Pixie 148 / 110
Big Quad Feel in a Micro Quad Package!
Pixie Notes:
What seems like an eternity ago now, we were playing around with designing a no compromises 3” capable quad. This was right at the beginning of 20mm X 20mm gear and things were just not ready back then. In addition, there were no micro cameras available, so we were playing around with CMOS nano cameras and custom mounts, but even then, the video quality was just sub-par. A few prototypes were built, and they did fly very well, but the consistent failure of the video components and the low quality of the image even when they were working led us to shelve the project. After the completion of the Roc UL and the Wyvern UL we knew that the technology had caught up to where we needed it to be, so we re-visited the project. Unfortunately, there were some dimensional restrictions with the new components and the old design, so we scraped it, decided to just keep the name and completely re-design the frame using everything we had learned up to now. For a while we considered calling this new frame the Pixie v2 but since in reality the first design was never actually release we now have the Pixie.
When re-designing the Pixie there were two things that we were looking for, a sturdy yet lightweight frame and a simple build. Most 2” & 3” frames on the market use basic bottom plates and either hoops or pods and are vulnerable to complete frame breakage and usually very difficult to build due to space constraints. Using what we had learned with the Roc UL we came up with a design that was not only easy to build but also easy to maintain. The quad can be built with roll hoop off and then install it when everything is complete. And if you ever do have a hard crash, arms, main plate and roll hoops can be replaced individually without the need of a completely new frame and almost complete re-build. Best of all is what we have achieved in weight, the frame itself with all hardware and 3D printed parts come in at just over 20g and the built-up frame without battery comes in at 92g (less without the 3D printed part). All of this without sacrificing any rigidity or durability. Of course, like all our frames, it comes nicely appointed with everything you need except for the running gear.
Specifications
- Size:
148mm (measured diagonally from motor center to motor center) or
110mm (measured diagonally from motor center to motor center) - Frame Geometry:
Slightly stretched X / H hybrid for the 148 or
true X / H hybrid for the 110 - Max Prop Size:
3” or 2½” for the 148, 2” for the 110
- Material:
3K Matte Carbon Fiber, Twill Weave - Plate Thicknesses:
1.5mm - Arm Thicknesses:
2.5mm - Frame Weight:
20g for the 148, 18g for the 110
Required to Complete
- Motors:
11XX - ESCs
4-in-1 with 20mm X 20mm mounting holes - Propeller:
Maximum 3” for the 148
Maximum 2” for the 110
- Flight Controller
20mm X 20mm mounting holes - Battery
- VTX
- Camera:
Micro Size, 19mm width
Recommended Equipment
Please note that Quad Monsters does not endorse any particular equipment vendor, these recommendations are provided merely as a selection of components that we know will work with this frame.
Also, please note that as a design philosophy, the Pixie is a light weight frame and we have found that we can run motors a little more aggressively than they are spec’d as we can keep the weight down with the lighter frame and slightly smaller batteries. This tends to create a much lesser load on the motors and ESCs. However, ensure after flying your particular configuration that they are not coming down too hot. If anything is running over temperature you can use less aggressive props and/or lighter batteries to lessen the load.
Finally, the body of the Pixie 148 and 110 are identical, they only change in the arm design. For that reason, any of the internals (stack, VTX, camera) will be the same for both models.
Common Components
- Flight Controller:
We have been running exclusively 20mm X 20mm FC / ESC combos in this model. There are several out there but these are the ones we have used and know work.
Receflight Millivolt
Omnibus F4 (as part of the HGLRC XJB F428 stack) - ESCs:
We have been running ESCs with 15A and higher capacity as these are readily available in this form factor.
Receflight Spark
BS28A 4IN1 (as part of the HGLRC XJB F428 stack) - VTX:
There are many different VTXs that will work, these are the ones that we have tested ourselves.
Blade Torrent 150mW VTX
XJB - TX20 (as part of the HGLRC XJB stack) - Camera:
Simple, any Micro camera, we have tested the Runcam Micro and the Foxeer Micro camera.
RunCam Micro
Foxeer Micro
Pixie 148
- Motor:
The Pixie 148 is drilled for 11-13 size motors (m2 bolts on a 9mm diameter bolt pattern). So far, we have been running exclusively 11XX motors, varying the KV to match the prop size. If you want to run different motors just check the mounting patter. These are the motors we have been running the most on 3” and 2½” props.
Emax RS1106 (4500KV for 3" props, 600KV for )
HGLRC Flame HF1106 6000KV (for 2½” props) - Propeller:
The Pixie 148 will fit up to a 3” prop though based on your motor you may also want to run a 2½” prop. We have flown several different props but this is what we are currently running:
Emax Avan Mini 3” for 4500KV motors on 3S & 4S.
Gemfan Flash 2½” for 6000KV motors on 3S. - Battery:
There are some many different batteries that can be used, all depending on your setup but we usually stay in the 450mAh 3S to 850mAh 4S range.
Pixie 110
- Motor:
As above, the Pixie 110 is also is drilled for 11-13 size motors (m2 bolts on a 9mm diameter bolt pattern). These are the motors we have been running on the Pixie 110.
Emax RS1106 (7500KV for 2” props) - Propeller:
Again, for the Pixie 110 there are several props that can be run, this is what we are running right now.:
Emax Avan Micro 2” - Battery:
There are some many different batteries that can be used, all depending on your setup but we usually stay in the 350mAh 3S to 650mAh 4S range.
Gallery
