Most compact fpv setup ever

Since I traveled with my tiny mosquito for the last 4 weeks through the Philippines I want to show you how compact a full field fpv setup can be.

  • Mosquito 130mm racer
  • Eachine EV100 goggles
  • Taranis X9D+
  • 4x lipo 3S 800mAh
  • 2x lipo 4S 650mAh
  • Eachine ROTG01 receiver for spotters
  • Taranis battery
  • Eachine battery for goggles
  • Camera bag from “hama”
  • ISTD battery checker

Thats it!

Find also below an example what video quality is possible with this 2130gr field setup. What’s missing is tools for maintenance, a charger and spareparts. But this depends partly on the skills of the pilot and the rigidness of the frame. I didn’t even killed one part of the racer in the last 4 weeks. I also didn’t use tools for maintenance as it was flying like a charm.

You can shrink down the fieldsetup with less batteries. But for longer flight sessions these 6 lipos had been far enough in my opinion.

Baseplates

Just redesigned the frame to make it lighter, stronger and 4s capable… Give me a couple of hours and there is another new version available.

goodbye regulations

Due to the fact the FAA introduced a new weight limit a while ago (which is at exactly 250gr) all UAV´s heavier than 250gr had to be registered – all below are low risk UAS (https://www.dropbox.com/s/t8o4zaojpmwg3qs/Defining%20a%20Lowest-Risk%20UAS%20Category.pdf?dl=0)

Ok, they took these rules back in June 2017 but at that time also many countries worldwide jumped on their references and the 250gr limit. In a lot of these countries there is no way to prevent being forced to register or to mark your small quad with address and name. In addition to that there are a lot of rules which make it quite uncomfortable to practice our hobby.

But what if there is a solution for all your concerns? What if there is a frame which has the same stability like your oldschooled 5” or bigger? What if there is a frame which has same speeds, or even more acceleration like your beloved quadracer?

Most of you will say: “Yeah, we know there are models with less weight than 250g but you have restrictions like, flight times, bad stability and of course NO GOPRO for HD footage!”

I will answer: Yes, you´re partly right but nowadays there are solutions for your concerns without limitations.

How?… and here comes the conclusion:

Since August 2017 I’ve used my free time working on a ground braking frame design which will provide exactly what I described above and even more:

  • a setup below 250gr (frame less than 50gr)
  • compact size (136mm motor-motor diagonal)
  • a stable design which can handle hard crashes and stress
  • fully HD coverage
  • efficient setup
  • easily to maintain
  • all components highly protected
  • OSD
  • battery position should be as safe as possible

All this is only possible due to some facts: really lightweight design, state-of-the-art materials, super compact size, vertical to motor axis and tilted arms and much experience in frame designs.

First prototypes flew and gave tremendous results in flight times more than I expected. A drawback a few weeks ago wasn´t really a drawback but results in redesigning the frame from the scratch and deleting all weak points but with all benefits the frame already had. Today I´m able to introduce the “mosquito”

Mosquito is done!

A lot of water was running down the river since my last post on project mosquito. Since 2 days  the baby is flying and fullfils all my expectations. A reason why it takes that long is that I have to redesign everything after the 2. prototype broke in the middle at a hard crash on concrete. Now there are no holes in the sideplates anymore which results that all circuit boards are sitting inside a protected cabin. Even more:  Mosquito gots tilted arms sponsored and weights less than 250gr (exactly 246,3gr with battery)

Flight times are around 6 minutes, depends on how you fly the beast.

Project Mosquito progress

I took some time this weekend to optimize the frame. The frame has now a dyadic setup which means the sideplates can be separated in two parts which makes maintenance on the electronics much more easier. This dyadic setup seperates the lower part which we right now call the rail and the frame housing. So it is possible to pull the main housing and then you access the drivetrain and all electronics. Weight 171,7gr without the battery. I have two 800mAh 3s sources here weighting in at 82gr (with long cables and xt60 connectors). So I will short the really long wires and change it to a xt30. This will bring the setup below the magic mark of 250gr.

Stay tuned for upcoming results within this week.

Project Moskito proto

Today I did the first maiden flight and wow… It flies like a charm even without big adjustments to the betaflight yet. I’m quite sure there is not much which can brake except the propellers.

It´s not 100% final so don´t blame me for the battery cable. I´m still at looking for the perfect position for it.

Some specs:

  • max. dimensions: 132*129*53mm
  • motor diagonal distance 135mm
  • weight  ~180gr at the moment (but there are still options to decrease)
  • 3″ props
  • full capable of 36mm (30,5mm holes) boards
  • full 1080p recording thanks to carry a runcam split
  • carbon fibre lightweight desing
  • vertical arms to get best efficiency
  • OSD
  • voltage- and currentmeter
  • videodownlink
  • super sturdy and crashresistant design
  • below 250gr (german marking rule)

 

Project: Moskito

It’s long time ago that I posted news about my latest quad project. Here it is – the brand new prototype of my moskito – a 3″ quad with full 1080p recording capability and racing formfactor. This beast is compliant with the german “below-250gr” rule. So take your googles and punch this 135mm frame into the air and have fun with your recorded hd video footage later.

This babe will be one of the most efficient quads in this size due to it’s unique and futuristic design. Stay tuned…