SkyWalker is their entry-level product. I have no experience with those ESCs but I don't like their linear BEC circuits in the smaller ESC sizes. FlyFun is their mid-range line and the topic of this little review. Platinum is the top-of-the-range stuff. Overkill for foamies.
I bought a couple of 20 amp FlyFun v5 units to try. Some of the specs:
- 20 amps continuous, 30 amp burst
- 2.5 amp switching BEC (not linear). Stronger than the 1-1.5 amp BECs in many other small ESCs, meaning less chance of brownout due to servo stall. Runs cooler than linear BECs.
- The BEC is physically segregated from the power circuitry. In theory the servos and control surfaces will still respond even if the power stages of the ESC are damaged or burnt out.
- Active freewheeling. The motor and ESC are more efficient and everything runs a bit cooler at lower RPMs.
- Separate lead for programming (yellow wire in the photo) via the HobbyWing LED programming box, though it also supports good old Tx stick programming.
- Light. 14 grams as shipped with 2mm bullets but no battery connector.
- Diminutive. Check out the photo. It's probably the smallest ESC I've ever seen.
- Comes with a well written and clear manual.
To prevent this from sounding like an ad, the included 2mm bullet connectors are annoying because most motors use the far more common 3.5mm diameter. (The next-size-up 30 amp FlyFun comes with 3.5mm bullets.)
To some, the fact that you have to solder your own battery connector may be a disadvantage.
I'm testing it in my trusty EasyStar and so far I like it a lot. For $21, I think it's a good buy. There are lots of cheaper ESCs but for me I think this is the sweet spot in terms of price/performance.
I recently rejoined the club and started flying again after a break of about eight years. It's great to be back and to see so many familiar faces!
What wasn't so pleasant at all was the realisation that my radio link was now unreliable. I had a few aircraft sitting in storage all those years, and I knew their setups well - including radio - back from when I used to fly them regularly at McCoy field. Those aircraft were the survivors. Through natural selection they had proved themselves back then I expected they would still be fine.
It was a rude shock to discover I was now losing control several times during each flight. An EasyStar with an Orange DSM2 receiver was practically unflyable. A genuine 8-channel Spektrum DSMX in a FunCub seemed a little better, maybe perhaps, but it was still going unresponsive for several seconds at a time several times per flight - an unnerving and dangerous situation.
I replaced those receivers with the best and most modern kit I had lying around, admittedly still a decade old. In went the FrSky D8 and an X8. It was definitely tons better, but telemetry loss events were still occurring and at one point the EasyStar ended up in the creek while James was on a buddy lead (sorry James!). It was entirely my fault. The radio link had simply died and all we could both do was to watch the plane go down. Luckily James found it not too deep in the greenery (thanks James!).
It was clearly time to modernise my equipment. I bought a Radiomaster Nomad module and a few different ELRS receivers to try. Long story short, I am finding the ELRS link to be flawless! Not a single telemetry or link loss event during a couple of dozen flights. Not even close. I'm reviewing the logs and link quality remains significantly above problem thresholds at all times.
Setup is not as trivial as the older receivers but it's not rocket science either. All those configuration parameters mean lots of flexibility and scope for customisation.
I can go into more details if anyone is interested, but my first intention was to simply say that ELRS has fixed my link unreliability problems!
Last year I notice a need for low cost good flying aircraft that our club members could build rather than assemble.
Our Extra 330 based on the 15 year old Batix Rcgroups depron design, is a advanced trainer to basic 3d flyer. Minimal building skills are required using common glues and sticky tape.
The basic kit comes with foam board parts in a sheet, carbon fibre spars, control rods, linkages and a 3d printed motor mount.
To finish the build you will need-
- Glue, sand paper and sticky tape. Hot glue or white wood glue works well.
Price for the basic kit is $50 with pickup at Mccoy field western Sydney on our flying mornings. The size of the sheet is 1000mm x 800mm. PM me or reply to this thread if you would like one.
If you are looking into the hobby and more interested in building and flying come out to Mccoy field Tucks Rd Seven Hills on a Saturday morning. We have a few of these planes on a buddy box trainer setup so you might even get to have a joy flight/ fly.
DJI O4 refers to the lite or standard O4, while DJI O4 PRO is the advanced (heavier) version. But when people say "O4"", they often mean both the O4 and the O4 PRO. Confusion results from not calling the DJI O4 the DJI O4 lite.
Some selected reviews:
DJI O4 Air Unit and Air Unit Pro: Evolution or Revolution? Chris Rosser https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUmf3YxtWlg&t=1883s
see summary from 47m 9s
This is the best overall summary of why the O4 is better than the O3. Its a big improvement, and especially the O4 lite is transformational for small drones; further O4 lite could become the norm for racing drones IF the latency can be reduced to the ballpark of competing systems.
DJI O4 Air Unit // THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
Albert Kim: The elephant is that the O4 lite is the cheapest way analog pilots can get quality digital video. You can get the budget DJI goggles 3N much cheaper (than a quality pair of analog goggles) to obtain much higher video quality with the O4 lite. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OEkA3yioCk
Bardwell says the O4 is a solid improvement on the O3, in many aspects including range and penetration, and for freestyle when diving giving better image quality and detail. His video is not organized into chapters - and is 35 m long-, maybe just see from 32m 40s. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmdJ6uP2uzg
Mads Tech offers a dissenting view:
1. Here he complains about the build quality of the O4 lite https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM2YpG4Bavw&t=14s
He seems not to recognise how a 10 gm digital video system is revolutionary for small quads and for larger freestyle quads, and this achievement required new technology.
2. Here he says there is a bug in using the O4 with goggles 2 and integra. I have found the O4 works fine with my goggles integra. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGvmsfPzjM8
After a year flying drones, I have decided to sell all my 3 analog drones at bargain prices in order to focus on digital drones. The 3 drones can fly indoors, and outdoors on calm days
DRONES
Newbeedrone HUMMINGBIRD V3.1 ELRS 1S AIO Flight Controller.
In good condition AUD 50 [Newbeedrone sell new for USD 80]
Newbeedrone ACROBEE75 BLV5
Analog 2S drone with Caddx Ant camera. XT30 plug
Built-in TCXO Crystal Oscillator ExpressLRS 2.4GHz Diversity Receiver(Uart Base)
In good condition AUD 95 [Newbeedrone sell new for USD 160]
Bardwell says: Ridiculously light! BetaFPV Air65 -- A new standard in micro performance! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Lj-XToiDRU
new in (unopened) box AUD 90 [Betafpv sell for USD 95]
Note: this drone requires a BT2.0 charger such as the Dogcom PH2.0/BT2.0 charger that MantisFPV sells for AUD 19
GOGGLES
Skyzone Cobra X V4 analog goggles
(FPCfaster sell these for AUD 399; Oscar Liang gave these a very favorable review)
Little used, as new, AUD 150
LIPOS
Lipos 1S : there are 17 1S lipos for sale, that are HV and with PH2.0 connectors, comprising:
He has not tested the new txs and rxs in terms of signal range or penetration, but rather explains how the new chips provide a greater chance that a given control signal will arrive at the rx given challenging conditions with lots of radio noise and interference. The new chips use redundant packets and dual bands with the gemini and gemini X modes, yet somehow manage to achieve a low latency.
Radiomaster is leading the charge in the adoption of the Semtech LR1121 chipset, and the price of their new GX12 tx is AUD 320. You can also experience Gemini and Gemini X by purchasing a RM Nomad module for AUD 90 - I purchased a Nomad a few months ago and have had a great experience with it, you can use a switch mode if your drone or plane has a standard (non-diversity) antenna, gemini mode if you have a true diversity elrs rx (I have 2 drones with this), and full gemini X mode for the ultimate best signal safety which I have not yet tried.
Ian concludes that this is no minor upgrade, it is the future of RC, and makes the point that when purchasing RC txs or rxs, its wise to choose gear with the Semtech LR1121 chipset, especially as it does not cost much more, indeed many legacy txs without the LR1121 cost much more. Bardwell has stated a preference for Radiomaster over other manufacturers such as Jumper that are introducing products with LR1121, based on his careful inspection of the components, the boards, the solder joints, the quality and design of the cabling and switches.
AtomRC is arguably the best manufacturer of FPV planes. ATOMRC fpv planes can be ordered as a kit, or as PNF and RTH versions (for explanation see https://atomrc.com/pages/version-description)
Andrew Newton and Painless360 are leading RC gurus that have in common they appear to prefer FPV planes to FPV drones. I am predicting we will see more fpv planes at PRCAC.
Painless likes and has reviewed all the ATOMRC fpv planes, including the Swordfish, Dolphin, Flying fish etc. The Swordfish is considered one of the best ever fpv planes.
I was too good to be true, the recent news that the new DJI O4 video system would work with the DJI goggles 2 and DJI goggles Integra. Sadly, it seems the only goggles that work at present are the DJI goggles 3 and the DJI Goggles N3.
Mads Tech have described a serious video bug in goggles 2 (and "probably" Integra) firmware.
See the video at 1m 30 s
On arming you only get video at 10 or 20 mbps, not 50
Mads says its a firmware issue. Presumably it will be fixed with the next firmware upgrade. How long it will take is unknown.
Speaking of firmware upgrades for the Goggles Integra:
To use the DJI O4 I needed to update my Integra goggles firmware using the latest DJI Assistant 2 Consumer Drones Series, according to Bardwell.
The current version of DJI Assistant2 in Jan 2025 is Mac V2.1.35 for mac users, for which the release notes are dated Jan 14 2025
When I connected my Integra to my mac with the current version of Assistant 2.1.20,
which simply required turning on the goggles, then connecting with a usb-c data cable, I saw:
current Integra firmware 2023-12-21 V01.05.0000
there were 2 newer firmwares:
2024-5-28 V01.06.0000
2025-01-07 V01.07.0000 (this one's release notes says it adds O4 capability)
I upgraded to the latest DJI Assistant 2 on my mac, and then did the upgrade to V01.07.000 on the Integra - it seemed I could have done it from my current DJI Assistant2 version, but I took Bardwell's advice to use the latest Assistant2 version. I skipped Integra firmware V01.06.0000 as this has an avata update.
But it looks like the Integra will not be usable until a new firmware update to fix the bug is released.
In 2025 the 2S small drone has just evolved into a high performance all rounder, including freestyle aerobatics, that is remarkably light and among other properties has a high power to weight ratio. Previously, aerobatic tiny drones existed but they were analog with limited video quality.
A normal lightweight 2S drone such as the Pavo Pico has a thrust to weight ratio around 4, but in the new Pavo Femto its 6.75. Of course this is due to the arrival of the DJI O4 lite video system aka as the O4 (as opposed to the 30 gm O4 pro). The second video shows the aerobatic flight performance of the Femto. The flying in tight spaces in bushes as shown in the first video is how I like to fly in a local reserve.
There are new O4 drones becoming available almost every day now, but in view of my considerable experience with the Betaflight Pavo series I could not resist the femto which I purchased for AUD 379. I know, its possible I will have a long wait for it to arrive.
![[Image: 20250507-005330.jpg]](https://i.postimg.cc/KjD12fXs/20250507-005330.jpg)
I expected they would still be fine.
