If you are looking for a good and affordable F4 flight controller, that can run the Raceflight firmware, check out the new AirBot / Flip F4 FC. I previously used the Sparky 2.0 with Raceflight, but decided to hit the trigger for this new flight controller. It is available as Airbot F4, Flip F4 or CC3D Revo F4. However I don´t know if it is a “clone” or just open-source board.
Specification overview:
- STM32 F4 MCU running at 168MHz
- MPU6000 Gyroscope/Accelerometer
- Up to 1.5A BEC
- 16MB dataflash chip
- Spectrum / SBUS / PPM receivers
- Size: 36 x 36mm
- 30.5 x 30.5mm mounting holes
The build quality of this board looks very good and I like the black solder mask. Note that you need to solder the pin headers on your own.
The 16MB flash memory is good for saving some BlackBox flight logs and analysing these on your computer.
The flight controller comes preloaded with Betaflight 3.0.0 firmware. Connecting it with PC/Mac through the USB port works without any problems. Updating the firmware to the latest Betaflight 3.0.1 was done in just few seconds. Use the “Revo” target for this F4 board.
If you want to use the board with Raceflight, download the Raceflight Configurator for Google Chrome, connect the board to your PC/Mac and install the latest “Revo” firmware.
The Airbot / Flip F4 support BLHeli passthrough for easy ESC flashing as well.
There is no way to connect a PWM receiver to the flight controller, but nowadays almost all pilots use SBUS, PPM or Spectrum DSM. I have connected my FrSky X4RSB SBUS receiver, activated the “Serial RX” for UART1 port and it worked like a charm. Getting telemetry on your Taranis using SmartPort should also work, but so far I haven´t tested it.
Additional features:
- Buzzer pins
- Led strip pins
- Voltage meter pins
- DFU Boot button
What I like about this flight controller is the integrated 7805 voltage regulator. Thanks to it, you can power the F4 board directly from your LiPo battery, including your receiver as well. Note that the maximum allowed input voltage is 25V.
Summary
Both Betaflight and Raceflight firmware are great and perform awesome on F4 flight controllers, because of the additional processing power of the MCU. The board offers nice features, good connectivity and for the price of 22$ you simply can´t go wrong.
You can also find it on myairbot.com or banggood.com. If you have enjoyed reading this article, like the Facebook page to get more news, reviews and how-to´s.
How did you connect the LED?
Hey Sinmore, there are pins on the side for the LED.
Hello;
I read the Blog on Cleanflight best flight controllers, F1, F3 & F4’s…. I’m new to UAV thinking about a DJI Diy F450 Flame Wheel 450mm Quad Copter Kit. I have read so much in the last 5 days.. that I’m confused as to what is good and/or bad…! I learned enough about China Imports and copies/clones… = trash..! So, I’ll stay away from them..
My question is, would the Airbot-Flip-F4-Controller be adequate for the above build..?
Thanks in advance…
James…
Hello James, what will be the purpose of the quadcopter? Are you planning to do autonomus flights/mission, return to home or just flying for fun. Let me know more about your plan and I will help you with your concerns. Best wishes, Sergey