Thunderbolt mini quad frame

by rcflyer729 | October 27, 2015 | (7) Posted in Reviews

My name is Luke and I am 17. I have been designing and flying RC airplanes for over 7 years, and more recently FPV and mini quads. In early 2014 I started flying FPV by using a mini DVD player that I found at the dump. With a DIY approach, I was able to get it to run off a 2s lipo for a FPV monitor. I also purchased a cheap setup for transmitting video. The only thing I did not go cheap on was the GoPro for capturing video. My first multirotor was a wooden tricopter that I built. Immediately, I was hooked and after a few months I got the Predator V2 goggles. My first introduction to mini quads was from Flite Test's review of the Blackout. Ever since I saw that, I decided to save up and in September of 2014 I got my first mini quad. It was the Emax Night Hawk g10 frame which is an ideal, first-time mini quad frame. It held up really well to crashes, but after a few months I wanted something lighter so I decided to make my own frame. I ordered some carbon and started designing, with good results. I built several prototypes and now have the final version done and just started selling it on my website. I fly mini quads around my house and through the woods every day when the weather is good and a couple Saturdays of every month I fly at a FPV meetup near where I live, racing through gates and obstacles.

My website

http://rcthunderquads.com/

 

The goal of starting this business is not to make a fortune selling these frames, but to provide a good quality product at an affordable price and make a little extra cash to finance my inventions. Also, it will be fun helping people get their quads setup and using the CNC machine to cut out the frames, doing all to the glory of Christ.

The Thunderbolt Mini Quad is a high quality quadcopter frame featuring durable carbon fiber, 4mm thick carbon arms, and a well-protected, forward camera mounting position.  This frame was designed with both racing and freestyle in mind, being tested on both. Given its small size, this is the perfect option if you want to protect your GoPro and still fit though those small gaps. This frame also supports the Xiaomi Yi Action Camera and any like-sized camera

 

The Thunderbolt frame is constructed from 1.5mm 3k twill carbon fiber and the arms from rigid 4mm carbon. With such strong materials, I have found it to be unbreakable in all my testing. This frame has been a long time in design and I have gotten the kinks worked out. In designing this frame, I tried to get it as small as possible while still offering excellent GoPro protection. In fact, this is the smallest frame on the market with this amount of protection. Due to the small size, the battery must be mounted on the top plate. This has worked very well in all my testing and does not throw the center of gravity off enough to effect the flight performance.

 

 

Specifications:

 

1.5mm Thick Main Frame Plates, 3k Twill Carbon Fiber

 

4mm Thick Arms, 3k Twill Carbon Fiber

 

Strong Nylon 30mm Standoffs

 

M3 Hardware (Nuts and Bolts)

 

Supports GoPro 3, 3+, 4; Xiaomi Yi Action Camera and any other like-sized camera

 

Supports 5/6in Propellers

 

Weight of the hole frame including hardware is 6.3oz or 175grams

 

Full line of replacement parts available here in the store

 

Setup That I Recommend:

 

Cobra 2100kv Motors

 

http://innov8tivedesigns.com/cobra-cm-2206-20-multirotor-motor-kv-2100

 

Rotorgeek 20amp ESCS

 

http://rotorgeeks.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=34_43&product_id=315

 

1800mah High C Rating 4Cell Lipo Battery

 

These are really good quality batteries and I highly recommend them.

 

http://giantpowerlipos.myshopify.com/products/4s-14-8v-4-cell-1800-mah-65c-quad-racer-special-lipo-battery-250-quad-fpv-race-pack

 

The Vector Flight controller is my personal favorite flight controller for mini quads and all my other quads, but you could also go with something like a Naze 32 which will still give you really good performance.

 

http://www.eagletreesystems.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=136

 

http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=76_156&products_id=3066

 

DAL Bulnose Props are what I use.

 

http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=534_700_701

 

Flight Controller Setup and Setting….

 

If you bought a Vector or already have a Vector you can download my config file and get all my pids and other settings.

 

config download

 

Here are my pid settings for the Vector:

 

" PitchGain_Inner_I="16 " PitchGain_Inner_P="125 " PitchGain_Inner_D="14 " PitchGain_Outer_P="46 " RollGain_Inner_I="15 " RollGain_Inner_P="57 " RollGain_Inner_D="14 " YawGain_Inner_I="4 " YawGain_Inner_P="104 " YawGain_Inner_D="0 " RollGain_Outer_P="26 

 

Here is an amazing guide made by Oscar Liang that goes through a lot of helpful info on setting up the Naze 32:

 

setup guide

 

This website has some very helpful info for setting up your quad:

 

http://blog.oscarliang.net/quadcopter-2/


 

I am a teem Eagle Tree pilot and I took part in helping Eagle Tree get there vector working well on mini quads. We added some key features like oneshot and throutle based gain. The Thunderbolt mini quad has lots of room to be able to fit a vector inside.

Here is a video I did with Eagle Tree Systems that gives an overview of the changes we made to the vector.

If you have any questions regarding this frame please leave a comment or shoot me an email.

skyflyer729@rcthunderquads.com

Here is some video footage of the Thunderbolt 230 in action:

 


COMMENTS

Ace 13 on October 27, 2015
good job man I love it.
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rcflyer729 on October 27, 2015
Thanks!!
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dgohstand on October 29, 2015
Just a quick question I have. I wouldn't be surprised if other people who are also looking at frames have the same question. Here it goes.

Why would I buy your frame when I could buy Red 20 RC's BDX240 (which is also meant for a GoPro), the R220 Evo, or any of there great variety of frames. They come with more options and are cheaper than your frame and have a great reputation. They also supply a great list of spare parts. (I know this because I have one of their frames)

I'm not trying to say your frame is bad, it actually looks really good, but compared to the competition out there, it's not as great as some other frames that are cheaper.

Keep up the great work!
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rcflyer729 on October 29, 2015
Thanks for you comment!
Yes there are a lot of really nice frames and I know all the red20 frames are awesome and good quality. You can't really compare my frame to the evo because they are two frames built for entirely different purposes. My frame is made to be small and have gopro protection while the evo is an open design so if you wanted to put a gopro on it you will have a hard time protecting it. Now a frame by red20 that you could compare mine to is the SWH250 Bush Hunter. It offers the same kind of gopro protection but it is a 250 mm frame while mine is a 230 also it cost more. The other big down side is the arms are made out of 3mm carbon while mine is made from 4mm carbon and that 1mm difference can make a huge difference. My frame only weights 10 grams more than his also I think mine looks cooler:D. Now about the BDX240. It being a little bit bigger is one down side but the main reason I would not consider it is how it is built. Again he is using 3mm carbon and the hole bottom frame and arms is one piece. If you want something that is just for flying around and having fun yea it is fine but If you are going to be crashing into trees expect to have to replace that main frame every now and then. It is just like the QAV250. If I were to make a frame that was all one piece I would definitely at least use 4mm carbon. The other thing is In some of the pictures it looks to be made out of some kind of foam filled carbon which would never hold up for long. I am not sure if the production model is like this or not. I have to admit it has some nice features to it and I like the over all look also the price is good being $10 cheaper than mine. As far as replacement parts go I have a full line of parts for my quad in the store. I am going to start selling a top mounted camera mount for a ccd cam soon.
I hope this was helpful. If you have any more questions feel free to ask.
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Red20RC on November 2, 2015
Hi,
I'm not really interested in comparing either prices or whose frame looks cooler, costs more or anything like that. But I am grateful that other are out there promoting my products.
There are however two things that should be cleared up:

1 - There is a reason why unibody frames such as the BDX and QAV are successful. Yes, frames break and if you break a unibody it can be painful/expensive. However a unibody frame does not have the same weakness around the arm bolt holes that a modular frame suffers. Your arm design is good as you have eliminated unnecessary holes and slots. The 4mm carbon is very strong and heavy but it will still break with enough force and when it does it will be the bolt holes at the root that give (or the main plates that will tear). The BDX has a large radius in the corner of the front arms and any internal slots are positioned to reduce points of failure. Of course, if you want to be really daft then there are the extreme arm plates that can be bolted on taking the arms to 6mm thick.
Of course, the proof is in the performance. The BDX is a racetrack proven design. Only this week it took second place in the Sydney FPV round 4 races.

2 - What on earth is "foam filled carbon"?!?! I assume you are referring to the prototype frames that were edge painted with white Pentel paint pens?

Good luck with the Thunderbolt. Please don't try to promote it though by bagging other designs.

PS - the R220 Evo was never designed for a GoPro. It is a 3S 5" racing frame and I wouldn't recommend a large HD camera at all.
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rcflyer729 on November 2, 2015
Thanks for your comment!! It is good to get your opinion on this and I really do like all your frames! They are really nice.
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2bflown on October 31, 2015
Your frame looks just awesome. You said that you wanted a cheap frame, but why do you then use such an expensive gear? I am the same situation, don't have so much money and am not allowed to work yet, so what electronics do you recommend for when you have not so much money for a 25 bucks motor? Normally I think every motor will work but since there are so many knock off motors on the market (hobbykings multistar motors) I don't now which ones I need to buy... But keep it up!
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rcflyer729 on October 31, 2015
The reason is that parts list is like the pro list for crazy power. I am planning on making a beginner list. I will try to get that together tonight and I will let you know when I do.
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2bflown on October 31, 2015
awesome! It's not that I'm a beginner but just want to ask if the emax motors are also suffesient, because I still have these (also learned to fly on the emax nighthawk). I had the version with the 2204 motors and think these would be nice on this quad, but is it actually a golden combo or do you think this quad needs (even more) power?
The quadcopter looks like a really good and strong version think you did a great job at designing this quad. Nice detail btw with the thunder ;)

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rcflyer729 on October 31, 2015
Thanks! I need to know a couple things before I can recommend electronics. First do you want to run 5in or 6in props. Do u want to be the guy at the field who goes screaming buy at 80mph and everyone goes wow or do u just want to fly around with some decent power to punch out of stuff.
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2bflown on November 1, 2015
Haha I am now (at this moment) not that guy yet. I'm still learning FPV but can fly the quad descend enought LOS. I think I will just run some RcX 1806 motors, and will buy your frame soon! I'm moving to the US :) so that means I can buy these products without that annoying shipping cost!
I have some experience with FPV, but not with quadcopters so that's gonna be a hard one (I think)
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rcflyer729 on November 1, 2015
what kv are the RCX motors. Really any motor would work ok if you are not really looking for crazzy power. These motors are pretty good though and would give you some nice power.
http://www.readytoflyquads.com/rtf-mini-motor-x2204-2300kv
They would probably be a better choice than 1806 motors. I am not sure that you will get a good fit because the cut outs in the arms are more of for bigger motors. It would probably work and if it did not you would just need to drill a couple holes.
If you are looking or some escs these are really incredible escs and work really awesome.
http://www.readytoflyquads.com/20a-littlebee-esc

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2bflown on November 1, 2015
these motors and escs look really nice. With what software are they flashed (the escs)? Thank you so much!!!
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rcflyer729 on November 1, 2015
Blheli Which is a really good esc firmware and is my favorite
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2bflown on November 1, 2015
yeah I also like blheli! thanks and keep it up with the good work!
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rcflyer729 on November 1, 2015
Thanks!
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NCC1701 on February 26, 2016
5 star article.
Your frame is great, but maybe you should consider adding some carbon around the motor holes to add a bit more endurance. The holes are really close to the edge. I fly a Pats Minion 220 from RotorGeeks which has an awesome arm design. It has a huge amount of carbon around the motor holes and just generally around it to protect the motors, even with the wide 2204's.
And you an inspiration man, especially since I'm a 14 year old hobbyist. I sure am going to keep on doing this hobby for until I am old, and you sure are adding your huge part to keep it alive!
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rcflyer729 on February 26, 2016
Thanks for the advice! First of all I am not at all worried about the carbon arms breaking there since I have thoroughly crash tested this frame but I do think it would be well worth adding some more carbon to protect the motors and I am doing this in a new design that I am working on. Thanks again for the kind comment and I wish you the best in this hobby.
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Thunderbolt mini quad frame