Long range flying is catching the interest of more and more FPV pilots. iFlight is clearly working on this aspect and this can be seen in some of their last released products. One of them is the iFlight Chimera5 LR, which comes in two version: iFlight Chimera5 LR Analog and iFlight Chimera5 LR Digital HD. In this article we will take a look at the analog version.
iFlight Chimera 5 LR analog comes in two version:
- no receiver: it is up to the FPV pilot to install his preferred receiver
- BNF (Bind-N-Fly) with TBS Crossfire Nano: this receiver is preinstalled on the drone
Package Contents
The package contains the following items:
- iFlight Chimera5 LR quad
- 2 sets x Nazgul 5030 inch 3-blades (set of 4)
- 1 x 20*200mm Microfiber PU Leather Battery Strap
- 1 x 20*250mm Microfiber PU Leather Battery Strap
- Basic instruction manual
Specifications and features
Specs for the iFlight Chimera5 LR Analog are the following:
- Motors: XING 2005 2550KV Ultralight motors
- Flight Controller: SucceX-E mini F7 Stack
- ESCs: SucceX-E Mini 35A
- VTX: SucceX Force PIT / 25mW / 200mW / 400mW / 800mW @5.8GHz
- FPV camera: Caddx Ratel V2 2.1mm
- VTX antenna: Albatross RHCP 5.8GHz with MMCX connector
- Pre-installed GPS
- Self powered beeper
- Naked GoPro ready
- TPU parts: Caddx Vista cam protection, antenna mounts, landing pads / motors protection
- Weight: 264g (with no battery)
Frame
The frame is the Chimera5 DC 219mm, a deadcat geometry frame which has high efficiency and it is designed to have no props in view. Along the arms there are wire protectors, which is very nice.
Arms are individually connected to the center of the frame and this is always a good feature because, if one arm breaks, we do not have to replace all the frame.
FPV Camera
The FPV camera mounted on the iFlight Chimera5 LR is the well known Caddx Ratel V2 which is probably the most popular FPV camera at the moment. This camera has a 1/1.8” Inch Starlight sensor with a resolution of 1200TVL; FOV is 165° with 2.1mm lens. It weight only 5.9g.
The following image shows also the fact that it is naked GoPro ready.
Motors and Propellers
Motors are XING 2005 2550KV Ultralight brushless motors. They are combined with Nazgul 5030 propellers and, as always, it is a good idea to buy some more for spares. As always iFlight has protected the motors with TPU protection acting also as landing pads.
Beware that prop mount pattern currently is only compatible with iFlight Nazgul props.
Here is the detail of the bottom side where motors are fixed to the frame through the classic four screws:
FC and ESCs stack
iFlight Chimera5 LR is equipped with the SucceX-E mini F7 flight controller (MPU6000 gyro): this is a nice feature since F7 gives more computational power with respect to the more common F4.
ESCs are the 4in1 SucceX-E Mini 35A loaded with BLHeli-S firmware (G-H-30).
VTX
VTX equipped is the SucceX Force PIT/25mW/200mW/400mW/800mW @5.8GHz, already used in many iFlight quad models. This is a good product and it assures good video signal even at long distance due to its maximum power output of 800mW combined with the Albatross RHCP 5.8 GHz antenna.
GPS
GPS module is located on the back. Beware that GPS rescue is not setup out of the box, so we have to enable it in Betaflight: Failsafe tab -> Stage 2- Settings -> GPS Rescue.
The self powered beeper is a very nice feature, so if battery gets ejected in a crash the alarm will work anyways and we can easily look for our quad.
Battery
Since this is a PNP/BNF quad, battery is not included.
Note that iFlight Chimera5 LR comes with an XT30 connector for the battery.
Valid choices for the iFlight Chimera5 LR are the following:
- iFlight FULLSEND 4S 1300mAh 120C LiPo Battery XT60, which comes with XT60 connector, so you have to change the one on the quad or use an adapter
- Coddar 4S 850mAh 90C LiPo Battery XT30/XT60 , which comes with XT30 or XT60 connector
- GEPRC VTC6 18650 4S 3000mAh 15C/30C Li-ion Pack Battery XT30/XT60, which comes with XT30 or XT60 connector
- iFlight FULLSEND VTC6 18650 4S 3000mAh 15/30C Li-ion Battery XT30, which comes with XT30 connector
Flight times
These are the flight times reported by the manufacturer:
- without GoPro: 4S 850mAh, 11-13min // 4S 1300mAh, 14-15min // 4S 3000mAh Lion pack, 22-24min
- with naked GoPro: 4S 850mAh, 9-11min // 4S 1300mAh, 12-13min // 4S 3000mAh Lion pack, 20-22min
- with full GoPro Hero8: 4S 850mAh, 3-5min // 4S 1300mAh, 4-6min
Conclusions
If you are not concerned about the 250g limit, the iFlight Chimera5 LR is a great choice for long range flights and, as stated, it assures pretty decent flight times.
iFlight Chimera5 LR Analog is available here.