With my 3" long range build on hold until the custom frame comes in, I have started planning another micro build that will be better suited for freestyle flying. I want something in the 2-3" range, and will use a naked Vista with the Nebula Pro camera (~16g VTX/cam total weight). I also want to run it on 3-4S.

I'm looking at the Tadpole and Phantom, leaning towards the Phantom due to lighter weight. Although with the HD cam I'm already going to be a little heavy, so do I just embrace that and use the inertia to help with inverted hang time?

Looking forward to hearing some experiences with similar builds to see what works and what you would change!

iFlight H3 or Armattan Gecko for 3 inch I have both of them, very good, strong frame. Don't worry about weight , I can do cine as well as cine.
The H3 can got 8-9 minutes maiden on 850mah 4s, 4 minutes freestyle.

Thanks for the suggestions! I ended up ordering parts for a Phantom HD that I'll build with a naked Vista targeting a dry weight of <87g. It should be plenty fast on 4S

I just remembered I have a spare CX3 frame. I may try building something like the H3 to haul a full sized AU around.

Looks doable: https://rotorbuilds.com/build/21910

(18-Jan-2021, 11:19 AM)V-22 Wrote: Thanks for the suggestions! I ended up ordering parts for a Phantom HD that I'll build with a naked Vista targeting a dry weight of <87g. It should be plenty fast on 4S

I just remembered I have a spare CX3 frame. I may try building something like the H3 to haul a full sized AU around.

Looks doable: https://rotorbuilds.com/build/21910

That is very good too, love that but haven't change to try it since i have H3 already, i end up with 4 inch and tiny

Phantom HD frame arrived, but I'm waiting on motors now    I decided to go with the SunnySky R1106-8000Kv which should give excellent performance across a range of input voltages. Even on 4S, the power draw is less than half of what they're rated for, so hopefully everything actually works as designed in practice. 

Here is the build sheet. Should be capable of running on 2S-4S, dry weight 85-100g. I may build it with a normal Vista at first with the full size DJI cam so I can use the Nebula Pro in my LR build, and I'll have the option of making it lighter down the road should I need it. It's going to be on the heavy side for a 2.5" build, but with the digital cam and the heavier motors there isn't much fat for trimming. Hopefully the additional power of the larger motors will help offset the added weight while giving it a little more momentum to throw around.

   

With a ~520mAh battery and the Avan Rush props, eCalc predicts a thrust to weight ratio of 3.7:1 on 2S (AUW 124g), 5.5:1 on 3S (AUW 137g), and 6.6:1 on 4S (AUW 150g). With the GNB 1100mAh 3S, thrust to weight should be ~4.6, and it should be easily capable of the "micro mile" (although I don't plan on carrying a GPS).

I may try running it on 65mm bi-blades as well to see what impact it has on noise. 

It looks like the motors will be delivered Tuesday, but the extended forecast is just showing cold, wind, and precipitation. At least I'll have plenty to work on in the meantime
Looking forward to having two builds ready to maiden when the weather improves!