AirbladeUAV has done it again and this time they've brought long range to the 5" class! Based on the popular Transformer Mini, the new Transformer 5" Ultralight adopts a lot of the same design philosophies with larger props and more payload capacity. It can fly upwards of 20 minutes on a 4 cell Li-Ion battery pack and in ideal conditions it's got a range of over 4 to 5 miles. In this guide I'll walk..

With the release of the DJI FPV Drone cinematic FPV has become a lot more accessible, but you certainly don't want to crash a $750 drone! The QAV-CINE Freybott is a compact, lightweight cinematic FPV drone that can take a hit and keep going. It's a lot safer to fly indoors and around people. With a naked GoPro or the SMO 4k you can capture some great stabilized footage. In this guide I'll show you..

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..

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..

Until recently GoPros were delegated to larger quads. A typical GoPro weighs around 125g and we've only recently begun to mount them on 3" cinewhoops. Even that is a stress on the motors. Now we've got the "GoPro Lite". Remove the battery, displays and casing and you're left with a small, lightweight board and sensor. Wrap it in protective TPU casing and you've got a 30g micro GoPro. The Hero6 is..

This guide will walk you through the process of building your first FPV quad. The goal with this design was to build a low-cost, lightweight quad, yet powerful enough to safely carry a GoPro in close proximity areas. I chose these parts to minimize the amount of soldering at no cost to the quality. A typical build requires around 30 solders while this only needs 25. It's not a huge difference, but..

In late 2019 DJI made inroads into the FPV scene with their remarkable low-latency digital system. It gave us a 720p video feed with latency on-par with the status quo, analog video. Traditionally we've used analog video systems for low-latency video, but the video quality is far from ideal. It's a trade-off we've been willing to accept for the control. Now we've got the best of both worlds and what..

When the FatShark HDOs hit the market in 2018 the FPV community rejoiced for the new Sony OLED displays. While they lacked further upgrades like an updated DVR and power button they were still a market success. With the 2019 announcement of the Orqa FPV.One the community finally had a potential HDO killer on the horizon. With only weeks before the release of the Orqa FPV.One Skyzone came out of left..

Want to learn how to build an FPV rig? This guide will walk you through your first FPV freestyle build. These parts were hand-picked to balance cost and maximize performance. The TBS Source One is a popular frame for it's low cost, high quality carbon fiber. It's easy to work with and provides more than enough space for your electronics. We've got a 32bit 4-in-1 ESC to bring you the smoothest flights..

You've probably heard the term "Cinewhoop". Traditionally it's a 3" ducted quad capable of carrying a GoPro Hero7 Black at a low 10 degree angle. More recently the term "Cine" has been applied to a number of RTF quads ranging from 85mm to 3". They all focus on their HD capability, but none compare to the stabilization of Hypersmooth (only available on the Hero7 Black). This is what really offers that..

A couple years ago I built the TransTEC Frog and since then I've been patiently waiting for another TransTEC frame to catch my eye. Fast forward to today and the TransTEC Laser S is that frame. It's a 82g racing frame that features 6mm arms, a TPU micro cam mount, 30.5mm and 20mm stack mounts and 3K carbon and 7075 hardware. My goal here was to build a high quality 6S racer at a reasonable price. I'd..

This is the 4th installment to my popular "Wizard Killer" series, and is based on the popular Wizard X220HV 6S. As usual, the goal was to build a substantially better quad, yet come in below the retail price of the BNF kit. Here are some of the improvements: Higher quality EMAX ECO 2306 1700kv motors Foxeer's top-of-the-line Falkor mini camera Eachine 25mw-1000mw Leaf VTX with microphone Tools This..

The iFlight XL5 V3 is a fantastic freestyle frame for the price. It features chamfered edges on some very nice quality carbon fiber. My goal for this build was to use high quality components at a relatively low price. Not only that, but I managed to reduce the number of solder points to the bare minimum. I've never built such a plug-in-play quad! The flight controller has an integrated VTX and doesn't..

Update! Happymodel has released a new V2 Frame which uses a more durable plastic. The Happymodel Mobula7 is one of those rare treats to hit the micro scene. Countless models hit the market every month, but this one just happens to check all the boxes. It's a 2S brushless micro with a 75mm motor stance. It's slightly larger than the more traditional 65mm brushed micros, but it's still quite small...

The Flysky Nirvana is a very cool radio. It has two enlongated grips, a color touchscreen, module support, rear switches, an internal charger, and a retractable antenna. When you see it you either hate it or love it. From the tall display to the rainbow anodized look it's sure to catch some attention. Features Gamepad style design Hall sensor gimbals Internal AFHDS 2A transmitter 3.5in 320x480 color..

The Aomway Commander V2s are the 2018 followup to the successful Aomway Commander V1 FPV headset. Unlike their predecessor, which targeted the FatShark Dominator V3s, the Commander V2s have set their sights higher toward the FatShark HD3s. Instead of 16:9 displays with a 32 degree field of view (FOV) the V2s now sport 4:3 displays with an impressive 45 degree FOV. And unlike the HD3s, these switch..

The FB 009 is a lightweight and compact budget FPV headset. When I first saw this I thought it might be worth a try. I'm never quite sure which headset to recommend at this price point, so let's see how this stands up. Most notably it includes a USB chargeable 1S 1200mah battery which is a decent capacity for an internal battery. The headset is compact and features a 3" 480x320 16:9 display. The..

The Rotor Riot CL1 is a community collaborated design based loosely on the popular ImpulseRC Alien and the Martian II. It's a low-budget freestyle frame with thick 5mm x 20mm arms, so it should take quite a beating. Additionally it provides 20mm mounting in the rear for a VTX which is a nice touch. It's very easy to build and perfect for a first build. The parts I chose for this build are a balance..

The EV200D is Eachine's long awaited follow-up to their budget oriented EV100. These offer a much larger 42 degree field of view (FOV) on 16:9 720p LCoS displays. This is the second goggle to utilize the LCoS technology behind the failed Topsky F7X. Traditionally FPV goggles use LCD displays, so LCoS is unproven, but Eachine did a great job implementing the technology. Features DVR HDMI input 42..

The Think Tank FPV Session is among the premier FPV backpacks. From its quality materials to its accessible design its a great pack for day to day use. The FPV Session is the little brother to the ThinkTank FPV Helipak which I reviewed earlier this year. It's smaller and geared more toward a day trip, but Think Tank managed to fit quite a lot of utility into this pack. Build Quality Like the FPV..