I link to my FPV freestyle quad blog post from 2018 at least once a month. It bums me out that it is such an old blog post, but it also bums me out that my freestyle builds haven’t changed...
Read the post →I don’t want to call my Kestrel a failure. I didn’t think it was a good idea to attempt to commercialize it, and I’m quite confident that improvements in hardware and software have minimized or completely eliminated the need for...
Read the post →The other day, Jeremy Cook from The Create/Invent Podcast invited me on the show to talk about getting started with the hobby of FPV drones. We just finished recording. During the episode, I said I would put together a write-up...
Read the post →Early last year, I attempted to build out one of my Kestrel frames with 4” arms, and I did my best to keep the build under 250 grams. Well, maybe not my best. I wanted a 4” freestyle quad that...
Read the post →I’ve been asked more than a few times on social media why my Kestrel FPV frame isn’t up for sale yet. The answer is complicated. I can’t properly answer in a few tweets or a reply on Instagram, so I...
Read the post →We’re not going to talk about any of the obvious stuff: quadcopters, batteries, goggles, or radios. We’re going to talk about all those ancillary things you might want to pack in your backpack when you meet up with your friends...
Read the post →I am stretching the truth just a bit when I say I’m recording footage with a cinewhoop. I’ve been messing around with the idea of mounting my GoPro HERO5 Session on my 3” and 4” Kestrel freestyle quads, flying them...
Read the post →Google didn’t turn up any results, so I had to test this out for myself. ReelSteady Go works just fine on Linux with Wine. It didn’t work with the ancient version of Wine that ships with Ubuntu 18.04, but it...
Read the post →Let’s start this blog post out with a summary of what I’m excited about. My 3” Kestrel with its little 1306 motors has just barely enough room to squeeze on a set of 4” biblade props, and using the Outcast...
Read the post →At first, I was excited about trying out 4” props. A few years ago, I experimented with 5.5” and 6” props on my 5” quads. On all but my most underpowered 5” quad, these larger props added several minutes of...
Read the post →Not too long ago, DJI released a new digital video-transmission system for FPV miniquad pilots. I’ve been keeping an eye on it. I’ve been watching videos. I’ve been listening to what people say. I’ve been trying to figure out if...
Read the post →I’ve been procrastinating for a long time. All my 5” freestyle quads and even my 4” micro Kestrel have the hardware to support Betaflight’s RPM filter. All you need is an F4 flight controller and, until recently, blheli_32 ESCs. Using...
Read the post →When I started designing my Kestrel, I knew that I would have to experiment with 4” propellers. 4” props don’t get a lot of love, and that has been a problem. Lots of people fly 3” or 5” props, so...
Read the post →We have an active and awesome MultiGP chapter here in Dallas, and their field is just a 25-minute drive from my house. I’ve been invited out to their races before, but I never managed to make it out. I know...
Read the post →We had an awesome and extremely interesting experience this week. Brian and I got to spend an afternoon flying miniquads with one of the fastest FPV drone racing pilots in the world.
Read the post →I am excited about the new EMAX TinyHawk Freestyle micro drone. It is fast, fun, and relatively safe. It is also inexpensive, and it is a fantastic upgrade for beginners on their path towards flying full-size FPV miniquads.
Read the post →I am excited! Frame design is going well. The Shapeoko is doing a fantastic job cutting carbon fiber. The first prototype of the Falcon is flying well, and I’m quite pleased that I’ve uploaded another open-source miniquad frame for the...
Read the post →These projects keep moving along faster than I expect. I thought I had a few months at my disposal when I started designing my previous open-source frame. I started the design work in January, and I didn’t expect to be...
Read the post →What the heck is up with this blog post? Did I already write about designing my HD micro quadcopter frame? Isn’t it already finished and nearly ready for production?
Read the post →I’ve been replacing the Helio Spring flight controllers in my 5” freestyle quads, and I’ve been building and repairing a couple of HD micros over the last few months. I had to configure Betaflight on all these quadcopters when I...
Read the post →I’m not sure how accurate the title of this blog post is. I’ve been working on my Kestrel HD micro FPV frames for several months. I’ve probably been flying it with a Caddx Turtle V2 for something closer to a...
Read the post →When I graduated from my bind-n-fly Holybro Shuriken X1 to my first custom 6S-capable 5” freestyle quad, I used Holybro’s stack: a Kakute F4 flight controller, and an AtlAtl VTX. I was using individual ESCs at the time, but I...
Read the post →UPDATE: There’s now a direct upgrade path from the TinyHawk Ready-To-Fly kit, and it is pretty awesome. The TinyHawk Freestyle is a fast, light, relatively safe outdoor brushless micro FPV drone. Unlike the indoor TinyHawk model, the TinyHawk Freestyle won’t...
Read the post →My open-source Kestrel frame is easily configurable. For my first build, I filled the frame with components that I already had on hand–the guts from a Leader 3 bind-n-fly quad. I knew that I wanted to try to fit a...
Read the post →Confidence is important when flying FPV freestyle. If you’re nervous and shaky when you’re aiming for a gap or trying to clear a tree, you’re much more likely to miss the gap or get stuck in the tree.
Read the post →I’m excited. I started working on my open-source HD micro frame roughly two months ago. Since then, I’ve assembled a Shapeoko XXL CNC machine, learned how to use the machine to cut carbon fiber, and I’ve flown several iterations of...
Read the post →I’ve been carrying a micro FPV quadcopter in my bag for quite a while. I started with a KingKong 90GT, then made a huge upgrade to a Full Speed Leader 120, until finally making the minor upgrade to a Leader...
Read the post →Almost everything regarding my new frame design has been working out better than I expected. Using the Shapeoko XXL is easy. Cutting carbon fiber was even easier than I expected. The first prototype fit together quite well, and it flew...
Read the post →I don’t enjoy writing reviews. I’ve tried reviewing products on more than one occasion. Every now and then, a company will send me something to review. Usually those products are just fine, and every now and then they are also...
Read the post →I enjoy [flying 3” micros][l3]. In fact, the first quadcopter frame I designed was a [3D-printed nylon frame][145] sized for 3” props. I would have enjoyed trying 4” props, but [my 3D printer][3d] isn’t big enough to print that style...
Read the post →In December of 2016, I helped folks out at a quadcopter build event at TheLab.ms makerspace. They were building 450mm quads to fly by line of sight. My friends tried to talk me into building one, too, but it didn’t...
Read the post →I built the first of my 2018 quadcopters in October of 2017. It was an OwlRC Dragon frame with individual Wraith32 ESCs, a Kakute F4 flight controller, Holybro AtlAtl VTX, and a Runcam Eagle 2 with a set of T-Motor...
Read the post →Back in March, I ordered a Ryze Tello photography drone. Why on Earth would I buy a toy drone for photography or video purposes?
Read the post →Back in December, I bought a Leader 120 micro quad. It was a fantastic deal. It was on sale for $85 at the time, and I just couldn’t pass it up. It had a few shortcomings–an under-powered 25mw VTX, and...
Read the post →Remember when I posted my FPV quad builds for 2018? I figured I wouldn’t be building another quad until the second half of the year, but I just couldn’t wait that long. The calendar barely rolled over to April, and...
Read the post →UPDATE: This post is already pretty outdated. Don’t buy the Eachine QX65. A whole mess of better, more durable brushless indoor quads are available now. I’ve upgraded to an EMAX Tinyhawk. I haven’t written about it yet, but I highly...
Read the post →UPDATE: I’m designing an open-source 3” HD micro FPV quadcopter frame. I call it the Kestrel. You should check it out!
Read the post →I feels like I’ve been flying the Leader 120 for a long, long time. I checked the date on the first blog post I wrote about the Leader, and it was dated February 22. That didn’t seem right, so I...
Read the post →I ordered the Eachine Flyingfrog three months ago. It looked like an interesting package. For about $90, you get everything you need to get a taste of flying an FPV quadcopter. There’s a brushed-motor quad, a remote control, and a...
Read the post →I recently started flying my quads on 5S LiPo batteries, and it has been an awesome upgrade. Until recently, I didn’t have enough 5S packs to spend an entire afternoon flying. I only had five 5S batteries, so I’d always...
Read the post →Late last year, my favorite racing quad met its end. An inductor worked its way loose from my Shuriken X1’s flight controller. It could have been a minor repair, but the Shuriken X1 was a dead end for me. Its...
Read the post →If you came here looking for the short answer, I’m just going to give it to you. Yes. Absolutely. If you’re already building a high-end racing quad, it may only cost you a few extra dollars to use ESCs that...
Read the post →Early last year, I discovered the KingKong 90GT micro drone, and it was fantastic. The 90GT is too big to fly indoors, but it was more than powerful enough to fight a strong breeze outside.
Read the post →Early in November, I decided that we should give our 13-year-old nephew, Caleb, a full FPV quadcopter setup for Christmas: a 5” racing drone, 6 batteries, a LiPo charger, FPV goggles, and a Taranis X9D+ transmitter. My wife was worried...
Read the post →I spent $200 on a backpack for my quadcopters. Well, more accurately, my wife spent $200 on a backpack for my quadcopters. Is it a dumb idea? What was wrong with the old $13 tactical backpack? Wouldn’t it be way...
Read the post →Not long after publishing my first blog post about my BFight 210, my favorite quad died. I was flying the Holybro Shuriken X1 at the park. I noticed I had some spectators on the sidewalk, so I decided to fly...
Read the post →We’ve had three drone-building classes at TheLab.ms makerspace in Plano, TX. We built a different quad at each class: a big 450 mm quad, my small PH145 quad, and a standard 210mm FPV racing quad.
Read the post →UPDATE: I’m designing an open-source 3” HD micro FPV quadcopter frame. I call it the Kestrel. You should check it out!
Read the post →So far, we’ve had two successful drone building events at TheLab.ms makerspace. We built large 450mm quadcopters at the first class. They’re big enough to fly line of sight, and the components are large and easy to work with. They’re...
Read the post →Last month, my friends at Gearbest sent me a free KingKong FlyEgg 130 micro drone. I had a lot of trouble with it–a flaky DSMX receiver, a dead FPV camera, and I broke a motor in the first crash. I...
Read the post →I’ve been using my extremely inexpensive Furibee VR01 FPV headset for three months while I waited for the Aomway Commander goggles to become readily available. I’d probably still be using the Furibee headset today, but I really missed having a...
Read the post →As soon as I finished ordering my KingKong 90GT, I was immediately on the hunt for batteries. The 90GT comes with a single 350 mAh 7.4v Lithium-Polymer battery. I knew that wouldn’t be enough. I like to have half a...
Read the post →Earlier today, I was walking out into the middle of a big, empty field with my friend Brian. We were on our way to collect my Shuriken X1. I had to disarm in the middle of my flight. Our friend...
Read the post →UPDATE: I’m designing an open-source 3” HD micro FPV quadcopter frame. I call it the Kestrel. You should check it out!
Read the post →NOTE: If you already have a KingKong 90GT, these upgrades are a big improvement. If you’re thinking about buying a KingKong 90GT, your money can be better spent elsewhere. It has been almost a year since I bought my 90GT,...
Read the post →The Holybro Shuriken X1 is the fastest drone I’ve ever seen. The first racing drone I saw flying was my friend Alex’s Blade Vortex 250. The Vortex is an amazing piece of hardware–fast, smooth, and extremely well made. The Vortex...
Read the post →NOTE: If you already own a KingKong 90GT, then I hope this information is of use to you. If you’re thinking about buying a KingKong 90GT, your money can be better spent elsewhere. It has been almost a year since...
Read the post →UPDATE: I’m writing this little addendum at the end of 2019, and everything is so much better for beginners than it was three years ago! You can get all the entry-level gear you need to get up and flying FPV...
Read the post →UPDATE: There’s lots of information about the Shuriken 180 Pro in this blog post. I’ve since upgraded to a Shuriken X1. If you haven’t already bought the 180 Pro, I highly recommend you skip it and go straight to the...
Read the post →My journey into the world of quadcopters started in December when my friends participated in a quadcopter build weekend at TheLab.ms makerspace. I watched, and I helped them build 450mm drones, but I didn’t build my own quadcopter–I felt like...
Read the post →Last month, I bought my first drone–a Blade Nano QX. A friend recommended this quadcopter to me, and he said it would be a great way to learn to fly a drone with my Spektrum DX6 transmitter. I think he...
Read the post →We had our first quadcopter-build event in December at TheLab.ms makerspace in Plano, TX. The budget for that drone build was around $500. That included a 450-size quadcopter, a LiPo battery, a LiPo charger, and a really nice 6-channel controller–the...
Read the post →
