The sweet-spot 5" Freestyle Part 1: Component Choice

I have decided to piece together a bang for your buck freestyle build to coincide with the summer in the Northern Hemisphere. My objective for this build was not to build the cheapest quad but the best value. This means parts will be from recognised brands with a good track record of performance and reliability with a good degree of future proofing. To be clear, this is not a $99 build, it is more like $150-$170 but will be more reliable AND outperform any pre-built quad and will easily hold it's own against something double or triple the price - I like to think of it as the Sweet Spot.

This Sweet Spot Quad will be split into 3 parts:

1. Component Choice (this article) 
2. The Build
3. The Review and Recommendations. Update: now completed

I've chosen to build this as a 6s but going 4s is simply a case of choosing the higher kV motor variant and retaining the overhead if you decide to upgrade to 6s in future.

For each key component I'll show you what I chose, a cheaper option and a more premium option with price indication and justification. Let's get straight into it!!

All the things!

 Motors

This was the first and easiest part I chose - the new Emax ECO 2207/2306 at $10-12 each. These are simply outstanding value for money. They have the legendary Emax heritage, 9mm bearings (a big upgrade over the more expensive RSII and LS series) are relatively lightweight and are available in 1700 and 2400kV variants, suitable for 6s or 4s respectively. Magnets are not as strong as some motors but this is ideal for freestyle where smoothness and efficiency improves greatly at only a small cost to brute force. I've chosen 2306 because I think these are better suited to freestyle (2207 for racing)

Budget option: No change, would stick with the Emax Eco

Premium option: Brother Hobby Returner R6 2306 at $20-$25. Only a minor step up in power but double the price.

Flight Controller/ESC

Simply put nothing can touch the Diatone Mamba F405/ESC at only $40-45 for the stack. It is obscene value. It has an F405 FC with 3 available UARTs, A BLHeli_S ESC that is capable of 40A and the whole thing is capable of up to 6s. Missing BLHeli_32 is a minor inconvenience but at this stage I see no tangible benefit from BLHeli_32 over BLHeli_S although RPM filtering on betaflight 4 and up may prove me wrong.

Budget option: No change

Premium option: I love the Airbot Omnibus F4 V6 FC and Typhoon V2.1 combo at $70-$80. 5 UARTs, 8v power source for video, barometer and rock-solid BLHeli_32 ESC with full telemetry functionality. I've put 180A through this on 6s on my 7 inch build at one point. Yikes! ​

​Frame

This was the hardest choice but I went with the Iflight XL5.5 Lowrider V3 at $35-$40. I chose the lowrider frame because I light the thought of getting the centre off mass more in the prop-line (which should make it easier to tune) and of course it looks great! I went with 5.5 to allow for more clear air around the prop given there is less room for air to unload from the side of the prop through the lateral openings in the frame. I chose Iflight as a brand because they are doing some amazing things at the moment in frames, electronics, motors in everything from micro up to x-class. I also bought this TPU antenna mount to get the VTX and receiver antennae in the right spot. 

Budget option: Cockroach v2 225 at $20-25. This is great value and I'm still keen to try this at some point. Would recommend this one for sure if you are looking for an easier build or to shave some money off. Also Consider TBS Source One although this is significantly heavier.

Premium option: I've always wanted to try the Rotor Riot Remix but feel it's unnecessarily expensive. Another alternative is the GEP-RC KHX5 Elegant at $60-$65 which is very similar (and was actually released before the Remix).

Camera

I've used the opportunity to try something a little newer here and going with the Runcam Robin at $20-$25. This is a micro sized 4:3 CCD camera that is available with a nice 1.8mm lens. WDR is meant to be very strong and I like that it includes at mini-micro adapter, hardware and settings remote.

Budget option: Can't go past the Foxeer Micro Arrow Pro at $15-$20. This is an excellent cam and I sure hope I don't regret passing by this option instead! Grab this if you are looking to save a little money.

Premium option: It would be the Caddx Ratel at $25-35 if the reliability was improved but for now the Runcam Micro Eagle at $40-45. This is a lovely camera with amazing light handling due to a large sensor. I use this on my long range build.

Video Transmitter (VTX)

This is another hard choice but I've opted to try the Eachine TX805 at $15-$20. I strongly suspect this is made by AKK based on the FX2 mini ultimate which is a fantastic VTX. This model has smart audio, solder terminals, 30.5mm 2/3 board mount, 25/200/600/800mW power options and both linear whip and SMA adaptors included.

Budget option: If you don't need the power I'd recommend the AKK race vtx at $10 but bear in mind it only goes to 200mW.

Premium option: Probably the Rush Tank VTX at $30-35 which as reviewed well or if you are feeling really minted then the Unify Pro32 HV which is an eye-watering $50

VTX Antenna

I went with Foxeer Lollipop 3 stubby at $15-20 per pair which are lightweight, well made and have a good signal. They are available in stubby, stalk, mmcx or ufl variants in both left and right polarisation. Since purchasing the Lollipop 3 is available which is even more durable

Budget option: I'd still stick with the Lollipop, even random pagoda antennas are not really any cheaper. 

Premium Option: I'd go VAS Ion or the Lumineer AXII micro, both $15-$20 each but would lean towards the Ion.

Propellers

These are highly personal and since pricing does not vary much I've listed my favorites:

Gemfan Hurricane 5146.6 are lightweight, durable and surprisingly efficient for a fast prop. I will run with a throttle limit to tame, these are my new favourites.

Azure Johnny FPV props are super smooth but are a little amp-hungry

Ethix S3 are light, responsive and efficient but not especially fast.

T-Motor 5143 are ridiculously light and responsive and moderately fast but lack durability

That's it for the components, motors and fc/esc are head and shoulders above the rest for value whereas others like vtxs are all much of a muchness and props and frames are more personal preference than anything. In real life I've already built and started flying so check back in for Part 2: Build guide and Part 3: Review and recommendations. Thanks for reading!

Update: I've completed the build and have reviewed the components and build including DVR and HD footage using the new Runcam 5. All the details are here: ​THE SWEET-SPOT VALUE 5" FREESTYLE PART 2: FULL REVIEW

Thanks for reading, if you found this article useful please feel free to like or share, the facebook links below directly link/like this article. Links are affiliated and help me buy the bits I need to produce this type of content.

Sneak peak of the build coming shortly in part 2