Introduction

I have been on a quest for a freestyle build that ticks a few different boxes in my FPV wishlist. First, the frame has got to be simple, easy to build, with plenty of space for my chose parts but not too heavy or too big like the Alien 5". I also wanted something that I could run some really aggressively pitched props to get a nice mid/low range punch for the style of flying I like to do when doing tricks and just messing about. During my search I considered a lot of frames including the Borzoi but then I came across this little gem from Strictly Racing Drones. I was blown away by how dead simple the frame was, one of the things I love the most is when form follows function to a tee.

TVS Diodes

This build is also the first one I have done utilizing the TVS Diodes installed on the 4-in-1. Originally I had hoped that the TVS would act as enough of a filter to keep my video clear and in practice it worked fine however I had some serious problems with the camera and VTX starving for power during punchouts and flips. So I ended up having to go back to using capacitors however, I was able to focus the capacitor directly on the VTX power line for even better results. So from now on I will be using both TVS diodes AND Capacitors on all of my builds

The Build

This was one of the fastest and easiest builds I have done to date. Not having a hundred different parts to put the frame together and the ample room that exists inside of the body of the kit made it very easy to go from nothing to full build in a little over 4 hours of total work. The standoffs are plenty tall enough to fit a stack that includes a PDB or a 4-in-1 ESC like I used. The F80 motors are a bit heavy and the wires were JUST long enough for the 5" version, so if you are building a similar combo on 6" you might want individual ESC's on the arms or you might have to splice the wires on the F80's to make sure they reach.

Tuning The Quad

Man was I ever blown away by these RK5051 props! Not only are they super quiet compared to most of the props that I run, but they are incredibly smooth and easy to tune with. I was able to get a VERY solid tune on PT1 in about 2 batteries. The only problem I had with the RK's is that they don't quite have the punch I am looking for, these are top-end props and what I need is something that produces power at a lower throttle range. My plan is to switch the props to DAL Cyclone 5050's and re-tune in the next few days. The F80 motors were incredibly smooth and surprisingly efficient even with the aggressive 5051's.