GoHigherNFaster
Junior Member
I've been flying toy grade Heli's and Quads for a several years and have decided to try building my own quad that can handle the mild wind outdoors better than the Syma X5.
I've decided to start with the Flite Test Knuckle quad as the platform. I want something that will do "ok" at everything rather than be really good at any one thing (e.g. racing, acro, or photography.)
I would like to add my Mobius and my FPV camera (Spektrum Ultra micro) later to get some fun videos and learn FPV but I'm not planning to use this build to be a racer or professional photography rig.
I'm curious what others have used for the Knuckle quad build and what their build is designed for. For example if somebody lists a build and uses it for Acro that would be good for somebody else who wants to find a good Acro build. I don't see any thread where people have shared their build components for this particular quad frame so I'd like to start that and ask for some advice on what I'm thinking of using for my own "all purpose" build.
Option 1:
Turnigy Multistar 2209-980kv outrunners (Hobby King) (I like the zombie Green motor color)
8045 SF Props (Green) (Hobby King)
Afro ESC 12A ultra lite w/SimonK (Hobby King)
Option 2:
Turnigy Park300 1380kv Outrunners (Hobby King) (Flite Test recommends)
8045 SF Props (Hobby King)
Afro ESC 12A ultra lite w/SimonK (Hobby King)
Option 3:
RTF Mini motor 1800kv (Ready to Fly Quads [RTFQ])
8045 SF Props (Hobby King)
F-20A Fire red ESC (RTFQ)
Other info:
a. I plan to use 3 cell battery.
b. I have already purchased the Taranis X9D w/X8R receiver.
c. I want to take advantage of the telemetry to get Battery voltage and RX Signal.
d. I plan on building many more quads, tri's, and hexes/octo's as I progress and learn more. I would like to build a dedicated race quad capable of doing flips and rolls and a dedicated photography tri, hex, or octo later on.
Questions:
Considering my intended use and that this is my first build and although I'm not new to quads I'm not a pro either.
1. Do any of these options stand out as The best or worst option (include recomended mods if needed).
2. I like the look of the green motors in option 1 but I would go with something else if these are not a good option.
3. I'm not sure if the 8x4.5 props are good with the slower 980kv motors in Option 1 or the faster 1800kv motor in Option 3.
4. I'm not sure if the 8x4.5 props are even the right size/pitch for my purpose even if they will work with the motors.
I get the impression that picking a Flight control board is like picking Chevy vs Ford and don't want to start a control board debate, but if anybody has one of these setups or similar and can share some experience or thoughts on a control board that is either really good or really bad for this configuration I'm interested in hearing your thoughts.
I've done programming with a bunch of opensource projects for ~20 years so that concept is of interest to me but I'm also willing to use a closed source controller to start with and go with an opensource controller later when I'm not as much of a noob although I feel like learning one board might be a better long term option.
I've decided to start with the Flite Test Knuckle quad as the platform. I want something that will do "ok" at everything rather than be really good at any one thing (e.g. racing, acro, or photography.)
I would like to add my Mobius and my FPV camera (Spektrum Ultra micro) later to get some fun videos and learn FPV but I'm not planning to use this build to be a racer or professional photography rig.
I'm curious what others have used for the Knuckle quad build and what their build is designed for. For example if somebody lists a build and uses it for Acro that would be good for somebody else who wants to find a good Acro build. I don't see any thread where people have shared their build components for this particular quad frame so I'd like to start that and ask for some advice on what I'm thinking of using for my own "all purpose" build.
Option 1:
Turnigy Multistar 2209-980kv outrunners (Hobby King) (I like the zombie Green motor color)
8045 SF Props (Green) (Hobby King)
Afro ESC 12A ultra lite w/SimonK (Hobby King)
Option 2:
Turnigy Park300 1380kv Outrunners (Hobby King) (Flite Test recommends)
8045 SF Props (Hobby King)
Afro ESC 12A ultra lite w/SimonK (Hobby King)
Option 3:
RTF Mini motor 1800kv (Ready to Fly Quads [RTFQ])
8045 SF Props (Hobby King)
F-20A Fire red ESC (RTFQ)
Other info:
a. I plan to use 3 cell battery.
b. I have already purchased the Taranis X9D w/X8R receiver.
c. I want to take advantage of the telemetry to get Battery voltage and RX Signal.
d. I plan on building many more quads, tri's, and hexes/octo's as I progress and learn more. I would like to build a dedicated race quad capable of doing flips and rolls and a dedicated photography tri, hex, or octo later on.
Questions:
Considering my intended use and that this is my first build and although I'm not new to quads I'm not a pro either.
1. Do any of these options stand out as The best or worst option (include recomended mods if needed).
2. I like the look of the green motors in option 1 but I would go with something else if these are not a good option.
3. I'm not sure if the 8x4.5 props are good with the slower 980kv motors in Option 1 or the faster 1800kv motor in Option 3.
4. I'm not sure if the 8x4.5 props are even the right size/pitch for my purpose even if they will work with the motors.
I get the impression that picking a Flight control board is like picking Chevy vs Ford and don't want to start a control board debate, but if anybody has one of these setups or similar and can share some experience or thoughts on a control board that is either really good or really bad for this configuration I'm interested in hearing your thoughts.
I've done programming with a bunch of opensource projects for ~20 years so that concept is of interest to me but I'm also willing to use a closed source controller to start with and go with an opensource controller later when I'm not as much of a noob although I feel like learning one board might be a better long term option.