Lumenier QAV250 Carbon Fiber Mini FPV Quadcopter

Like one of the other reviewers I did a lot of research for my First Quad frame and decided to get this one... and while it wasn't necessarily the wrong choice I could have gone with several much more affordable and better options.Reasons why I thought I should buy it:- It's easy to put together. Then again, if you know how to operate a hex wrench and screw driver then just about any frame is easy to put together. Seriously it only takes 3 minutes to screw together.- It seems indestructible. But it's not. Sturdy is a better descriptor for the 3MM frame. The 3MM frame can take a small hit, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the electronics you strap to it are protected in any way. The only thing protecting your expensive Flight Controller, OSD, Video transmitter and Receiver from dirt, mud, rocks and tree branches are wishes and dreams.- Charpu and Skitzo use this frame in all of those awesome YouTube videos! However, this frame is not what makes them great pilots.- Packaging? Seriously. It comes wrapped in paper sealed with a sticker and slipped into a cardboard sleeve. It's not that great.- Plenty of extra M3 screws.Reasons that I learned later on why I should have bought something else:- Price. Once you get into the hobby you'll learn how Luminier overprices their branded gear very quickly. Everything from screws, to camera lenses, to Luminier motors cost more than every other competitor.- It's a unibody design, meaning that the arms are part of the frame. If you break or bend the frame you will have to purchase a replacement frame which isn’t as expensive as this kit, but still way more expensive than if you were to buy a replacement arm from another frame designer. Most frame designers have moved past unibody designs for 250+ class frames.- It literally took me all of 30 seconds into my first flight to destroy the 3mm frame. I'm not kidding. I ended up buying the 4MM bottom plate frame from their site as a replacement for $65. And no, you can't buy this kit with a 4MM bottom plate. Luminier ONLY sells the QAV250 kit with 3MM plates. On top of that, replacement frames aren't always in stock so if you break it you can either buy a whole new frame or get put onto a waiting list for a replacement frame.- It comes with ALMOST everything you need. There are no risers that are needed to mount a flight controller included with the kit. Carbon Fiber conducts electricity so you can't mount the flight controller against the frame without frying it. And flight controllers don't come with risers either. Turns out you can purchase 4 M3 risers for $4 from GetFPV (which are never in stock on their site). I ended up having to go to hardware store to buy a bunch of M3 nuts to make some standoffs.- They provide a bunch of extra M3 button head screws, but only 4 M2x16mm screws and 4 M2 nuts that are needed to mount the camera. Unless you use Loc-Tite threadlocker and/or hot glue on each one, they will vibrate right off during mid-flight or during a crash. Go ahead and buy replacements.- The Landing Gear... is about as useless as pedals on a wheelchair. These things either bent or broke off entirely after 2 flights. I honestly don't even know why they included them. Just don't even bother putting them on. Good luck finding a 100% effective solution though. I ended up putting furniture sliders on the bottom of my power distribution board.- The camera has no option to tilt. While you are learning to fly, keeping the camera mounted facing forward is recommended. However once you get the hang of Horizon and Acro mode, you'll want to tilt your camera up by 10-30 degrees and unfortunately the only way to do that is to get another smaller camera with a tilt bracket or buy a 3D printed mount.- If you want to mount a Mobius/Runcam/GoPro you'll need to buy the Vibration Dampening plate with the clear bobbins that will get ripped right off after a few crashes for $20. Be sure to buy 4 extra bobbins for $12 from GetFPV too! If you want it to be tilted then you'll have to fashion your own mount or buy a 3d printed solution.- The battery placement is horrible unless you use Velcro tape on your batteries and frame. I killed 4 batteries over 2 sessions because during a crash the battery would slip (even with the battery strap holding it securely in place) right into the rear propellers and get sliced open. Buy velcro tape if you haven't already.All of that being said, I still fly my QAV250 to this day and enjoy it but I've had to put more money into it than I originally anticipated. If this is your first quadcopter you can find many other 250mm frames that won’t cause as many headaches or force you to purchase expensive yet necessary replacement parts. This hobby is already expensive without having your wallet gouged by buying into one company.

Here are some of the pros and cons I have found:GOOD:Solid and durable -- even though the base plate is 3mm without replaceable arms, it is designed very well in that the carbon fiber does not have many stress points. I have yet to break an arm or do any significant damage after many crashes into grass, concrete, dirt, and trees. One thing that really helps crash proof any carbon fiber frame is adding some epoxy or super glue on the edges of the arms and front of the frame. These are the main contact points in most crashes. Doing so really helps keep the layers of carbon fiber from separating after hard hits.Plenty of space -- The fact that it has plenty of space makes for an easy build, especially for beginners. If you have a hard time confining your electronics into this frame, you are doing it wrong.Quality-- The carbon fiber is top notch and machined very well. The kit includes a PDB, plenty of extra screws, xt60 pigtail, and a bunch of other things that can be a pain to find and buy individually.PDB-- The way the ESCs mount onto the under hung power distribution board make for a neat build and plenty of needed airflow.LEDs--If you plan on flying any line of sight or want to be visible during a race, the LED strips will suit you. They are bright on 3s and super bright on 4s. I removed mine as I like to keep my quad stealth.Cons:It can be very hard if not impossible to balance the center of gravity when mounting the battery in the suggested location--on the back of the bottom deck. I am forced to fly with a gopro to offset the weight of my battery--which is only a 1300 mah 4s. You can work around this by mounting your battery on the top plate. However doing so gives you a lot of empty real estate on the bottom plate which for me is too exposed for a vtx.The location of the PDB makes it a huge pain to service or replace an ESC. The way the cables are routed makes it so that you really have to think two steps ahead if you plan on accessing ESCs.Landing legs break.-- I would advise anyone new and building this frame to throw the landing legs away and buy some foam landing pads. They are a lot lighter and won't snap off.All in all a great frame. It is a great first fpv quad frame and with the option of motor extensions, gives you the ability to explore 5 and 6 inch props.

This was DEFINITELY the right choice!I did a TON of research for the parts for my first quad, and I decided to get this one despite the price tag.And it was the right choice.Why I chose it:I did not find a single bad review on this, and I looked HARD. The only complaint I saw where that it's a 'stiff' frame and it has fixed arms, that the landing gears are easy to bend and that it is too expensive.Why I like it:This thing is beautiful when you take it out of the box (admittedly, the packaging is less than impressive) but once you hold the pieces you'll know what I mean.Very easy to put together, every part fits beautifully into each other.Overall great experience!It's sturdy as heck. On one of my first test flights, I let it climb to about 500ft and my radio lost connection (I had the receiver not securely connected) and it fell dead out of the sky those 500ft, and there was nothing I could do about it. It was a very painful 20 seconds that felt like two eternities watching it fall... and then it bounced. As I walked towards it I just knew that I had just trashed at least 300 bucks worth of equipment.I got to it, picked it up (it had landed on dirt) and I was flipped upside down. I inspected it.... nothing. The damn thing was like new. I dusted off the corner that had hit the ground and connected the wires and back up in the sky it was.I read about people ramming this thing at full speed into concrete walls, and I believe them.Thumbs up! And if you are thinking about 'going cheap on your first build' think again, this thing will last you a LOT more than those cheap chinese knock-offs! Definitely recommend it!