Pavo20 - DJI O3 Lite - 9 minutes flight time w/ GNB 720mah 3s

By wrong17 on Oct 23, 2023

15  0  6

The Build

Unlike the larger 5” builds these tinywhoop size quads are pretty much plug and play. You can almost get away with NOT soldering anything. With this kit, all you need to do is install a VTX and you are ready to go. But, for me that is not good enough. I had to make a little lighter and that is how the Flywoo Naked DJI O3 Upgrade Case Kit comes in handle.

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I guess you could 3d print something like the Flyoo kit, but this kit also comes with a Clear UV lens protector and a dipole antennas. Plus, with all the heat the O3 generates, I do not want the 3D prints to melt or deform.

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Here is the weight of a full DJI O3 air unit, 34 grams.

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This is the same O3 air unit after using the Flywoo kit, and you will save about 12 grams. With a small quad like this, the weight saving will make a noticeable difference. You will gain flight time, handling, and lower noise.

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The conversion kit was very easy to install, the issue you made notice with Flywoo kit is mounting it to the Pavo20. Both the air unit and camera are smaller, so some modifications need to be made. First is the camera, it is now 14mm wide, compared to the original 18mm. What I did was add a small piece of silicon vibration dampeners from a flight controller. You can see the purple spacers on the side of the camera.

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Next is the O3 air unit, I placed 2 small pieces of double side tape on the front corners and a land pad foam that is stuck to the rear. I had to trim the foam, so it fit, because the full size is way too big. I applied the sticky side of the foam to the air unit so it would not fall off. I did that same thing with my Pavo Pico build and never had any issues with it moving or falling off.

My initial impressions of the Pavo20

Like the little brother (Pavo Pico), this quad flew very well. It felt very smooth and easy to fly during both fast and slow flights. You still get some prop wash but only when hard corning, but normally you do not notice much prop wash. The biggest question of all, do you get anyt JELLO and the answer is NO! Right out of the box the video footage is very clean, unlike the Pavo Pico that took some finesse. It is noticeable louder than the Pavo Pico, especially before I did the naked O3 conversion and with larger GNB 720 3s lipo.

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For the most part, my camera is set to about 8-degree angle and you might notice a little bit of the camera ducts in the lower corners of the DVR footage. In the DJI HD 4K recording there are no prop guards visible.

Pavo20 vs. FlyLens 85

More details about the build soon.

Flight times
Voltage sag
Weight
Battery mount
The build

Videos

9 Minute Flight - GNB 720mah 3s Lipo


HD from the O3 - EIS OFF - Gyroflow Applied


Same flight as above but recorded with DVR


Photos

Discussion

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jakubsz123   May 07, 2024  

Very nice build! I have Pavo20 with normal O3 and I'm using it for slow indoor flights. It's nice to see that it can handle 720mah easily. I'm actually considering going for the GAONENG GNB LiHV 3S 11.4V 850mAh 60C as it can also fit in the tray but I'm not sure if it's bad that it has only 60C discharge. What do you think?

wrong17   May 07, 2024 

The only way to find out is to test it. I alway take the C ratings with a grain of salt... meaning it is not always correct. How do you plan to use these packs, slow cruising, or fast free style? You might be okay if you plan to fly it slow and keep the amp draw low. Also keep in mind, I have used higher C rating batteries that has more voltage sag than a lower C rating battery. For example, I have a set of GNB 1100mah 130C 6s that weighs and sags more, less capacity than a GNB 1000mah 100C lipos. So, once again, the only way to find out is to try it out. I personally have not tried that specific lipo before, so I can not approve or disapprove of it. I have tried a few different flavors of the GNB 720mah lipos and they all have been excellent in power and low weight. I typically do not like HV charging my lipos, because it "seems" to degrade my batteries faster.

jakubsz123   May 08, 2024 

thanks, that makes sense. I wouldn't want to sacrifice the longevity of the batteries. In this case I'll stick to GNB 660mah LiPO. With a calm flight I'm getting around 6 minutes flight. Curious if stripping the O3 unit would make it much longer. I'm using it also with 5 blade props as it's much quieter but maybe it probably drains the battery more.

JJ1984   Jan 11, 2024  

9Mins is impressive with that Build. I am literally deciding between the Pavo20 & Flylens85 so very keen to see your impressions between the two.

Good work - My 1st post by the way! Looking forward to post my 1st build soon

wrong17   Jan 11, 2024 
1

It depends on what you want to get out of the 2 quads. The power to weight ratio goes to the Flylens85 but it lacks the efficiency if you need the longer flight times. If you plan to cruise or get cinamatic flights, I like to fly the Pavo20, but you want to do more freestyle then I would suggest the Flylens85 because it is lighter due to the 2s lipos setup. Even when I used the 1000mah 2s lipo on the Flylens85, I still can not get the same flight times as the Pavo20. Here is my rotorbuild page about the Flylens85 but I have been lazy to start writing about it, but I will, one day: https://rotorbuilds.com/build/31803

JJ1984   Jan 11, 2024 

That is interesting to hear. The new Flylens85 frame can accomodate 9mm motors. I wonder on 3S and 1103s if flight times would improve. Good right up on both anyway so thanks, I will make a decision on buying one of these soon, i think your write up is a decent one. Thank you.

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