Update 3: Printed the canopy parts and did a quick assembly and it all fits well. (Needs a bit of cleanup as expected printing old TPU filament on a bowden printer).

Update 4: Assembled the frame, soldered up the ESC and motors. 

I ran out of sunlight by the time I soldered up everything and the lighting in the living room is not adequate for bright photos but took a few with my phone to update this post.

I had to mount the capacitors externally on the legs because there is not enough height in the frame.

I also decided to go 10 AWG along with A150 connectors to power this beast.



Assembling the top plate required complete dis-assembly. Hoping this will be the last time I dis-assemble the frame (fingers crossed) I also added loctite to all the screws.



Any future maintenance on this quad will require almost complete dis-assembly of the frame unlike the traditional quad frame we are used to in this hobby.

Update 5: Build complete. I just decided to get it done.








I had no energy left for the Betaflight configuration but I can get that done tomorrow

No point posting the weight cause its well above 250g

nice build :-)
i would like to know the weight, it looks low weight for the size? it matches sub25kg for sure :-)

833g without props and battery strap 



Props and battery strap weigh additional 83g 



Those 8mm thick arms and 4mm thick top and bottom pates alone blow the 250g limit 

thats a competitive weight for a 9inch :-)

My build is 916g with props and a lipo strap. That is heavy.

Gal Kremer managed to get 832g on his build with props on (no lipo strap):



He did not Tare the scale on camera   but I will take his word for it 

So I am 84g on the heavier end probably due to the extra weight of the heavier RushFPC FC/ESC/VTX, GPS Unit, TPU parts, AS150 connectors and 10 AWG wire 

he might scaled it without prop and lipostrap xD
anyway seems not that much difference on such a build.

i didnt build a 9", that could come as a task :-) a buddy has a lightweight 9inch performer, used with carbon rotors, i will ask him about a his buildweight as reference.
i can just say, i like the deep-sound of his 9inch biblades and the performance looked nice too.

kremers build sounds there is some tuning needed.
will you try some other rotors? it doesnt need to be carbon but i -believe- biblades could match the mass of such a build better.

Gal Kremer has a tune provided by Catalyst Machine Works which he published in video notes. NurkFPV also has his own tune that only comes pre-flashed on the CMW BNF version of the Merica 9".

I am a long way from getting this bird in the air as I have wasted last couple of weeks due to the rain sitting at home doing the BetaFlight setup and getting the GPS to work. And we have a Covid lockdown in Adelaide since last week that hopefully ends Wednesday (fingers crossed).

I also need to order some bigger lipos or perhaps just Tattu 6S 1800MAH in a 2P configuration for this quad which I have been reluctant to do so because Sydney is in a Covid lock down (with no end in sight) and I have 3 things in the mail that should have been here 2 weeks ago but stuck through Customs in Sydney. I do not want to order anything till the situation does not clear out.

Not much variety for the props in this 9"/10"class. I have seen some bi-blades online but not many people testing them on these quads. I figured they were basically props designed for airplanes that people repurposed for quads.

For this class even the props are like $5 a piece and they explode immediately on impact unlike the polycarbonate props we have for 7" and below that simply bend back into shape.

I am taking it slow on the build because any mistake will be painful and agonizing to soft targets and to my pocket

Its been a month since I did much with the Merica 9" but I did do some updates:



I replaced the M8Q-CAN GPS module since Betaflight will probably never support it and replaced it with the commonly used BN220T and a DSP310 Barometer module.

I did do a test hover on 2 4s packs in parallel but I did not like the props sound and vibration.

At $5 a prop the "HQ Prop MacroQuad 9x5x3 Tri-Blade 9" Carbon Reinforced" props are just garbage. 

They are not balanced properly from factory, they are very brittle and heavy (4 props weigh 74g).



I did try a cheap version of a balancing cone contraption but this turned out even worse as balancing each cone individually and then trying to balance the cones together is impossible as the cones have to be at the exact alignment when you balance the two cones combined.

So don't buy this ever:



I have since ordered and I am waiting for some 5mm OD / 2mm ID bearings to make a simpler and better prop balancing tool.

I am yet to order 2 X Tattu R-line 6S 1800mah lipos to fly this thing.

What an amazing build, I’d drive from Melbourne just to see that happening. Well done mate. Hope the maiden rip is excellent and incredibly satisfying!

It just a short way from the actual FPV flight once I get LIPOs and the props balanced.

Melbourne used to be a stone throw away from Adelaide but with C-19 it feels like another country to travel to  

I personally have not travelled outside greater Adelaide since March 2020 

Hopeful we have a good summer ahead. Fingers crossed.

Did you see Bardwell whipping around his yard with this thing, that powerloop at the beginning from down the block, lulz:

Yeah, I have seen that.

He thought he can kill the beast

Good thing he gave up because of the props.

He has lately been creating drama crashing quads to prove a point. He crashed the DJI FPV drone to prove a point. He crashed the Geprc Naked Gopro 8 to prove a point.

I wont take his advice on anything other than a 4” or a 5”.

Nurk did a better FPV flight review since he has a stake in the Nurk edition Merica 9”.

Wow.

JB has some ballz. I would never try half those gaps on 5". Dark bushes. Tangled weeds. Just asking for trouble.

Adjusting to 9"+ .. not simple.
You are always going fast.
You cant turn on dime.
And .. roll will dip blades into weeds/ground.