The SpeedyBee Bee25 is a sub-250g cinewhoop designed with the DJI O3 Air Unit in thoughts, making it a wonderful possibility for FPV drone pilots in search of a compact, versatile, and feature-rich drone. With its smooth modular design, considerate engineering, and strong flight efficiency, the Bee25 affords rather a lot in a small bundle. On this overview, I’ll share my expertise with the Bee25, discussing its construct high quality, flight efficiency, and total worth.
New to FPV? Try my purchaser’s information for cinewhoops: https://oscarliang.com/cinewhoop/
The place to Purchase
You should purchase the SpeedyBee Bee25 from the next retailers:
Battery is just not included, try my suggestions right here: https://oscarliang.com/whoop-toothpick-lipo-battery/#4S-LiPOLiHV. Get the 4S 650mAh if you wish to keep underneath 250g restrict, or get the 4S 850mAh in order for you longer flight time.
Don’t overlook to get some spare propellers too: https://oscarliang.com/product-rw6u
The Bee25 bundle features a consumer information, a set of stickers, spare {hardware}, antenna holders, and two screw drivers— a pleasant contact, contemplating many BNF drones don’t normally include any.
I’m reviewing the ExpressLRS model.
Specs
- Body: SpeedyBee Bee25 Normal Model
- Wheelbase: 120mm
- Flight Controller: STM32F405 with ICM42688-P Gyro, 8MB Blackbox, Bluetooth Assist
- ESC: 35A 8-bit ESC (BlueJay firmware)
- Motors: 1404 4600KV
- Propeller: HQprop DT63mm-3 blades
- VTX: Not included (Appropriate with DJI O3 Air Unit)
- Digital camera: Not included (Appropriate with DJI O3 Air Unit)
- Receiver Choices: ELRS 2.4G / TBS Crossfire Nano / With out Receiver
- Battery Connector: XT30
- Battery dimension: Helps 4S 650-1100mAh batteries, Most 64*31*40mm (Vertical), 75*31*40mm (Horizontal)
- LED System: Meteor LED with 88 LED beads (totally customizable through SpeedyBee app)
- Receiver: ELRS 2.4G / TBS / None (select primarily based on model)
- Weight:
- With out DJI O3 and Battery: 123g
- With DJI O3: 172g
- With DJI O3 and 4S 650mAh: 248g
- With DJI O3 and 4S 850mAh: 266g
Construct High quality and Design
The Bee25 drone boasts a smooth design with a clear tinted plastic body that homes its elements. This offers the Bee25 a singular and fashionable aesthetic, whereas additionally permitting you to see the internals, particularly these lovely LEDs across the body.
The built-in Meteor LEDs not solely add visible attraction however are additionally purposeful. They show the drone’s standing, corresponding to whether or not it’s armed or in fail-safe mode, and assist with finding the drone in low-light circumstances. This function, together with the power to regulate the LEDs by means of Betaflight or the SpeedyBee app, provides one other layer of practicality and usefulness.
Regardless of the light-weight supplies, the Bee25 feels sturdy. SpeedyBee has applied sensible design selections to guard delicate elements, such because the hard-mounted XT30 connector and protecting housing for the GPS. Nevertheless, my overview unit didn’t include a GPS module, so I couldn’t check the Rescue mode. Moreover, the easy-access USB-C port on the flight controller makes altering the drone’s settings far more handy.
Weighing round 165g with out the battery, the Bee25 is designed to remain underneath the 250g restrict with a suitable 4S battery. That is essential for complying with drone laws in some areas. For those who’re including the DJI O3 Air Unit, be conscious of the battery weight to remain inside this restrict. The biggest battery you need to use to stay underneath 250g is a 4S 650mAh, which brings the entire weight to round 248g.
The elastic battery band, although unconventional, works surprisingly effectively to safe batteries of varied sizes. A minor difficulty arises with longer batteries (over 60mm), which can have bother becoming correctly as a result of fastened XT30 connector placement. You’ll be able to work round this by rotating the mounting brackets to suit the battery sideways. Whereas a small inconvenience, it’s value noting for those who plan to make use of bigger batteries.
Made For DJI O3
The Bee25 is particularly designed to accommodate the DJI O3 Air Unit, although my overview unit didn’t include one, so I needed to set up my very own. Thankfully, the set up course of is simple. The modular digicam mount for the O3 may appear a bit advanced initially in comparison with minimalist designs just like the BetaFPV Pavo20 Professional, however it’s effectively thought-out. It gives glorious safety for the O3 Air Unit, which is vital for sturdiness and reliability.
Whereas the modular system requires a bit extra effort to put in, detailed directions can be found on SpeedyBee’s web site, making the method simpler. It’s a one-time job, and as soon as put in, the modular design makes accessing the microSD card and USB-C port very handy. Moreover, the drone features a cooling duct built-in into the antenna mount, which helps to forestall the O3 Air Unit from overheating throughout longer flights—a sensible and welcome function.
I did ask SpeedyBee about compatibility with the Walksnail VTX system, however sadly, this mannequin doesn’t assist it. For the perfect consumer expertise, stick to the DJI O3 Air Unit.
Flight Efficiency
The Bee25 flew very well, higher than I anticipated to be trustworthy, probably the perfect 2.5inch cinewhoop I’ve flown this yr. It’s tuned straight out of the field for cinematic flying, making it simple to seize fluid, stabilized photographs.
The Bee25’s 1404 4600KV motors are highly effective and responsive, providing loads of thrust with out compromising flight stability. Paired with HQ 63mm props, this mixture gives glorious efficiency for easy, cinematic flying. Even with a big 4S 850mAh LiPo, it nonetheless managed to hover round 25% throttle supplying you with loads of headroom for extra aggressive maneuvers if wanted which is fairly spectacular.
Battery life on the Bee25 is strong. Utilizing a 650mAh 4S battery, I used to be in a position to get about 5.5 minutes of easy, cinematic flying. Once I upgraded to an 850mAh battery, flight time prolonged to about 7.5 minutes.
Whether or not I used to be flying sluggish and regular for cinematic photographs or pushing the drone with extra freestyle maneuvers, it dealt with the whole lot with ease. I did discover some minor prop wash right here and there, however nothing vital sufficient to affect the general expertise.
However as a 2.5″ drone, it’s simply as noisy as different cinewhoops of comparable dimension – you’ll draw some consideration for those who’re flying in public areas. It’s a lot louder than even my 3″ open prop drone just like the Sub250 Oasisfly25 I just lately reviewed, however that’s to be anticipated for a cinewhoop, one thing you have to be conscious of.
Areas for Enchancment
First off, the Bee25 doesn’t include spare propellers, which could possibly be inconvenient. You’ll wish to decide some up right here: https://oscarliang.com/product-rw6u.
From a efficiency perspective, I might recommend eradicating the LED strip to save lots of weight, and probably make the DJI O3 “bare” as effectively utilizing this equipment: https://oscarliang.com/flywoo-naked-o3-lite-ultra-kit/. This could assist you to use a bigger 4S 850mAh battery whereas nonetheless staying underneath the 250g weight restrict, supplying you with longer flight instances and improved efficiency.
GPS isn’t mandatory for indoor or close-proximity flying, however for those who’re flying outside or need an added layer of safety, I’d advocate including GPS and establishing Rescue Mode. Right here’s a information: https://oscarliang.com/setup-gps-rescue-mode-betaflight/.
The prop guards are light-weight, which makes them much less sturdy. For those who anticipate frequent crashes, it’s sensible to select up some spare body elements to keep away from downtime.
SpeedyBee all the time delivers distinctive designs with cautious consideration to element. Nevertheless, the tendency to design frames that require numerous sorts and sizes of screws could make repairs and upkeep a bit extra sophisticated. They do present two further screws for every sort, however this complexity won’t attraction to everybody. For those who admire distinctive, aesthetically pleasing frames, SpeedyBee is a good possibility, however for those who desire simplicity, it is probably not your most suitable option. On a optimistic word, I do love that they embody screwdrivers within the bundle, which is nice for freshmen.
One other limitation is the Bee25’s lack of compatibility with FPV programs outdoors of DJI. If you wish to use one thing just like the Walksnail system, it will require modifications and tinkering, which could possibly be a problem for some customers.
Learn how to Setup
Establishing the Bee25 for its first flight was easy:
Authentic CLI Diff could be discovered right here.
Remaining Ideas: Is the SpeedyBee Bee25 Value It?
The SpeedyBee Bee25 is definitely one in all my favourite 2.5-inch cinewhoops for 2024. It flies exceptionally effectively proper out of the field, affords nice worth with its considerate design, and pairs completely with the DJI O3 Air Unit. Whereas there are a couple of areas for enchancment as talked about within the overview, the general efficiency and construct high quality of the Bee25 make it a standout possibility within the sub-250g class.
For those who’re in search of a light-weight cinewhoop that provides nice flight efficiency, the Bee25 is a implausible alternative. Whether or not you’re flying indoors, filming cinematic photographs outside, or just need a dependable sub-250g drone, the SpeedyBee Bee25 delivers on all fronts.