I think this may have been my first build which I started and completed, and successfully maidened in one day. I’ve wanted to have a DJI HD FPV based quad that was smaller than the two 6S 5″ quads I currently have. Something more portable, and able to fly in smaller areas.

iFlight DC3 HD Frame

The frame is the iFlight DC3 HD.  DC stands for “deadcat,” which is an arm design which results in the camera having no props in view.

Deadcat designs are what many cinematographers choose.

FPV

I’m hooked on DJI’s FPV system because of numerous reasons, including the clarity of the FPV view in the goggles, recording HD 4K video on board, and elegant interfacing. So that’s why I chose the system for this build.

Receiver

For my receiver I’m using TBS Crossfire.  I’ve seen the light with TBS Crossfire and its long range capabilities.  I’ve essentially vowed that from now on I will be using Crossfire for all my builds.  This small quad has Crossfire, as well as the Immortal T antenna.

Motors/Power

I’ve been testing out some EMax motors recently.  I decided to go with the Emax ECO Micro Series 1407 motors at 2800kv.  Based on that one might guess that I decided to run the system on 4S battery power.

Currently my battery of choice is a CNHL 4S 650MAH.

Stack

For the flight controller and 4in1 ESC I went with the Diatone Mamba Stack F405US MK3 Mini F35.  I have a couple of other Mamba ESC’s in quads and I’ve been satisfied with their performance.  The stack is capable of running 6S.

3D Printing

I found some arm bumpers/motor soft mounts online to 3D print.  I also designed a 3D printed set of mounts for the Crossfire Immortal T.

I went with orange TPU filament to go with the orange theme of the quad.

Flying

I’m about to do some real flying with the quad in the next few days and will post some performance comments, and flying videos soon. Overall I’m very happy with the build and the equipment choices.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has important registration information for drone recreational flyers who registered in the FAADroneZone before December 12, 2017. Your registration has been automatically extended until December 12, 2020.

Why Was My Registration Extended?
The National Defense Authorization Act for 2018 restored the FAA’s registration rule with respect to model aircraft and recreational flying. If you registered prior to December 12, 2017, and did not request to have your registration information deleted, the FAA extended the expiration date until December 12, 2020, which is three years from the rule restoration date. If you requested a refund of registration fees, you would have had to re-register again after December 12, 2017. Therefore, your expiration date would now also be December 12, 2020, or later. At this time you can retain your registration number. 

What Should I Do Now?

• You do not need to do anything to extend your registration expiration date, this was done automatically.
• To print an updated registration card: Login to the FAADroneZone, select the Recreational Flyer Dashboard, and select Print. 

When Will I Need to Renew My Registration?

• The FAA will send out a registration renewal email notification 180 days prior to your registration expiration date.
• When your registration renewal is available, your FAADroneZone dashboard will include an option to “Renew.”
• Please note: You cannot renew earlier than 180 days prior to the registration expiration date. No third-party vendor can renew your registration for you at this time.

How much does it cost to renew/register?
$5 through the FAADroneZone.

Do I need to register each drone/aircraft?
If you are registering as a Recreational Flyer, you only register once and use the same registration number on all drones that you own and intend on using for recreational flying. If you are trying to register under Part 107, then you will register each drone individually and each drone will get a separate registration number.

This past Christmas I got a new 3D printer, my first one.  It is a Creality Ender 3 Pro. I’ve been tinkering around with it, learning how it works and printing a bunch of random things I’ve found on the web.

Just recently I started learning Fusion 360, which is a 3d CAD application. I’ve started to create some very basic designs, and have now produced TWO different unique parts for some of my drone fleet.

Immortal T Mount

First I needed a TBS Immortal T antenna mount for one of my DJI HD based quads.  Check it out.

Yeah it is basic, and I’ll probably move the antenna to the middle or back later but these mounts are working great.

Ummagawd Acrobrat Antenna Mount

After breaking a few antenna mounts and a VTX, I ended up zip tying the antenna to the frame.  That was OK, but the antenna wasn’t in a great position and was still very susceptible to damage.

So I whipped up an antenna mount in Fusion 360.  Took a bit of a wild guess on the angle, and got it nailed.  The antenna is just about perfectly vertical when the quad is flying forward.