[secant0give]

I know it's a bit dearer to go with the parts I posted and I half expected you to point that out
I'm pretty frugal too and I don't like to waste money but I did have the benefit of buying an SK450 ARF with the HK set up which is pretty cheaply put together and cost AU$225

http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__5..._PNF_.html

It flew straight out of the box but the endurance was disappointing once I put the weight of the Gopro on you could take film with it but the KK2 flight controller would not fly it as stably with that extra weight of the Gopro

all in all It was flyable and it worked with the gopro but not fantasticly when for another $250 you could do so much better. It's hard to trust a $400+ Gopro to a $250 aircraft. but if that's the budget then that's the budget.

I was going on 2 week holiday which I havnt done for about 5 years and I wanted to take some film when I weighed up the cost of travel and the time and the opportunity It just made sense to pay a bit more and do a bit better in terms of wind performance and reliability. I know I wouldn't have got anything like the film I did if I didn't go this way.


You could carve a little off it by using the micro APM at AU$71
http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__7...2_7_2.html

this link is just the controller but you probably want the distribution board and it uses the tiny plugs so if you want to mix and match for the heavier distribution board you have to solder tiny wires to plugs for the extra $18 for the full sized APM it's worth it it's got a case as well and it's more robust
http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__5..._BARO.html

you could try the nace32 full it has a barometric sensor so should be able to do alt hold it's 47.99 US$ here. The cheaper version from HK doesn't have the barometric sensor and there for cant alt hold
http://www.fpvmodel.com/afroflight-naze3..._g741.html

It's probably not much cheaper when you add postage

I've never used the NAZE32 Craig may have some experience with. It seems to have a good rap but I've never used it so you might want to do some homework on it before plunging in have a look at some youtube reviews and set up tutorials

You can use the same controller for a tri-copter which is what I personally would use, I just like the APM controller cause it works so well. You only need 3 motors but you will need a servo for the tail; rotor and you'll need a BEC because the 1/2 amp bec on the AFRO multi rotor ESCs won't cut the mustard driving a servo. you have to be a bit careful how you wire and power servos from the APM but its all in the instructions best read them carefully before you wire it all up.

Some people say tri copters fly better but I can't say, because I've never flown one. They are a bit more mechanically complex and I think slightly trickier to trim and tune but this again is just an assumption I'm not a heli guy. Craig knows a lot more about these machines than me. he'd be a good man to ask if you can track him down