Morpho

Introduction:

Named after the blue butterfly, this is the latest installment in the bug themed micros. I actually acquired this as a completed quad, but I wanted different components than what it came with, so I tore the whole thing apart and put in everything I wanted instead. This is my "practice" quad and I got a new frame as a backup in case I wanted to do something even better in the future.

Components :

  • Armattan Bumper frame
  • Eaglepower SA1104 7000kv 2-3s motors
  • Omnibus F3 FC with Hakrc 15a 4 in 1 esc
  • Frsky xm+ receiver
  • LST - S2 AIO camera/vtx
  • 2030 props
  • Velcro battery strap, nylon screws/standoffs, nylon cable ties

Conclusion:

If you've read other reviews of the bumper, you would know that it is a durable, but loud quad. While not one of the lighter micro quads, I really liked the concept of using lightweight foam for crash resistance mainly because I use a lot of foam for my planes. :) It can be a very strong material when applied in the right areas.

The main difference between this build and most others is that I cut out a lot of foam from the middle and placed the stack inside the quad instead of having it stick out on top like a triple cheeseburger. By doing this, I can keep the CG fairly low and putting the battery on top evens out the CG from top to bottom with respect to the props. The xm+ is mounted in the back. I chose to go with a low powered AIO fpv cam initially just to see how it will all go together. This quad can handle 3s, so if I wanted to fly it outdoors, I can fairly easily replace the AIO unit since nothing is mounted in a permanent fashion.

The quad is indeed loud (like a vacuum cleaner), and that is partly because of the foam ducts. However, my guess is that prop choice also plays a key role and I have lots of other props I will be trying on this later. The whole thing came together in the end at 70grams dry...a bit heavier than I wanted since I was targeting 60ish. This quad is very "stable". It hovers in place very well and moves relatively slow compared to other quads of the same size. While I fly my other micros indoors at low rates, I can fly this one at normal rates. It flies more or less like how it looks, which is not a bad thing.

Update 6/21/18:

I flew this again after a long time and it's nice to see how different you feel about different quads after your experience grows. The last time I flew this was before I started learning how to fly acro mode. Now that I am flying this on acro, it feels very different than I had remembered. It's definitely a slower craft, so I had to fly it without using the low rates. It actually flies pretty nice and stable except that you have to give it a bit more forward stick on turns as it tends to level itself out. However, the major discovery was that on regular rates, turtle mode worked perfectly. It suddenly clicked on me that turtle mode doesn't work on most of my other quads because I am using low rates by default! doh! Quickly tested this theory on the moskito 70 and it's true! :)