Product Review ** Invertix 400 3D Multirotor

econfly

econfly

Member
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Do you think you have multirotor flying under control? Does manual mode lack the challenge and fun -- that bit of excitement -- it once had? If so, you need one of these.

The headline feature, as the name implies, is inverted flight. Upside down, sideways -- you name it, this thing can do it. I can't begin to illustrate the possibilities with my limited flying skills. Check out this example video with a pilot who makes it all look so easy:


The kit sells for $399.99 and includes everything you need apart from radio, receiver and battery. Recommended power is a 3s 2200-2600 mAh battery. I am using a Futaba 14SG radio, an R7008SB receiver, and a Turnigy 2200 3s Nano-Tech battery. Spectrum radios are supported, and any radio and receiver combination with the ubiquitous PWM output channels should work as well.

What you get is a well-designed carbon fiber frame, motors, two sets of props, ESCs, shell, and all needed hardware with spare parts and LED lighting. No soldering is required. You can be out of the box and flying in an hour or so, with build complexity no more difficult than that of a Lego kit.

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The most difficult part of the build is mental. As noted in the excellent included manual and build guide, it is easy to incorrectly connect the ESCs to the motors. It's also easy to get it right with attention to detail.

The included flight controller is a NanoWii and is ready to go out of the box. I had no experience at all with the NanoWii before this review and I found the controller very easy to setup and understand. There are five input channels, including the usual four (A, E, R, and throttle), along with a fifth switch used to arm the controller. Put the arming channel on an easy to reach switch. If things get out of hand this allows for a quick shutdown of the motors.

The kit includes a very nice manual and build guide -- better than any manual for any RC product I own. It's a tremendously helpful document that allows anyone to build the model step-by-step. Here I am working my way through the build process.

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In addition to the wonderful written documentation, EncoreRC produced an absolutely excellent build and flight example video. Supporting documentation and help of this quality are a real pleasure to see, particularly when so much of the RC world can't seem to be bothered with it. EncoreRC did an amazing job with these materials:


I like the design of this kit. The only issue I had was a broken landing leg on my third flight. To be sure, I crashed it (over and over again), so broken parts are not a surprise. In fact, the rig held up very well to my initial failed attempts to roll it and get inverted. The little landing legs, however, are just carbon fiber cutouts and susceptible to breaking if you work at it. I worked at it.

That is the fun of this thing. It's light enough that you can drop it in a grassy field without much or any damage. The MultiWii controller's arm/kill switch allows easy motor cut off if necessary. The videos make inverted flight look easy. It isn't, at least not for me. But I am having a lot of fun learning.

The unnatural (or maybe just unusual) part of flying the Invertix 400 is the motor direction change at mid-throttle. The model is started with the throttle at low and the arming switch off. You arm the model then raise throttle to just past midpoint. That spins up the motors. Once started, the throttle stick changes motor rotation when you move past the midpoint. Above 50% throttle is normal top-up flying, with higher throttle resulting in greater speed. Below 50% throttle the motors spin the opposite direction for inverted flight with lower throttle increasing the speed (the props are, of course, symmetric top-to-bottom and reversible). This takes a bit of mental acclimation, and particularly so for those accustomed to mid-stick being the hover point.

Overall this is an easy product to recommend to anyone who enjoys RC flying and wants to try something new. Even experienced multirotor pilots can improve their manual mode flying skills with the Invertix 400, and the inverted flying capability adds a level of complexity that is both fun and challenging, while remaining completely optional. With these capabilities, an easy to build kit, and excellent documentation and video resources, the Invertix 400 should be at the top of the list when thinking of a small, fun to fly quad, for entertainment or flying practice.
 
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econfly

econfly

Member
Bartman said:
Rob,

Have you done much flying with it since posting the review?
Click to expand...

Yes. I'm no expert pilot, so the whole inversion concept was a real challenge, but entertaining. At first I broke a few props, banged up the shell, broke a landing gear leg, etc. All was going well until I made a particularly bad move and hit a tree pretty much head on. The frame finally gave up at that point. So, my final view on it is that it was fun to fly, very challenging to invert and maintain orientation, and pretty tough to a point. I don't think anything could have survived the hit it took, so no fault there (apart from my flying). For those who like flying for its own sake and enjoy a challenge it's a very neat product. For photo work something like a phantom might be a better first purchase / practice vehicle. The Invertix is really all about the fun and challenge of flying it to its full capability.
 

Bartman

Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
econfly said:
Yes. I'm no expert pilot, so the whole inversion concept was a real challenge, but entertaining. At first I broke a few props, banged up the shell, broke a landing gear leg, etc. All was going well until I made a particularly bad move and hit a tree pretty much head on. The frame finally gave up at that point. So, my final view on it is that it was fun to fly, very challenging to invert and maintain orientation, and pretty tough to a point. I don't think anything could have survived the hit it took, so no fault there (apart from my flying). For those who like flying for its own sake and enjoy a challenge it's a very neat product. For photo work something like a phantom might be a better first purchase / practice vehicle. The Invertix is really all about the fun and challenge of flying it to its full capability.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the update Rob!
 



C

cootertwo

Member
It's a super neat idea, and I've been looking at these for a few weeks. You can buy only the ESC's separate, so I'm wondering why there are no you tubes of someone using this principle and ESC's on a regular quad? Flying wouldn't be so much of a problem for someone that has flown single bladed helicopters. (I have 2 Kyosho Caliber 30's, and 2 Raptor, nitro helie's). On "idle up" you have the same thing, no pitch at half and increasing pitch either side of half, up or down, so to speak. The BIG learning problem, is orientation. I might just go ahead and order one for giggles. Also to notice is that the flight controller works inverted ??? hummm. OK, I can't stand it, I'm ordering one!
 
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C

cootertwo

Member
What beard! It got too damned hot down here in SW Florida. But this morning, I miss it (40's) I know, I know, but for here, it's cold. Now to the Invertix. Went together in about an hour, no problems, but you do have to fidget around getting the legs and the 3 body plates all lined up and in place. No big deal. Packaged VERY well, even the zip lock baggies are of high quality! And the little bag of "spare" screws, etc. is a nice touch for when you drop one, and have old eyes, like mine. But here's what had me up past midnight...... I ordered one, setup for a Spektrum satellite receiver. I never realized that you can just use the satellite alone. But you do have to connect the satellite to a regular receiver, and bind that to your radio, then connect only the satellite to the Invertix board. I was using a Spektrum DX8 radio and AR6200 receiver and it's satellite. Everything went well, but I could not get the Invertix to arm !!!! Pulled whats left of my hair out, tried all kinds of settings, even went to an airplane mode, instead of the helicopter mode that Encore says to use on the radio. It wasn't until the wee hours, and trying my DX7s, that I realized that the AR6200 only has enough channels to go up to AUX1, where as the Invertix comes setup to arm on AUX2. So I got out one of my trusty Orange, 9 channel receivers, hooked the Spektrum satellite to it, bound everything, and "WEEHOO" This thing is pretty awsome. I'm still in my robe, sippin coffee, so I haven't had it outside yet, but flew around in the living room until I puffed a stock Phantom battery! And that's the crowded living room of a small mobile home! No tip overs, broke props or nuttin! Can't wait to get it outside. Word of caution, I can see how some have broke the landing skids, cause if you have one of those moments, and pull the throttle back past the half way point, she "powers" down rather quickly!
Once I get comfortable with this new toy, and not afraid to try inverted, I'll probably wind up dusting off my 5 nitro heli's I have in the barn. I could fly them fine, flips, rolls, etc. but never got comfortable with nose in, or inverted. As some may know, you can just do a simple tip over on the ground, with a nitro job, and have it cost at least a couple hundred. Let's not talk about the "funky monkey", where they just simply beat themselves into a million pieces! I'll do a you tube later.
 



C

cootertwo

Member
I haven't took mine to an open field, yet, to try all the flips, rolls, inverted, etc. but I have flown around in my yard. It is a neat machine, but EATS batteries. I can puff a stock fully charged Phantom 2200mah battery in about 1 minute flat! Gotta invest in some tough batteries. Looking for suggestions from those already flying one of these. Also have to get used to NOT pulling the throttle all the way back, when one of those "Oh Chit" moments happens, or else you're going wide open DOWN! Gotta remember to hit the "arm" switch when out of wack!
 


econfly

econfly

Member
I had decent luck with a nanotech 2200 3s battery. Flight times were around 10 minutes if I recall correctly. Those Pulse lipos should work well I would think. Good luck!
 

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