(Part 2) Best hobby rc helicopters according to redditors

The registration is valid for three years.... any bets the $5 fee is reoccuring. WTF? Just realized my toy weighs .5kg, over the 250 gram limit. Who came up with these weights? This thing is tiny.

$85.58 dollar build

Not only will this hover, it will fly better, faster and more stable than anything you can buy for that price.


Frame $15.00
Polycarbonate-frame for 8.5mm Motors
http://micro-motor-warehouse.com/collections/frontpage/products/120mm-polycarbonate-frame

Motors $27.00
8.5mm coreless motors
http://micro-motor-warehouse.com/collections/frontpage/products/cl-0820-15

Hubsan Flight Controller $9.71
http://www.amazon.com/Neewer®-Spare-Receiver-Quadcopter-HUBSAN/dp/B00H33DT1O/ref=sr_1_27?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1417574511&sr=1-27&keywords=hubsan+parts

Battery $6.58
http://www.amazon.com/Hubsan-JXD385-Quadcopter-Upgraded-Battery/dp/B00M4ULVN4/ref=sr_1_43?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1417574511&sr=1-43&keywords=hubsan+parts

Props $4.01
http://www.amazon.com/H107-A36-Plastic-Blades-Hubsan-Quadcopter/dp/B00M8ZNYVM/ref=sr_1_7?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1417574735&sr=1-7&keywords=hubsan+propeller

Transmitter $19.29
http://www.amazon.com/HUBSAN-4-Channel-2-4GHz-Transmitter-Quadcopter/dp/B00IO3W74W/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1417574914&sr=1-1&keywords=hubsan+controller

Battery charger $3.99
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KGP7M8M?ie=UTF8&at=&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links

Edit (added battery charger)

I'm excited about this guy right here though there isn't a RTF version, it does seem very agile and works with nice goggles.

Change the d4rII to an x4r.

No need for crappy gemfan props. Get some nice Dal or HQ propellers.

Get this:https://www.amazon.com/Crazepony-X-Racer-Controller-Multirotor-Quadcopter/dp/B01KFOVOFK/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1474951795&sr=1-1&keywords=x-racer
instead of that flight controller.

Instead of that vtx try the tbs unify pro (https://www.amazon.com/Team-BlackSheep-5-8GHz-Video-Transmitter/dp/B01H9VSZBS/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1474951884&sr=1-1&keywords=tbs+unify+pro)

Product link. You would probably spend more than $60 to fix it and it would still not fly as good as new.

Do you guys have rules on modifications? I had a setup close to that, but one of the motor mounts broke, and I replaced it with a carbon fiber and metal frame:

https://www.amazon.com/Rakon-CNC-Upgrade-Kit-Inductrix/dp/B01BJ8AMOU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1466041215&sr=8-3&keywords=inductrix+frame

Taco-RC Carbon Fiber Skin Sticker Decal for DJI MAVIC Battery REMOTE GRADIENT https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MXDQS05/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_wQ1syb3GCY751

It's simple really. Do you want a drone you can always rely on and not have to put a lot of work into that gets great results, go buy a p3/4 or mavic, or do you want to spend a lot of time building which for me is half the fun of drones and have a drone that you'll have to work out mistakes and won't be too neat but once you get all the wrinkles out you can put on any gimbal camera, and with apm/pix you can have sonar, osd, telemetry, visua positioning module, gps/glonnas.

Basically for the same price or a little bit less you can build a drone that's just as good as the p3a/s with a GoPro and transmitter

Here's the part list for what you need to build a good filming diy quadcopter. I assume you already have a computer and transmitter. All of these are amazon prime items and eBay items with fast and free shipping. The best thing is that you don't need to solder anything, of course you could get variants of the parts that are cheaper but requires soldering by this way there's a lot less wires and clutter and you should be getting a 10-15 minute flight time



Usmile S500 PCB Quadcopter Frame Kit with Landing Gear

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013YENQ2W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_MbZtzbBD5AAV5

30$

Motors 920 kv

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HM8EXJG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_edZtzb0VN0YF3

30&

Escs 4 in 30aX4

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018A6K2SA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_zfZtzbC2VZBZ6

40$

16x 1045 props

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LZGJNAL/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_BhZtzb7A38NV2

15$

Venom 5400 20c 3s lipo

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000W7PZU6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_7mZtzbMKEHH7P

60$ but it's worth every penny

Apm 2.6 flight controller

https://www.ebay.com/itm/232151137887

30$

Apm power module

https://www.ebay.com/itm/231617302003

10$

Apm shock absorber

https://www.ebay.com/itm/321765065426

5$

Ublox neo m8n gps+glonass (great gps)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/252133458960

20$

Apm telemetry

https://www.ebay.com/itm/221783168543

20$

Apm osd

https://www.ebay.com/itm/132062166617

10$

3 axis gimbal for GoPro (I'd recommend tuning first)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/281776499167

60$

Fpv tx/rx

https://www.ebay.com/itm/281897786845

30$

Fpv good antennas

https://www.ebay.com/itm/122035038453

10$

$370 build total



I'd also recommend getting a GoPro to use with this




And if you want to get really advanced you can create a portable ground station to use with the drone while it's flying consisting of an Android tablet with gps which lets you do follow mode

https://www.ebay.com/itm/231894739709

Otg cable to connect to telemetry

https://www.ebay.com/itm/152247474853

This will let you control the drone using the tablet as if it was a computer running the apm app. There are a few good articles about it online if you search for it, or you could just get a small laptop


Even more advanced you can get sonar for apm and visual positioning models to make it like the phantom 4 and be really stable hovering

[google chromecast] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/267HNWBRTBQ9J/ref=cm_sw_su_w)

[mini helicopter!!!] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/8677805966/ref=wl_it_dp_v_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=267HNWBRTBQ9J&coliid=I1KKIIAOMEAP92)

PolarPro Gimbal Guard is great. Easy snap-on, snap-off.

I found it for $80 on Amazon. Not impossible.

https://www.amazon.com/Drones-Camera-Adults-Kids-Quadcopter/dp/B06XGXTD1Y

heck, here's one on Amazon (sold by dealer, NOT fulfilled by Amazon) for $30

https://www.amazon.com/UDI-2-4Ghz-Headless-Inverted-Quadcopter/dp/B07JDLKCFT/

I don't think the last one is a legit listing.

I actually ordered mine off amazon they are still in stock
EMAX modular Magnum Tower System for FPV Racing Betaflight https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0739PLMGV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_YttMhorefovKW

I got one from heli-nation and another from get fpv. I mounted it on the white noise fpv mounting block https://www.amazon.com/WhiteNoise-FPV-UNIFY-MOUNTING-BOARD/dp/B072NRMKF9/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_21_img_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=SJQF08QJA2R7J3E6HDAN so getting it off this thing may be a pain in the butt.

> https://www.amazon.com/Tarot-Camera-Gimbal-Xiaomi-Sports/dp/B01HEMJAQG
>
>
>
> https://hobbyking.com/en_us/tarot-t-2d-camera-gimbal-mount-for-xiaomi-yi-sports-camera.html?___store=en_us
>
>
>
> This will allow a YI to fit onto Tarot gimbal.It works perfect for standard Yi,not sure about 4K model?

Flying the helicopter like that is actually easier than you think. I just started learning collective pitch on this nano helicopter.

Blade Nano CP S RTF BLH2400 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014MIJBVO/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_PQrBwb9D4FZPA

It's taken a couple of weeks, but I can do maneuvers like this now. Having the "oh shit" switch really helps.

Well it's $140... But while trying to find it I saw a Syma for around 80. Here is the one we have

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00UATAS4Y/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have this transmitter, Radiolink AT9. Can you tell me whether I'd be able to use it with this quad? Trying to figure out if I should get the RTF or ARF version. I have an S.Bus receiver for it.

Helicopter

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00BFSF66O/ref=twister_B00ECW3IP6?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Maybe this has the parts you need: https://www.amazon.com/BladeRunner-Interceptor-Helicopter-Replacement-Interactive/dp/B007Z7ZUN8

These types of machines (while incredibly fun!) are not very durable with crashes. So, fly in BIG OPEN spaces to avoid damage. A small living room is a horrible place to learn to fly.

Once you've gotten comfortable with this and would like to progress deeper into the hobby, consider the Blade Nano CPS as an affordable introduction to the RC Heli hobby: http://www.bladehelis.com/NANOCPS/

I've ALWAYS wanted an R/C Helicopter :D:D:D:D:D
I'd let all my nephews play with it when they came over at the local park and I'd have soo much fun with this :)

The safe but costly approach would be to get something like a Crazepony's EMAX RS2306 2750KV motor. That motor is very powerful and should handle the weight of the Gimbel, camera, frame battery and components. If you want to be exact you need to do the math for lift, thrust and weight of the components to figure out exactly how much KV or power is needed in the 6 motors.

Assuming you are using a frame like dji f550 you should be ok with the above or a cheaper solution like the MakerFire d1104. Whichever one you pick don’t forget to post your success or failure so we know what happened.