The iFlight XL5 V3 is a fantastic freestyle frame for the price. It features chamfered edges on some very nice quality carbon fiber. My goal for this build was to use high quality components at a relatively low price. Not only that, but I managed to reduce the number of solder points to the bare minimum. I've never built such a plug-in-play quad! The flight controller has an integrated VTX and doesn't require any soldering. All you need to solder are the motor wires, the power leads and the receiver. Very cool!

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Features

F4 flight controller

600mw video transmitter

Eagle 2 CMOS camera

Current sensor

Quality 2306 motors

Only 17 solder points

Tools

While this is a fairly easy build, you'll still need a number of tools. The most important is the soldering iron. I recommend a good quality iron like the Hakko 888D. While it's a little pricey, it's well worth it if you plan to stay in the hobby for long. Here's what you'll need:

Soldering iron

1.5mm and 2.0mm hex drivers

Industrial Tweezers

Wire cutter/stripper

Scissors

Heat gun or lighter

Ruler and cutting mat

Multimeter

Additional Supplies

A variety of heat shrink tube sizes

Blue Loctite

Zip ties (small)

63/37 leaded solder

Liquid soldering flux pen

Hardware

I used countersunk washers and flat top screws to attach the top plate, but these aren't necessary. I just did it to add a little color. The frame includes button-top screws, so these embellishments aren't required. Also, the motors don't come with screws, so you'll need to buy some M3x6mm hex screws. I recommend buying a set of 100 as they're really handy to keep around. Also, I didn't use the hardware intended to mount the stack. Instead I combined some screws from the frame with the anti-vibration mounts listed below in the part list.

Frame Assembly

The frame comes with great instructions, so there's not much more to add here. The press nuts don't grip the carbon, so I needed to use my prop wrench to hold them in place while I tightened the screws. Also, pay attention to the pointy bits at the tip of the arms. Its easy to screw an arm in backwards if you aren't paying attention.

To mount the FC + ESC stack use the 15mm screws included with the frame. Use the black rubber bits that came with the stack to isolate the 4-in-1 ESC from the frame. Finally attach the anti-vibration standoffs to fix the 4-in-1 ESC into place. Don't add the flight controller until later.

Motors

While it's optional I like to sleeve my motor wires with 1/4" Para-Max. It's also a great way to add a little color to your build. Keep in mind that the traditional 550 Paracord is too narrow for all 3 motor wires.

Cut 4 pieces of cord to 7 cm lengths, remove the inner core and, with a lighter, melt the ends to prevent frays. Sleeve the motor wires and add a couple 2cm pieces of 12mm shrink tube to cover the ends. Screw your motors onto the arms using M3x6mm screws and blue Loctite. Flux and tin each motor pad ensuring each is completely coated with a bubble of solder. If you're right-handed start from the rightmost motor pad and solder all 6 wires from right to left. If you're left handed start from the left.

Cut each wire to length as you go, not all at once. Position the shrink tube over the ends of the cord and melt it. You can use a heat gun to make quick work of this, but don't hold it over your FC too long.

Power Connector

The flight controller comes with a little capacitor, so we might as well use it! These help with voltage spikes and can clean up interference in the video feed. Ensuring the polarity is correct you can cradle it into the main battery lead grooves at a downward angle. Apply a bit of solder to hold it into place then snip the ends so they don't protrude. Then you can fill the gaps with more solder to cradle the main battery leads on top. Just don't fill it so much that the solder leaks out through the bottom.

Binding the Receiver

This flight controller is great! It comes with a wire connector for your receiver. I used the FrSky XM+, but you can use any SBUS compatible 3.3v or 5v receiver.

Unless you're using a 3.3v serial receiver remove the green wire from the RX wire harness. Solder the 3 wires to the correct pads on the receiver. Add your flight controller to the stack and connect it to the 4-in-1 ESC with the included wire harness. Now you'll want to attach your VTX antenna because the next step requires powering it up. You never want to power your VTX without an antenna as that could lead to overheating and damage. Bind your receiver Plug your receiver into the flight controller.

Be sure to double check that you don't have continuity between your main battery leads.

Hold your receiver bind button and plug your main battery in.

Put your radio into bind mode to get the bind. Now that you're bound you can tuck your receiver away under the stack. Loosen your 4-in-1 ESC

Cut a piece of shrink tube to the length of your receiver and loosely melt it on.

Slide it under the 4-in-1 ESC so the antennas diverge in both directions.

Attach small zip-ties to your front arms and shrink tube the antennas to the zip ties. Put it all back together and secure your flight controller with a set of nylon nuts.

Camera

The Runcam Eagle 2 is no longer available, but the Runcam Micro Eagle is a fantastic alternative. Since this frame requires a wider camera, you'll need to use an adapter such as this to mount the Micro Eagle.

Before you plug your camera in you need to attach the side plates. Use the M2 screws included with the camera and a single nylon spacer. Sandwich the spacer between the camera and one of the side plates to get the spacing right. Use the camera plug that came with the flight controller to plug the camera in and seat it onto the frame.

Now that you've wired the camera you can adjust your camera settings. Plug your battery in and check that the video feed is functioning. Then, using the included joystick you can plug it into the connector on the back of the camera. This is entirely optional though. I'd test the default settings to see if you like them and make adjustments later.

Finishing Up

Now all you need to do is mount the top plate and fasten the VTX antenna. Screw the standoffs onto the top plate first. You can either use the included 6mm screws or the countersunk washers like I did. To secure the VTX antenna it's a good idea to hold it in place with a ziptie or two. I just used the hole in the back to hold it in place.

The frame came with a foam battery pad, but I opted to use a sticky pad. These grip the battery much better and reduce the chances of an ejection. I linked a sticky pad below in the misc parts, but you'll need to cut it to size. It doesn't have adhesive on the back so you may want to adhere it with some VHB tape or you could just buy something like Ummagrip.

Attach the top plate to the bottom plate and the build is complete!

Betaflight Configuration

If you don't already have them, you'll need to download Betaflight Configurator [Download] and the BLHeli Configurator [Download].

First go to the Firmware Flasher and choose "OMNIBUSF4SD" as well as the latest stable release of Betaflight. Click "Load Firmware [Online]" and then "Flash Firmware" to update your flight controller. Once complete, click "Connect" On the Ports tab On UART6 click Serial RX for your receiver.

Set the UART3 Peripherals to "IRC Tramp".

Click Save and Reboot On the Configuration tab Under ESC/Motor Features select DSHOT600

If want to fly "props out" with reversed motors, select "Motor direction is reversed" below the illustration. (This is optional)

Under System configuration set PID loop frequency to 8 kHz.

Under Receiver choose your receiver mode. For the XM+ choose "Serial-based receiver" and "SBUS"

Under Arming set the Max arm angle to 180 (Only if you keep the accelerometer turned on)

Under Other Features enable: Airmode, OSD, Anti Gravity and Dynamic Filter

Under DSHOT Beacon Configuration enable the beacon

Click Save and Reboot

To complete the remaining steps you'll need to apply lipo power to your build:

On the Receiver tab ensure your pitch, roll, throttle and yaw are being applied correctly. Adjust your transmitter and Channel Map as needed. On the Modes tab Assign an Aux switch to arm and disarm your quad.

Assign another Aux switch to enable Horizon or Angle mode if you need them.

Assign the Beeper and "Flip over after crash" to a 3rd and/or 4th switch. I like to assign them both to a single 3 point toggle switch. On the Motors tab enable the motor test and apply a small amount power to check the rotation of each motor. Take note of any that need to be reversed. Disconnect from the Betaflight Configurator and open BLHeli Configurator Connect and Read Settings

Flash all ESCs to the latest firmware available.

Reverse the motor direction of any motors that need it. (The numbers correspond to the same numbers in Betaflight)

Save and reconnect to Betaflight Configurator to test the motor direction. On the OSD tab Check all of the features you want and arrange your OSD as desired.

And that's it! The default Failsafe settings are generally fine, but make sure they work by arming your quad, applying a small amount of throttle and turning off your transmitter. It should shut down after a short moment.

Maiden Flight

When installing your props make sure to pay attention to the directions illustrated on the Configuration tab in Betaflight. If you are flying "props in" then the leading edges of each prop needs to rotate toward the front and rear of the quad. If you are flying "props out" then the leading edges need to rotate toward the sides of the quad. Make sure the lock nuts are tight, but they don't need to be extremely tight. Conduct your first hover test in a safe place where you won't damage anything or hurt yourself.