Decided to change the frame on the E010S as it has a couple of cracked motor mountings.  Nothing that super glue has not fixed, but wanted it to look nicer.  Bought a stock frame for the E010S...the battery holder area is larger than the Blade version of the frame.  I also bought a could of frame stiffeners, just the plastic X type that hold each motor bay.

So, during that purchase...also bought some SpinTech motors, 6 of them (3 CW and 3 CCW) which means a $5 discount if you purchase a frame as well...so I did that too.

Figured the FC has been bounced around a bit and it would be fun to have TWO micros, and another frame coming so need another FC - Acrowhoop V2.

So everything shows up yesterday (on a Friday!) and 2 micros have now been built and are flying.



I had only a single camera and that one is, unfortunately, no longer function...so LOS flight for right now, but a new one is on the way.

Have to say that I am impressed with the SpinTech motors.  Very quiet and smooth.  I have used the "stock" red motors (loud) and 2 different sets of Lumenier's (noticably noisy, but a smooth noise) and these are the quietest brushed 6mm motors so far.

Also, the new FC is in the E010 frame and not the SpinTech frame.  I like the ducted design better than the open one.

Sweet!

both look like fun little builds!

Gotta love it when "stuff" shows up on a Friday!

Totally! These are the funnest thIngs I have flown so far! I feel like I am able to fly them well, even in windy conditions. Finally replaced the camera with a CrazyPony micro, but there seems to be an issue. I feel like the camera is getting to hot compared to the little Eachine TX 01. My daughter let me know that I can user her TX01 while I order one.

VTX's do get warm, is the CrazyPony still a 25mW? If its got a higher power output then, naturally it would get warmer. How is the image and range compared to the TX01?

The CP is 25mW. I feel like the image degraded after about a half hour of use. It is now grainy, but it is stable.

I like the TX01 camera. The range is comparable and there is no point in my yard where I lose signal, though there is some picture quality drop when I get near the power lines at the far end of the yard. I have not flown it out of a 100 meter range...yet! The TX01 and the CP are about equal.

I also noted a major drop in flight times...with the Eachine camera, I get about 2.5 minutes of flight time before the power starts to wane. The CP...just over a minute. Not sure the reason for the extra draw...both are rated at 25mW...

I was actually going to ask if there was a noticeable difference in flight time, sounds like there is something wrong with the CP

Without the camera aboard, I can get 2.5+ minutes of hard flight on fairly old batteries. With the camera attached, I can get about 1 minute of gentle flight before even new cells flag. Perplexing! My original camera was an Eachine EF-02 and I could get well past the 2 minute mark, even outdoors with a breeze.

I was feeling that the issue was with the voltage pull of the cameras, but now am leaning towards weight. As I did have any issue with the original camera, I have ordered another to compare. Fingers crossed, it should act like the original!

I was able to get one of the ED-02 cameras and was able to get some flights in. I am now able to get 2 minutes + again. I usually fly the little cells to 2 minutes before heading back to me.

It would seem, of the three cameras used, the EF-02 is some combination of lighter and lower draw over the CP or the TX-01. The downside is the EF-02 is also the camera that operates worst in lower light conditions. Picture quality is acceptable though and it is a sufficient unit.

So, the entire build spec -

E010S frame
AcroWhoop V2 LR FC, Betaflight 3.1.7
SpinTech Motors 6x15 brushed motors
Rakon Heli 4 blade props
Eachine EF-02 Cam/VTX unit
Eachine 1C 240 mah batteries

There was a glow in the dark frame stiffener installed, but it was removed as it did not seem to really serve much purpose. Have been considering trimming props to 2 blade as that feels like a steady config from prior experience. Without the camera, it will fly on a single charge for 3.5 minutes. I lose about a minute with the cam installed...not really sure if that is 'normal' or not.

After flying my daughter's that is based on the same frame but is a totally different build, hers seems to get a little longer time on a charge. It could come down to my selection of the AcroWhoop FC, which is pretty heavy by itself. Unfortunately, my scale in the kitchen died and only guesses can be made about actual weights at the moment.

Okay, definitely feel like the FC is pulling more power and draining the batteries quicker. The Acrowhoop v2 is pretty heavy, but would seem to be more power hungry in addition to...perhaps better suited to 7mm motors and larger cells.

I was flying my daughter's BeeCore based unit with the TX-01 on my cells...3 minutes of flight time before any feelings of flight characteristic changes.

Might rebuild using a BC that I have around here somewhere. Also, camera...the EF-02 definitely allows for longer aloft times. Changing nothing but the camera, I gained 30 to 45 seconds. That gets the little drone out to 2+ minutes.

I think with the FC and camera change, the frame motor combo should be back to 3+ minutes, FPV outdoors. I set the timer on Taranis to 2.5 minutes and start back for landing.

I ordered an authentic Blade frame and used the old BeeCore with it. In the thread drawer, there was a brand new set of Lumenier purple motors. So there are still only two Tiny's, that look similar, but are not. Decided to run the 200mw power camera as well. The signal is super sharp all over the yard!

Blade Whoop frame
BeeCore F3
Lumenier 6x15 'middle' motors
Eachine TX02 Cam/VTX
Rakon 4 blade props
RDQ 210mah Whoop cells

A pretty standard model that I have not tuned at all yet. If flies for now, so I am feeling good about that! The main difference is weight. This one, launch weight is 24.2 grams. This is nearly 5 grams lighter than the AcroWhoop pictured above! What a difference this makes. I can get a solid 3 minutes of hard flight around the yard on a single charge. I feel this is an improvement over the AW build.

Both are a blast to fly, so it does not really matter. I feel so free zipping around

I am now looking at shifting the AcroWhoop FC over to one of these light Blade frames. Happy flying!

It seems you've found the eternal balancing act that comes with building your own.

The smaller and lighter the motors, the less thrust there is and the more every single gramme of weight counts. Larger motors deliver more thrust, but they need more power to do it and therefore need larger batteries which pushes the weight up and starts to cancel out the benefit of the extra thrust!

I get the feeling it is a perpetual quandary...so Zen must be applied and we must come to understand that we will not attain perfection, but we can make things well enough to be happy

Will be swapping parts back and forth to produce a lighter AW2 based aircraft this weekend. With the range of the AcroWhoop board and 200mw camera, I would like to get some longer flight times. Dropping 3 or 4 grams should make a world of difference!