Mini-Quad Build

Several months ago I wrote an article detailing my first quadcopter build. I had since made several modifications to the design, but found the size (450mm diagonally) to be restrictive in many ways. Although better for stable flights and carrying heavier loads (like camera gimbals,) the smaller, more portable mini quadcopter frames were more appealing to me.

The mini quad ecosystem is currently saturated with dozens of designs. The copters I spent the most time looking at were the QAV 250, Blackout Mini H, [Nemesis 240mm][nemesis] and "Spanky" 250mm frames.

The Blackout (or its spider hex counterpart) were top contenders. I ended up going with a Spanky frame for a few reasons. First, it was the cheapest of the bunch (the rest clocked in at $150+) and included vibration dampening rubber gromits, creating a dirty and clean part of the frame.

Below are the details of my build:

250mm Build

Total: ~$375

NOTE: The FrSky Transmitter Module does NOT fit in the Turnigy 9x. This was easily remedied by making a minor cosmetic alteration to the 9x, however I have since moved on to the FrSky Taranis 9XD which is far superior.

FPV Setup

Total: $295.91

Though it nearly doubles the price of my copter, I cannot overstate how much FPV has changed my flying experience. You become more adventurous, and see the world in a completely different perspective.