iFlight DC3 HD Quadcopter Review
The iFlight DC3 HD Quadcopter is a bind and flies quadcopter that comes prebuilt with a DJI Air Unit installed. It has some impressive specs but one of the best parts about it is the XING 1404 4600 KV motors. They are of course using 3″ HQ propellers, which matches the drone perfectly. The flight controller is a SucceX-D mini 20 x 20 stack featuring an F7 FC. Just like the DJI Air Unit the F7 Flight Controller has a USB-C port, not a micro USB so keep that in mind when setting it up in Betaflight 4.1.
What’s in the box?
- 1x Pre Built and tested DC3 HD Quadcopter
- 1x DC3 HD Frames
- 1x DJI Digital HD FPV Air Unit (FPV Camera with Air Unit module)
- 1x TPU Bracket for DJI Air Unit Module
- 1x TPU Antenna holder for DJI antenna
- 2x TPU camera side plate soft mount
- 1x iFlight Lipo Strap
- 2x HQ T3x3x3 Propeller (Set of 4 – Color May Vary)
- 4x XING 1404 4600KV Motor
- 1x SucceX-D Mini F7 Flight Controller
- 1x SucceX-E mini 35A 4in1 BLHeli-S ESC
- 2x DJI FPV Air Unit Antenna
Specs
- No Prop in view
- Equipped with SucceX-D Mini F7 + 35A ESC Stack
- Bind and Fly Built and test flew by our Pilot Team
- Equipped with the DJI FPV Air Unit, just Bind and Fly
- Buttery-smooth 720p 120fps FPV feed
- Pre-tuned with smooth freestyle settings
- Full 3K Carbon Fiber airframe with chamfered arms
- Equipped with XING 1404 motors
- Weight:160g without battery
Build and design
The fame of the DC3 HD is kinda durable. It is made from 3K carbon fiber. That’s mostly a big marketing strategy for just a 3 mm bottom plate thickness. It is a dead cat style form frame, which keeps the propellers out of view when you are filming or using the FPV. You may have seen other drones which use the DJI Air Unit, like the Flywoo Vampire 2, but so far this is the best one. At the back, on one side you have the Type-C port, and on the other side, you’ll find the place for the microSD card.
Both of them are well placed and they are easy to access. The props are some nice HQ T3x3x3 Propellers which are a great choice. It’s not the most aggressive propeller but it makes the drone more efficient. The camera is protected well on the sides, but on the front it’s sticking out a bit. So if you do a lot of freestyle and you manage to crash it a few it might damage the camera. So besides the fact that it is good for freestyle this one, it’s more like a crouser of filming drone.
The quad weighs around 160 grams. The battery comes on the top, usually, they perform best with a larger 850 mah 4S battery, but you can use 3S as well if you want to reduce weight. Of course, you could always tune it and change until it suits your needs. Also, the antennas provided to the drone will let you fly around 1 mile, usually, these 3 inches don’t have that option, but with this, you’ll have an extended range (if your goggles support that as well).
Flight experience
There are a lot of advantages that come with flying a smaller 3-inch drone like this. They are obviously smaller, cheaper and way more portable. Their batteries are also typically smaller, so along with the drone, they are lighter and less expensive. Lighter drones typically withstand crashes better than the heavier ones. Smaller drones also are quieter and won’t draw a crowd when you are flying like a full-size 5″ drone, which harasses everyone. Probably the most important thing, especially for beginners is they are safer, for the drone and it’s environment as well. The smaller motors and propellers are less dangerous and it’s way easier to control them.
The biggest factor when deciding whether to buy the DJI FPV system is how it interacts with other pilots’ traditional analog systems. If you’re using DJI goggles, your and your pilot friends signal won’t interact that easily. A drawback could be that the DJI system cannot show the flight controller’s on-screen-display. This means some important troubleshooting information is not available. However, the company is working on this so this will change soon.
Conclusion
All the parts on the iFlight DC3 HD Quadcopter are all well-chosen, from the frame, through the camera to the FC everything’s just great. They didn’t go for achieving amazing speed or to make a good freestyle. Their main goal was to create a smooth and well controllable drone for the DJI Air Unit. And they nailed it. You can easily go for under 250g with this drone if you choose the right battery for it, so you don’t have to register it on the FAA.
The most interesting thing about this aircraft is the fact that they didn’t upgrade the motor from the previous one, but instead they went for a motor down to optimize the flight time and maneuverability. Therefore this drone is a win-win one because you can do both freestyle and cinema with it as well.
If you’re interested you can buy it from iFlight.
