Are you a whoop racer looking for the sharpest performance without compromising reliability? Or perhaps a freestyle pilot that wants a robust frame with quick maintenance? Maybe you simply want a stronger alternative to those flimsy nylon frames to keep you longer in the air?
If you answer yes to any of those, then the Fractal 65 was designed for you!
The lifecycle of this craft started back in 2018 already, right around when brushless 0603 powertrains appeared and started looking like a solid next step in 65mm whoop class
Back then I entered the class with a UR65, and although it flew great compared to any other canopy whoop I’ve tried before, something was still off…
The nylon frame didn’t seem to hold up very well to the added weight and power from the brushless era design.
It needed to improve on 2 main factors; rigidity and weight.
So I went to work and came up with the first revision of the project, based on the CrazybeeF3 board and 0603 spinners.
Basically an UR65 powertrain on a carbon frame with individual ducts and 3D printed parts
And while it was great for my basher use, the weight, at 23g wasn’t quite up to my standard…so the project fell off, waiting for better hardware to support the idea…
For almost 3 years I kept flying the first revision occasionally until Happymodel released the right hardware that would make it all possible this time…
You may think there isn’t much to it, that I’m just pulling it out of my arse, but trust me, there is lots of R&D and testing that went into it; I wouldn’t have released it otherwise.
This frame was designed to the lightest it could, where it could, without compromising strength, where it needed it the most, in true aerospace engineering fashion.
here’s a little snippet of the FEA optimization I performed, ensuring the stress gets spread out across the whole structure without concentrations
As always, this is a project that I designed for myself first, that I put together in a product to share with any pilot that would like to experience the same level of requirements!
Designed with love, by a pilot, for pilots.
But don’t take my word for it, here’s what Team Pilot Glenn “Bellaciao” has to say about it:
Iam using the whoop at Full Send FPV’s races every week. I’ve been finishing higher and higher, even got a podium the other day. It is extremely stable in flight, and working on it has been incredibly easy. I am surprised at how the flight controller has held up – it is more protected than I expected. Redpine is a dream. Putting an 85% throttle cap on it improves the battery vastly. For angle racing, the camera angle was too aggressive. After a buddy glued the camera to about a 30 degree angle greatly improved angle racing performance, at the cost of acro performance. I cannot state enough how much I love the flight performance, stability, and workability of this platform. I already am planning on building a second one to use as my backup racer, and want to use this as my racing whoop frame, period.
— What do you get? —
This frame kit contains everything you need to build your own craft, based off virtually any components.
I do however recommend a 4-1 AIO (FC/ESC/RX/VTX) to keep the part count to a minimum, but there should be enough room to stack a separate VTX or RX on top of the AIO
It has a 25.5×25.5mm mounting pattern for the AIO, and motor fixations for both 3xM1.4×6.6mm and 3xM1.6×5.5
The camera mount is 3D printed and universal – I will upload the STL and Step files so you may print your own spares or season them to taste 🙂
Features:
65mm diagonal, squished X geometry, for 31mm props
1.5mm Carbon Fiber / Individual Nylon ducts hybrid construction
Low-profile camera mount, no props in view, no tilt offset
Low Center of Gravity, by bringing the AIO closer to the frame/motors
Allows mounting with USB pointing up for easy accelerometer calibration
No need for a canopy as all electronics are tucked safely between the ducts
Maximum rigidity where it matters most; connecting the motors to the FC
Easy maintenance, break one duct, replace only the single duct
Lightweight, less than 19.5g with HM DiamondF4
Package Includes:
1 x Fractal 65 Base Plate
1 x Nylon frame (used by trimming the ducts off)
2 x Printed TPU fixations (camera, front and rear battery mounts)
14 x M1.4x5mm steel machine screw for motors
4 x M1.7x5mm self-threading screw for short board grommets
4 x M1.7x7mm self-threading screw for long board grommets
