Mosquiton

Introduction:

I was pretty excited when I got this quad as it looked it it had potential since it was combining the form factor I wanted along with 2s power. The specs looked great.

Components :

  • Furious FPV Moskito 70 frame
  • Furious FPV 1103 10000kv motors
  • Super_s f3 FC + OSD/w ESC
  • Frsky xm+ receiver
  • LST - S2 AIO camera/vtx
  • hubsan tri props
  • Velcro battery strap, nylon screws/standoffs, nylon cable ties

Conclusion:

I bought the quad used as a RTF unit. The previous owner noted that it had drift issues, so I thought I would check it out before attempting any modifications. I was able to get it all set up in Betaflight, but when I first plugged in the battery, it wouldn't arm. I was confused, so I plugged it back into BF and my laptop no longer recognized the FC as a usb device. I figured something got fried, so I took it as a sign to start taking it all apart.

Right off the bat, I knew the stiletto ESCs had to go. Since the FC was dead anyway, I replace the electronics with a super_s stack (small and cheap). The frame has just enough space for 2 boards and I didn't want to dremel it since I wanted it to remain strong (and they're out of production). I didn't want to reuse the original dsmx receiver, so I stuck a xm+ in there instead. By trimming the rear half of the camera plate, the receiver sticks out a bit behind the camera. Most of the work was actually in extending the motor wires to reach the new esc. I would've liked to reuse the camera, but I had trouble decasing it without breaking the case in order to access the video for the OSD.

This proved to be quite a troublesome little guy as one of the motors refused to spin up after I finished it. I decided to sleep on it and then it worked magically again the next day without any fixes. Then on the maiden flight, one of the original props literally split in half at the hub in midair. I didn't have any spares, so I went with my rs90 props which were a perfect fit. As I flew, I noticed that the accelerometer wasn't calibrated even though I had done so right before flying. I thought it was drifting, but it wasn't since it was a constant amount of tilt that could be compensated through the sticks. After recalibrating again, it finally flew...very similarly to the RS90, in fact. Not surprising since they use the same motors and props? There is a fair amount of noise as there is a small but noticeable amount of drift building up as you fly. It is not terrible and I would normally try to fix it by soft mounting, but it won't work in this case as there simply is not enough room even to soft mount the stack as there is literally no space between the boards. The final weight came to 39g, which is a bit lighter than the 45g stock. I think it would've been a bit less if not for all the hot glue repairs to the ducts. I may 3d print another set of ducts if I like this quad since most of the parts are now discontinued. I'm going to continue flying it as is and see how it goes.

Update 5/3/18:

The quad is settling in quite a bit and now the noise/drift is no worse than some of my other micros. Again, not the most stable, but very "normal". I reversed the prop directions to help with the turns and most importantly lowered the rates more than I usually do since the weight to power ratio is much higher on this one. I tried flying with a nanotech 300mah and it was like a riding a bull with the throttle being a bit too punchy and sensitive. Definitely doesn't work unless you live in a larger house with high ceilings. So I had to "weigh" it down with some heavier 500mah batteries. Ultimately, it helps if you're a better pilot too...hahaha.

Update 6/21/18:

Turns out turtle mode worked all along, but it wasn't powerful enough because the default quad profile I copy on the taranis has low rates set by default! Switching back to normal rates when enabling turtle mode works like a charm. Now all my quads have turtle mode working great.

Update 7/3/18:

So I put on some KK 40mm 3 blade props on this thing just to see how it flies. With 10k motors, the hubsan tri props made it a little too jumpy for indoor obstacle flying. They're more suited for larger spaces. Until I make another one with 8000 kv motors, I'm going to use these 40mm for a bit longer. Overall, it flies slower with better control, but efficiency drops. I'll try the 40mm 4 blade props when they come in the mail.