Flitetest DIY Gremlins

CrashRecovery

I'm a care bear...Really?
Mentor
Ok gang, the news is out. The mini gremlins have arrived. I can attest to the little frames being a sweet little kit. Here is where we the fans come into play. I am sure there will be a few frames from FT, but what can we design? What materials do you want to use? Do you guys want pre-cut spare frames or do you want to do it yourself? Let's get these popular and they might just give the tiny whoop a run for its money!
 

JimCR120

Got Lobstah?
Site Moderator
So what you're proposing is we get creative about making a sort of DIY FT Whoop?
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Looking forward to these :) I'm thinking of doing one with a blade guard in a classic 50s UFO style
 

JimCR120

Got Lobstah?
Site Moderator
I'm thinking of getting away from brushed quads so I was considering starting with an Inductrix 200 controller board and building up from there. I do like the Inductrix 200's slim profile and enclosed props but dislike the proprietary battery and the price.
 

SP0NZ

FT CAD Gremlin
Staff member
Admin
Moderator
Mentor
I don't build quads...yet. But, I'm planning on designing a 3D printed frame for that EMAX electronics pack. It may not ever turn into something that anyone else wants, but I think it will be a very fun and worthwhile learning experience for me. I'm really looking forward to this new era of DIY brushless micro quads!
 
I'm way too excited for these. The flight characteristics are amazing for the size. Calculated 480g of thrust and the first rendition of the frame I designed AUW with a hyperion 2s 450mah battery was 84g AUW LOL.

It really makes for an enjoyable experience and so far even the wood frames have been unbreakable due to the light weight.

I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with for their Gremlins. If you're sharing on social media and use hash-tags be sure to use something like #FTGremlin in your pictures so we can keep track of them as they come along!
 

jhitesma

Some guy in the desert
Mentor
I've been seriously considering something like this ... the emax packs seem to have all sold out everywhere as soon as they were released...and I'm planning on doing the original pico blx controller anyway since dRonin just added preliminary support for it this week. So I'll probably be looking at something like the racerstart 1103's but haven't made up my mind just yet.

Debating if I want to cut a frame from ply or lexan...and definitely want to so some kind of prop-guards for inside flying. The hoverfly nano looks nice...but with a CNC and 3D printer I just can't bring myself to buy a frame right now :D

Looking forward to seeing what all everyone comes up with while I make up my mind about which direction I want to go ;)
 

CrashRecovery

I'm a care bear...Really?
Mentor
If you couldn't tell from the video the frames can be super small. I was at fthq when Chad whipped up a frame in like 30 minutes. So I think the FTGREMLIN is going to be an awesome fan based project.
I'm a little bummed there is only 7 posts total in here with over 80 views of the thread.
What are some of the other ideas for frame materials? is someone going to try and be crazy and make a micro octocopter? Come on gang lets get the idea going!!!!!
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
I have been looking at smaller brush less set ups just for something like this. I am not sure if I could afford to get the kit right off and may have to piece it together over time but I been wanting something small like that for a while. I was thinking of using those little mini neon acrylic clip boards and cutting a frame design from that. Priming one side and drilling holes to mount led's in so they glow out the edges more then light up the whole frame.

I will be looking into the Blackwidow motors with the esc's built in. Rockyboy turned me on to one for the Baby Baron and suggested them for quad use. So far I am impressed with the set up. I was also toying with the idea after getting ice cream from the truck dude over the summer that had round hard plastic hollow sticks that would make perfect mini Versa copter booms that may need to be build at some point.
 

JimCR120

Got Lobstah?
Site Moderator
I suppose lexan would look cool but how readily available is that? Hobby plywood sounds good too. Either of those could be cut with a hobby saw.

I assume we want to try to keep this within reach of the frugal hobbyist. What are our goals for the build? 2S? Brushless? FPV? Flight enduance?

Is this here the start of this idea or has this been batted around elsewhere?
 

Mid7night

Jetman
Mentor
I don't build quads...yet. But, I'm planning on designing a 3D printed frame for that EMAX electronics pack. It may not ever turn into something that anyone else wants, but I think it will be a very fun and worthwhile learning experience for me. I'm really looking forward to this new era of DIY brushless micro quads!

I'm in that same boat, I've barely got enough time/money to support my hobby as-is, but I DO love modeling new concepts. I may have to make an exception this once, I'd love to help create a layout template and be in on this new frontier. :D
 

CrashRecovery

I'm a care bear...Really?
Mentor
I suppose lexan would look cool but how readily available is that? Hobby plywood sounds good too. Either of those could be cut with a hobby saw.

I assume we want to try to keep this within reach of the frugal hobbyist. What are our goals for the build? 2S? Brushless? FPV? Flight enduance?

Is this here the start of this idea or has this been batted around elsewhere?

Talking to Josh and Tj, and then more with TJ, I think they want to go back to the "what can you build" days. The whole DIY thing is near and dear to the Gang and it honestly seems as though they miss doing that stuff. From the days of the KK2 and the "H" Quad and now the pre-cut race frames, I think this is their entry back into building more then just assembling.
The other reason for this post is once again talking to TJ. He wants this "#FTGremlin" to really blow up and he wants the community involved more then the FT gang is. Yes they are bringing the product to us but "WE" are designing the final item. Do they want to be involved, yes! Do they want to inspire you, YES!!!! Should WE inspire others........
YES!!!!!!!!!!


​Maybe we can get Austin to get the IT guy to start a seperate FT Gremlin Forum area and we can keep all these ideas in there. For now lets keep this going.
 
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JimCR120

Got Lobstah?
Site Moderator
LED's, yes, I like those. That really works with the lexan idea.
I was interested in the BlackWidows too when considering motors for my tri. Hitec is also selling some ESC equipped motors I think in 6 sizes but not sure how small.
Blade's 3-in-1 Control Unit is $80 which seems a little much though it does have SAFE and it wouldn't allow for other radio systems. The brushless motors on the 200 cost $34 each so going with those two options puts the starting price at $216. I didn't see what the weights of either were but those are made for 3S. If we want to go 2S and save weight other option might be out there. I don't know yet.
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
I suppose lexan would look cool but how readily available is that? Hobby plywood sounds good too. Either of those could be cut with a hobby saw.

I assume we want to try to keep this within reach of the frugal hobbyist. What are our goals for the build? 2S? Brushless? FPV? Flight enduance?

Is this here the start of this idea or has this been batted around elsewhere?

The Lexan is easy to get. Walmart sells translucent neon and clear clipboards in normal and mini sizes so the lexan for these types of things is easily obtainable as long as they don't find out what "We" do with them and manipulate the lexan market against us "drone users" or the F.A.A. puts a ban on it or makes us register it.

How was THAT for a run on sentence...
 
Just so everyone is aware. The power packs haven't sold out. They're in transit :) so if you haven't, sign up for notifications. I believe they will sell FAST. Hopefully we get them soon. For the $68 or $69 it comes with the flight controller, 4 motors and 4 escs. To keep it a super low budget and easy build we have been using the Hyperion cameras. I don't want to say too much yet but we have been talking about different options to make this an extremely affordable yet durable and fun project. Mine has been flying on the same frame for about a week and 1/2 and I haven't had any issues whatsoever. Maaaaaaany crazy crashes and it keeps rocking.

We are reallly excited for this to get rolling. Even sent Austin a message earlier and told him we might want to look into ordering more asap :D
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
Yeah these will be like hotcakes on Sunday morning for sure. Hopefully no one gets the fork in the back of their build hand when the lights go out.
 

jhitesma

Some guy in the desert
Mentor
Good to hear they haven't arrived not that they're sold out :D If they offered a package without the FC I'd be totally down for it, but I'm 100% on dRonin now so I'll be using a pico blx. (Plus I like the idea of supporting FuriousFPV who did so much to make this whole class possible with releasing the pico in the first place.)

As for Lexan, 11x14 sheet at Home Depot is like $8. Acrylic (like the clipboards) is cheaper...but brittle. I've used both on quads before and acrylic isn't worth bothering with. I've done 2 230 sized quads that are basically just 1/2" wood dowels joined with lexan top/bottom plates and they hold up pretty well. Yeah, I've broken quite a few lexan plates but they're cheap to replace.

Cutting Lexan isn't that hard - for simple shapes. You just score it with a knife and snap. You can also cut it with a bandsaw/jigsaw/coping saw but it can develop cracks if you're not careful. An O-flute bit on a CNC works great and that's what I've been using the past year and why I'm considering doing something with it :D

But plywood would definitely be easier for most people. In my experience ply of the same thickness tends to hold up a bit better than lexan as well. But as small as these are I suspect lexan would hold up fine and look pretty cool. Drilling holes for the motors may be tricky...I do have a 1/16" bit - need to find out just how small the screws are I guess....
 

grnd flyr

Member
Ok, guess I don't get out of my cave too much anymore... so where are these videos? What are you guys talking about?
 
I'll check my design tomorrow. I want to say motor screw holes were like 0.5mm. I'll get back to ya after I'm awake