BUILD #1
THE EVERYDAY DRONE
This is my setup for my everyday drone. I fly this one for fun and around parks and occasionally race with this but will most likely never send it down a waterfall. Prices are in CAD (prices fluctuate but this is what I bought it for). Total for this build was $379~ CAD.
Diatone MAMBA F405 MK2 Flight Controller Stack ($65)
iFlight SL5 5” Freestyle Frame Kit ($45)
4 x T-Motor VELOX V2306.5 2550KV Motor ($90)
TBS UNIFY PRO 5G8 V3 ($50)
TBS CROSSFIRE NANO RX ($30)
TRUE RC SINGULARITY 5.8 SMA LONG LHCP ($30)
Runcam Phoenix Oscar Edition ($50)
Racelite RGB LED ($4)
RVS Creamer Parts - 3D Printed GoPro Hero Mount ($15)
BUILD #2
LONG RANGE
Paired with the right batteries, this 7” has an average flight time of 25 minutes. The total for this build is $600~ CAD.
BrainFPV RADIX Li, 20mm Flight Controller ($65)
BrainFPV GPS ($40)
XRotor 40A 4in1 (20x20) BLHeli-32 DShot1200 ESC ($80)
iFlight XL7 V4 True X 7 Inch ($70)
4x BrotherHobby Avenger 2806.5 1700kv ($140)
TBS-Unify-Pro32-HVTBS Unify Pro32 HV (MMCX) ($70)
TBS-CRSF-RX-Nano-DivTBS Crossfire Diversity Nano RX ($80)
TRUE RC SINGULARITY 5.8 SMA LONG LHCP ($30)
RunCam Phoenix Oscar Edition ($50)
HQProp 7 x 4.5 Poly Carbonate Propellers ($4)
Rotorvillage GoPro Hero Mount ($15)
BUILD #3
RED BARON - THE THROW AWAY
I typically fly this the most when filming especially at places where I will likely lose a drone. It’s the only quad I have tuned properly and is the most replaceable. It is also very budget friendly which everyone loves. The total for this build is roughly $300~ CAD.
Diatone MAMBA F405 MK2 Flight Controller Stack ($65)
TBS Source One 5" Frame V3 ($30)
EMAX ECO SERIES 2207 2450KV ($64)
iFlight FORCE 1W VTX ($30)
CADDX TURBO MICRO SDR2 PLUS RACE VERSION ($41)
TBS CROSSFIRE NANO RX ($30)
TRUE RC SINGULARITY 5.8 SMA LONG LHCP ($30)
RVS Creamer Parts - 3D Printed GoPro Hero Mount ($15)
BUILD #4
THE BUDGET BUILD
After flying for half a year and building my own drones, the only difference I’ve ever noticed was switching from my Wizard ($180) to my Build #1. That was a huge difference but in terms of performance through my recent builds, the only thing that stands out is what that drones purpose is. For the most part all the drones will do the basics very well, it’s just if you decide to push long range or fly indoors then there are new factors to specialize those drones. Here is a budget build that cost around $220~ CAD.
TBS Source One 5" Frame V3 ($30)
Diatone MAMBA F405 MK2 Flight Controller Stack ($63)
4x EMAX ECO 2207 - 2400kv ($60)
RunCam Nano 2 FPV Camera ($25)
EACHINE TX801 5.8G VTX ($20)
FrSky XM+ Rx ($20)