Want to build your own FPV copter?

I recently had someone ask me what I would recommend for self-building a quadcopter with an FPV kit. He wanted specifically:

  • FPV from front mounted camera.
  • GoPro on a 3-axis gimbal (controlled from PixHawk)
  • PixHawk
  • Decent flight time > 10 mins

The Kit

I recommended looking into the following pieces of kit for a complete copter with an FPV that would be fun to build.

First of all, the frame. The Arducopter Quad or Y6 Kit would be ideal for this job. In these particular packages, you not only get the frame, but also the required motors.

Then for the FPV side of things, the Tarot T-2D gimbal kit goes well with either the quad frame or the Y6 frame. If you were to choose this particular gimbal, you would also need an adapter plate in order to attach it to your copter. However, they guy who got in touch with me did say he wanted a 3 axis gimbal whereas the one mentioned above is only a 2 axis one. The FY G3 aircraft gimbal is a good choice for a 3 axis gimbal but choosing this would cause some problems with the adapter plate. You would have to modify the plate so that it can accommodate the 3 axis gimbal or design and build your own mounting plate. This is easier said than done and if you would like a mounting plate designed and built for you, just send me a message on dronetrest and I’ll get one sorted for you.

The recommended battery would be a 4S 4000-6000mAh battery. and the flight time for these frames is usually around the 12 minute mark.

I hope this helps for anyone undecided on what kit would be a good choice for building your own FPV copter.