QAV 250 VS MXP230 VS Blackout H 250 VS Strider Mini 250

C0d3M0nk3y

Posted a thousand or more times
I recently bought a Blackout. I considered a QAV250, but I like the Blackout better for the following reasons:

- I really like the small footprint of the Blackout. I run 5 inch props, so it's only 220 mm motor to motor.
- I wasn't sure about the one piece design of the QAV250 arms.
- I prefer the PDB on the Blackout. I was a little concerned about landing right on the PDB on the QAV250 (I wouldn't have put any landing gear on).
- I like the top mounted battery. On frames with the battery mounted on the same plate as the FC and other electronics, there is a possibility of the battery sliding forward in a crash.
- The isolated camera mount is included with the Blackout kit. It's an optional accessory for the QAV250.

I think the Strider looks interesting. I'm a little confused about the differences between the Strider Mini v1.1 and the Strider Flex though.

A couple other quads have caught my attention recently too -- the Hovership Zuul Superbeast and the Birdseye KillerBEE.
 

Ocean

Member
I think the main difference between the flex and the Mini is that the flex is open source with the minim Osd. Whereas the osd on the Mini is propriety.
 

joshuabardwell

Senior Member
Mentor
This chart sums up the differences.

a7659319-247-comparison.JPG

Basically: the Flex comes with MinimOSD and an extra 500 mA regulator. The Flex can support more LEDs and has a built-in connector for controlling RGB LED arrays. The Mini has an integrated, proprietary OSD. I think that the Flex also comes with LED bumpers, but I'm not sure about that.
 

C0d3M0nk3y

Posted a thousand or more times
Right, I saw the chart on their website. I'm confused about why there are two different versions.
 

jipp

Senior Member
the issue i see with the birdseye is the tray on the back which is for the battery, but will you be able to use it to balance or will the battery have to be move further up leaving that space back there empty..

so many mini quad frames are on the market.. very cool.. i like options.. i think i may try a thug frame soon.

chris.

p,s

never mind.. its no big deal if you have to move the battery up further and can not use the spot they made for it.. because you can just cut it off level with arms.. and it would look fine.. so no problem.
 
Last edited:

joshuabardwell

Senior Member
Mentor
Right, I saw the chart on their website. I'm confused about why there are two different versions.

It seems to me like the Flex is primarily for people who want to run fancy LED arrays, and/or people who want to use the open-source (and more capable) MinimOSD. The Mini is for people who want more complete integration.
 

FinalGlideAus

terrorizing squirrels
i have no problems with your positive opinion of the frame.. are you allowed to show any personal pictures of the vortex. iv yet to see any.

chris.

There are actually heaps of pictures out there of the Vortex. Mine won't do any justice to it because it is a prototype. The production version has a big number of changes. I've only seen computer CAD drawings of that though.
 

FinalGlideAus

terrorizing squirrels
I recently bought a Blackout. I considered a QAV250, but I like the Blackout better for the following reasons:

- I really like the small footprint of the Blackout. I run 5 inch props, so it's only 220 mm motor to motor.
- I wasn't sure about the one piece design of the QAV250 arms.
- I prefer the PDB on the Blackout. I was a little concerned about landing right on the PDB on the QAV250 (I wouldn't have put any landing gear on).
- I like the top mounted battery. On frames with the battery mounted on the same plate as the FC and other electronics, there is a possibility of the battery sliding forward in a crash.
- The isolated camera mount is included with the Blackout kit. It's an optional accessory for the QAV250.

I think the Strider looks interesting. I'm a little confused about the differences between the Strider Mini v1.1 and the Strider Flex though.

A couple other quads have caught my attention recently too -- the Hovership Zuul Superbeast and the Birdseye KillerBEE.

Yes that's another thing I just don't get about the QAV250. Why would you put the weak PDB and esc's on the bottom of the quad where you land and where it is exposed? WHY?????
 

jipp

Senior Member
There are actually heaps of pictures out there of the Vortex. Mine won't do any justice to it because it is a prototype. The production version has a big number of changes. I've only seen computer CAD drawings of that though.

ok, thanks. l will see whats pops up in a search using my fav search engine.. duckduckgo the search engine that does not track you :p puts his tin hat to the side.
chris.
 

jipp

Senior Member
Yes that's another thing I just don't get about the QAV250. Why would you put the weak PDB and esc's on the bottom of the quad where you land and where it is exposed? WHY?????

i could see how that would be bad especially if you live where its wet. would it not short out pretty easy? i live in the desert so im more worried about dust than water but if i was still in my home state of Oregon, yeah water would be #1 issue id be concern of.

p.s
one of the guys on my guitar forum just won the aussie lottery 1milion aussie bucks. he is flying high right now. i see a new guitar in his future :D

chris.
 

Robbie

Senior Member
The Strider looks interesting and has a lot of stuff going on the PDB. I was asked to be a team pilot for this frame a while back so am interested to see what I'm missing out on. My biggest dislike about it is the two bolt arms and how they fold. I'm not a fan of folding arms as it leads to more weight and looses durability. I've also never seen a durable two bolt arm that can take repeated "hard" hits.

I dislike the basic design layout of the MXP230 because it makes life hard to place a larger battery on the frame when you step up to a fast setup. Plus it just plain looks ugly!

The QAV250 also suffers from the same design issues. My biggest hate with the QAV is the fact that the bottom plate and arms are one piece so if you break an arm your stuffed and yes those QAV arms do break fairly often. They are working on stronger arms now but the whole problem is in the one piece design. By cutting it out of one piece of carbon and having the arms at an angle, you now have the fibres in the carbon plate going the wrong way and they are no longer doing their thing to give you full strength. The end result is a broken arm. Any one piece arm like the QAV or Minion suffer from this and those designs don't take the weave of the carbon in consideration. Also, those 6" arm adapters are kind of dodgy if you ask me.

I personally fly the Blackout because I believe in it's design. My original frame from this time last year is still kicking along perfectly. So far I have broken a top plate (which was the old 1mm design) but the new version is rock solid. My 4S 2208 setup did break a bottom plate and PDB once but I flew it directly into a tree trunk at about 110km/h trying to fit through a gap so I can't really complain :). I've since gone back to the 2204 setup anyway as they are much better to fly. The only downside o the Blackout is the price. I think it's about $30-$40 too expensive. Note: you can elect to buy 6" arms instead of the 5" when you order the frame so you don't have to buy an extra set of arms. That would be stupid!!!!

As for the Vortex, well I'm a team test pilot so anything I say will be biased :p

Thanks man for advice, I am going to wait till the vortex comes out to decide, from most of the feed back the QAV has some major flaws so i think i will keep it between the Blackout and the Strider, considering i have quite a few 50mph crashes, the folding arms of the Strider are worrying especially as i break arms on my EMAX 280 almost on a weekly basis now

P.S i have found that 3D printing new arms is a really good cheap way to keep flying, if you have easy access to a 3D printer. though it is a few grams heavier they are still quite strong and the quad stays fairly balanced.
 

nilsen

Senior Member
I have the QAV and it's fantastic.
The PDB is strong and not really a concern about breaking it, the problem is the wires poking out of the side from the PDB to the FC, it's kind of ugly.
I recently broke an arm on my QAV, I thought it was indestructible. It's not.
I would probably get something with replaceable arms next but I must say the QAV is a great machine.
 

Robbie

Senior Member
I have the QAV and it's fantastic.
The PDB is strong and not really a concern about breaking it, the problem is the wires poking out of the side from the PDB to the FC, it's kind of ugly.
I recently broke an arm on my QAV, I thought it was indestructible. It's not.
I would probably get something with replaceable arms next but I must say the QAV is a great machine.

Yeh its breaking an arm is what i fear, especially as i do a lot of forest flying, trees are a necessary evil....