sim_tcr, thanks for sharing this adventure. I have been looking at the 18650 as power source to increase flight times, but there isn't much out there yet. You may be the first with a decent build document on this type of quad. Post a picture with the batteries attached.

I am working on a 3 (or 4) inch build to experiment with extended flight times. I will likely use frame arms that I have and fabricate a custom center section for mounting the electronics and batteries. Right now with my 2.5 inch quads, I am getting an average of 5 to 7 minutes using various batteries and 8 minutes using 600 mAh LiPo batteries (I do push the batteries a bit). I am working to get flight times between 10 and 12 minutes. All of my flights are at a field and are flying (not hovering), but nothing fancy, just cruising.

I will start with 1103 motors, but I also have a set of 1202 motors that I want to compare on the 2.5 and 3 quads. For applications where the 1106 motors are used, I am looking at 1204 motors. Since the wider motors are supposed to have more torque, I am interested in comparing them to see if there is any difference in flight times.

Again. Thanks.