Hi guys, I'm new to the game and am trying to sort out my gear (not the best timing for that but it is what it is).

I have been considering the Happymodel Crux3 1s ELRS or maybe one of the BetaFPV MeteorX5 ELRS options. Unfortunately at the moment I cant seem to find much options here in the UK, specially considering the ELRS factor, so I;m kind of stuck with these options for the time being.

Was hopping to get an opinion from those more experienced than me on the subject as to which would be a better choice.  So which would you recommend based on your experience?

thank you

Which is better - a 3-inch toothpick vs a 65/75/85mm whoop - depends on what kind of flying you intend to do. For small indoor spaces, most anyone will suggest a whoop-style quad (for the propeller guards). Flying outdoors, or in large empty spaces, a beginner might like a whoop at first and then quickly want to move on to a toothpick-style quad. I had four tiny-whoops myself and moved the guts of each onto inexpensive toothpick frames which are now faster and more fun to fly.

If buying options in the UK are limited, then buying via AliExpress is always an option. I've bought many FPV-related items through the AliExpress marketplace and rarely had any problems.

Clones123's advice is pretty good here. I usually point people to 1s 75mm whoops first. They are capable of flying outside pretty well in light wind and are very safe. The main concern starting out is avoiding hitting the tv, dogs, children in strollers, yourself, etc. 1s batteries are also easier to charge and often the drones come with a charger.

For 75mm 1s whoops in order of best to worst IMO: Mobula7 1s ELRS, Betaflight Meteor Pro 75x, Moblite7.

Have fun and let us know if you need more help.

I agree with all of the above.

In my opinion, everyone needs a small whoop just to fly around inside the house.
It is a totally different experience. Yeah the whoops or prop guards protect things
the quad hits. Even tiny props spinning a high RPM can damage things. Most whoops
that are 75mm or larger will also fly pretty decent outside. These little quads are a 
nice place to start.

You will end up with multiple quads anyway...

I like a good 2.5-3 inch quad for proximity flying and just playing around having fun.
Plus, this size is very workable in smaller spaces. Even though they will go high, I
generally fly these ones at lower altitudes.

As for brand ??   Personally, I like GEPRC products. One of my favorite quads, even
to this day, is the GEPRC Phantom; now it has been renamed the SMART Toothpick
Freestyle. 

Thank you for your comments and suggestions !

I ended up arriving to the same conclusions and opted for the whoop, the meteor75 pro elrs (the only one available at the moment apart from the 65 and crux3). As mentioned, I can always convert it to a toothpick style easily by buying a frame a transferring the parts.

Just waiting for it to arrive now so that I can start having some fun flying in real life.

Already thinking/fantasizing about a sub 250g for freestyling around (where I have no idea yet, but that is besides the point lol).. I can see why people end up with multiple drones already..

cheers

Hi Cst3x6,

Yes, it is pretty much impossible to get everything in a single quad. On the one end,
you have hi-performance  for ACRO stunts and racing. On the other end, you have
endurance which translates to Long Fly Times and often Long Range. Do you want
2-3 minutes of adrenaline rush or 10-15 minutes of cruising. Unless you only want
one type of quad, by necessity you will end up with several.

I like different sizes for different things. 
1) Whoops inside the house and short back yard flights.
2) 2.5 inch for proximity flying and playing around with ACRO stunts.
3) 3 inch for short range cruising and some proximity flying.
4) 4 inch is my primary, high altitude, cruiser and long range.
5) 5 inch sub-250 gram for testing and high altitude cruising.
7) Anything larger than 5 inch is purely experimental or is used
    only for a special purpose; like rescuing other quads. 

Since I want to avoid entanglement in the FAA situation, my focus is on sub-250
gram quads and purely recreational flying. Consequently, my 5 inch quads are
NOT the Hi-performance ones that are used for ACRO Stunts and racing.

Anything else is build to perform a specific task and may only be in the air a few
times before being retired. 

(26-Apr-2022, 05:31 PM)iFly4rotors Wrote: Hi Cst3x6,

Yes, it is pretty much impossible to get everything in a single quad. On the one end,
you have hi-performance  for ACRO stunts and racing. On the other end, you have
endurance which translates to Long Fly Times and often Long Range. Do you want
2-3 minutes of adrenaline rush or 10-15 minutes of cruising. Unless you only want
one type of quad, by necessity you will end up with several.

I like different sizes for different things. 
1) Whoops inside the house and short back yard flights.
2) 2.5 inch for proximity flying and playing around with ACRO stunts.
3) 3 inch for short range cruising and some proximity flying.
4) 4 inch is my primary, high altitude, cruiser and long range.
5) 5 inch sub-250 gram for testing and high altitude cruising.
7) Anything larger than 5 inch is purely experimental or is used
    only for a special purpose; like rescuing other quads. 

Since I want to avoid entanglement in the FAA situation, my focus is on sub-250
gram quads and purely recreational flying. Consequently, my 5 inch quads are
NOT the Hi-performance ones that are used for ACRO Stunts and racing.

Anything else is build to perform a specific task and may only be in the air a few
times before being retired. 

Tks for sharing! 

I too want to avoid regulation hassle and am thinking, at least for now, to stay under the 250 mark.  I'm leaning towards the freestyle side of things and have thought about a 3-4  inch build for my upgrade once and if it happens.  But for now I'm trying to keep my feet on the ground and just focus on getting the most out of the 75mm, I have ways to go still before thinking of buying more drones. It helps that my budget is a bit restricted and have no way but be conscious of purchases (I haven't even bought goggles yet!!!!!!!!).

But I do have to say that I'm enjoying my journey so far into the hobby and have already learned loads by reading stuff here and elsewhere on the web and also flying on the sim.

I have at least 3 of every size, except 2.5" and 9/10".

IMHO 2.5" is cute nimble, but pretty useless outside, swatted by little gusts.
On other extreme, 7",8",9", faster cruising speed, and much more expensive crashes. Need HUGE park.

Its hard to say my favorite. Funnels around trees chasing squirrels - TP3 3". Big power loops and dives and 960' spins - 5" ultralights.

Hi Roman,

You must really have HIGH winds where you live. We have some wind since we live close to the
Atlantic Ocean, but it doesn't seem to bother my 2.5 inch quads. I fly my 2.5 inch stock GEPRC Phantom
and my 2.5 inch Phantom-i build (clone) outside all the time...and even at altitudes well over 100 feet 
with no problem.  

As reference, those lights are about 75-80 feet high. Yeah, it is a pretty boring (almost 9 minutes) of
flight video with my 2.5 inch Phantom-i build. Sorry, I don't fly ACRO and don't have footage of a 
proximity flight. Mostly, the winds are about 5 to 15 mph (I would guess), but don't seem to affect the 
handling. Plus, I just don't fly anything of any size when the winds are really high. 

5-15mph = light breeze

I am similar to you in just starting out. I'm going slightly different in my approach. I am looking at a Beta 95X with ELRS (that I will have to install myself) or maybe a Pavo30 if funds are available. I want something that I can fly outside primarily. But will probably also end up with a cheap, small whoop for inside use as a I suspect the 95X will be too powerful for indoors use.

I am admittedly, also tempted by the Tinyhawk 2 Freestyle, but would it be going too far to get a small freestyle drone as my first drone vs getting something slightly more bulletproof and maybe hardier, then getting the freestyle drone a couple of months later after learning to fly.

Hi Pathfinder,

First, a small open prop "freestyle" type quad is fine for a first quad. I have an EMAX TinyHawk Freestyle
and a GEPRC Phantom both of which are 2.5 inch open prop quads. Both of these quads are pretty 
durable...more than you would think. I like them both, but I prefer the Phantom partly because 
GEPRC used standard components while EMAX used proprietary items. This doesn't sound like a big
deal until you need to replace the FC and find out that nothing fits without being "adapted". Also, the
Phantom does come in a PNP version (no receiver) so you could install the ELRS receiver.

I think when you are starting out, you need time to think. Time to analyze what you did wrong.
Whoops usually have very short flight time.

4" and bigger feel more stable.
I cant imagine not having my 4" drones.

But as everybody said, you need 2-3 diff quads

Hi Roman,

I agree with you 100 percent.

I also like my 4 inch and 5 inch drones because they DO feel smoother.  

What I find interesting is that these 5 inch quads didn't feel like they were moving 
very fast, however, the distance that they would travel in a matter of seconds sort of 
surprised me. Crazy smooth, yet moving right along at very low throttle. 

Although the 4 inch is my favorite size (right now), I still prefer a 2.5 inch for playing
around and light ACRO maneuvers especially in the smaller spaces. These are my
"pet" play things; to me, they are just plain fun. 

(05-May-2022, 11:11 PM)Pathfinder075 Wrote: I am similar to you in just starting out.  I'm going slightly different in my approach.  I am looking at a Beta 95X with ELRS (that I will have to install myself) or maybe a Pavo30 if funds are available.  I want something that I can fly outside primarily.  But will probably also end up with a cheap, small whoop for inside use as a I suspect the 95X will be too powerful for indoors use.

I am admittedly, also tempted by the Tinyhawk 2 Freestyle, but would it be going too far to get a small freestyle drone as my first drone vs getting something slightly more bulletproof and maybe hardier, then getting the freestyle drone a couple of months later after learning to fly.

Tbh If I went back in time now, I might have gone a different route as well.. I live in a very small flat and have found myself flying more outside than in and with that I'm getting hammered by winds all the time.  I think the tinywhoops are fun, but I would be enjoying much more if I had a bigger indoors space to fly then at.

Just choose something that makes more sense with the style of flying you're more interested on.. These things are robust enough to take more than a few hits from us beginners, just choose an appropriate location at the beginning to make things easier for you and the quad.. Also you can try some lower rates and throttle cut on the first few flights until you get used with flying it.

I'm eying a babyhawk now, or somehting along those lines as I'm keen on learning freestyle.  I'm also contemplating building one up with the things I would like, but this would probably take a bit longer to do so I might try it out for the 3rd quad a little more further down the road..