside are started to pick up the pace, that is when the problem starts to arise…. Vibration and JELLO!!!! The first time I took it outside I did not notice it until I did some hard turns, and it was in the early evening, so I was flying mostly in the shadows. But in full sun, you can totally see the vibrations in the FPV video feed when I throttle up. I tried different PIDs, Props and etc, nothing got rid of it. Long story short, I need to sit down and take my time and tune it, if I want to fix the vibration issues. But, I am going to try a quick fix.... So, let’s try flipping the quad over and convert it to a puller quad…guess what, it worked!

BUT!!! There is a downside to this change and that is seems to be less efficient as a puller. I am losing about 20 seconds of flight time and it also seems like there is less thrust too.

Initially I started with the UAV Tech Preset and made some small adjustments based on Hurcan Yilmazer suggested tune. His tune if very similar to the Preset with some slight PID variations. Check out his website for more information: https://www.hurcan.co.uk/post/hurricane

PID

Rate

Filter

Flight Times

Typically, I would use the GNB 720mah 4s lipos with this quad and I would charge it as a normal lipo with the max voltage per cell, 4.2v. But I tottally forgot that these lipos are HV rated. So, I thought I would give it a try and see what kind of results. Guess what, I can get about 6 minutes now!!! I have a video below showing 6 minutes of flight time in windy 16mph / 34mph gust condition.

Videos

6 minutes - Windy 16mph / 34mph gust - GoPro 7 Black Naked

6 minutes - Windy 16mph / 34mph gust - Same flight as above but with DJI DVR

Puller - Windy 12mph / 25mph gust - GoPro 7 Black Naked

Puller - Windy 12mph / 25mph gust - Same flight as above but with DJI DVR

Pusher - GoPro 7 Black Naked

Pusher Same flight as above but with DJI DVR