How To Choose Flight Controller For Quadcopter - Oscar Liang

2018. 02. 02.
How to Choose Flight Controller for Quadcopter - Oscar Liang
HOW TO CHOOSE FLIGHT CONTROLLER

FOR QUADCOPTER
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2018. 02. 02. How to Choose Flight Controller for Quadcopter - Oscar Liang
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The number of mini quad flight controllers on the market can be

overwhelming for beginners. This guide aims to explain the important
factors in choosing the next flight controller for your quadcopter, FPV mini
quad or racing drone.
If you are new make sure to check out our mini quad and racing drones
guide for beginners.
Index of Content
What is a flight controller
Flight controller firmware
Considerations in choosing a mini quad FC
Processor
Gyro
FC Choices
What is a Quadcopter Fight Controller

A flight controller (a.k.a FC) is the brain of the aircraft, which is basically
a circuit board that has built-in sensors that detects orientation changes.
It also receives user commands, and controls the motors in order to keep
the quadcopter in the air.
Nearly all flight controllers have basic sensors such as Gyro

(Gyroscopes) and Acc (Accelerometer). Some FC might include more
advanced sensors such as Barometer (barometric pressure sensors) and
magnetometer (compass).
Flight controller is also a hub for many other peripherals, such as GPS,
LED, Sonar sensor etc.
Flight controllers for quadcopters are rapidly evolving: smaller, using

better processors and hardware and getting more and more features
integrated.
FC Firmware
Apart from the difference in hardware, they might also use different
firmware that are specialized in different applications.
Modern FC firmware normally can be configured via software on a

computer or smartphone. “Tuning” is the term we use in the multirotor
hobby when we change PID, rates and other configuration settings, and it
changes how the multirotor performs. The GUI and parameters are
different from firmware to firmware, so there is certain level of learning
curve getting into each of them.
Here is a list of popular FC firmware available for mini quad. If you are
totally have no clue which one to choose, my recommendation would be
Betaflight, Raceflight and KISS. These all have excellent flight
performance and you cannot go wrong with any of them.
Once you have picked a flight controller firmware, you can then look at
what controller boards are compatible.
How To Choose a Flight Controller for

Mini Quad
Here are a list of considerations when picking up a mini quad FC.
Processor
Currently, you have 4 main types of CPU to choose from: F1, F3, F4 and
F7. We recommend getting a F3 or F4 FC for now, as we have reached
the limit of F1, and F7 FC are still new and needs time to be improved.
F1 F3 F4 F7
72MHz 72MHz 168MHz 216MHz
To learn more about the differences between F1, F3, F4 and F7

processors make sure to check out this article.
From left to right: STM32 F1, F3, F4
Number of UART’s and Inverters

UART is the hardware serial port that allows you to connect external
devices such as digital receiver (SBUS and Spektrum), OSD, SmartPort
Telemetry, Race Transponder, VTX control etc. Each UART has 2 pins,
TX is for transmitting data and RX for receiving data.
The UART count depends on the type of processor and the board
design, for example, F1 FC normally has 2 UART’s, while F3 and F4 can
have between 3 to 5 and F7 can have 8 or more.
UART stands for Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter.
F1 F3 F4 F7
2 UART’s 3-5 UART’s 3-5 UART’s 8+ UART’s
Because for some reason, Frsky SBUS and SmartPort signals are
inverted, and therefore it requires an inverter in the UART’s to read these
signals.
F1 and F4 FC normally have none or very limited number of built-in

inverters, and Frsky radio users could run into problems with these
boards. There are workaround for this, e.g. using external inverter, or
getting uninverted signal from the RX. F3 and F7 do not have this
problem and all of their UART’s have built-in inverters, so they work out
of the box.
However in the case of running out of hardware serial ports, you can use
the feature “soft-serial” which is a way of emulating UART port using
software. The downside of this is the lower baud rate (update rate), and
putting more load on your CPU. Therefore this is not recommended for
timing critical tasks such as your receiver.
Gyro: the type of IMU and BUS

The IMU sensor used on a flight controller can be found in the following
list. The job of an IMU sensor is to measure the quadcopter’s movement
and orientation.
IMU Possible Communication Protocol (BUS) Max. Effective Gyro Sampling Frequency
MPU6000 SPI, i2c 8K
MPU6050 i2c 4K
MPU6500 SPI, i2c 32K
MPU9150 i2c 4K
MPU9250 SPI, i2c 32K
ICM20602 SPI, i2c 32K
ICM20689 SPI, i2c 32K
The MPU chip model number can be found on the flight controller, for
example this is the Invensense MPU-6000.
IMU Gyro Sensor on a flight controller
There are two main properties of IMU we need to consider in a flight

controller: max sampling rate, and how susceptible to noise they are
(both electrical and mechanical noise).
Currently the most widely used IMU is the MPU6000 as it supports up to

8KHz sampling rate, and proven to be one of the most rubust IMU
against noise. The general consensus is to avoid MPU’s including
MPU6500 and MPU9250 which are noisier despite the higher sampling
speed.
Soft mounting your FC and adding low ESR capacitor to your flight
controller might help reduce noise getting to Gyro.
SPI and i2c are the types of “BUS”, or communication protocol used to
connect the IMU sensor to the processor. It can have a significant impact
on the effective sampling rate and therefore the maximum flight controller
looptime. The preferred BUS is SPI, which allows you to run Gyro at a
much higher refresh rate than I2C which has a limit of 4KHz.
Note that MPU9150 is effectively the MPU6050 with integrated AK8975

magnetometer, while the MPU9250 is the MPU6500 with the
same magnetometer.
More and more FC now starting to use the ICM20602, for example
the Raceflight Revolt V2, as well as the ICM20689 on the Kakute F4.
They can both run at 32KHz, however it’s reported that these IMU are
more susceptible to noise than the older MPU6000 therefore these FC’s
generally require more soft-mounting and filtering capacitors.
We begin to see FC with the Gyro “soft mounted”, basically have the
IMU sitting on a piece of foam, to reduce some of the noise coming from
the motors.
Soft mounted Gyro – Kakute F4
Blackbox: Flash Memory or SD Logger?

Blackbox data is useful for tuning and troubleshooting.
There are two ways to record your blackbox data, if your flight control
supports blackbox logging it normally come with either flash memory chip
or a SD card reader for you to put your SD card in.
Flash memory is cheaper to use, but it’s also very limited in terms of how
long you can record your flight, usually you can only record 10, 15 or
maybe 20 minutes depends on your logging rate. It’s also extremely slow
to download the data, it can take up to 5 mins to download an one-
minute flight log.
Flight controllers with built-in SD card reader allows you to insert a SD

card and you can keep recording for weeks without even worrying about
running out of space. It’s also very fast to read the data, take the card
out of the reader and you can access the logs immediately.
In my opinion it depends on how much you use Blackbox. If you are crazy
about studying Blackbox data, you should definitely get a FC with built-in
SD card reader.
It’s good to know that you can also get an external SD card reader
(Open Logger) and connect it to your FC in one of the UART’s (serial
ports).
Connector Types
I personally would avoid plastic JST connectors as they are less durable
although they allow you to connect/disconnect more easily. I like solder
pads, but sometimes with low quality boards, they tend to tear out when
stressed or overheated with solder iron. I also like “through-holes” which
gives you the option of direct soldering or using header pins.
Pro Tip: How to remove header pins on a FC.

Pro Tip: With solder pads, did you know that it’s possible to fix them
if they get peeled off?
Integrated Voltage Regulator

With voltage regulator integrated in the flight controller, it can be powered
directly from LiPo battery, or even provide 5V even 12V voltage outputs
for other gear. It also means the FC can monitor your battery voltage too
without extra VBAT wiring.
Integrated PDB
When PDB is integrated into the FC as one board, your ESC and LiPo
battery can be connected directly to the FC and no additional PDB or
wire harness is required (one board vs 2 boards). But the downside is
usually the tiny soldering pads on the FC that is extremely hard to work
with given the tight space.
Integrated Current Sensor

Having a current sensor has been proven invaluable: it’s a much better
indicator than VBAT for when you should land and great tool for testing.
More about current sensor and calibration.
Boot Button
A boot button (or bootloader button) can put FC into bootloader mode
when pressed. This allows you to “force” flash firmware in case normal
firmware flashing doesn’t work (why use bootloader button on FC).
Originally FC’s provide 2 solder pads for you to bridge when bootloader
mode is required. With a boot button it makes it so much easier.
Left: Boot Button; Right: Boot

Pads
Other features you might find on flight controllers

Integrated OSD – anyone who has worked with MinimOSD knows
what a PITA it is to setup, if you like OSD this feature is a must
have
Integrated VTX – the main benefit of it is the overall weight saving

and compactness, some even allows you to change VTX settings
directly from your FC
Barometer/Mag (compass) – these extra sensors are less important
for racers and mini quad
RX Support – make sure the FC support the type of radio receiver
protocol you plan to use, such as PWM, PPM, SBUS, Spektrum
Satellite and so on
AIO options – “All in one” flight controller has everything necessary
built into one single board, such as FC, ESC, PDB, RX and so on.
The downside is if something fails, it’s more likely that you’d have to
replace the whole setup
Infrared transponder support – allows you to use IR detectors with
the FC directly to measure your lap time in some race events
Flight Controller Choices

For a more up to date list for mini quad targeted FC, check out my mini
quad parts list: https://oscarliang.com/250-mini-quad-part-list-fpv/#fc
For recommendation here are a list of top 5 FC that were voted by our
community: https://oscarliang.com/top-5-best-fc-mini-quad/
Edit History
Dec 2014 – Article created
Nov 2016 – Added choices of flight controller firmware, updated FC
features
Feb 2017 – Updated Processor and Gyro types
Apr 2017 – Added “FC Evolution” infographics, Updated MPU types
Related
Build A Quadcopter From Best Flight Controllers For Mini Looptime and Flight Controller
Scratch - Hardware Anatomy Quad & Racing Drones 6th November 2017
25th June 2013 13th January 2018 In "Multicopter"
In "Featured" In "Reviews and News"
Posted in Multicopter, Reviews and News and tagged beginners, FC, ight controller, quadcopter on 17th
April 2017 [https://oscarliang.com/best- ight-controller-quad-hex-copter/] . 52 Replies
52 thoughts on “How to Choose Flight Controller for Quadcopter”
Sai pothan
16th December 2017 at 9:03 am
Sir ! I am building my rst Quadrotor. I built the custom ight controller using Arduino Uno
and MPU-9250. I have written PID Algorithm for single axis stabilisation of Quadrotor. But,
the Quadcopter is not at all balancing. and it is oscillating always. Can you please help me
regarding my issue. Can you please say the meaning of Max. E ective Gyro Sampling
Frequency. Can I attain stability if I switch to MPU-6050 instead of MPU-9250 ?.
Please help me, sir
Thank You.
Alex Wagner-Jauregg
12th September 2017 at 4:36 pm
This is great information on the di erences in ight controllers. I have the DYS F4 pro for my
MCQ Fusion, and really like it. I’m trying to help a friend resurrect his hex-copter and would
like to nd an F4 FC that will support a six motors, and has a beta ight OSD. Any
recommendations?
Oscar Post author
18th September 2017 at 4:12 am
The XSRF4O we just reviewed recently can do what you ask :)
Brolin
3rd September 2017 at 5:46 pm
Please advise me,

I have built my rst quad and I have a little problem with the KK 2.1.5 board that I am using.
When load increases i.e, when I increase the throttle the KK board restart. When I checked for
the voltage the it restarts when the voltage drops to 6.1 volt. Is there a particular voltage for
the KK board to restart ?
MT5000
31st July 2017 at 8:49 pm
Hello,
I have a KK board, but I’m having second thoughts. Anyone suggest a simple FC for basic
ying, not racing…yet. Just something that connects to Comp for settings, can hook up FPV
and an HD cam. I have a 450mm frame. I don’t know if this makes a di erence, but I’d like to
connect a gimbal at some point. Maybe by then I would just get an upgraded FC.
Thank you.
Asher Flynt
7th July 2017 at 5:26 pm
What is the name of the controller in the grid at the top of this page that is in the top left
corner? I have one and I cannot nd documentation on it because it was given to me without
it!! Please help.
Oscar Post author
that’s the KK2

A very old FC.
Charles
1st July 2017 at 9:58 pm
Who designed/created the rst ight controller board for multrotors for hobbyists?
Oscar Post author
It’s a mystery :)
himanshu
12th June 2017 at 7:06 am
hii i am looking to build a drone for real time mapping would you be able to tell be which
ight controller should i use?
Ddrt
7th March 2017 at 9:36 am
What about kk v5.5
Keen yer
Hello and thanks for the great post. I am wanting to create a drone to do maintenance work
on skyrise buildings and it will need to work in close proximity to the building without hitting
it (1 or 2 meter range). Do you have any advice for ight controllers for the following;
a) Human operated with collision avoidance so it doesnt hit the building, or
b) Computer operated with collision avoidance
Many thanks in advance.
kukumeka
1st February 2017 at 4:42 am
Which FC is more suitable to lift payload of 5lb even though they are not placed in balanced
positions and lift platform 4 feet o ground
Debo
15th January 2017 at 7:43 am
Hi oscar,
Great post as usual. so oscar, i would like to know whats the di erence between apm and
pixhawk? are they just like the naze32 and ip32( ip being a naze clone)?
thanks in advance
Oscar Post author
21st January 2017 at 6:11 pm
Here: http://intofpv.com/t-di erence-between-apm-and-pixhawk
JuanesM
1st April 2016 at 9:34 pm
Hi guys…. Question: Do you think that Jiyi P2 is bad alternative ?

Dr Colin Lloyd
17th March 2016 at 6:07 pm
Hi Oscar,
This explanation has been both instructive and confusing for me when trying to choose an
FC. I am currently building an ImmersionRC Xugong V2 Pro folding quadcopter. I want this as
a backpackable hobby (i.e. not professional) video/photo “follow-me” quadcopter when I am
walking in hills/mountains etc.
I seem to have two options – either a normal RC Tx control or (my preference) a Tablet
control. I don’t need FPV, racing or acrobatic capability. Either way my FC board has to have
GPS capability – either internal or external. But I’m not sure which is the best route. I’m
capable of hardware/software setups within the Raspberry Pi/Arduino arena – but with all
the other possibilities of things going wrong when assembling a quadcopter from scratch – I
probably would like to start with a known quantity as far as the FC is concerned. At this stage
I’d rather start with a budget board -see what happens and then go up the ladder as I become
more knowledgeable as far as capability/ease of use etc is concerned.
Oscar Post author
it sounds like you should be looking at the APM / Pixhawk route, however I am not familiar
with that area yet, currently i y mostly acro boards :)
Nivash
29th February 2016 at 8:25 pm
Hi Oscar
Please advise me
I have a ip32 and need to connect to a X8R receiver. The receiver connects with Sbus as well
Can I use a Sbus to cppm decoder to complete my setup. Or what can I do
Thankx
Oscar Post author
yes a SBUS to CPPM decoder is probably the simplest solution for you, and should work ne.
suhaas
Hi Oscar,
I want to build my rst quadcopter i hav got all my materials but struck wit the fc ..my only
speci cation regarding my quadcopter is that it must be completely exible for me to control
it in any manner .like for ex: it must not just y and land but also perform all acrobatics like
ip ,inverted ight ..I hope u got me …. i was suggested a KK v5.5 FC ,,wil this work or should
I use some other …mail me if any suggestions ..
Kindly help
gust
Is this a good FC? http://www.banggood.com/Naze32-Flight-Controller-With-32-bit-STM32-

for-Multicopter-10Dof-p-953849.html?p=OY2106728901201408U4
I will make my own quadcopter but ik don’t know which stu I need, I am a novic. Can you
help me?
Oscar Post author
22nd February 2016 at 10:56 am
HI Gust,
yes it should work ne with Clean ight rmware :)
by the way, I recommend joining this forum, it’s very useful and there are lots of helpful
people there. I am a daily user too :) http://intoFPV.com
gaurav
hi oscar, i want to make a quadcopter with gps and camera so which ight controller i can
use?
ZukenJ
13th January 2016 at 9:29 pm
Hi Oscar,
I know this article is some how old, but I am building a quad 450 and I am thinking on the
APM 2.6, AM 2.8 or the OpenPilot CC3D Revolution Revo 10DOF STM32F4.
Wandering if you can recommend one, links to vendors:

APM 2.8:amazon.com/Hobby-Ace-Apm2-8-Controller-Absorber-
Multicopter/dp/B015CPDD4W/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-
games&ie=UTF8&qid=1452720299&sr=1-2&keywords=APM+2.8
AMP 2.6: amazon.com/Andoer-Flight-Controller-Multicopter-

Quadcopter/dp/B00Q496EOM/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-
games&ie=UTF8&qid=1452720493&sr=1-1&keywords=APM+2.6
CC3D Revo: banggood.com/OpenPilot-CC3D-Revolution-Revo-10DOF-STM32F4-Flight-

Controller-Staight-Pin-p-1000068.html
I really appreciated your help.
mac y1202
9th January 2016 at 11:27 am
Hi Oscar,
Perhaps you could has the Pixfalcon and Pixracer ? They are Stm32f4 series.
Thanks for your great and outstanding blog.
Pablo
24th November 2015 at 9:42 am
Hi Oscar,
I’m building a F550 hexacopter and I have the motors,ESC,propellers,frame and battery, but I
don’t know how to choose a good and cheap ight controller.I’ve seen the APM 2.8 and
Flip32. Which do you recommend?Or another model?.I’d like to include a GPS or telemetry in
the future to have the option to return home.
Thanks.
Oscar Post author
24th November 2015 at 6:26 pm
if you want GPS and return to home, APM or Naza is your friends.
Pablo
So I’ll buy APM 2.8, will be ok a transmitter and receiver with 6 channels?
Thanks.
Pablo
Hi Oscar,
Will be possible with Apm 2.8 with gps M8N to have return home and fail safe with 6
channels transmitter and receiver.I read that is also possible the option of follow you, What is
necessary for this?
Thanks.
Giorgio Di Lella
21st October 2015 at 9:41 pm
Hi Oscar,
I am presently building a DJI 550mm Hexacopter. I presently have a quad that I picked up
used. It came with 1000Kv motors, 30 Amp ESC a KKK2.0 Flight Controller board.
I would like a FPV Setup with all the options available from the start…GPS, Compass and the
“Return To Home” feature, and so on. Most suggest the Naza system. I see others also but
don`t know were to begin.
All I want to do is y over trees and record the video.
Thx.
Oscar Post author
26th October 2015 at 11:38 am
yea… both Naza and APM are good choice for GPS…
Oscar Jr.
3rd October 2015 at 2:08 pm
Hi Oscar, here is Oscar too!
Thanks for sharing those valuable informations. I just wanna know about SLT protocol and
those FC, is there anyone compatible with ? I have this Tactic TTX650 with TR625 Rx and I’m
intending to use a MultiWiiPro or a Naze32 Full in a RoboCat 275. What do you think, will it
work?
Cheers!
Oscar Post author
6th October 2015 at 4:27 pm
Hey Oscar ;-p

sorry i know nothing about SLT!
Ray Tillman
Hi Oscar,
I think its wrong to bad mouth someone you have never dealt with on the word of people
who might have alterior motives. I am of course talking about your timecop comments. I had
a defective naze32 when he rst started producing them and he sent me a replacement , no
arguments, only asked if i would mind sending him the bad board back so he could see what
went wrong. Recently i bought four afromini’s and he sent me a free acro naze32. You have
to remember that his forum was never meant for people like me(hobbyist) but as a base for
stm32 development types. I agree he doesnt su er fools gladly but as long as you read the
manual rst and try to solve your problem yourself rst, he is ne. He has always treated me
with respect and courtesy and most people he is short with ask him stupid questions that
normal people would google rst. When he rst developed the naze32 it was a
clone/reworking of a Chinese 32 bit board called FreeFlight and he really didnt want to go
into production full time as he was just a hobby yer who saw the limitations of 8 bit
technology and wanted to move on to a 32 bit FC’s but within the multiwii community. He
developed Base ight from scratch and the naze32 grew from the FreeFlight board. Its a
hobby to him, he never wanted the naze32 to get so big and take up so much of his time . If
you check back to his break with rcgroups (who treated him abysmally) he makes it clear he
doesn’t need the money or the hassle involved , its just a hobby project that grew out of
hand. In the beginning there was Open Pilot with 32 bit boards that cost £100 there was no
choice then. Now because of the naze32 and its derivatives i can get a board for less than
£15 And its better, and mainly because of timecop. So dont knock what you dont know !
Oscar Post author
Hi Ray, thanks for your comment, and sorry if I hurt your feeling. I was totally just describing
what I have observed, none of my words about Timecop are personal. You are right, he did
some amazing work about Naze32. Please see Base gith VS Clean ight for more
information.
MrSatoV
31st August 2015 at 1:32 pm
Hi Oscar, been a while since we chatted. XD

Nice article. I know it’s old, so it’s probably expected to be a little out of date.
There are also some very valid DIY boards for those who are not afraid of such things.
FlyingF3, DiscoveryF3 and DiscoveryF4… several. Of course, the Sparky series are actually
opensource, same as CC3D was, and you can even have the boards made on oshpark.com,
buy all the bits and pieces, solder them on yourself and VOILA, a homemade Spark v1 or v2.
XD Except, when I checked, it costs pretty much the same if you’re doing 1-3 boards anyway,
so may as well just buy a ready made one.
My advice to newcomers is to watch aliexpress.com for sales on the Sparky v1.1. They can be
had for about $26 – $28 if you wait and watch. I’ve bought two this way. You could pay half
for a CC3D clone, and that will get you ying, but it won’t do GPS return to home, or anything
like that. Naze32/Flip32 10dof will, but there are features that already are not supported on
them, and most are crappy clones anyway. True that what I got o aliexpress are clones, but I
can vouch for the fact that the quality is good, and performance is noticeably better than any
F1 board. Can’t beat that value.
Oscar Post author
1st September 2015 at 11:14 am
Great info, thanks so much :)

I need to update this post, but just haven’t got the time yet :) soon, my friend, soon…
Pratik
11th August 2015 at 7:03 pm
Hi Oscar,
I want to build a quadcopter with the following speci cation : FPV, Sensor and Tracking( gps
system).. which FC should i use to make the quad witht he above mentioned specs.
Plz reply ,or email me… any help or suggesion would help me.
NOTE : A quadcopter that has GPS + FPV + Tracking sytem! .. All in One bro ;)
Oscar Post author
APM? Crius AIO Pro?
Pratik
What do u suggest according! …
the FC should help in Tracking as well as sensing part.. FPV is an ad on.

It should help me stabilize my quad..!!
This will be my Final Year project,,,so plz suggest ur expert ideas :)
Gustavo A Gonalez
1st August 2015 at 3:10 pm
Hi Oscar,
I am currently in a Senior Design group and our project revolves around a quadcopter. In our
design report we need to describe and outline some possible decisions between Flight
Controllers, and your post has helped immensly in that regard. I would like to ask if we could
use your chart/list (with credit of course) in our report?
Oscar Post author
6th August 2015 at 12:27 am
sure that’s ne :)
if you could credit back that would be great !
Rafak
29th June 2015 at 2:06 am
bro… awesome review, comparison charts just help SO MUCH, my mind was already kinda
made up about the Naze32 Full, your post was just the missing OK TO GO! … lol …… im
newbie to all this quadcopters thing and looking to build my rst 250mm FPV and i have a
very newbie question …. what should i look for,, vertical or horizontal pins on the FC?
(considering im going for a 250mm quad frame) …. ty so much bro…your blog is AWESOME!!!
Epasko
26th May 2015 at 11:10 am
need a TX for all of these

I hope this what I got will work
please say yes I will donate!
I canhttps://www.banggood.com/index.php?
com=account&t=ordersDetail&ordersId=6447656 get them separate
any recommend?
Steerix x4 quad I Have
My 250 build I want as per your recommend
Syma X5c 2.4g Naze Acro
Flip32 ?
Oscar Post author
28th May 2015 at 9:14 am
i can’t see your link, it’s your order and only you can see it.
send me the product page or product name please.
for Flight controller, get the Naze32 acro :)
alessandro
is good the CC3D from Banggood for a 450 quad?
Oscar Post author
yes, the cc3d is good for 450 quad too!
APMFriend
25th December 2014 at 1:15 pm
Please also note, that APM/ArduCopter has a much improved Acro Mode since 3.1 – when
comparing it to Multiwii it feels nearly identical. You are right though – on earlier
implementations before 3.1, Acro Mode on APM was not so good! :)
Oscar Post author
cheers, thanks! :D
CrazyCoder
The Brain FPV has integrated OSD hardware which is handy, butvery little market share for
some reason.
It was released last week. Of course it has little market share.
CrazyCoder
“Sparky, Quanton and Brain FPV Flight controllers were all based on OpenPilot’s project.”
This is not correct. Naze32 is based on MultiWii, being a 32-bit port of MultiWii. Sparky,
Quanton and Brain FPV are using Tau Labs rmware which is a fork of OpenPilot.
I only check blog comments once or twice a week, if you want a quick reply you can post
your question on this forum IntoFPV.com... You might get a faster response from me there
(multirotor related only).

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2018. 02. 02.

How to Choose Flight Controller for Quadcopter - Oscar Liang

HOW TO CHOOSE FLIGHT CONTROLLER

 Facebook 12  Google  Twitter  Reddit

The number of mini quad flight controllers on the market can be

What is a Quadcopter Fight Controller

Nearly all flight controllers have basic sensors such as Gyro

Flight controllers for quadcopters are rapidly evolving: smaller, using

Modern FC firmware normally can be configured via software on a

How To Choose a Flight Controller for

72MHz 72MHz 168MHz 216MHz

To learn more about the differences between F1, F3, F4 and F7

From left to right: STM32 F1, F3, F4

Number of UART’s and Inverters

UART stands for Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter.

2 UART’s 3-5 UART’s 3-5 UART’s 8+ UART’s

F1 and F4 FC normally have none or very limited number of built-in

Gyro: the type of IMU and BUS

MPU6000 SPI, i2c 8K

MPU6500 SPI, i2c 32K

MPU9250 SPI, i2c 32K

ICM20602 SPI, i2c 32K

ICM20689 SPI, i2c 32K

IMU Gyro Sensor on a flight controller

There are two main properties of IMU we need to consider in a flight

Currently the most widely used IMU is the MPU6000 as it supports up to

Note that MPU9150 is effectively the MPU6050 with integrated AK8975

Soft mounted Gyro – Kakute F4

Blackbox: Flash Memory or SD Logger?

or a SD card reader for you to put your SD card in.

Flight controllers with built-in SD card reader allows you to insert a SD

Pro Tip: How to remove header pins on a FC.

Integrated Voltage Regulator

Integrated Current Sensor

More about current sensor and calibration.

Left: Boot Button; Right: Boot

Other features you might find on flight controllers

Integrated VTX – the main benefit of it is the overall weight saving

Flight Controller Choices

52 thoughts on “How to Choose Flight Controller for Quadcopter”

Frequency. Can I attain stability if I switch to MPU-6050 instead of MPU-9250 ?.

Please help me, sir

Oscar Post author

18th September 2017 at 4:12 am

The XSRF4O we just reviewed recently can do what you ask :)

Please advise me,

it!! Please help.

Oscar Post author

10th July 2017 at 6:00 pm

that’s the KK2

Oscar Post author

4th July 2017 at 6:34 pm

What about kk v5.5

b) Computer operated with collision avoidance

Many thanks in advance.

positions and lift platform 4 feet o ground

Oscar Post author

21st January 2017 at 6:11 pm

Here: http://intofpv.com/t-di erence-between-apm-and-pixhawk

Hi guys…. Question: Do you think that Jiyi P2 is bad alternative ?

Oscar Post author

18th March 2016 at 9:53 am

Oscar Post author