Fractal Engineering Fractal Wingman 1S 18650 Foldable 3 inch Micro Frame Kit

Have you ever wished you had an extra sidekick quad to help you recover your main machine from a tree?
Or perhaps one you could deploy from the comfort of your car to recon a new spot without the hassle of going out and walking there?
Or maybe just an ultra-compact video rig to give your loved one an excuse to rip a few packs under the pretense of documenting your vacation?

Well, the Wingman is all of that, and much more!

You can find all related Parts in our Fractal Wingman Frame Collection.

Check out all our Frames and the rest of our Fractal Engineering Products!

The first-ever foldable and soft mounted arms in FPV

The major unique feature of this frame kit is obviously the folding arms
And the way it manages to achieve this feature in such an integrated manner is where the whole secret sauce resides
This 3″ 1S format offers the possibility to push incredibly intricate ideas down to an incredibly simple execution thanks to the low prop load
In this case, I’ve chosen to make the top and bottom plates clamped to the standoffs,
While using the same standoffs as pivots for the arms, themselves sandwiched between 2 TPU shims and a nylon spacer to press them down in position
Those TPU shims also serve 2 purposes at the same time; they primarily provide friction for the quick deployment of the arms, while also dampening the junctions
This helps reduce the number of vibrations transmitted to the FPV and HD camera (more on that in a bit) and the FC gyro, enabling smooth footage and easy tuning

 

 

Ultra-lightweight, durable and compact design

The spaceframe carbon fiber body was meticulously designed to only keep material where absolutely necessary
This includes protecting all the electronics and maintaining a rigid platform,
While pocketing everything else for lightweight and airflow
Making it only 24g frame only, or 60g ready to fly excl. battery
 

Quick-release arm mechanism

For being designed around ease of use and quick deployment, I went for a friction fit with a light detent to hold the arms open
Just simply pull the arms out until the detent clicks, and push them back in when you’re done
That means no manual latch, no thumbscrew, no positive lock
This also means that in the event of a crash the arms might fold and you would need to go get it…
…But you’re also more likely to be able to take off again without any damage, as I’ve found during testing that the folding appears to absorb a lot of energy that might have snapped something otherwise

Extremely efficient and long flight time – Over 20mins

The DVR to the right speaks for itself;
I was able to get over 20mins of decent acro flight time on a poorly tuned build with a mere VTC5A 2600mAh cell
I reckon this is not even near what this platform can achieve with a 3000mAh VTC6 and proper tune
How long can you fly?

 HD Cam capable

The camera mount that comes with each kit isn’t just for shows, it can definitely carry it 😄
Well maybe not your full-size gopro, but if you have a caddx peanut, insta360 go, or a thumb you’ll get a lot of fun from it
I bring mine on short trips, takes no space in the bag, is quickly deployed, just a great little compact video rig

Now HDZero/Walksnail Capable!

The first batch of ~100 Wingmans was designed before lightweight HD FPV options became available
With this new batch I’ve implemented many small revisions, from cooling improvement to weight savings passing by M1.4 cam mounts for the Nano Lite camera and improved general tolerances
This makes it a fantastic frame for HD FPV cruising, exploring and rediscovering the world with this new improved resolution
As such I’ve also created a 12mm stack height option giving more room to comfortably build a double stacked boards build
— not mandatory however for advanced builders  

Build recommendation

Motors: 1202.5 11500kv or equivalent, 80mm long wires. 
Props: 3018 biblades or equivalent. 
AIO: Any 5A 1S will do, I’ve had great luck with Happymodel ELRS F4
Camera: Any 14mm micro cam. 

VTX:

• Analog: I like them built-in the AIO, but if you prefer it discrete I recommend powering it through a voltage booster circuit
• HD FPV: Use the optional HD Grommets for a compact stack, voltage booster module is strongly recommended as most VTX brownouts below 2.8V, which happens rather quickly on a 18650 
  Also make sure to get 60-80mm mipi cable 

Package Includes:

• 1 x Top plate
• 1x Bottom plate
• 2x Front plates
• 4x Arms
• 1x 18650 Tray
• 4x M2 x 10mm alu standoffs
• 4x M4 x 6mm nylon spacer
• 10x M2 x 5mm steel screw (for the standoffs)
• 4x M1.7 x 5mm steel self-threading screw (for the 18650 Tray)
• 1x TPU cam holder
• 2x TPU shim set
• 4x M2 x 10mm steel screw (for the stack)
• 10x M2 nylon nuts (for the stack)
• 10x M2 x 4mm socket screws (for the motors)