Why 5" freestyle is dying.

[@BOTGRINDER]

Do you fly 5" or smaller?

[@mike73miller]

My wife says it's big enough.

[@MR-od1bv]

Both, but Tinywhoops and 2 inch the most. Maby that will change when the weather outside gets better again. Also im still pretty new, started uploading to KZbin a week or so back. Leave a like if bored.

[@zerotasteguy]

5" for freestyle, 3.5" for racing, 75mm whoops for racing and freestyle and 65mm whoops when i dont want to have fun

[@mattalford3932]

I have a 6s 5 inch, 4 tiny whoops, a cheap camera drone, and a dji avata. I got the avata so I could use the controller and goggles with the 03 air unit.

[@dustmundo]

I exclusively fly 3” and under. I don’t carry a GoPro so 5” is pointless. I’ve been ranting about this for years.

[@xjet]

I find that flying my X-class in busy pre-school playgrounds is the best option. The children (or the small pieces that are left of them) love it and there's something so dramatic about bits of splintering carbon fiber bouncing off your googles.

[@deroskar]

🤣

[@73FPV]

Xjet rocks

[@Toddsnightmare]

Best comment

[@kerrymillar4981]

Should be fine they are used to mass killings in the usa and they dont do anything about just As long as you have remote id and ring the faa on some advice on how to do it safely? And infact its a pilot that holds the record for biggest mass killing but you will need a real airplane as they are fine with those killing people they just blame it on bad maintenance or in most cases they forgot to put fuel in the aircraft

[@Robocopter_fpv]

Hell yeah 😂

[@BonesFPV]

I love the sound of a 5". It's like rocking a V8 under the hood.

[@StrickleeFpv]

Absolutely I call it my air formula one lol 😂 love that sound of a wasp major motor on 6 s doing Mach Jesus through the sky 🤘😎🤘

[@pewcfpv8056]

Yes. The tiny whoops and micros are great but ngl, they look and feel more like toys. 5 inch quads have that hobby grade feel and sound to them. But yeah, parts are so high for them.

[@Oxidon]

I love the history talk of fpv, please do more!

[@Monkey_D_Cluffy]

“You can make cool shit just to make cool shit” spoke to me. Love these recent videos a lot!

[@BOTGRINDER]

This entire video was a ploy to sell grinderinos: bit.ly/3Tb0DHs bit.ly/3tBXyHA bit.ly/46QD10R

[@jubblybits6155]

Got ‘em coach

[@SlamDunc_FPV]

I have two spare grinderino frames but I’m not afraid to buy another one 😉

[@fpvkevlar8101]

Lol love it Bot .Funny shit brother.😂

[@AriZZ21]

Regarding to that. Do you know when they will available again? Im waiting for weeks now.(as well for the demibot) Thank you and nice vid again :)

[@SlamDunc_FPV]

@@AriZZ21 the first link with fly high looks like it still has some in stock yet

[@fearlessflyersfpv420]

thanks for the dab rig show off at 27 seconds in, was a pleasure to make that piece.

[@FalconRadFPV]

Hey thanks for the shout out! I fly my 5" demibot fairly regularly, but flying spots are limited. I've been thinking about building up a grinderino just because it'll be so much easier to finds spots to fly without people getting in the way.

[@DanZfpv]

5" is where my heart is. The smaller platforms just don't have the chooch I need.

[@SpirusFilms]

i’m new to fpv and my first quad was a pavo20 (2” O3) and honestly it feels like a good entry point. I think new people coming in now are kind of working backwards - starting with small quads and working up to bigger quads with more power

[@Johnellenberger1]

Thanks!

[@BOTGRINDER]

Welcome!

[@edrone_]

I never thought I would enjoy anything smaller than a 5" until I woke up one day with a 3" and sent it. It felt the closest and was way quieter flying around my neighborhood. While I will never quit flying my 5" I do see 3" being on my backpack right beside it. Awesome video Bot.

[@Stubbino]

I've barely been into FPV for over a year. 5" was my first proper quad build but quickly found that places to fly safely were limited. I bought a Mob7 just to fly about the house with during the cold, wet and windy winter months but instantly found that the world just opened up for me. I've got a 2S 85mm whoop with 1002 19,800kv motors and I can rip it around doing loop-de-loops and flippy-floppies, but still explore rooftops and do building dives and still feel safe that I'm not going to injure someone or damage property. Tinkering at this scale is so cheap too. The reason I have an 85mm at all was because I ballsed up and got 19,800kv motors instead of the 23,500kv for my 75mm. It was £5 for a frame, £20 for four batteries and a couple of quid for some props and I had a whole new flying experience. Every time I order something I stick on a random toothpick or whoop frame just to try something different.

[@babyzfpv1234]

It’s great listening to you talk about some of the evolution of FPV as well. This is laid out very well.

[@Freakofspeed]

Your Rotor X Atom videos from back in the day got me hooked on your videos... that and your Grave yard vids! I don't get my little guys out enough....

[@babyzfpv1234]

I started on micros for over a year before I went to 5inch this past August. I thought that I wouldn’t like 5 inch, but I came to love many aspects of it. Now I have aspirations of diving waterfalls and unusual rock formations. However, everything you are saying is correct. Flying a whoop or smaller quad opens up a lot more access to exploration. People always comment on how small they are, and love to watch them fly as well. Even the Karen’s like to scratch the “drones ears, or pet the drones head from time to time.”

[@NiCadHeliPilot]

Here in New Zealand, we don't have shit like Remote ID. As recently as last year, I got my first FPV quad, which _is_ a 5" frame. I prefer to _not_ keep up with the Joneses in favour of doing what makes me happy. I have tonne of fun with my quad, in addition to all the helicopters I own.

[@mikeyjames2000]

Yeah, poor Americans with the whole sub250 remote ID thing, we have it good here in NZ😁.

[@NiCadHeliPilot]

@@mikeyjames2000 Fuckin' aye, we do. Been flying my quad and my helicopters around my front yard. Nothing beats that.

[@eturnerx]

Chur, but we kiwis do have VOS and need permission to fly over private land. Private land including most council owned stuff too.

[@defyent]

RId is coming to NZ, be patient 😂😭😂

[@woodyfpv5331]

Matty stuntz videos were amazing too back in the day. Just felt like he deserved a name drop. I was building brushless 2s 2inch rippers around 8 or 9 years ago and was having so much fun I knew it would eventually be the end point.

[@SLPFPV]

portability of a tiny whoop is just so fun and being able to stick 8 batteries in my pocket and I love my radiomaster pocket

[@Ripjaw582]

facts

[@lambo_drives]

8:40 omg THAT iiissss how engagement works. learn something new each day. I can go back to bed. Thanks Mr. Botgrinder 😊

[@rustumlaattoe]

I just wanna say thanks for the motivation! I hadn't flown in 6 months, but youtube randomly threw this video onto my feed and after watching heaps of your content, I charged a bunch of packs and ripped my mobeetle all over the house. I only fly whoops anyway because of the expense of larger drones. I still cant fly worth a damn, but I'm having fun again. Keep up the great content!

[@baggszilla]

Yo bro it was super sick meeting you this weekend in NY! I'm a huge fan of yours! Keep up the great work! Cheers to!

[@andreaspap]

Always your videos that create contrasts and i like it a lot. For so many years I have been saying that the small FPV have the same pleasure to fly them like the big ones and most people came to eat me alive. Honestly now with your hand in the heart you would make this video if there was no RID over the head of all the pilots flying FPV; I wish many would hear you and not snobbish the smaller ones. They all have their own grace and all offered the same pleasure

[@73FPV]

I love this essay format video. Bot you are so good at these. It's amazing. I dont always agree, but i mostly do, but I love the prospective you bring. Masterfully done, sir. Cheers

[@codyhart4062]

That Hubsan x4 you put on screen was exactly what got me into drones. Flew the hell outa that thing

[@whoopsquad]

Me too!

[@driv3r487]

Yup! That boy started it for me two 😍

[@skree_fpv436]

Same here!

[@Implemnt]

I toook 4months off of FPV. I missed the freedom and therapy it provides in this wicked world. The first build after my sabbatical was the micro apex, I got that thang rippin like a 5” but there’s still something about the power of a 5” that I can’t get enough of. I’ve never built anything under 3inch, so I can’t speak on it. One thing I do know is that Bot you’re a great dude for sharing these videos with the masses! Keep on keepin on my G

[@PMcDFPV]

Sounded like Cash Jordan right there at the end. Getting that call to action 🙂 great video man!

[@jackalopefpv1708]

Awesome video bot, learned alot about the history of FPV

[@MotownModels]

I always love hearing about the history of FPV stuff. I remember back in 2011 flying around my 9" quad made from Home Depot aluminum square stock and having the OG KK board. Didn't even have FPV, just line of sight. Those things flew so terribly but were so fun!

[@macksenduro9796]

What's the drone @ 6:12 called? I had a 5 inch for a while and crashed and rebuilt it twice last year and I think my FC/ESC is toast. It just flew off whenever I enabled 'air mode' on beta flight. I'd like to recycle my DJI 03 air unit from it and get a little whoop like pictured at 6:12. Thanks, i've got no idea what i'm doing

[@mr_batch]

I fly all, 2" , 3", 5", 7" and Wings. And, what a wonder, i love to flyin`all of them. It`s all a Question of the Spot you`re want to fly at. ImhO.

[@yarbsfpv]

a week shy of 2 years ago now, I ordered the babyhawk II HD. 3" ripsqueaks were AMAZING and my favorite all-rounder, but then, i saw exactly what that extra half inch of prop did for the platform. So , I built a couple of grinderinos once that frame dropped. favorite quads in my fleet. The future is now.

[@Arbi5577]

Really been enjoying these more video essay style videos you've been doing lately. I only started flying about a year ago so it's cool to hear where it came from and the history of everything. I only have micros and tiny whoops with my largest being a 3”. I have been tempted to build a 5" but at this point it almost seems like I'll get more use out of the micros and I can still rip them.

[@robroy1967]

This is an absolutely fantastic video Bot!

[@JeromeDemers]

Metaldanny!!! Dude that guy was fast in the woods!!!

[@propabilityfpv]

Great stuff as usual Bot, I'll help boost your engagement! This is a strange time in our hobby, it feels like we're at turning point for how FPV (and rc in general) will look in the future. I think we're past the remote id hysteria for the most part, people have made their mind up at this point what they plan on doing. At this point it seems that people are just searching for the most sustainable lowest risk/cost way to enjoy this hobby long term, with Uncle Scam now being heavily involved. I kinda agree that 5" seems to be somewhat dying, and I too have really logged the hours with whoops in the past couple years. Like you said, its just so much easier to find places to fly and not have Karens bother you. I think the main thing that smaller crafts just can't replicate is the speed and momentum. The difference in momentum is the first thing I notice (and miss) when flying a tiny whoop- it just limits what you can do so much more! But maybe a 3.5" is a good middle ground. I can definitely see the benefits for size and cost, but I just wonder how well they will fit the bill for us old heads that want that power, speed, and momentum. What I envisioning happening is the 3.5" class carves out its own new niche in the community. It's likely more appealing to a newcomer that just wants something affordable with good performance, but doesn't want a big heavy buzzsaw of a 5" flying around their neighborhood. Like everything else as our hobby progresses, it gets more and more specialized as new categories of drones become the norm for specific purposes. Maybe we end up with whoops, 3.5", and 5" as the new bread and butter categories in the future. I don't think you'll ever fully get rid of 5", but maybe it just becomes a smaller subset of the freestyle world. Time will tell, but its really interesting to watch as this all evolves!

[@TheReaperGrim63336]

10 seconds funny man , had me 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Good loop for your first. Good job dude 👊😉

[@xORLOCKx]

Nope. I've tried.. I have 3.5s 3 inch toothpicks, some whoops, I am even building a 2s baby turtle 2 inch in hopes that I will like it. But every single time I fly I micro I just miss my 5 inch. Every time I want to go fly and rip.. I want the 5 inch. 🤷 something about it. I just love 5 inch. I'm trying though.. gonna do a whoop video this weekend and go whoop around town. But I just want to fly my 5 inch

[@photosbyjames_]

Try the 2.5inch djinn on 6s 380mah, it feels almost identical to 5”

[@bugsy742]

@@photosbyjames_brother physics alone tells us that’s not true! 😂🤝

[@Mambafpv]

great video again. im loving 5", 3.5" and whoops now but yeh sitting in my van whoooping my hood is special. Team Asbo are making frames all the time, we have the new asbo XLR 3.5" and an all new 5" dropping next month.

[@anthony-friskettiphoto1008]

1) I haven’t been flying long enough to be at that point to make a hard fast decision . 2) I’m more comfortable in tighter spaces like Bandos with a 3.5 inch because of my limited skill level. And they are easier to transport and be a little more discrete 3) they do fly fairly close to a 5 inch but I still feel a 5 inch is better and less fidgety. I seem to have trouble with those little motors sometimes. 4) so I would say I like the performance and most things about 5 inch, but I do like the portability and smaller form factor of the 3.5 5) that was a lot of me not saying much, but I’ll continue to fly both. And whoops don’t fly quite as good but they’re definitely fun and again super portable. 6) I see my sticker!!! Thanks homie!!!

[@gloorfpv1801]

Just got back from my first 5” freestyle event,,, it was totally rad the demibot frame did so well,,, the smaller drones were harder for spectators to see and the sound of the 5 really made things more exciting,,, such a good time,,, suck it ffa

[@johhngoblin]

Bot's TED talk

[@stevenwade1257]

I started the hobby with an Avata only last year and now have a few hd quads but only want to race and freestyle my tiny whoops. You nailed all the positives but I think you forgot to mention the most important thing! The indestructibility of these damn things!

[@tonymorgan328]

Same here Bot. I have several 5"drones but find myself grabbing a micro or the Grinderino most of the time. Tnx for the video.

[@cubefpv]

BOTGRINDER please keep doing videos like this!

[@dougtutt2720]

Been havin a blast mostly flying 2 to 4 inchers for a while and just recently returned to my 5 inch quads. The smaller quads definitely allow for more options but rippin a good ole 5 inch freestyle quad properly just feels like coming home.

[@BOTGRINDER]

"Just feels like coming home" so true haha

[@rakr9334]

5" is the sweet spot of raw power and a nimble flight behaviour. Larger may be more powerful, but not as agile. Smaller is agile AF, but lacks raw power. My largest issue with bigger quads is noise. I've got a horse farm a few hundred meters nex to my house and can't fly my 5" without scaring the horses (this can be pretty dangerous for the people there). When searching for spots there are barely bandos in my area (rural southwest germany), but lots of cool spots next to houses and people in general. So I mainly fly my ~200g AUW 4s 3style with 3018 props. It doesn't scare mammals

[@divingfalconfpv4602]

Yea I fly my 3" alot. Quieter. Also some my other smaller ones. I'll fly my 5" LR alot it's quiet

[@blueskyfpv]

I regularly fly 6" freestyle and prefer it over 5" in my situation (open prairie). I find the 6" quad handles a gopro better, and can get me to abandoned farmyards or waterfalls that are 500m away better than 5". Space permitting, any trick I can do with a smaller quad I can do with my 6" quad. However, there is no doubt that 6" is WAY less agile than any 2.5 - 4" quad, but I don't try to fly a 6" quad in the same places or for the same reasons. As for lacking power, 1s whoops maybe, but my 3" Apex mini with 1507 3800kv 4s motors has GOBS of power.

[@OmegaNineProfile]

I currently have a 5" and 2 micros, one digital one analog. I like the weight of the analog when it gets down to the whoop size. I have the parts list together for my demibot build though, that might be what I run mostly when the snow melts up here in Canada.

[@_lysimache4832]

I have everything from 65mm whoops to a couple Demibots. Whenever I do go fly my 5in, I nearly always have a Crux35 or Grinderino to pair it with because my spot options open up vastly. Theres just nothing quite like the sound of a demibot ripping the air apart.

[@kymbo2117]

Not quite sure if a mobula 8 is classed as a micro but my walksnail mob 8 is becoming my favourite quad to fly. Living in Australia i come under some pretty heavy scrutiny flying my 5-inch quads now. No more sneaking into a park and diving a high rise in the city any more at day break as most people know what a fpv quad is and know there illegal in Australia ,especially when they hear those really loud 5-inch props ripping into the air a mile away. Well, that's were the walksnail mob 8 comes in. i can sit in a quiet corner of a park somewhere with my bag or even just a shopping bag and can fly my mob 8 around most places without anyone even giving me a second look. And with elrs and digital video you can fly a suprisinly long way, especially when I've tuned my mob to give me 6 minutes flight time and that's 6 minutes hard flying. Because of the extra weight of the digital vtx and the 550 mah 2s battery i can even drop into decent high rise building dives as long as the wind isn't too high, hell just about everything a 5 inch can do the mob 8 can do, within reason. but it opens up so many more flying spots and not bringing attention to myself. Can't beat ripping a 5 inch but digital micros are seriously bridging the gap between flying and being chased off and fined to flying most anywhere and not bothering anyone. Cant believe the enjoyment i get flying such a small quad with surprisingly good video rec.

[@STOLerant]

Bro, my main rig for a few years has been a gnarlyfpv primo. Cheap to build, fly awesome with freestyle, and like you said, opens up SO many more spots. Fits in my pocket and is surprisingly robust. Less inertia I imagine.

[@CaptCalgary]

Great vid Bot!! I wanted to have every size and I almost do but micros are a blast and your not bothered to much.

[@Halfrightfox]

I build one TBS Source One V5 and it was great. After I bought a Mobula8, I fell in love with micros. Now I have a grinderino, 2.5", mob8, and a mob6. The barrier to entry is much lower with sub250 class and the versatility inversely gets better with size 🤙

[@MattPochwat]

Yea, I almost solely fly 3.5" and under these days. Mostly because I love flying in parks and the difference in noise and size draws way less attention. If I was flying bandos and other larger spots, I'd probably still opt for my 5" though.

[@ahodbikes]

I live in a dense city as well and recently got a Mobula 8. It's so much easier to just zip around on the e-bike and poach spots, I just find myself flying it way more often than my 5". Finding a spot free of people and big enough for the 5" does still feel like a treat, like going to the race-track for a day on your motor bike or something, but the fact is that I just spend more hours flying my mini quad!

[@yonseimatt]

Akshually...if I remember correctly, the 250mm frames were designed for 5" but would take 6" props too. I remember I had a QAV210 which was 5", and the QAV180 was the 4" version, waaaay back in the day. But yeah- I started on those big old 8" and 10" DJI flamewheel things before FPV was really a thing, then moved on to 5" when FPV gear first became available, then to 3" when the 250g became a thing. Now I have bigger quads- four 5", a 9", an 11"- but mostly I fly whoops and 3-4" just because they're quieter, safer, and more portable.

[@fishfacefpv]

Love my 3" just wish it could carry a full size GoPro cos I like that flowy smooth video, gyro flow is cool an all but straight out the camera saves so much time. Still love my 5"s though, guess options is good, tend to take them all with me and fly what feels safe at the time (we are very limited on spots for bamdo's in the u.k.)

[@powersv2]

Session 5 or 11mini😊

[@fishfacefpv]

@@powersv2 I have an 11mini but that lump is way too heavy for a 3" freestyle rig😳but the runcam orange works out okay, seriously considering a runcam thumb pro w though

[@LiverpoolFPVHub]

My first HD Quad was the Babyhawk 2 HD, I've now got a 7" a couple of 5" quads, and a few tiny whoops with naked O3, but if I could have only one it would be the Babyhawk. I converted it to O3 and its still sub 250, will carry a naked gopro no problem, gives you loads of flight time, plenty of punch, it's quiet and its a lot of fun.

[@Joeyzoom]

I've been flying the Grinderino lately because how much easier it is to transport, smaller cheaper batteries, and less prone to break shit. Next I need to figure out what action cam I like best for it, or just shell out for the DJI crap. Cheers 🍻

[@powersv2]

Used gopro mini 11’s and session 5’s on ebay are deal city.

[@msulkey]

For me, same age as you, started building back in 2013 mostly 5”, then had kids, got busy so I took a break around 2018 from the hobby as I was spending way too much money lol, then, when the 03 air unit came out, I got back into the hobby, these new BnF’s are so nice and such timesavers for me. The baby hawk 03 is so much fun!!! i’ll probably stay in the sub 250 category. Same thrill, less money and they withstand crashes better.

[@gior12_]

ehi what you suggest less then 250g with dji 03 system? ty so much

[@msulkey]

It depends on how you want to fly, but yes, no matter if you’re a beginner or an expert, sub 250 is great for cruising and freestyle. HD video in the goggles makes it worth it that’s for sure.

[@gior12_]

@@msulkey thank you!

[@Spacecazeka]

i recently got back into FPV, i used to have a some kinda china cheap racing drone (but it had 800+mw VX transmitter so the range was great) that i got for like 250 bucks, remote + screen + drone. was a great deal honestly back in 2015. This year i got the pavo pico20 and a geprc moz7 but yeah, i initially wanted to fly the large 7 inch drone around but i can't really do it in the city, the tiny pavo pico20 kicks ass supporting 3s battery and 03 air unit

[@skatamartin4970]

in germany we dont have remote id but we are required to register at the LBA (basically the FAA of germany) to get a number. this number has to be on the drone somewhere no mater how small it is. as soon as it got a camera. if its more that 250g you also need a pilots license that you can get by doing a multiple choice test online and paying 25€ once you got your license you can fly everything up to 20kg so it doesnt really matter if you fly whoop or 5 inch. thats why 5 inch is still the standard here.

[@topdowndronesolutions]

I grew up watching skate videos, but never done an Ollie. When I first discovered fpv, the similarities are what drew me in. Being able to fly a spot how I wanted to, same as a skater would hit their own line.

[@theskyisminefpv1218]

2 broke 5 inch 2 tiny whoops which been flying a lot indoors chasing kids, getting quite good because rain or shine ya gonna get some pacs in . Moblite 7 and 6 love them both. Still love 5 inch great video man

[@kerrymillar4981]

Im worried people will think i have a tiny whoop whoop when we all want 5inchs

[@billmcdonald4335]

I flew an Inductrix back in the day. Was a blast. I've since settled on 2-inch, 2S/3S whoops. Great park cruisers, and I got 'em tamed so I can fly indoors no sweat. Great cost-to-performance ratio, too.

[@conquestfpv9216]

I got a 6” i love for the speed sound and solid video even in higher winds, i do miss having a tiny whoop tho. I haven’t had a tiny quad since i started

[@jackwilmar1032]

I got into the hobby with 5” freestyle and picked up a cheap whoop for the winter and now I’m building 3 more 😅 After watching 28g whoop the world I yern to go and gorilla whoop and watching your whoop vids have really got me going on building some whoops to go dive and take into town

[@neilfpv]

Hey buddy! Most of my quads are 5-inch. I just love the combination of 1900kv+ motors and the momentum when I do a full throttle blip when I like to do a juicy flick! The visual effect while quad is looking back on the object and slowly going farther and farther is just so amazing! I don't know if smaller quads can achieve that effect since I don't have them. I'm building a new 5-inch and this time I'll use 2125kv motors on 6s.

[@Vitroid]

I have everything from a 65mm whoop to a 5" freestyle build, 7" coming really soon(TM). The micros are a lot of fun just to fly around the house from the patio when I don't want to ride out to a spot. But if I decide to go out somewhere, it's almost always with the 5" builds. Everything always finds its use! 5" almost got to a point where everything performs almost the same, but there's a ton of variety in the micro world, that makes it more interesting nowadays IMO

[@McShakyFPV]

I’m an equal opportunity quad flyer. I’m in Colorado so winter time can get me snowed in which gives me lots of time to fly micro quads in my basement and around my house but then in the spring and summertime I love to fly 7 and 10 inch up to the top of mountains where I can mountain surf and dive down to clear mountain lakes

[@DrooniMedia]

Pure truth here. I've been slowly moving out of 5" freestyle just for the reasons you mentioned. My 5" racing quads are going to stay, 5" there is the sweet spot, but for freestyle it's more about places you can fly at. In EU regulations are getting stricter and you basically HAVE TO be under 250g to be able to fly anywhere remotely interesting. And after having lost few times the control of your drone mid-flight you kinda start to be worried with your 5" 700g killing machine when flying it anywhere near normal people. So it makes sense. For me freestyle is very much going towards smaller quads. For cinematic video work larger quads are great, for racing 5". Times are indeed changing.

[@Wizzard033]

I recently started flying the Firefly Nano and I'm hooked on micros for sure now. i found the same thing when E-flight introduced the UMX fixed wings. I stuck a tiny camera and my goggles on and had a blast. parts and batteries are so much cheaper.

[@Xplicit_fpv]

Great vid bro! Its been about a year ...both 5'' just collecting dust.. all about mircos and fixed wing lately!

[@lightbulbjim]

2.5" is where it's at for me. Big enough to carry the light HDZero or Walksnail systems without compromising performance, but small enough to fly in my backyard. 5 minutes of flight time (not just cruising) on a 3s 550mAh battery.

[@birdmanone]

Started with a tiny whoop and haven't moved on yet. Lots of fun.

[@WindjumbieFPV]

5'' only, who say Freestyle is dying? maybe not as many videos as there used to be but pilots are freestyling just as much only posting less cuz the media is saturated with cinematic content and nobody watches FS doesn't mean it's dead

[@kurtzFPV]

I'm not that good, but I still have fun. I post my vids to keep from eating up hard drive space as resolution increases.

[@BOTGRINDER]

Exactly

[@enlightx]

i starting moving from 5" last year just not enough places to fly them anymore in the uk urban areas. 3inch 4inch just the same as a 5inch now you can have walksnail with onboard dvr

[@buddyadkins2432]

I think that you pretty much nailed it. Yeah, the less you scare the hell out of people, the less they get upset; smaller is less scary. I think the 5-inch frame will still have some use, but not those heavy ones for freestyle. These will be more like the 7-inch was; an easy long range cruiser. Then there are the regs that Congress mandates the FAA to implement. Well, basically the only real new thing is Remote ID all of the other regs have been in place since 2018 at least. What I have discovered over the last couple of years is that most drone pilots don't really know the regulations and most, erroneously, believe they are flying recreationally when they are NOT. What RID and all the Ranting have done is to bring the regulations to the forefront, not just Remote ID. If you don't like it now, then you won't like it later. On that note: Happy Remote ID Day. 😊

[@AmericanAbandoned]

I love both 5" and 3.5"...but as someone who travels for work the overall smaller packout for 3.5" is super nice for my normal day to day. I prefer 5" but love that my 3.5" let's me rock and roll on the go with little effort.

[@LilwickedFpv]

Keep up the great magnificent work. But I think I’m gonna stick to 5” only because it’s much more durable for wind velocity and the weight so I believe. 🤷🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️

[@carboncubss]

I shall engage good sir. I first started FPV with Alien Wii boards on Parrot frames and also Picnic quad frames many years ago. These were very quick quads for the size and weight and really was so much fun. Brushed quads other than whoops and now including whoops are all brushless. But before they made tiny brushless motors brushed was the way and without the ducts like whoops have the quads were much faster and really a shit ton of fun. Super quit, super quick and with and 200mw AIO VTX and a Lemon RX you could go some distance.

[@Kai-P]

I love building and flying sub250 quads, especially 3.5". They are much more fun in tighter spaces, so much quieter and also more agile. Only reason for 5" are GoPro and bigger cameras, but then there are also naked GoPros if O3 isn't enough already.

[@AtradiesInc]

We have a shit load of freestyle guys getting into racing with five33 in Knox TN. We are talking about opening up a park for freestyle and racing. Most of the guys here mainly do freestyle and dabble in racing. Seems like mainly 5inch and 3-3.5. But I think the future is moving towards the 250 gram mark on a 5 inch drone.

[@gunslinger4130]

I'm just getting into quads after years of helis, and while my 5 inchers are absolute monsters to fly, I love my 3.5 and 4 in parks and soccer fields. They're quiet, and are more than capable of doing any trick i can throw at them. A school playground is a ton of fun with a whoop, so i tend to grab the smaller quads for quick flights. The 5 inch quads go out on planned trips.

[@CalleyyyC]

I have a couple 5” quads that have always collected dust, but my micros and whoops collect all the sky miles. All for the reasons you mention. Can fly them in more places with less worry

[@artifixprime]

First non-whoop was a tinyhawk 2 freestyle - it still gets used nearly more than anything else. It's just so much fun and cheap to run - have upgraded the **** out if it too :) Built a 3.5" too that is still small enough for more places, but has loads of power to play with :)

[@StrickleeFpv]

Great video and very good point . I’m personally invested in 250 mm so I’m gonna rock it for a while but I also want to build some small pocket racers to see what it’s all about . I can’t do whoops though they are just to small .

[@levelonedrone242]

I'm about 3 years into FPV and I got 1-5" 2-4" 1-3" and 8 micros from 85 to 65mm. I've flown the 5" about 7 months ago. The 4" about 4 months ago the 3 " about 2 months ago but literally flew the 75mm like 3 hours ago and at least 4 times a week or more. Can pull on the side of the road at a local park and jam or just have fun in my back yard. Its just so much easier, the only issue is windy days. Battery packs are easier and quicker to charge up and cheaper which means more flight time overall with like 10 1s batteries.

[@KrispyFPV_]

Ive been ripping since the OG Days and ill never give up my 5" thinny. i enjoy my power and in Florida the wind will take my whoop on a roof in an instant with the shit i hit, i need that kick while baked but i understand ur point.

[@heelerhealer7552]

Flyin' Blenders got me hooked and will always rip, but I totally get going tiny for the massive increase in flying possibilities. Great content sir.

[@blueskyfpv]

Totally agree with you on this. I really like my 2 - 4" quads. There are way more places to fly in urban areas, they are much cheaper and way easier to pack and carry. I would completely recommend a beginner start with something in the 1.5" - 3" size going with 2s on 2" and 4s on the 3". Fast, fun, and 100% capable of any freestyle. The 2" Rocket Race put together in Nick Burns style is an absolute blast to fly around my yard. My 3" apex with 1507 motors flies like a Civic with a V8. However, I live in the bald-ass prairies (Saskatchewan), and don't have bandos and buildings, just wide open spaces, so I've been going the other way. My favourite quad from last summer was a 6" source one v3. 6" is awesome for carrying a full sized gopro and can still rip hard. Since a lot of my 'freestyle' flights range over more than a km2, I'm currently building a 7" freestyle (not long range) using the open source S.A.F 7" frame. It is so much more expensive to run the big drones though. Just a single 2200 mah 6s for the 7" costs the same as 15 whoop batteries. You get more flight time from the whoop batteries! In the end, the best quad is always the one that you can bind to, have batteries for, and isn't broken when you want to fly.

[@jacobvanderkooy2332]

I'm about a yr into the hobby... I fly +75mm whoops and 3-3.5", that's my comfort and skill zone and I've got no issues Love the vids btw!!

[@Brain4tn_FPV]

Love, Love Love, my 5" but I live on a 30 x 40 mile island that is primarily military, urban, airport, and private land. The parks are normaly either small or packed with people so very few places to fly it. I really only get some 5" love a couple hours a week. But my whoop, sub250 3", and my recent build, a 4s 2.5" I can fly every day in my back yard.

[@zorgonec]

4s 2.5" ? Tell me more about it please 😄

[@Brain4tn_FPV]

@@zorgonec phantom 2.5 walksnail

[@shadowofchaos8932]

I mainly fly 4" and up. I'm definitely over 250g. Demibot for the win.

[@bjornce6]

I exclusively fly sub250g because I only just started the hobby last year and knew what was coming (in europe). There's some great 2.5" Cinewhoops or 3.5" Freestyle quads easily below 250g including battery and a lightweight action cam 🙂

[@koalafpv]

Sweet to see the FalconRad shoutout. Been loving the Rad Li-ion

[@SuprDlux]

Imma pilot, I’ll fly a frisbee if there’s nothing else ❤

[@oisinogorman35]

big ups for bot being on the forefront of emerging fpv culture yet again!

[@JP-qq2kn]

I've been saying this for years. I've been flying fpv for 4.5 years and have never flown a 5 inch. I built a sub 250g 4 inch years ago out of parts from the parts box because every KZbin video kept telling me I needed to be flying a 5 inch. I liked it, but I found it was too big for the type of flying I really like to do (just ripping around my yard track going in n out of the windows of the house) n being so light made it weak AF. I think 2/3 inch toothpicks and 75mm whoops are the best for my needs. When they are properly tuned, they fly amazing.