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Building my first fpv 250 drone

Frodo

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I saw one video on Facebook about drone racing. Now i can only think about building my own one. I looked on amazon for parts and reviews but there so many different opinions on every part. I need some real drone flyers opinion. So please give me some good advice about what parts are good and off course with a decent price. Don't need the high end stuff but still can compete in a race.
Thank you everyone.
 
Hi Frodo, I know what you mean. I caught the FPV racing bug too. I might end up heading more towards acro flying, like someone like Charpu (I wish I could get that good!), but similar quads in many ways.

I've been looking to answer the same questions you have for a while now. One of the first things I realized is that there is no single answer to what is "best." Here's a few thoughts and experiences in case something resonates with you...

Are you an experienced flyer, especially with super high thrust-to-weight ratio quads? If not, learning on one that's capable of competing in races might get pretty expensive. I was told by some friends who race at the local course to plan on destroying and rebuilding a quad a half-dozen times while learning.

You may want to consider one of the packages or recommended builds, where someone with experience has chosen components that go together well. It seems to me the packages/recommended builds put together by the frame manufacturers are better packages. I think perhaps the larger distributors tend to select parts more based on what they want to sell, where the frame folks choose to make their frames perform.

For example, the Black Bolt XBR220 is a pretty extreme racing quad, but at the bottom of their page ( XBR220 ) they have a recommended build which is a pretty good starting point (for this quad). A little time researching on the net will provide some options, for example the Cobra motors could be substituted with ZMX (they are getting good reviews), or whatever. Symmetrical X frames like this seem to be the "next big thing" but I see a lot of racers running the more conventional box frames with X arms (like the Alien frame ImpulseRC. FPV ) or even H frames.

It seems to me starting with the frame is the place. What size do you want--250mm, 210mm? Are you going to start with smaller props, maybe 5 in, with slightly less powerful motors and a 3S battery? If you zero in on your initial plans, then all the other components seem fairly easy to select to build on the frame/motor/prop/battery combo. But deciding where to go with those choices, and not wasting a lot of time and money, seems to me to require a bit of thought and experience.

What I did was start really small. I just happened to impulse buy a little Inductrix. You might laugh, but there are two things about it--it can be flown indoors, and it can evolve easily. Flying indoors is important, because it allows me to practice all the time, and at least for me in the Portland, Oregon area I can fly any time I want.

I also picked up a good radio, a Taranis X9D+. I would highly recommend getting a really good radio as early as possible, since good control takes practice.

I evolved that little Inductrix with a RakonHeli frame and more powerful Chaoli motors, which made it feel a bit more towards a racer (experienced racers can stop laughing now, I'm talking small steps here!). And then I built a micro with a Phoenix Flight Gear frame with higher-powered brushed motors (again another step towards racing performance) which allowed me to then replace the Inductrix FC with a Micro Scisky running Betaflight and learn about programming FCs.

Getting into racing quads is not just about flying them, there is a whole lot to learn about tuning and maintaining them, so I would recommend learning about all the parts as well in depth. And all the associated skills like soldering and wiring and assembly and fabrication. And learn the software for programming the FC. Even if you intend to buy an RTF or ARF, you will be repairing and tweaking. You're going to have your preferences on what motors and props and ESCs feel best together for you, and you just have to put the time in to experiment around. And collect the tools.

That little PFG quad is teaching me a lot, and my flying skills are getting pretty good. Those friends at the race course have commented that my control is way better now and I'm able to navigate the course without being all over the place (and this is just with my little micro).

That's something else to keep in mind, the folks at the courses are really friendly and helpful. You might want to visit a local FPV racing club and hang out. They can show you what they're running and it's a great learning opportunity. I would say even though everyone is very friendly, there is a limit to their tolerance for noobs who just go out and buy a racing quad, think they can race out of the box and then end up all out of control on the course and crashing people out.

My next step is a brushless micro (maybe 120mm), so I can get to know all the individual components like the ECSs, and trying out different motors & props, etc. and get flight time with a lot more thrust. It seems like there's a lot to learn at that level. And then probably on to a full size 250mm frame, but probably first with 5 inch props and lower power motors and batts. Then finally evolve that into a 6 inch 4S monster that can really compete (or go the acro route, either way or both).

Yeah, that sounds like a long road. It will probably take me the better part of 18 months to travel it all (I got the Inductrix last Christmas, I hope to compete in races next summer). But for me, I like the deliberate learning and putting the time in to increase my knowledge and skills. By the time I get on the course, I think I'll have a well-thought-out proven quad and the confidence and skills to make a good showing. And by socializing with the club early on, not only do I get all their help and mentoring, but they will have confidence in me when I get out there with them.

Just my perspective. Maybe all that is not your thing and you want to just dive in, I get that.

Cheers,
-Paul
 
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Paul,

Thank you so much for your response. I really appreciate it.
But yes i got some experience with the slow camera drone. But i want to get into the fpv racing 250. And I want to start from scratch with the frame. Really want to get a full carbon 250 frame were i can put multiple things on it. Maybe cheap but good stuff now but later change things out for the real good stuff. Get flying first and get familiar with it than go all out.
Again Paul thank you for your response.

Mario
 

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