Well, I just happen to have on of these on order & has shipped last week (should arrive form China about end of this month) from
I've got the Basic 3, which has OSD, on the way ($370AU freight free). The OSD only has minimal data (battery voltage) unless you add a GPS module to it, which is currently not available as a stock item but can be sourced elsewhere. GPS really not necessary for a racer.
The Runner 250 looks like a great little unit for entry level FPV Drone Racing.
It has a Carbon Fiber frame, parts are available, people are already crashing breaking & modifying them,
You can read about it from as well. Although he is not really a beginner.
I got in before they put the price up (to $431AU freight free), probably by request from Walkera Australia Distributor.
You can buy from the OZ distributor for around the same price however the OZ models look to have (not confirmed) the Video TX limited to 25mW which is 1/8 of the Stock 200mw vtx output.
You can get replacement vtx with higher output (500 or 600mw) from OS. HobbyKing etc.
You can also buy the 250 Runner FCC 200mW unit from overseas.
I also bought a Mobius HD camera for $100AU delivered from BG. to strap on the Runner 250 for flight recording when I want to.
Some people are putting GoPros on for recording flights, I think that is crazy to strap an expensive camera on a racer. If you are really racing you test the limits & likely crash a few times so parts need to be reasonably priced.
There is a DIY BNF version available for a little less ($256AU free freight), however you need to supply your own radio controller (Devo 7 or higher), FPV camera, VTX module & battery.
You can also use another brand of radio like a Taranis, however you would need to also change out the Flight Controller & set up the replacement.
With either of these units you still need to add goggles or a screen for FPV.
I already have Skyzone Goggles, so no big deal for me.
Good goggles - Fatshark Dom2, Skyzone, Boscam - all cost around $500-$600 depending where you buy from.
I've been flying FPV for around 8 months & love it. Still fly LOS for practice as well.
I've had RC planes & Bikes since I was a kid.
Got the MultiRotor (Drone) bug last year & forked out big time for a couple.
Have a toy grade Hubsan X4 that came free with my Tali H500. Didn't take me long to get bored with the Toy, (I still fly it occasionally inside for practice on rainy days).
The Tali is a fun camera platform & I've got to the stage where I'm starting to race it around at top speed (ex bike racer - cant help myself lol), which could get expensive if I crash it too many times.
That's why I've been looking at racers.
Was considering the Storm Racing Drone which is also a RTF, however it is a fair bit more $$.
Building from scratch I haven't done.
Having the RTF's & exploring Flight Controller config on my Tali, I'm now confident I could build from scratch if I wanted, but I'm getting lazy.
freakee1 builds his own so would be good if he chimes in & gives that side of it. (Tutorial would be great)
He put some pics of his latest builds
Hope that is not too much info.
EDIT: found some videos on How to build your own.
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