Hey guys, what do you think of my new build?

Parts list:
- Lumenier QAV-Skitzo
- Emax RS2205S 2300kv
- Racerstar v2 30A
- Kiwi F4 v2 + Kiwi PDB
- FrSky XSR
- Runcam Swift RR edition
- Eachine ET526
- 3D printed mounts for VTX and RX

I had the frame already assembled sitting on the shelf for a while so I don't have any photos of it before assembly. Also I kinda forgot to take pictures before installing the motors but bear with me

This frame is really nice, I particularly like the chamfered edges as it's usually a very tedious and dirty task to prep the carbon by hand.
You may notice that on the picture there's no FC, the reason is that I was waiting for the Kiwi F4 v2 to be released and it's still on the way (ordered yesterday). I have a Kiwi v1 on my QAV-X and really like it so I wanted to get another one for this build. 




I found a nice mount for the ET526 on thingiverse so I remixed it to slip on the Skitzo's standoffs.
The link is in the parts list in case someone wants to print one. It also fits the QAV-X and should fit other frames as well.










With this mount I'll put the XSR on top of the stack and the antennas which are guided by the zip ties will come out of the sides. I'm a bit worried they may get in the way of wild props during crashes but I'll assess the situation a bit better once the build is finished. 




This is the last step so far, I placed the ESCs with some double sided tape and soldered the motors to them. The ESCs are pretty much the same width of the arms which is nice.



And that's all for today. Once the Kiwi arrives I'll finish it up and post new pics

EDIT: The kiwi has arrived so I finished the build!

Here's the kiwi, very nice looking and nicely packed:


PDB installed with all the ESC cables connected to it:


Wiring on the FC. The buzzer is still missing because as usual I forgot to put it and had to disassemble the whole quad later to do it




Before closing up:


The 3D printed mounts added a lot of volume and even though I managed to fit everything, it was too tight. So I printed a slimmer version of the VTX mount and it's fine now




And here's the finished product:

Looking nice and off to a very clean start. Looking forward to your progress!

Looks good! Cool VTx mount!

you'll love it, and with this FC it'll be noise free and super smooth. when I run spectrograph in blackbox (in notch debug mode) I get one long thin straight line , no notches at all - never seen anything like that before on any of my other quads. my Skitzo is 335g now, was 310g before I put on motor guards and big 3x3 Lumenier LED. I get 5mins flight time on 1000mah bat, I don't even bother to run 1300's

That's looking like a nice clean build and should be a really acrobatic craft. You just can't beat the true-X quad for handling.

(28-Mar-2017, 06:06 PM)pete Wrote: you'll love it, and with this FC it'll be noise free and super smooth. when I run spectrograph in blackbox (in notch debug mode) I get one long thin straight line , no notches at all - never seen anything like that before on any of my other quads. my Skitzo is 335g now, was 310g before I put on motor guards and big 3x3 Lumenier LED. I get 5mins flight time on 1000mah bat, I don't even bother to run 1300's

That's pretty exciting stuff to read, can't wait to get this guy in the air

I did notice on the picture you posted on the kiwi thread that your FC is soft mounted, what's recommended these days to soft-mount the FC? Would some rubber o-rings work or better to use something else?

Anybody know how/what the back rack is used for in this build.  I completed my build last night and I could not find anything online of how or what to use it for...

     

(29-Mar-2017, 12:16 AM)F1nny Wrote: Anybody know how/what the back rack is used for in this build.  I completed my build last night and I could not find anything online of how or what to use it for...

 

you don't need to use it. if you have already finished the build and you managed to fit your VTx then you don't need this piece. it's a vertical mount for your VTx, it goes on the rear spacers/posts (you would attach it with cable ties).

(29-Mar-2017, 02:44 AM)pete Wrote: you don't need to use it. if you have already finished the build and you managed to fit your VTx then you don't need this piece. it's a vertical mount for your VTx, it goes on the rear spacers/posts (you would attach it with cable ties).

Awesome! I realized I didn't need it but it was killing me trying to figure out what it was used for! Thank you for the answer... My OCD is resolved! Lol!!!!

(28-Mar-2017, 09:01 PM)tozes Wrote: That's pretty exciting stuff to read, can't wait to get this guy in the air

I did notice on the picture you posted on the kiwi thread that your FC is soft mounted, what's recommended these days to soft-mount the FC? Would some rubber o-rings work or better to use something else?

yes, I put rubber o-rings under the 4-1 ESC and under the KIWI.F4, but if I had no space I wouldn't worry about it, I don't really think of rubber o-rings as a soft mount solution because the nylon screws are still going to transfer the vibrations. I think I put it there only because I had o-rings that matched the colour of my props
edit: and I just remembered - I had to use the o-rings under the FC anyway because I placed my XSR between 4-1ESC and FC and that gave me just that little extra space to fit it there comfortably.

on one of my other builds I used M3 rubber bobbins :
https://www.readymaderc.com/store/index....ts_id=6306
- this should give complete isolation as there is no hard piece connected between the frame and FC, but actually I didn't like it, the copter felt weird (I don't know how to describe it, it felt lazy, not as locked in) so I removed those rubber bobbins.

everybody has a different opinion on this but for me it's best to use just motor soft mounts (on my Skitzo I soft-mounted the motors) and don't worry about FC soft mounts as long as you are not using MPU6500 or MPU9250.

MPU6000 are very clean.

noticed in the other thread you received your Kiwi FC, so I guess we'll be seeing finished product soon.

in the meantime I have to say you have "infected" me and I'm now building my 2nd Skitzo :
Kiwi F4
Aikon 4-1 30A ESCs (while the Kiwi PDB is geat, I'm not going to use it on this build)
Returner V4 2206 2300kv
XSR
Runcam Mini (upgrading lens to 2.5mm gopro style)
TBS Unify Pro Vtx
Triumph mini
Azure props

I think just going to call this one "colour madness"
this is how far I got, now just waiting for the Kiwi to arrive

How are those Azure props? I started a thread a while back about those when we couldnt find out much info about them. I totally forgot until I saw your build! Which is badass btw! Love that graffiti look!

(01-Apr-2017, 09:16 PM)Drone0fPrey Wrote: How are those Azure props? I started a thread a while back about those when we couldnt find out much info about them. I totally forgot until I saw your build! Which is badass btw! Love that graffiti look!

I only have the softer polycarb version of Azure props, these are more suited for Acro, whereas the other two "race" versions they make are much stiffer.
Anyways, these PC Acro version props feel very similar to my HQ 5x4x3 that I normally fly (Azure are more stiffer than my HQs), Azure feel somewhat more responsive. I expected these to be less efficient then HQ5x4x3 because they are heavier and with more aggressive pitch (4.5) but surprizingly I get similar flight time as on my HQs so they are efficient in my opinion.
People like to compare these to DAL Cyclones but they are not as fast as cyclones (keeping in mind I only have the acro version, perhaps the race versions are similar to cyclones but I don't know).

I think I like these props, sometimes I buy new props, fly them and put them away in a box and never touch them again, but I'll definitely use these despite the fact that I still prefer HQ5x4x3 for my style of flying.

Awesome thank you!

(01-Apr-2017, 02:17 PM)pete Wrote: noticed in the other thread you received your Kiwi FC, so I guess we'll be seeing finished product soon.

in the meantime I have to say you have "infected" me and I'm now building my 2nd Skitzo :
Kiwi F4
Aikon 4-1 30A ESCs (while the Kiwi PDB is geat, I'm not going to use it on this build)
Returner V4 2206 2300kv
XSR
Runcam Mini (upgrading lens to 2.5mm gopro style)
TBS Unify Pro Vtx
Triumph mini
Azure props

I think just going to call this one "colour madness"
this is how far I got, now just waiting for the Kiwi to arrive

Hehehe, sorry for the infection I guess  
That looks really cool, if I'd build such a nice looking quad I'd probably not fly it and just hang it somewhere so it doesn't get dirty

And yeah, finished my build over the weekend, just updated the 1st post with more pics. Now I just have to wait for my HD3s to get back from the UK to do the maiden flight...