Posts: 203 Threads: 14 Likes Received: 157 in 99 posts Likes Given: 308 Joined: Oct 2019 Reputation: 6 04-Dec-2020, 10:47 PM (This post was last modified: 06-Jan-2021, 01:41 AM by L0stB1t.) Hi Everyone After my Eachine Trashcan whoop, 2.5" GepRC Phantom, 2.5" Armattan Tadpole and 3" Armattan Gecko I'm ready to get a big boy's kwad that can carry an action cam without issues. I'd like a snappy 5" beast that allows me to learn (or at least try) all the crazy freestyle tricks like Mr Steele or VIK FPV do, so I'm definitely going with 6S batteries and high quality motors. For the frame I was considering Armattan again at first but after wrecking my Gecko recently I think I'll try something else. The Armattan frames are fantastic but they are pretty expensive. Sadly, the lifelong warranty isn't that great for me, living in Europe, because of high shipping costs and stupid import taxes. [EDIT 2020-01-06: shipping costs are currently higher due to corona, but luckily I was wrong about the import taxes, didn't have to pay anything extra, so I'll definitely reconsider Armattan in the future] So I was considering one of the very affordable iFlight Nazgul or Cidora kwads and after Mr Steele's recent Nazgul review it's clear it would be a great choice. They're pretty popular so I'm sure all parts will stay available for a long time. Now I'd like some opinions on whether to choose either the XL5 (true X) frame or the SL5 (squished X) frame? I read that a true X has better flight characteristics, not only because there's more leverage on the pitch axis but also because the back propellers are further away from the turbulence created by the front propellers. Is this really a thing? The SL5's advantage would be that the props won't appear in the video and it has a slightly longer body to fit the electronics in. Did I miss any other important differences between these two? I'm not really considering the ready-to-fly Nazgul because it only comes with the cheaper XING-E motors, but If I go with the SL5 frame I'd definitely consider getting the ready-to-fly Cidora since it comes with high quality motors and the cost is lower than all the parts individually. So can anyone help me to stop overthinking the XL5 vs SL5 choice?  Hey I got all winter time to decide anyway, so better to make a well considered choice right? If there are any other frames or RTF's that have easily available parts outside of the land of the free, I'd love to hear your suggestions. Thanks! ![[-]](https://intofpv.com/images/collapse.png) • Posts: 310 Threads: 31 Likes Received: 82 in 67 posts Likes Given: 0 Joined: Jul 2020 Reputation: 4 Sounds like I'm a few months behind you. I've already decided on the Nazgul V2 6S w/Crossfire BNF. One plus of this choice is that the Nazgul V2 frame can be eventually moved to DJI which I know I'll eventually get. What's slowing me down is that I'm just flying in my yard. I live on 10 acres with 3 of them cleared but it's not enough room for a 5"....heck....the Phantom sometimes seems too much quad for where I live. Once I get more confidence, I'll be heading to larger places where a 5" is usable. The big downside is moving up is batteries/charger. Those 6Ss start making things expensive. For now, I'm considering a 3" (Tiny Trainer or something) or a 4" GepRC Dolphin as that'll let me use the batteries/charger I have with for the Phantom and start adding 4S batteries over time.
Joshua Bardwell's conclusion was that he liked the Nazgul better. Josh didn't have any problem with the Nazgul's motors and you can't build that quad for the cost of the BNF.
Posts: 12,098 Threads: 125 Likes Received: 3,739 in 2,836 posts Likes Given: 99 Joined: Feb 2017 Reputation: 388 You are over thinking XL5 vs SL5. These are the reasons, whatever you go with, you will not know any better. You will enjoy either no matter. You will not miss what you don't know. Two, if this is your last quad ever, I can see how difficult a decision it would be. But it will likely not be your last, so pick what your gut tells you and live with it until you get your next one. You get to have your pie and eat it too. If you are tied of pie, go for cake. I think that is a problem a lot of us have, next thing you know, you have a swarms of quads. Lastly, the difference isn't as big as most make it out to be. Ask myself, what is import about the different frame. TrueX is great all around. I personally like a squashed X for freestyle. Flips are faster and rolls are a bit slower. No props in the way is nice. Posts: 6,113 Threads: 172 Likes Received: 2,287 in 1,834 posts Likes Given: 4,737 Joined: Feb 2019 Reputation: 100 what is a squashed-x ? same as a wide-x? • Posts: 12,098 Threads: 125 Likes Received: 3,739 in 2,836 posts Likes Given: 99 Joined: Feb 2017 Reputation: 388 (05-Dec-2020, 07:49 PM)hugnosed_bat Wrote: what is a squashed-x ? same as a wide-x? Same a wide X. Posts: 21,326 Threads: 590 Likes Received: 9,001 in 6,662 posts Likes Given: 1,426 Joined: Jun 2018 Reputation: 790 I also like the squashed-X frames so I would get the SL5. Posts: 203 Threads: 14 Likes Received: 157 in 99 posts Likes Given: 308 Joined: Oct 2019 Reputation: 6 Thanks for all the feedback guys! (05-Dec-2020, 02:51 PM)Ljholland Wrote: Sounds like I'm a few months behind you. I've already decided on the Nazgul V2 6S w/Crossfire BNF. One plus of this choice is that the Nazgul V2 frame can be eventually moved to DJI which I know I'll eventually get. What's slowing me down is that I'm just flying in my yard. I live on 10 acres with 3 of them cleared but it's not enough room for a 5"....heck....the Phantom sometimes seems too much quad for where I live. Once I get more confidence, I'll be heading to larger places where a 5" is usable. The big downside is moving up is batteries/charger. Those 6Ss start making things expensive.
Joshua Bardwell's conclusion was that he liked the Nazgul better. Josh didn't have any problem with the Nazgul's motors and you can't build that quad for the cost of the BNF. I noticed that all of the new XL5 and SL5 frames are built with DJI unit support. I probably won't get DJI though; I'm quite sensitive to latency and I don't like vendor lock-in. I'm very curious how Byte Frost will progress, I think it'll be much better with a higher quality camera. Space to fly is also something that's bothering me. Your big yard is a luxury but it's comparable to a little parc nearby where I usually fly and yeah, it's a bit too small. There are more patches of green around but there's usually cows, horses, crops or too many trees in the way. Maybe I should continue my search for a good spot before I get a bigger kwad  I re-watched JB's video and it's clear that the Nazgul's XING-E motors are great and the F4 controller is more than adequate. I don't think he did a good job comparing the actual frames though. He does mention that the Cidora's motors are a bit low in KV which is good to know so I'll make sure to get 1800-1900 KV for my 6S setup. (05-Dec-2020, 05:41 PM)voodoo614 Wrote: You are over thinking XL5 vs SL5. These are the reasons, whatever you go with, you will not know any better. You will enjoy either no matter. You will not miss what you don't know. Two, if this is your last quad ever, I can see how difficult a decision it would be. But it will likely not be your last, so pick what your gut tells you and live with it until you get your next one. You get to have your pie and eat it too. If you are tied of pie, go for cake. I think that is a problem a lot of us have, next thing you know, you have a swarms of quads. Lastly, the difference isn't as big as most make it out to be. Ask myself, what is import about the different frame. TrueX is great all around. I personally like a squashed X for freestyle. Flips are faster and rolls are a bit slower. No props in the way is nice. Yeah but I really hate the "I should have got the other one" feeling, which is why I never buy things impulsively. Marketeers hate me I don't think I'll ever get a big swarm of quads, I already feel sad for my Phantom catching dust since I got the Tadpole. But I definitely can imagine myself trying out different frames witth the same electronics. So yes, the choice doesn't matter all that much. You're right about following your gut, and it tells me the SL5 is the one for me so I'll probably stick to that. Not seeing the props is also a mayor reason. (05-Dec-2020, 10:54 PM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: I also like the squashed-X frames so I would get the SL5. Took me too long to realize I also like them. The little Armattan frames I have are also squashed and I love those. Finally finding this video convinced me SL5 is a great choice for the kind of freestyle that I'm looking for: • Posts: 203 Threads: 14 Likes Received: 157 in 99 posts Likes Given: 308 Joined: Oct 2019 Reputation: 6 I think I might go with the new Diatone Roma F5...  The frame and injection molded plastic parts look amazing. I'm not so crazy about the HD camera mount but with some creativity I'm sure it's possible to mount my Caddx Orca securely. I love the Mamba stack in my Gecko so that definitely helps with the positive gut feeling. It's hard to find information about the Toka motors but even if they suck it's still cheaper to buy the built kwad and replace the motors later than to buy all parts and the motors I want. • Posts: 5,911 Threads: 47 Likes Received: 2,787 in 2,249 posts Likes Given: 7,700 Joined: Jul 2019 Reputation: 97 Hi L0stB1t, In my opinion, it is definitely more cost effective to buy a BNF quad over building it. So far, I have not been able to beat the price by building my own. So, I agree; pick one and buy it. You can always swap out various componenets...OR... transplant all of the electronics onto a different frame.  Posts: 203 Threads: 14 Likes Received: 157 in 99 posts Likes Given: 308 Joined: Oct 2019 Reputation: 6 I took the plunge a few weeks ago and ordered the Roma F5 (analog 6S version). It arrived today and it looks awesome to me! Once it's ready to try it out I'll make a full review in a new thread (which I'll link here also). Bubby FPV made a nice video recently which reassures me I didn't make an awful choice to ignore the iFlight alternatives Posts: 203 Threads: 14 Likes Received: 157 in 99 posts Likes Given: 308 Joined: Oct 2019 Reputation: 6 • Posts: 203 Threads: 14 Likes Received: 157 in 99 posts Likes Given: 308 Joined: Oct 2019 Reputation: 6 By the way to answer my original questions about the frame shape; the Roma F5 has an almost true-X shape. It has an 85 degree angle between the arms. The props are visible in the FPV feed but it bothers me less than I thought it would. Luckily they are not visible in the HD cam footage  • |
