Hi Guys I'm looking for a good freestyle frame, preferably EU or UK manufactured, has anyone got any recommendations? I quite like the look of the Beast-X and Pirat frames, does anyone fly them or know what theyre like? I currently fly Epiquad and QAV frames and the reason for the question is that I will be letting a couple of new comers fly - probably LOS to start with, and the Epiquad gets very small very fast, whilst I'm not confident of the strength of the QAV-210. Thanks

The Martian 2 frame is a great frame, kids have used it to learn flying and it survived some pretty nasty crashes.

5" Chameleon FTW! It'll be my next build and is designed specifically for freestyle. I've got it's little brother the 3" Japalura, and so far it's been bulletproof
http://www.armattanquads.com/chameleon/

(04-Aug-2017, 01:19 PM)RENOV8R Wrote: 5" Chameleon FTW!  It'll be my next build and is designed specifically for freestyle.  I've got it's little brother the 3" Japalura, and so far it's been bulletproof
http://www.armattanquads.com/chameleon/

I looked at those and like them a lot - the lifetime guarantee looks interesting. I looked at thug frames too because I think (not sure) that they too have a frame guarantee. They Armattans look solid, and I like the alloy frame to protect the camera as well. Not sure Im a fan of the low rider style - I don't see a reason for limiting the size of the stack area,but still - it is on my list!

I have a pirat sloop on my latest build... and I hate to say it cause Zerpo came and said hi to us here but unfortunately I am thinking about putting everything in a Matian III instead. The frame is hands down the best looking frame that I have, and the tail in the back is great for my receiver... but... that's about where it ends for me.

I don't like the fact that I cant choose to have an underslung configuration, with overslung I really cant use an HD camera. The frame is too compact to really do a RC Swift (and I am mad at runcam right now anyway). The hardware came up a little short for me and the build is a little awkward to route the wires, or at least it was for me although tbh it is only my second full build (not counting a couple of rebuilds of a micro and my first ARF quad).

I think pirat frames have great promise, don't get me wrong. I think if they keep going and figure out some of the little details while keeping the great looks that they'll be awesome but I am personally not really ready to endorse them as is :\

A European frame that does make me feel a little interested though are some of the ones that Unseen has been building by flightworks: swiftblade and rebel... although both sound like challenging builds to some extent so if this is your first build maybe it'll be best to go with something easier.

The realacc frames (Martian II and III) are made in mysteryland (Probably China) rather than EU, and many of their frames are ripoffs/clones of other frames but the Martian II appears to be an easy builder... and the Martian III is too as long as you get a little creative as to where the Rx and VTx go.

(04-Aug-2017, 01:38 PM)Carl.Vegas Wrote: I have a pirat sloop on my latest build... and I hate to say it cause Zerpo came and said hi to us here but unfortunately I am thinking about putting everything in a Matian III instead. The frame is hands down the best looking frame that I have, and the tail in the back is great for my receiver... but... that's about where it ends for me.

I don't like the fact that I cant choose to have an underslung configuration, with overslung I really cant use an HD camera. The frame is too compact to really do a RC Swift (and I am mad at runcam right now anyway). The hardware came up a little short for me and the build is a little awkward to route the wires, or at least it was for me although tbh it is only my second full build (not counting a couple of rebuilds of a micro and my first ARF quad).

I think pirat frames have great promise, don't get me wrong. I think if they keep going and figure out some of the little details while keeping the great looks that they'll be awesome but I am personally not really ready to endorse them as is :\

A European frame that does make me feel a little interested though are some of the ones that Unseen has been building by flightworks: swiftblade and rebel... although both sound like challenging builds to some extent so if this is your first build maybe it'll be best to go with something easier.

The realacc frames (Martian II and III) are made in mysteryland (Probably China) rather than EU, and many of their frames are ripoffs/clones of other frames but the Martian II appears to be an easy builder... and the Martian III is too as long as you get a little creative as to where the Rx and VTx go.

Thanks for that. Good insight into the Pirat. I like that tail - I'd seen it recently but couldnt remember where now you mention it, yes, I like that. Small very tight builds I'm very happy with _ Ive built a few quads in my time. Just looked up the swiftblade and rebel, will be taking a good look at those. I may just go back to Epiquad and try the 200+ frames - they do a 210, but they all seem to be low rider frames. But thanks for the info. Will take time to digest the Flightworks stuff later. What was wrong with the hardware by the way?

(04-Aug-2017, 02:07 PM)Liftseeker Wrote: Thanks for that. Good insight into the Pirat. I like that tail - I'd seen it recently but couldnt remember where now you mention it, yes, I like that. Small very tight builds I'm very happy with _ Ive built a few quads in my time. Just looked up the swiftblade and rebel, will be taking a good look at those. I may just go back to Epiquad and try the 200+ frames - they do a 210, but they all seem to be low rider frames. But thanks for the info. Will take time to digest the Flightworks stuff later. What was wrong with the hardware by the way?

biggest thing is it didn't include standoffs or anything for the flightstack. I figure not everyone does include that stuff but having those little extras are nice, especially when they fit well with the frames dimensions. I had other hardware to make up for it but still I had to go digging because I expected that stuff to be in there.

For someone with experience the flightworks frames seem exciting to me. I really like the way that the arms do not obstruct airflow and the fact that they're pretty tough. Unseen even had a crash video of one of them that was pretty serious and it survived like a champ! I don't know if I am experienced enough for those ones yet myself though.

I heard good things about the martian frames too, and as a sidenote, smartshapes.de has a clone and spare parts of it in the store as well

(04-Aug-2017, 01:38 PM)Carl.Vegas Wrote: I have a pirat sloop on my latest build... and I hate to say it cause Zerpo came and said hi to us here but unfortunately I am thinking about putting everything in a Matian III instead. The frame is hands down the best looking frame that I have, and the tail in the back is great for my receiver... but... that's about where it ends for me.

I don't like the fact that I cant choose to have an underslung configuration, with overslung I really cant use an HD camera. The frame is too compact to really do a RC Swift (and I am mad at runcam right now anyway). The hardware came up a little short for me and the build is a little awkward to route the wires, or at least it was for me although tbh it is only my second full build (not counting a couple of rebuilds of a micro and my first ARF quad).

I think pirat frames have great promise, don't get me wrong. I think if they keep going and figure out some of the little details while keeping the great looks that they'll be awesome but I am personally not really ready to endorse them as is :\

A European frame that does make me feel a little interested though are some of the ones that Unseen has been building by flightworks: swiftblade and rebel... although both sound like challenging builds to some extent so if this is your first build maybe it'll be best to go with something easier.

The realacc frames (Martian II and III) are made in mysteryland (Probably China) rather than EU, and many of their frames are ripoffs/clones of other frames but the Martian II appears to be an easy builder... and the Martian III is too as long as you get a little creative as to where the Rx and VTx go.

Ahoy Guys !

Always a pleasure to get some users feedback.
you’re totally right, it’s a tight one.
we designed it before the emergence of cubical hd cam and it shows.
we are about to receive the V2 prototype which fixes that short nose issue, among others details. (more infos soon)

about your points : 
- the swift totally fit in the Sloop, you just have to assemble the second box. the one with only one screw hole. (V2 allows direct mounting)
- indeed lipo on top with cubical HD cam is a problem, but there are solutions.
i actually fly well with a runcam cube with a generic printed support but i only use 1300mah and tattus 1550mah size, and i fly with only 25° fpv cam angle.
another solution is to save place by preferring a side XT60 mount instead of using the dedicated top plate hole.
- you’re right, we don’t include flighstack standoff. to be clear, we all mount our FC with silicone dumpers here. those are expensive and we still can’t afford to include it.

hope it helps and you can understand my bad english.

(07-Aug-2017, 10:46 AM)zerpo Wrote: Ahoy Guys !

Always a pleasure to get some users feedback.
you’re totally right, it’s a tight one.
we designed it before the emergence of cubical hd cam and it shows.
we are about to receive the V2 prototype which fixes that short nose issue, among others details. (more infos soon)

about your points : 
- the swift totally fit in the Sloop, you just have to assemble the second box. the one with only one screw hole. (V2 allows direct mounting)
- indeed lipo on top with cubical HD cam is a problem, but there are solutions.
i actually fly well with a runcam cube with a generic printed support but i only use 1300mah and tattus 1550mah size, and i fly with only 25° fpv cam angle.
another solution is to save place by preferring a side XT60 mount instead of using the dedicated top plate hole.
- you’re right, we don’t include flighstack standoff. to be clear, we all mount our FC with silicone dumpers here. those are expensive and we still can’t afford to include it.

hope it helps and you can understand my bad english.

Thanks for explaining Zerpo, and I can say they're definitely good looking enough that I'll be keeping an eye on future versions.

I was able to mount the camera ok, but the wires from the ESCs couldn't be routed behind the standoff in the front. That was one of my biggest space issues.

I can understand on hardware. Definitely a pain but even nylon standoffs can provide pretty good mounting options and might be worth considering including in the future

Keep up the effort either way! I love the theme and the look even if my first purchase didn't work out.