First quadcopter build

[cb500]

Hi everyone m new to quadcopters and wanting to build my own.
I'm not wanting to compete in any form of competition it is purely for fun, but I want something fast and nimble.

What are my options and where do I start? And recommendations on brands?
Any do's and dont's?
What parts should I buy first?

Thanks Rich

 

[HDtallrider]

Welcome cb500! I would suggest buying a inexpensive RTF small quad to learn to fly on. You will crash. A lot. No sense destroying your hard work and hundreds of dollars while learning to fly. The Hubsan H107 or Syma x5 are really popular. They are rugged. Fly like the full size copters and there are tons of parts available. Get extra props and batteries and fly it to death! Regarding your build, which you can do while learning to fly, give us a budget range and whether you want to build from scratch or build a kit. You'll find a lot of advice here. We all love spending other peoples money!

 

[cb500]

That's great thanks for the reply, I'll get one of those ordered.
As far as budget goes I don't really have one as I'm new to these. I don't know what to expect to spend or what the limits are.
I am quite experienced with RC models but mainly on the car stuff, so I know not to buy cheap stuff, but obviously these are completely different setups and I don't recognise most of the brands to know what's good and what isn't so good.

 

[HDtallrider]

Good to hear you have some RC experience. You are right about the cheap stuff. There are a lot of holes in the ground caused by cheap stuff. I would suggest that your first parts hunt be for a Tx/Rx that you like the feel of. You will be able to use this for all your future flying models. These are different from your car radios. Size wise the 250mm quads are the sports cars. They are fast, agile and kinda twitchy. From there you can go up various sizes to about 350mm and still have a pretty fast and agile quad. They are kind of like stock cars. More stable in crosswinds and have some decent payload capabilities for cameras etc. Google "quadcopter build help". You will find a wealth of information there. You will find the info you need to help you determine the type and size quad that will best suit the flying you want to do. I will give you a list of MY favorite parts. Futaba 10ja Tx/Rx ( only radio designed for multi rotors ). Motor; 1) KDE Direct 2) T-Motor 3) SunnySky. ESC ; 1) KDE Direct 2) T-Motor S series 3) ZTW Spider. Flight Controller; 1) SuperX ( and MiniX ) 2) Naza ( current models) 3) PixHawk ( haven't used one yet but reviews are stellar ). I tend toward the better quality end of the spectrum. I am sure you will hear from others on the forum who have their favorites as well. Since you already have chargers etc. you won't need advice there. Quads are a blast! You're gonna like this part of the RC hobby.

 

[cb500]

Right then, eBay here we come
Thanks for the advice much appreciated.
If I like the quads as much as I'm expecting they will probably replace the cars.

 

[HDtallrider]

They are addicting. One more thing. Since this branch of the RC hobby is still young, be careful of clones coming from China. For example; the QAV250 from Luminier is an absolutely stellar carbon fiber racer and rather pricey. It is one of the most copied designs by the Chinese. Some of which are ok but many have really poor quality. Too thin structural pieces, miss-drilled holes, fraying carbon fiber etc. There is a lot of crap out there and good stuff as well. It will shake out eventually. Many of the suppliers you're familiar with also sell multirotor parts. Stick with them or ask some forum members about a particular vendor you don't know. Folks here will love to help you spend your money!