HGLRC Sector 4 FR is a BNF (Bind-N-Fly) 4 inch freestyle FPV drone that is capable of remaining under the 250 grams limit with the proper LiPo battery installed. Having a weight under 250g is a very nice feature since it does not require European pilots to have an EASA Open Category license to fly the drone and it can also be flown with less restrictions.
HGLRC Sector 4 FR comes in two versions: HGLRC Sector 4 FR Analog and HGLRC & ReKonFPV Sector 4 FR Digital. Of course, the difference stands in the FPV video transmission systems equipped which influences video quality and weight.
In this article analog version is presented, which is less expensive and lighter.
Analog version comes with 4 different possibilities for the receiver:
- FrSky R-XSR (ideal if you have a Taranis transmitter, like the Taranis X9D Plus SE 2019)
- FrSky XM+ (ideal if you have a Taranis transmitter, like the Taranis X9D Plus SE 2019)
- TBS Crossfire Nano
- without Receiver, so you can equip the HGLRC Sector 4 FR with your preferred receiver (for example, if you have a FlySky transmitter you can use the Flysky X6B 2.4G 6CH i-BUS PPM PWM Receiver for AFHDS, which is very good)
Package Contents
Here there is a list of the contents of the box that stores the HGLRC Sector 4 FR:
- HGLRC Sector 4 FR quadcopter
- 8 x Gemfan 4023 4-inch 3-blade propeller
- 2 x battery straps
- camera holder to hook GoPro camera mounts
Specifications and features
Main specs and features characterizing the HGLRC Sector 4 FR are reported below and they will be analyzed in the next paragraphs:
- HGLRC Sector 4 FR freestyle 4-inch frame
- Zeus 25 AIO 3-6S flight controller
- Zeus nano 350mW VTX
- Caddx Ratel 2 camera
- AEOLUS 1804 3500KV motor
- Gemfan 4023 4-inch 3-blade propeller
- Weight: 141g (without battery and HD camera)
Frame
HGLRC Sector 4 FR frame is a 4 inch carbon cross frame with a wheelbase of 178mm. Top plate has a thickness of 2mm, while bottom plate is 3mm. The space between top and bottom plate is 25mm.
The bottom plate is a single piece so arms are not singularly replaceable: this means that if one arm breaks we have to replace all the bottom plate. However the 3mm carbon bottom plate should be strong enough to survive also bad crashes.
FPV Camera
FPV camera mounted on the HGLRC Sector 4 FR is the Caddx Ratel 2, which features a 1/1.8” 1200TVL CMOS sensor and a FOV (Field Of View) of 165 degrees with the 1.8mm lens.
Motors and Propellers
HGLRC Sector 4 FR mounts Aeolus 1804 3500KV brushless motors which can be powered by LiPo batteries up to 4 cells.
These motors are paired with Gemfan 4023 3-blade propellers (it is always a good idea to buy some spares): this is a very nice combination in terms of performance and flight times.
Propellers are mounted on the motors with 2 screws: even if this type of method for securing propellers to the motors is not the most practical, it is indeed pretty secure.
FC, ESCs and VTX
HGLRC Sector 4 FR features an all in one board for FC and ESCs: this is the Zeus 25 AIO, running Betaflight firmware BF ZEUSF722_AIO. So, the flight controller is an F7 which is incredible for a quad of this size.
This choice is nice because it guarantees a very clean result on the quad. The only downside is that if something breaks we have to substitute the entire board.
VTX is the Zeus nano which can transmit with a maximum power output of 350 mW.
Battery
Since the HGLRC Sector 4 FR is a BNF quad, it does not come with a battery.
HGLRC recommends a 4S LiPo battery in a range of 550mah-1000mAh, so these are two possible high quality choices featuring the same XT30 plug mounted on the quad:
- Tattu R-Line V1.0 14.8V 650mAh 95C 4S Lipo Battery XT30 Plug (4-5 minutes of flight time)
- Tattu R-Line V1.0 14.8V 850mAh 95C 4S Lipo Battery XT30 Plug (5-6 minutes of flight time)
Due to the less weight, the first one is better if you want to equip an HD camera like the Insta360 Go 2, the Caddx Peanut or a naked GoPro and remain under 250g.
Betaflight configuration
HGLRC Sector 4 FR runs on Betaflight firmware: standard configuration is good, just remember to enable Airmode which is not activated by default. Beware that propellers rotation direction is not the standard one (“props in”), but the “props out” one (it is already correctly configured in Betaflight), so be careful when you have to mount the blades.
Conclusions
HGLRC Sector 4 FR is a very nice product with good quality components. Even if it is a 4 inch drone, it flies like a 5 inch and the fact that it can have a weight under 250g is a very nice feature for European pilots.
HGLRC Sector 4 FR is available here.