Welcome to FPVDronePilots!
Join our free FPV drone community today!
Sign up

Vifly R220

I will let you know in a few days. Just got delivered today, I will get some flight time in this weekend.
How is your initial impressions by the way? Build quality? Look? Packaging?
Can you program the settings via OSD like the TBS Vendetta or Vortex 250 or 180?
 
How is your initial impressions by the way? Build quality? Look? Packaging?
Can you program the settings via OSD like the TBS Vendetta or Vortex 250 or 180?

Vifly R220 Yellow.JPG

So far the impression is great. The packaging was great and everything was well protected and secured when I opened the box. The quad definitely feels solid. The sandwich design seems like it will be very sturdy in a crash. The Flysky i6 transmitter it comes with is better then I expected.

I am in WI and we have snow on the ground still. So I couldn't take it outside. I have only done a couple of things so far. I removed the props so I can safely mess around with some things in the house. I attached a battery to make sure it powered up properly. I then adjusted the power setting to 25w so I could calibrate my Furious-D receiver. I put it back to 200w and confirmed the video was transmitting properly, which it was. I then turned on the transmitter to check it. It connected without any issue and then I armed and disarmed the quad a few times to make sure that was also working properly, which it was. I am not sure about adjusting any settings via OSD, I have not tried that yet. I also have not plugged it into the computer yet to adjust or check anything.

Right now I think the most impressive thing has been the service from Vifly. When I ordered I chose some additional 4s batteries which happened to be out of stock. I was contacted by the sales manager John shortly after my order to find out if I would like to substitute them for 3s batteries so my order could mail right away, or if I wanted to wait for the 4s batteries to come in a week a later. I chose to wait. Throughout the order process John has answered any questions I had in a timely manner and kept me updated on the status of my order. When my drone was sent he e-mailed me the tracking number so I would know when it would arrive. The service has been outstanding and I am very anxious to get a flight in.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jtrjr
Verdict. It is a beast. I was only able to fly a few packs, but it was great. It flew very well on a very windy day. I crashed a bunch and the only issue I had was with my battery strap breaking. The space is big enough so I put on two when I had to replace mine. I would recommend anyone else with this quad do the same. If you are wondering if you should buy it as a first quad the answer is yes. It is designed to take some punishment while you learn to fly. Besides the battery strap issue all I had to do was wipe off the dirt after each crash and she was ready to fly again. The control set up with the failsafe and beeper are perfect to get the propellers turned off and to help find the quad. I crashed into tall grass a couple times and was able to follow the sound. So far I highly recommend this quad. I will post updates as a I fly more.
 
Got my BNF (FrSky) ViFly R220 yesterday. It was packaged very well. Looks like a sturdy little bird. I like the look and feel of it. Make sure you check your antenna before powering up, mine was loose and needed to be snugged down. I think this was mentioned in the instructions.

IMG_5229.JPG IMG_5230.JPG IMG_5231.JPG IMG_5232.JPG

Mine came pre-flashed with BetaFlight. Got it bound to my Taranis Plus in seconds. Went into Betaflight and looked around a bit. Didn't change much, all I did was bump the SRates to .70 they looked pretty low. Setting up my RC and flight modes was a piece of cake.

I powered the bird up to set the VTX power and connect it to my FS V2's. I have 6 other birds and I use channel E8 on all of them. On this bird, I had to put it on D8 to get a decent video feed? Don't know why yet.

Grabbed one of my Turnigy Graphene 3S 1300mah 65C batteries and took it for a quick spin. It flew good but seemed a bit loose compared to some of my other quads. Overall, I liked it. The video feed flickered a bit more than I would like but it was a rushed flight so I'll have to fly it a bit more to know if it's an issue or not.

The weather here sucks so I only got to fly one pack. This morning I decided to look it over a bit more and see about mounting a GoPro Session on it. I decided to make sure all screws and bolt were tight and secure. CHECK ALL SCREWS AND BOLTS! Several were not snug and 2 were missing. The loosest ones were the ones attaching the battery cage to the top board. The 2 missing ones were on the motor arms, 1 on top and 1 on the bottom.

IMG_7512.JPG IMG_7511.JPG IMG_7510.JPG

I found the replacement screws in the box but they're only providing 2 of each screw so I no longer have any body screws left. Personally, I think for the price and good customer service they should provide a complete set of extra screws. I need to find out if I can use locktite (blue) on this bird. Some plastics don't take it very well. This is an issue I need to solve.

I took off and landed once on my concrete driveway and didn't crash the bird at all but noticed a scratch on the bottom carbon fiber plate. I also noticed scuff marks on the bottom plate screws. These small head screws are going to get pretty beat up over time and the hexes will get filled up with mud and gunk. I think I'll look at putting some foam feet on the arms just to keep it off the ground.

All in all, I'm pleased at this point. The screw thing kind of pisses me off a bit. Sourcing screws like this can be a pain in the butt and usually you have to buy way more screws than you'll ever use to get them for a reasonable price.

I also ordered several Turnigy Graphene 4S 1300mah batteries for this bird. I'm looking forward to a weather change so I can fly it a bit more.

Jerry
 
Look's good Jerry!
The body plate screws are 2.5mm the motor are 3mm I looked around on line and found screws for a pack of 100 for around $8 in stainless from AccuGroup.com in the UK. They get you on shipping but it was the only place I found in stainless for cheap

Mark
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jtrjr
Look's good Jerry!
The body plate screws are 2.5mm the motor are 3mm I looked around on line and found screws for a pack of 100 for around $8 in stainless from AccuGroup.com in the UK. They get you on shipping but it was the only place I found in stainless for cheap

Mark

I think you mean M2.5 and M3 screws. I only mention this because it will make them easier to search for.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jtrjr
I'm hoping to get a little test flying in with my ViFly R220 today. There's still a little snow on the ground but it's melting fast. While looking over the bird again I found a few other things I wanted to modify.

Under the battery cage is a small, thin gasket. Upon removing the battery cage and the gasket I noticed that the top plate of the bird is actually the PDB.

IMG_7569.JPG

I am concerned that the PDB may be a bit exposed and that the gasket may not provide enough protection. Also, the battery strap(s) can slide back and forth across the PDB. I decided to try to prevent the PDB from taking any more abuse than necessary by creating a new, additional gasket.

IMG_7574.JPG IMG_7575.JPG IMG_7577.JPG

I also noted that the 4S batteries I will be using fit pretty loosely in the battery cage with no real cushion between it and the PDB. I decided to try to better protect the battery and PDB with some thicker, stiffer foam.

IMG_7578.JPG IMG_7579.JPG IMG_7580.JPG IMG_7581.JPG IMG_7582.JPG

I think this should protect things a bit better without adding much weight. Also note that I extended the lower gasket to cover the exposed DVR port (I won't be using it) and to wrap around the base of the antenna.

IMG_7584.JPG

Just a few things that I decided to do to my bird, YMMV! Now, I just hope I get to fly the **** thing today!

Jerry
 
Green,

Yeah, probably but I've got nuts on the bottom of the top cage for my GP mount, the battery wires would get pinched and it may throw off the COG a bit. I really don't like all of these pre-builds using the PDB's as part of the structure. One hairline crack or abrasion and you're dead in the water.

Jerry
 
Nice MOD jerry!
That was one thing that made me nervous as well on the PDB/top plate.
The cage does a really good job in protecting the board, I have had a few bad crashes on the cage and it just bends the cage.
I have 3 cages now so if it gets bent up real bad I have backups.
I may have to steal the foam battery cushion idea! :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jtrjr
My brother and I both have Vifly's now. Couple vids from this weekend. The first vid my brother was flying LOS, he just got his drone Friday and this is one of his first attempts at flying it. He has no prior drone flying experience, not even a toy one. The second vid is me flying FPV. Only my third time flying it so not tricks or anything fancy, just trying to stay in the air.



On my last pack I had a crash that broke off my antenna jack. Waiting on the piece to come in to make the repair so drone is a skeleton right now. Pics below.

Vifly broken jack.JPG

Vifly Apart.JPG
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jtrjr
Hello all. new drone enthusiast. any idea when the vifly r220 bnf version will come to amazon?
 
We are preparing it which may take 2 weeks until it arrvies to Amazon warehouse. But the first batch only includes the FrSky version. You also can buy it in our online store. Though it is shipped from China, we use DHL Express for the international delivery which only takes 1 week after the order.
hey sounds great! thanks for info.
does anyone out there have or is planning to purchase a shuriken 180 pro? just got mine......way to fast! what is the best way to tame a fast quad like this just for cruisin' ?
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
6,051
Messages
44,466
Members
5,353
Latest member
happypapaya