Why 5" freestyle is dying. 

Do you fly 5" or smaller?

I find that flying my X-class in busy pre-school playgrounds is the best option. The children (or the small pieces that are left of them) love it and there's something so dramatic about bits of splintering carbon fiber bouncing off your googles.

I love the sound of a 5". It's like rocking a V8 under the hood.

I love the history talk of fpv, please do more!

5" is where my heart is. The smaller platforms just don't have the chooch I need.

“You can make cool shit just to make cool shit” spoke to me. Love these recent videos a lot!

I've barely been into FPV for over a year. 5" was my first proper quad build but quickly found that places to fly safely were limited. I bought a Mob7 just to fly about the house with during the cold, wet and windy winter months but instantly found that the world just opened up for me. I've got a 2S 85mm whoop with 1002 19,800kv motors and I can rip it around doing loop-de-loops and flippy-floppies, but still explore rooftops and do building dives and still feel safe that I'm not going to injure someone or damage property. Tinkering at this scale is so cheap too. The reason I have an 85mm at all was because I ballsed up and got 19,800kv motors instead of the 23,500kv for my 75mm. It was £5 for a frame, £20 for four batteries and a couple of quid for some props and I had a whole new flying experience. Every time I order something I stick on a random toothpick or whoop frame just to try something different.

thanks for the dab rig show off at 27 seconds in, was a pleasure to make that piece.

This entire video was a ploy to sell grinderinos: bit.ly/3Tb0DHs bit.ly/3tBXyHA bit.ly/46QD10R

Hey thanks for the shout out! I fly my 5" demibot fairly regularly, but flying spots are limited. I've been thinking about building up a grinderino just because it'll be so much easier to finds spots to fly without people getting in the way.

Here in New Zealand, we don't have shit like Remote ID. As recently as last year, I got my first FPV quad, which _is_ a 5" frame. I prefer to _not_ keep up with the Joneses in favour of doing what makes me happy. I have tonne of fun with my quad, in addition to all the helicopters I own.

Bot's TED talk

I started on micros for over a year before I went to 5inch this past August. I thought that I wouldn’t like 5 inch, but I came to love many aspects of it. Now I have aspirations of diving waterfalls and unusual rock formations. However, everything you are saying is correct. Flying a whoop or smaller quad opens up a lot more access to exploration. People always comment on how small they are, and love to watch them fly as well. Even the Karen’s like to scratch the “drones ears, or pet the drones head from time to time.”

Matty stuntz videos were amazing too back in the day. Just felt like he deserved a name drop. I was building brushless 2s 2inch rippers around 8 or 9 years ago and was having so much fun I knew it would eventually be the end point.

portability of a tiny whoop is just so fun and being able to stick 8 batteries in my pocket and I love my radiomaster pocket

I fly all, 2" , 3", 5", 7" and Wings. And, what a wonder, i love to flyin`all of them. It`s all a Question of the Spot you`re want to fly at. ImhO.

It’s great listening to you talk about some of the evolution of FPV as well. This is laid out very well.

That Hubsan x4 you put on screen was exactly what got me into drones. Flew the hell outa that thing

Nope. I've tried.. I have 3.5s 3 inch toothpicks, some whoops, I am even building a 2s baby turtle 2 inch in hopes that I will like it. But every single time I fly I micro I just miss my 5 inch. Every time I want to go fly and rip.. I want the 5 inch. 🤷 something about it. I just love 5 inch. I'm trying though.. gonna do a whoop video this weekend and go whoop around town. But I just want to fly my 5 inch

"You got about 10 seconds funny man" that one got me😂😂😂

wow. this was definitely an expensive trip down memory lane

I always love hearing about the history of FPV stuff. I remember back in 2011 flying around my 9" quad made from Home Depot aluminum square stock and having the OG KK board. Didn't even have FPV, just line of sight. Those things flew so terribly but were so fun!

Im worried people will think i have a tiny whoop whoop when we all want 5inchs

i’m new to fpv and my first quad was a pavo20 (2” O3) and honestly it feels like a good entry point. I think new people coming in now are kind of working backwards - starting with small quads and working up to bigger quads with more power

I never thought I would enjoy anything smaller than a 5" until I woke up one day with a 3" and sent it. It felt the closest and was way quieter flying around my neighborhood. While I will never quit flying my 5" I do see 3" being on my backpack right beside it. Awesome video Bot.

8:40 omg THAT iiissss how engagement works. learn something new each day. I can go back to bed. Thanks Mr. Botgrinder 😊

Metaldanny!!! Dude that guy was fast in the woods!!!

Your Rotor X Atom videos from back in the day got me hooked on your videos... that and your Grave yard vids! I don't get my little guys out enough....

I love this essay format video. Bot you are so good at these. It's amazing. I dont always agree, but i mostly do, but I love the prospective you bring. Masterfully done, sir. Cheers

Yo bro it was super sick meeting you this weekend in NY! I'm a huge fan of yours! Keep up the great work! Cheers to!

Awesome video bot, learned alot about the history of FPV

I've been flying the Grinderino lately because how much easier it is to transport, smaller cheaper batteries, and less prone to break shit. Next I need to figure out what action cam I like best for it, or just shell out for the DJI crap. Cheers 🍻

5" is the sweet spot of raw power and a nimble flight behaviour. Larger may be more powerful, but not as agile. Smaller is agile AF, but lacks raw power. My largest issue with bigger quads is noise. I've got a horse farm a few hundred meters nex to my house and can't fly my 5" without scaring the horses (this can be pretty dangerous for the people there). When searching for spots there are barely bandos in my area (rural southwest germany), but lots of cool spots next to houses and people in general. So I mainly fly my ~200g AUW 4s 3style with 3018 props. It doesn't scare mammals

This is an absolutely fantastic video Bot!

Always your videos that create contrasts and i like it a lot. For so many years I have been saying that the small FPV have the same pleasure to fly them like the big ones and most people came to eat me alive. Honestly now with your hand in the heart you would make this video if there was no RID over the head of all the pilots flying FPV; I wish many would hear you and not snobbish the smaller ones. They all have their own grace and all offered the same pleasure

I moved to a rural area where I have lots of spots where I can fly my 5". But sometimes I don't like the exhilarating feeling flying a high-powered quad at 100 km/h so I pick my light analog 3" toothpick which flies a 💩ton better than any Whoop can.

Great vid Bot!! I wanted to have every size and I almost do but micros are a blast and your not bothered to much.

Pure truth here. I've been slowly moving out of 5" freestyle just for the reasons you mentioned. My 5" racing quads are going to stay, 5" there is the sweet spot, but for freestyle it's more about places you can fly at. In EU regulations are getting stricter and you basically HAVE TO be under 250g to be able to fly anywhere remotely interesting. And after having lost few times the control of your drone mid-flight you kinda start to be worried with your 5" 700g killing machine when flying it anywhere near normal people. So it makes sense. For me freestyle is very much going towards smaller quads. For cinematic video work larger quads are great, for racing 5". Times are indeed changing.

Really been enjoying these more video essay style videos you've been doing lately. I only started flying about a year ago so it's cool to hear where it came from and the history of everything. I only have micros and tiny whoops with my largest being a 3”. I have been tempted to build a 5" but at this point it almost seems like I'll get more use out of the micros and I can still rip them.

great video again. im loving 5", 3.5" and whoops now but yeh sitting in my van whoooping my hood is special. Team Asbo are making frames all the time, we have the new asbo XLR 3.5" and an all new 5" dropping next month.

10 seconds funny man , had me 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Good loop for your first. Good job dude 👊😉

I'm building a Demibot and a Grinderino right now.

Great stuff as usual Bot, I'll help boost your engagement! This is a strange time in our hobby, it feels like we're at turning point for how FPV (and rc in general) will look in the future. I think we're past the remote id hysteria for the most part, people have made their mind up at this point what they plan on doing. At this point it seems that people are just searching for the most sustainable lowest risk/cost way to enjoy this hobby long term, with Uncle Scam now being heavily involved. I kinda agree that 5" seems to be somewhat dying, and I too have really logged the hours with whoops in the past couple years. Like you said, its just so much easier to find places to fly and not have Karens bother you. I think the main thing that smaller crafts just can't replicate is the speed and momentum. The difference in momentum is the first thing I notice (and miss) when flying a tiny whoop- it just limits what you can do so much more! But maybe a 3.5" is a good middle ground. I can definitely see the benefits for size and cost, but I just wonder how well they will fit the bill for us old heads that want that power, speed, and momentum. What I envisioning happening is the 3.5" class carves out its own new niche in the community. It's likely more appealing to a newcomer that just wants something affordable with good performance, but doesn't want a big heavy buzzsaw of a 5" flying around their neighborhood. Like everything else as our hobby progresses, it gets more and more specialized as new categories of drones become the norm for specific purposes. Maybe we end up with whoops, 3.5", and 5" as the new bread and butter categories in the future. I don't think you'll ever fully get rid of 5", but maybe it just becomes a smaller subset of the freestyle world. Time will tell, but its really interesting to watch as this all evolves!

I mainly fly 4" and up. I'm definitely over 250g. Demibot for the win.

I have everything from 65mm whoops to a couple Demibots. Whenever I do go fly my 5in, I nearly always have a Crux35 or Grinderino to pair it with because my spot options open up vastly. Theres just nothing quite like the sound of a demibot ripping the air apart.

I have a bunch of 5" quads but what I fly the most is a whoop and a THFS, that's just what happens.

Sounded like Cash Jordan right there at the end. Getting that call to action 🙂 great video man!

Keep up the great magnificent work. But I think I’m gonna stick to 5” only because it’s much more durable for wind velocity and the weight so I believe. 🤷🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️

5” quads really are disruptive from a noise perspective. 3.5” is still loud but it’s not nearly as violent sounding.

I love building and flying sub250 quads, especially 3.5". They are much more fun in tighter spaces, so much quieter and also more agile. Only reason for 5" are GoPro and bigger cameras, but then there are also naked GoPros if O3 isn't enough already.

1) I haven’t been flying long enough to be at that point to make a hard fast decision . 2) I’m more comfortable in tighter spaces like Bandos with a 3.5 inch because of my limited skill level. And they are easier to transport and be a little more discrete 3) they do fly fairly close to a 5 inch but I still feel a 5 inch is better and less fidgety. I seem to have trouble with those little motors sometimes. 4) so I would say I like the performance and most things about 5 inch, but I do like the portability and smaller form factor of the 3.5 5) that was a lot of me not saying much, but I’ll continue to fly both. And whoops don’t fly quite as good but they’re definitely fun and again super portable. 6) I see my sticker!!! Thanks homie!!!

Akshually...if I remember correctly, the 250mm frames were designed for 5" but would take 6" props too. I remember I had a QAV210 which was 5", and the QAV180 was the 4" version, waaaay back in the day. But yeah- I started on those big old 8" and 10" DJI flamewheel things before FPV was really a thing, then moved on to 5" when FPV gear first became available, then to 3" when the 250g became a thing. Now I have bigger quads- four 5", a 9", an 11"- but mostly I fly whoops and 3-4" just because they're quieter, safer, and more portable.

5" still. But bring along a Pico for "compliance".

Stoked on flying my new 7” and my 5” Aliens. I have been playing with my 5” for like 35 years. No plans to stop. It was 3”, but I grew up.

I toook 4months off of FPV. I missed the freedom and therapy it provides in this wicked world. The first build after my sabbatical was the micro apex, I got that thang rippin like a 5” but there’s still something about the power of a 5” that I can’t get enough of. I’ve never built anything under 3inch, so I can’t speak on it. One thing I do know is that Bot you’re a great dude for sharing these videos with the masses! Keep on keepin on my G

BOTGRINDER please keep doing videos like this!

Great vid bro! Its been about a year ...both 5'' just collecting dust.. all about mircos and fixed wing lately!

I just wanna say thanks for the motivation! I hadn't flown in 6 months, but youtube randomly threw this video onto my feed and after watching heaps of your content, I charged a bunch of packs and ripped my mobeetle all over the house. I only fly whoops anyway because of the expense of larger drones. I still cant fly worth a damn, but I'm having fun again. Keep up the great content!

I write this before watching the video: 1. Not everybody has freestyle skill 2. It need adequate space and obstacles 3. Replacing broken done arm and motor too often is annoying 4. We can have fun by just flying little tinywhoops or cinewhoops indoor or around our house and neighbor house, the battery is also much cheaper

2.5" is where it's at for me. Big enough to carry the light HDZero or Walksnail systems without compromising performance, but small enough to fly in my backyard. 5 minutes of flight time (not just cruising) on a 3s 550mAh battery.

a week shy of 2 years ago now, I ordered the babyhawk II HD. 3" ripsqueaks were AMAZING and my favorite all-rounder, but then, i saw exactly what that extra half inch of prop did for the platform. So , I built a couple of grinderinos once that frame dropped. favorite quads in my fleet. The future is now.

I want to build a 3". Great video. Covered a lot of areas. Thanks.❤

Just got back from my first 5” freestyle event,,, it was totally rad the demibot frame did so well,,, the smaller drones were harder for spectators to see and the sound of the 5 really made things more exciting,,, such a good time,,, suck it ffa

Hey buddy! Most of my quads are 5-inch. I just love the combination of 1900kv+ motors and the momentum when I do a full throttle blip when I like to do a juicy flick! The visual effect while quad is looking back on the object and slowly going farther and farther is just so amazing! I don't know if smaller quads can achieve that effect since I don't have them. I'm building a new 5-inch and this time I'll use 2125kv motors on 6s.

Same here Bot. I have several 5"drones but find myself grabbing a micro or the Grinderino most of the time. Tnx for the video.

Out of my 50+ FPV drones I have over 20 5"s but I find myself reaching for my little guys day after day. I fly everyday but something about my 3.5, and 3" quads even my 2.5 zipping around my yard and rooftop is so cool. I still fly all of my 5" but not as much even thinking about selling a few.

5" = vert skater in FPV. 🛹

I'm about 3 years into FPV and I got 1-5" 2-4" 1-3" and 8 micros from 85 to 65mm. I've flown the 5" about 7 months ago. The 4" about 4 months ago the 3 " about 2 months ago but literally flew the 75mm like 3 hours ago and at least 4 times a week or more. Can pull on the side of the road at a local park and jam or just have fun in my back yard. Its just so much easier, the only issue is windy days. Battery packs are easier and quicker to charge up and cheaper which means more flight time overall with like 10 1s batteries.

I never had a 5". I currently fly a 2.5" quad (170g weight with 4S battery), and it's absolutely great. Don't miss anything (other than better video quality). It's blazingly fast and very quiet. I can fly in the park nearby and nobody is bothered by it.

Largest non-DJI quad I've ever flown was a 3.5"...when it comes to FPV, I tend to try to stay under the 250g limit because I fly in my neighborhood and people are always out and about in my neighborhood.

I used to post freestyle videos on RU-vid and cared a lot about the views and comments and video footage. Once I stopped caring about that external validation in my flying and micros had good brushless motors I’ve only been flying micros since, you can fly many more places with no one bothering you

I started the hobby with an Avata only last year and now have a few hd quads but only want to race and freestyle my tiny whoops. You nailed all the positives but I think you forgot to mention the most important thing! The indestructibility of these damn things!

My 3” is my first ever build. And my god the power of 4s in such a small package is sooo fun just to rip around parks, fields, carparks.

I think that you pretty much nailed it. Yeah, the less you scare the hell out of people, the less they get upset; smaller is less scary. I think the 5-inch frame will still have some use, but not those heavy ones for freestyle. These will be more like the 7-inch was; an easy long range cruiser. Then there are the regs that Congress mandates the FAA to implement. Well, basically the only real new thing is Remote ID all of the other regs have been in place since 2018 at least. What I have discovered over the last couple of years is that most drone pilots don't really know the regulations and most, erroneously, believe they are flying recreationally when they are NOT. What RID and all the Ranting have done is to bring the regulations to the forefront, not just Remote ID. If you don't like it now, then you won't like it later. On that note: Happy Remote ID Day. 😊

in germany we dont have remote id but we are required to register at the LBA (basically the FAA of germany) to get a number. this number has to be on the drone somewhere no mater how small it is. as soon as it got a camera. if its more that 250g you also need a pilots license that you can get by doing a multiple choice test online and paying 25€ once you got your license you can fly everything up to 20kg so it doesnt really matter if you fly whoop or 5 inch. thats why 5 inch is still the standard here.

I've been saying this for years. I've been flying fpv for 4.5 years and have never flown a 5 inch. I built a sub 250g 4 inch years ago out of parts from the parts box because every RU-vid video kept telling me I needed to be flying a 5 inch. I liked it, but I found it was too big for the type of flying I really like to do (just ripping around my yard track going in n out of the windows of the house) n being so light made it weak AF. I think 2/3 inch toothpicks and 75mm whoops are the best for my needs. When they are properly tuned, they fly amazing.

Hi bot. I'm building a 5" gorilla ripper. As a fan we can't see all the great freestyle FPV King Rips cause.....you know. I'll have to fly all the rips myself and only PTP them just to enjoy the magic of 5" freestyle. Your right we have to build a 3" king under the Faa thumb. 5" FPV is now officially underground.

I love my tiny whoops.

I’ve never tried a 5”, there simply are no good places nearby (within a reasonable drive distance being married with kids) so my biggest quad is a Grinderino. And even that, I don’t get to fly much. My toothpick and whoops get all the flight time. Quiet and convenient. It’s a hard combo to beat

5inch is the optimum level to have fun. I tried tiny whoop, 2 inch, 3 inch, 4 inch, 5 inch, 6 inch, 7 inch, 8 inch. I wanna fly safe, quiet, got smaller quad bla bla bla. Suddenly put my 6s 1400mah lipo, that sound of 5inch (5236), like a v8 slash through gate or at any area, the speed the sound so much adrenalin & fireee!!! Another advantages, very less problem when build a 5 inch, just solder, tuned, then fly like no other day, no wobble whatsoever. You can not get rid of 5 inch quad.

In winter usually max 3" cinewhoop. Mostly 75mm - 85mm tinywhoop. In summer I like 5", I love how it flyes.

No Way,5 inch are King!!

We need more motors and props for 3.5”, I’ve only been flying for a few years but pretty early on I figured out that it’s big enough to carry a HD video system but we need more options with motors and props.

I have everything from a 65mm whoop to a 5" freestyle build, 7" coming really soon(TM). The micros are a lot of fun just to fly around the house from the patio when I don't want to ride out to a spot. But if I decide to go out somewhere, it's almost always with the 5" builds. Everything always finds its use! 5" almost got to a point where everything performs almost the same, but there's a ton of variety in the micro world, that makes it more interesting nowadays IMO

Short answer: yes I agree I'm over five inch drones. I've been flying the smaller ones for a while and they are like 90% of the performance of a five inch. But they are way cheaper and just less trouble. Also, since I've burned out a little on FPV in general I don't fly as much so when I do I don't want to deal with all the BS that comes along with five inch (dangerous batteries, constance repairs, etc). The only issue I do have with the smaller ones is that sometime they seem to slow when you are just cruising in a straight line.

Sweet to see the FalconRad shoutout. Been loving the Rad Li-ion

Great video and very good point . I’m personally invested in 250 mm so I’m gonna rock it for a while but I also want to build some small pocket racers to see what it’s all about . I can’t do whoops though they are just to small .

Not quite sure if a mobula 8 is classed as a micro but my walksnail mob 8 is becoming my favourite quad to fly. Living in Australia i come under some pretty heavy scrutiny flying my 5-inch quads now. No more sneaking into a park and diving a high rise in the city any more at day break as most people know what a fpv quad is and know there illegal in Australia ,especially when they hear those really loud 5-inch props ripping into the air a mile away. Well, that's were the walksnail mob 8 comes in. i can sit in a quiet corner of a park somewhere with my bag or even just a shopping bag and can fly my mob 8 around most places without anyone even giving me a second look. And with elrs and digital video you can fly a suprisinly long way, especially when I've tuned my mob to give me 6 minutes flight time and that's 6 minutes hard flying. Because of the extra weight of the digital vtx and the 550 mah 2s battery i can even drop into decent high rise building dives as long as the wind isn't too high, hell just about everything a 5 inch can do the mob 8 can do, within reason. but it opens up so many more flying spots and not bringing attention to myself. Can't beat ripping a 5 inch but digital micros are seriously bridging the gap between flying and being chased off and fined to flying most anywhere and not bothering anyone. Cant believe the enjoyment i get flying such a small quad with surprisingly good video rec.

I'm just getting into quads after years of helis, and while my 5 inchers are absolute monsters to fly, I love my 3.5 and 4 in parks and soccer fields. They're quiet, and are more than capable of doing any trick i can throw at them. A school playground is a ton of fun with a whoop, so i tend to grab the smaller quads for quick flights. The 5 inch quads go out on planned trips.

I fly everything from 65mm up to 5"... I love them all... but the weight and the feeling of hucking my 5" is definitely my favorite. I think I'd die of a broken heart if I couldn't fly my tinywhoops inside though. Living in Seattle the weather doesn't always play nice.

I must admit i fly my 3" tunerc quad the most, i do have a 5" and a 7", but i think its the fact that you can fly it almost anywhere without people giving a shit and it opens up a whole new world of gap hitting 😆. I think pre HD i definitely wouldn't have flown the 3" but now i love it. Cheers man

I think they don't want adaptable capable quads in public hands

When I fly 5" it's mostly because I specifically want to carry an action cam, or I'm going to a spot for a full day of flying. When I'm just f'ing around and/or practicing, I fly 3.5" more often than not. Just so much easier to live with for a quick rip. The only thing I truly miss when going with 3.5" is prop noise in the recording.

I shall engage good sir. I first started FPV with Alien Wii boards on Parrot frames and also Picnic quad frames many years ago. These were very quick quads for the size and weight and really was so much fun. Brushed quads other than whoops and now including whoops are all brushless. But before they made tiny brushless motors brushed was the way and without the ducts like whoops have the quads were much faster and really a shit ton of fun. Super quit, super quick and with and 200mw AIO VTX and a Lemon RX you could go some distance.

Started with a tiny whoop and haven't moved on yet. Lots of fun.

I've seen alot of 3.5" freestyle vids lately. I thought 6" would take over cause everything getting heavier. VTx and gopros. So more power while not losing flight time.

as someone who is just starting, I love 3.5", its sub 250g, cheap, and still flies really good

Been havin a blast mostly flying 2 to 4 inchers for a while and just recently returned to my 5 inch quads. The smaller quads definitely allow for more options but rippin a good ole 5 inch freestyle quad properly just feels like coming home.

I flew an Inductrix back in the day. Was a blast. I've since settled on 2-inch, 2S/3S whoops. Great park cruisers, and I got 'em tamed so I can fly indoors no sweat. Great cost-to-performance ratio, too.

i fly them all , i got 3 5 inches for freestyle , 2 mobula 6 , i am still rocking a eachine thrashcan thats a 75mm , have a beta 85 pro , and 2 3 inch racing drones , but tiny whoops have an advantage you can fly them anywhere .