I have been building quads since the lockdown in early 2020. I currently have fourteen, from 1.5 inches all the way to ten inches (yes, I’m addicted). At one point I thought I wanted to be a filmmaker and built a cinelifter . . . it flew well but I ended up changing my mind when reality hit! Dismantled it and sold the camera.

Anyhow, I have collected LOTS of extra parts since I started in 2020 because back then I crashed so much and wanted extra parts on hand. I wanted to create a medium/light cinelifter, having multiple frames. I decided I wanted to use my largest but easiest to modify frame, which was the original iFlight Chimera7 (not the Pro version). I already owned everything you see here except for the 3D printed parts. There was no rhyme or reason for this, so please do not ask; I just wanted to see what I could create with all the extra parts – motors, stacks, air units, you name it. The result was this 6-inch beauty, and she flies like a charm!

I acquired and/or purchased the 3D printed parts from:
• Andy Shen - Shendrones - Thicc 3.0 landing gear mounts
• Ryan Traxler - Aerial Pixel - Custom 3D parts - carbon leg caps and battery protector
• Thingiverse (files) and Brain3D (printing) - skirt, X8 mounts, SMA, DJI AU mount, and GPS mount

I only duplicated two frame parts - the top plate (to give added rigidity and security to the camera plate and camera) and the bottom plate (to protect the two ESC's, allow landing gear, and to allow a place for the power cable and battery straps). It is a 7" frame; however, I am using 6-inch props because the landing gear in the front does not allow 7" props. I added a skirt to keep things looking clean.

I ended up using a tripod head with tilt so that I could easily attach and adjust camera angle. I drilled holes in the camera plate to mirror those in the front of the top plate to help secure it to the frame. Large rubber grommets helped to reduce vibrations to the camera. Also, I used an Insta360 R for the proof of concept to ensure it flew well, then went on to use my Canon EOS-RP once I was comfortable. I believe the Canon to be a bit heavy, but the 5200mAh lipo balanced it out perfectly. She recovers from dives and rolls with ease and I cannot believe how fast she is - the only thing is the battery runs down quickly (about 3 minutes of flight time). I am going to get a Sony A6xx series as it is much lighter. And maybe I can use the 2600mAh batteries and get more flight time . . . or not!

https://youtube.com/shorts/Par64p2ZZkQ?feature=share

Update I now run a parallel setup of 5200 mAh on the bottom and a 2600 mAh on top (same C-rate) for a total of about 6 minutes of average flying.