Rotorama Buddy 5"

Rotorama Buddy 5" is... a buddy that will not leave you in the lurch. It is a freestyle frame that will be appreciated by both top pilots and beginners. Buddy has set itself the goal of being very durable and practical with great flying performance. The frame can hold up to 5.4" propellers, which will be appreciated especially by pilots who fly heavier drones with an HD camera and want a little extra thrust. The weight of the frame, including 3D printing, is an acceptable 139 grams.

Buddy has 15mm wide arms made of 5mm thick carbon. The arms are therefore very durable and rigid. High rigidity helps minimize vibration and thus improves the drone behavior. To increase durability, the front part of the frame around the camera is also reinforced. The lower plate is made of 3mm thick carbon, the upper is made of 2mm.

Unlike most freestyle frames, on the Buddy, the stack is placed between the front and rear arms straight to the bottom plate. This has several advantages. The frame is lower and has a center of gravity closer to the level of the propellers, which helps better flight characteristics. When using conventional 2207 motors, the propeller is usually at the level of the upper plate. The center of gravity is therefore low, but the battery is still quite high, so if the battery moves during crash, there is no danger of the propeller damaging the battery. The arms are attached separately by three screws, so their eventual replacement is very easy. Thanks to the three screws, the arms are held firmly in place and do not wobble.

The distance between the front and rear arms is 55mm, so most of the available stacks will fit comfortably. Stacks with a mounting holes of both 20x20mm (M3) and 30.5x30.5mm can be used. Because each stack is a little different, for larger stacks, the frame has slots instead of holes. You can move the stack slightly to one side or the other as needed to get some extra space (for example, a capacitor or power cable).

Additional electronics can then be placed in the rear of the frame. Mounting holes 20x20mm M2 and 30.5x30.5mm M3 are ready for installation. On the upper plate there are 20x20mm M2 slots. The rear of the frame is a good place to install a video transmitter. You can place a Caddx Vista digital video transsmitter in holes or slots with a spacing of 20x20mm. Using a different set of 3D prints, the DJI Air Unit also fits comfortably in the frame. At the back of the top plate is a hole through which the XT60 can be passed with a cable. This makes it easy to remove the top plate and pull out the cable, making the drone more convenient during repairs. The cable that runs through the upper plate has less chance of rolling into propellers that can cut it in flight. Both the antenna and the camera are mounted using a 3D printed mounts. Default 3D prints are for SMA connector and Mini size camera.

3D printing accessories can be found on almost every drone. One of the most common freestyle frames is Alien (and its copies). Because we don't want to reinvent the wheel, Buddy has the same 4-standoff spacing as the Alien. All HD camera holders can be used on the Buddy, not only at the front, but also at the back or bottom. You can place the GoPro or other camera anywhere.