Why you don't freestyle 6" props (but maybe you should) | IFLIGHT EVOQUE F6 

My wife says she prefers the 6" because they typically last longer and perform smoother, but usually settles for 5" despite is short runtime and fast jerky motions because they're more common.

I would like to see you and some guys do a blind flight test where you set up builds at 4.5", 5", 5.5", and 6" quads and fly them back to back and see if you can tell which is which, and which you prefer.

Like you said, the right tool for the right job. I usually pick my quad size depending on the “size” of the spot im gonna fly. No fun flying a 3 inch in a big open field, and not pushing a 10 inch trough a forest.

I’ve been flying 7” with 6” props for a couple of years and they r my go to quads to freestyle. I noticed the smooth large movements with my first build and love that motion. The low smooth sweeping ground speed has a stealth like feel to it like some animal on the prowl. I never get tired of and is pretty cool if you’ve never experienced it. All said and done it’s perfect for me. But then I bring out the 5” and remember why I fell in love with FPV.

I absolutely agree that bigger props leed to very beautifl and fun big moves. Freestyling my 7" (cuz why not) made me realize that. I am lucky to have big fields wiht small tree islands in them as my main flying location though because you are gonna want a bigger spot for a bigger quad imo.

Great video JB as always, I recently transitioned from analogue to DJI and bought the Evoque F5X as my first digital quad after watching your review, and gotta say I absolutely love it, such a solid BnF that flies so well right out the box, thanks again for all that you do, couldn’t be where I am without you!!

i own 2x iflight evoques F5Ds and 1x new Evoque F6D for weeks now and figured out the main difference: -The 6inch got so much torque and can carry huge weights, but isnt that fast. (max speeds around 130ish km/h) which makes it the perfect cruiser for me with huge lipos and long flight times over 15min. -The 5inch evoque is so smooth and a lot faster around 190km/h and i use it mainly for shots with the DJI A2 cam. recently i found out that the F6 is my goto quad when it comes to park cruising. because the bigger props its also very silent compared to the screaming 5", but can fly a loooong time with 1 battery and have no problem to carry both of my DJI action 2 cams for some sweet 2 perspective flight shenanigans. i love both versions and freestyle the crap out of them. even i am more like joshua and love to fly them smooth low and fast but no crazy flippyflops. shout out to AKI°

I'm glad you made this video. I decided to build a 6" and it's a very stable and smooth flying quad. I don't know too many freestyle tricks and the 6" really helps me slow down the segments of the trick I'm trying to learn, especially with the "float" factor.

I just decided on the 6 inch because of this. I'm way more into the type of flying you just did here. I'm gonna use it for "sightseeing" areas you can't get to and want the fun and smooth movements. Thanks !

I often freestyle a 6" Reverb with Kiss V2/T-Motor F55A Pro II and 2806.5 Xing motors. Its absolutely amazing.

I fly 6" quads since more then two years and I am freaking loving it!! Give it a go. For me the advantages are very noticeable 👍🏼😎☀️ Happy flying :)

I appreciate that you include crashes in your videos. As a newcomer to FPV terrified of crashing my shiny new drone, you inspire me to know that even the pros crash.

As always, love your videos!

thanks Josh I literallty tore my 7inch apart after watching this video, saved the components I wanted and sold the frame and motors to fund my new 6" build. your description of how the 6 Flies is exactly what i was looking for in my 7inch. love my 7 but its not nearly as nimble as I wanted with the increased stability of the 7. I think what you described is exactly what I was looking for when I built my 7. well apex reverb 6 inch frame has been ordered and now im doing comparisons on different 2506 motors!

I love your serenity in this vid.

I vote yes for seeing Betaflight 4.3 on both quads. I own both and would like your opinion before I make the jump. Great video Professor Bardwell!

I've been flying an F6X for about 1.5 months and I love it. I also have a Nazgul 5 HD which I also love.

Yes, put BF 4.3 on it and try to rune it out. I'd love to see that.

I've seen guys rip with a 7" great review JB cheers

I've got a 6 inch TBS source two on 2306 1900kv that I fly on 4s. It's my favourite quad. I like big, smooth, medium range freestyle. I agree with your conclusion 100%. The only thing you didn't mention is that 6" can maintain a higher speed with better efficiency than 5". I hope this video brings us more 6" pilots, frames and props. Cheers for all the vids JB.

When I got started in this hobby, my first build was a 6 inch, then realized that everyone is flying 5 inch. So I built a 5inch but my daily flyers is a 3 inch. Its quick and fits everywhere .

I like the way they fly👍That's my kinda flying...😎 I think I'll try the 6" props thanks 🙏👍

Been freestyling 6 inch props on 7 inch arms for years.. LOVE IT!

Thank you for this video, I'm in the process of purchasing a new drone... I was considering the f6 but now I know I should buy the f5 Great video, keep it up!

Really like this flying style JB! You're right, it's the Stingy Style and I seem to prefer these calculated precision loops to the "flippy flops". I hadn't considered this quad till now! Very nice! 👍

Hi Josh Great video on the 6in quads. I like trying different things out. I just don't know much about 5in yet about 6in. I stick with micros. But I have been flying 4in for the last couple of years, and I have tried to find the right motor for my own experience. Thanks for the video and information on 6in.

I have had my f6x evoque for about 2 months now it took me a bit to get used to it especially since my other main qwad is a nazgul but now I love throwing it about its big fast and very smooth great for mountain or river surfing 😁👍

Great video Joshua. Iflight did a good job on the tune on the Evoque. No doubt. But I would love to see it in 4.3

Oooo another video? Yes please.

Thanks for the review, i got the f6 because it's in line with my flying style: smooth, fast. I can't wait to try it out. I'd also like to see this one on bf 4.3! 👍

I've been freestyling my 7" and love it on betaflight 4.3

Converted my Naz 5 v2 to 6 inch. I lowered the center and pit 6s on it same everything else. It is amazing. 120 mph (when I'm not in USA) cruze at 75 mph and precision. My fav quad. Removed longer standoffs. Moved the 4 short ones to the corners. And 6 inch pass just over the corners.

I've been flying the Azure Power 6145 props on my Mr Croc 7 inch frame. I like how it flies on the 6 inch props and 1500kv 2807 motors.

This vid hit just at the right time for me lol! Since I just built my first quad this week! It's a six inch and thanks to Joshua Bardwell's videos and Discord (helpful people), got it loaded up with BF 4.3 and it was flying great! Until I started messing with the PIDS and rates. Managed to get it all screwed up and a barrel roll turned into death roll (that I couldn't get out of), turned into a bent motor, scratched 360 lens, screen not working on my one R, and an un- flyable quad lol! This just happened today. Guess I'll try to get back to default and work on my flying! There is a lot to work on in this stuff!! Overwhelming sometimes!!🤯🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️

Nice , JB , I fly 6incj freestyle since a year and I love it for real, I fly way bigger and faster motors, 2806.5 with 1700kv on 6s hv, but also on 5s, and both is fun as f.. , 6 inch is so much Power to catch after deep dives, 6 inch is the goal for smooth freestyle

Oh i see so many videos that could be spawned from that 6inch quad. A tuning series on it, getting the stick tracking better and even a quick look at it's noise/filter performance. One video on testing it with stock BF4.2 vs 4.3 out of the box settings just to see if going to 4.3 improves the bounceback we saw there without any tuning or not.

Pretty fantastic flying and review, Joshua!!! 😃 But you should definitely try a 7" quad some day! And iFlight has a great model! Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

Thanks for making this video. I have been consistently flying a 6inch of some sort since 2015 and it's always disappointing how few well designed frames and components there are in comparison to 5". Even 7" lately.

One of my favorite quads to fly in big areas is a 6" hyperlite floss 3.0 with the team edition 2205.5 1722 kv motors on a 2200mah 6s pack with prettt low pitch props. The combination of light 6" frame with good but a tad undersized motors makes it so chill when theres big pretty scenery between obstacles to do freestyle around. And I love the float especially when upside down. But if im flying in a tighter space ill usually still default to a 5" with 2207.5 motors with the same kv but an aggressive prop and let the amps pull it through any maneuvering necessary with immediate authority.

smooth flowing lines...

I used to fly 6" and I loved the flowyness and slow movements. For some reason settled on 3" lately due to the compactness.

if i had easy access to good hobby shops for parts like in the states I would probably experiment more on the type and sizes of frames.. but for now I guess I would stick with what most pilots around me fly since spare parts are easier to source that way.. great video JB!

Omg im so excited

I’m pretty new to the hobby but early on I came into possession of a 6” frame, and flew 5” props on it for a year because that’s what I had. A few months ago I rebuilt with those Bigger Torquier motors, and 6” props and I love it. T-motor F-80 Pros with 6042 bi blades, if anything it is ‘over motored’ because I get a lot of wobbles on heavy throttle punches, but it can get up and go. I started off learning the flow-ier (not so flippy floppy style) so this build just fit perfectly for my current style. I’ll probably build a 5” soon for the quicker stuff but I love the raw power of the 6”

Great video One Love

I been on that 6 inch train and I love it

My first build was actually a 6"/7" quad with 2807 1500kv motors. Flight times are great and it's so stable. Had no trouble doing some quick flips, and it's so smooth. Only problem I didn't realize is that it was/is my first drone ever, and living in a city, it's hard to get a place to properly fly and play with it. It has a lot of punch.

I recently came to the same conclusion myself, but instead of 6" I'm building a 4 inch freestyle build. I put a Foxeer CAT 3 Starlight cam on it and plan to use it for night flying. 5" is probably the best all around, but it's nice to explore new and different ideas for flying. Great video as always JB!

I started on 5” quads. But as I got better I moved on to flying 7” true x style frames. I have a iflight xl7 and a Hyperlight Glide 7 The additional torque and efficiency makes carrying a GoPro wadier and while getting longer flight times.

Dang i'm gonna have to earn an invite to the Bardwell cookout. Thanks the video mate! I might need a 6inch cinema drone now.

Great video - 6” needs more attention. For med/ranging more cinematic or off road explorational freestyle, 6” is a nice alternative to 7”rs. The cruise efficiency really shines at camera angles 30-40degrees - they’ll haul a bigger battery over much greater distances. In the winter, when the resevoirs are low, 6” is what you run 1mi across the water to dive the now 500ft intake towers 😂 and 6” punch means u don’t take a drink at the bottom 😎 and not to knock iFlight, that 6” tune could be a lot better: the p/d balance is off and it needs more I term

15:09 best conclusion of the hobby yet! I am one of those odd balls who like to fly something different compared to everyone else. Also based on my style, I like the flowly type of freestyle and not the Flippy floppies. This 6 has peaked my interest, definitely a 7 is not far off!

I fly 7inch 2200mah 17-18 minute flight times every flight, crusing. Having fun in the goggles. Its so amazing to see what the birds see.

[summary below] In my opinion, based on four years of flying 6/7", flying 6-7" isn't as simple as just throw in any prop on and fly like you would with 5". You need to be more specific about what you want to do with the quad. The differences between props make all the difference in flight. For speed and accleration higher pitch bi blades are best, like gemfan flash 6x4.2x2. For agility emax LR 6" bi blades work best, they just move like 5". For higher weight loads (like hero9+) but still agile, hq prop 6x3x3 work best. For high weight but more punch and speed, hq 6x4x3. For non collision cruise GN props work better, for expected collisions PC props are a better choice. For efficiency/agility you go bi blades, for stability/weight you go tri blades. For cruise you go with lower pitch, for climbing you go with higher. You have to choose the right battery for the job as well. You won't go for a long range proxy cruise or a cloud surfing with 1000/1300mah, cause you ain't gonna make it (or back) in time without frying the battery. Higher weight = higher prop pitch if you expect to avoid obstacles at fast speeds. 1550 mah seems to be a good all-rounder for flight time and weight if you want to stick to one battery type. 1800mah 5s flies a bit longer tho. Depends on what your flying spots and time to fly are. If you can go only to very local spots low altitude+high density - 5" (50-200 radious meter spot), If you can go to suburbs/country side+mid altitude 6"(200-500meter spot), if you can go on an outdoors trip+high altitude 7"(500+meter spot). Best thing to do is actually get a two-three packs of different props and run through them at some spots, then pay attention to why some of them felt better than others in some applications and in some felt worse. Keep an eye on amp consumption and flight time to learn how to pick the right props for your specific quad and application (weight, battery, props and job you want to do). A 6/7" prop for proximity freestyle with session/action2 in tight area is not a prop for free range cruise with hero6, not a prop for open field freestyle with hero6-8, nor a prop for hero9+ climbing/downhill. Sure they can be used as such with a certain range of satisfaction and success in doing so, but they pay you back handsomely if you learn the ways of 6"... also you're gonna learn something ;P It might not be for everybody, but if you chase the personal experience aspect of flight (be that adrenaline rush of proxy acro, high speed proxy cruising/downhill, or chill open field cruise or cloud surfing) or pulling the best out of your footage and location, bigger quads with props and batt matching the job you're about to perform are the way to go. [SUMAMRY] For general purpose - throw in and forget, low-mid weight rigs, i'd personally recommend gemfan flash 6x4.2x2, for higher weight quads - hq 6x4x3 (6x3x3 if you're running 2306) or hq 7x3x3. Bigger location -> bigger quad -> more fun and cine/better optical flow.

If you're into the 6" quad thing I would suggest trying the Azure 6145 BSP prop!

Hi Joshua, great video also perfect timing. I am in the dilemma between picking my first serious quad after tiny whoops. Looking for something to fly in the mountains, above forests. What keeps me thinking: the F5 seems to be just perfect and bringing a lot of emotions when you fly it in both your videos. F6 seems to be great while doesn't seem to bring the same feelings. Which one of the 2 would be your pick when it comes to enjoy the flight?

Looks nice! Went one step even further for floaty chill flying and got the Chimera 7" .. Its a amazing for freestyling .. but i bet it will go in to pieces when it crashes.

Hi Joshua, thanks for testing it. I would also appreciate if you could do a X versus D version

This week I was contemplating getting the Evoque F6X.. and BAM! Bardwell delivers! to bad there's no 4s analog version because I have no 6S lipo's or a 6s capable charger.. O well...

I would love to see a tuning video with BF 4.3. The 6 inch looks like a great quad.

6 inch is my favorite size to fly. Hands down. My back up quad is a 5, but something about a 6 inch scratches that itch.

I think with Betaflight 4.3 the 6inch quad would fly even better. With my iFlight XL7, the difference was already clearly visible with the stock tune (less low throttle instability, softer flight characteristics, better propwash handling). And i love the XL7 for the combination of freestyle and long range flights.

I almost exclusively fly 6 inch, in my opinion it's a much more free feeling. Very easy to swap over for long range as well which is nice.

I've been flying 6" for a few years for freestyle (on 5s cuz I'm weird). I really like the extra speed and more hang time I get with 6". I rarely do flippy flops. Oh and the ability to arrest your fall at the very last second seems easier on 6" and also I like the lower throttle range. However I noticed turtle mode is less successful because the props either break, bend or just come loose easier and more often than 5"

Had my F6X for quite a while and definitely don't miss 5" at all. Plus that evoque is just amazing 👏.

Just to be difficult, I like flying 5" quads with 6" arms and 5" props. I could be full of it but I feel that with the motor mass being ever-so-slightly further apart, it feels smoother in the air because there's less interference to the airflow from the fuselage since the motors are further away, especially with yaws. It also means that I can get pretty much the same performance as a 5" but can put 6" props on it if I want smoother flow and using motor scaling. I could be wrong. In fact I probably am, but it's a feel thing. I have found that 6" props are a bit louder too. Maybe because the pitch of the sound is lower so it feels more noticeable.

Yes please make a video with betaflight 4.3 on this.

Tail end of building season in Montana. Just got home frome tuning flights for 4 of them. All 5.5"to 6" and 2208 or 25mm motors. Both those sizes have been a prop problem. The new gemfan 6030x3 is an amazing prop, better than HQ5.5 and gemfan 5538. If you have the means, I highly recommend you pick them up. I think we are entering a new era (I started in 2013) with 4.3 and presets. Everything flew great, but the 6030x3 just smoked 5 other props on every rig. Cheers everyone...spring is coming :)

Greetings, I have two equal 250mm frames in one I fly in 5" with 2306 - 2400kv 4s motors and the other in 2306 - 1922 kv hyperlite motors in 4s also with K2 6040 propellers and it flies excellent since my flight is more relaxed more soft and I had been flying for a long time with 5" I tried 6" and I think I liked it better and it adapts more to my style of flight, in addition to the fact that the batteries give me more flight time and I don't have to push hard for a roll, loop, etc with 3/4 throttle and it responds perfectly, I agree with JB if your style of flight is smooth and relaxed with tricks and everything I recommend it and you can also do fast freestyle it all depends on the pilot but I recommend it fly in 6".

Great video... I started off in the hobby with LOS on a 6" warpquad 230 on 2205 2300kv and was blown away by its brief throttle blip park crossing punch... meanwhile everyone else was flying 5" on fpv and so I naturally bought into the hype that a 5" must be what I should get next. I then built a 5" racer BMS JS-1 and while it is definately more agile, I couldn't believe just how gutless in punch it is in comparison to my WQ230. I think I need to find a worthy lightweight 6" frame for a naked Vista fpv setup.. not sure the WQ230 would be up to the job, it was right on the cusp of just being strong enough for LOS... I think FPVing it would take it too derp into the strength to weight ratio, the fragile realm.

Hi JB great review. I havent owned a 6 inch have some 5s 4s and 3s. I just like the lines and control of the 5 inch. Im actually trying to decide if I should get the dji version of the 5 inch you reviewed. Looked like you were using digital goggles with both. I noticed in an earlier video I think it was also the Iflight that you preferred the analog 5 inch for handling and weight. I plan on using a session 5 or more likely a peanut with the 5 inch. Do you think the weight saving would still make for a good pairing? Thanks.

As always great content good comparison but what about prop pitch with all other things equal say 5 inch and 4.5 vs 5 pitch as an example

I have been flying 6 inches for a couple of years, and if anyone worries about motors size - 2207 and 2206 are just fine for such build. But ofcourse something a bit bigger like 250x motors will do better.

It would be good to see a series of bnf tune vs pro tune, a who's got the best factory tune for their drone and who's just mashing sliders and sending it, who should you fly with, who should you wipe the tune on. or a 4.3 presets vs bnf tune. Answer the age old question should you tune/update a bnf

I am 🙋🏻‍♂️, I am that person! And he'll yes I cancelled my first order to use your affiliate link! You made me take the shot so thank you!

Great review, Bardwell! And yes, I'd love to see the 6in put on bf 4.3. I was unimpressed with some of the wobliness and bounceback handling of the 6in. It's important for us to see whether that is an issue with IFlight's tune or one that is endemic of 6in quads. As a high rate "Mr. Steele" type pilot (not that my skills are anywhere close) I won't be switching anytime soon. But for a cruiser/cinematic build? Possibly. Thanks for all that you do

Late to the comments section, but there is still lots of reasons to build stuff on 6" frames with 6S electronics. You can still run 5" (or 5.5", or really most any in-between size) props on a 6" frame and get great results, you even get cleaner air to the props for a slight weight penalty

Definitely the coolest part. 🕊️ 10:56

I have almost exclusively flown 6 inch quads , I'm not interested in the " Floppy Flops " sure it looks good initially , But once you've seen one floppy flop you've seen them all , I'm more into exploring with my quad , And the smoothness of it flying is the aspect im looking for with the 6 inch quad .

I also like to carve nice swoops in the air, like 3D Super GS skiing not really a Slalom kinda guy...

Yes! Please take a look at betaflight performance on larger quads. A quick look at what manufacturers are offering (and supposedly then what people are buying) indicates a noticable bump around the 7 inch prop size. So much of the commentary on the 4.3 release has focused on how magical it is for five inch quads and how the secret sauce makes setup and tuning so simple. Betaflight isn't supposed to be about secret sauce, and the preset sliders are pretty wacky looking for 7 inch quads. Are those reasonable changes to the recipe, or did betaflight leave large quad pilots behind?

Ahhhh so relaxing....JB had the Bob Ross going on there lol smooth.....lines...😁 I would be curious to see how 4.3 is on that 6 inch ....and rip hero 8😢🙏🏽

You might wanna try out 6 inch 2 blade props (I recommend the Emax avan long range) they have a very different flight performance to both 5 and 6 inch 3 blades. If you have a light 6 inch setup (below 800 grams) 2 blade is definitely worth a try (and even above that they are still phenomenal). Great Video

Joshua Bardwell; the Bob Ross of FPV. “Don’t Flippy flop, just fly some nice flowing lines. Maybe a happy little split-s over here…” love the vids JB looks like a fun quad. Sorry about the GoPro ;(

It's really up to the PILOT...!!!😉

ImpulseRC apex 6 inch frame, original T-motor F80 2200kv, spinning lumenier gate breaker 6x5x3 props, on 5s it's a pleasure to rip around. My first 6 inch frame was actually using F60 2500kv and Butter Cutter 5x5x3. It was pretty fun, wish you would make a video on a tuned 6 inch frame running 5 inch props.

Do you have PID tunes for the F5 for Betaflight 4.3? I am new to PID tuning and have what seems a good tune, but I'd love to compare to yours (Evoque F5X 6S w/ DJI). Love yout channel! So informative!

I put 2408.5 1900kv on all my 6s 6" builds and run either 5.5" prop or 6" prop. They fly absolutely incredible. Definitely faster than my 5" builds with the FpvCycle motors and really close in agility. I'd be curious to see what you think of that motor and kV compared to that 5" build you flew in the video.

Joshua Bardwell, the Bob Ross of fpv…. Smoooth happy rolls and loops

Another great video. Thanks JB. Definitely shows the 5” is just the way to go. How did you crash it though the camera showed you not the quad or did you lose video?

Got an older style iFlight XL6 with 2306 motors and 6" props (and JB F4 1st edition..;) and love the feeling of it..I was specifically looking for something that would give me the possibility of small scale freestyle with the chance of also more cruising

This is also sick. 🔥🙌🕊️ 11:56

I think the 25mm motors are more suited to 5" (though the kv in this example isn't) and more torque is required to adequately control 6" props. I run 2408 on 5.5" which are 20% larger still.

its probably a monster for those neat looking high speed trench runs that make you feel like you are in star wars

I fly bf4.3 on a 6" Apex hd with fpvcycle 25mm motors on new gemfan 6030. It's magical.

the video on the 6 inch is far superior!

We mainly fly 5" because it is the smallest size than can carry easily a GoPro. Going bigger only provides more fly time, and usually, for freestyle, we favor fly caracteristics and durability over fly time. Of course you don't need to flippy flop with a 5", you can also fly smooth with wide moves if you want 😉 I think iFlight's tune for the Evoque F6 is not good and doesn't do it justice, I am pretty sure you could get a much better custom tune with BF4.3, it is worth the try.

Hey Joshua, could you do a review on the Geprc mark 5? I would like to know your thoughts on it

The 27% reduction in rpm is partly to save the tips of the props breaking the speed of sound. It’s the same reason that prop driven aircraft engines have to produce all their power on low rpms

Got my wvoque stuck in a 60 foot tree last week and I had to blow the motors off of it to get it down. I didn't think I was getting it back for a few mins lmao😂. Landed cam first from 60 feet up and I just had to tighten up the mount screws and put new props on it. Its a seriously durable frame. I crash every day because I'm new and I push it really hatd haha