Crashbox drone

THE THING MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT FPV RACING AND FREESTYLE FLYING IS THAT YOU DON’T SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN THE AIR. CRASHBOX DRONES WANTS TO SOLVE THAT. – LINDSEY SCHUTTERS

What’s in a name?

THERE’S NOTHING WORSE

than repeatedly slamming someone’s life’s work into the ground while they’re helplessly standing next to you. To his credit, Jonathan Heaney was quite gracious in his stoic enduring of my terrible “flying” as I experienced my third and final disabling crash with a: “That’s what we’re here for.” That last crash was prefixed by me almost beheading myself while trying to hover for a picture with the first-person view goggles on.

He is correct, though. We are here to crash his designed and patent-pending quadcopter frame. This model is called the Crashbox Flow and, though it won’t win you any races, it should help you fly a little longer.

The secret is in the modular design. The arms are twin carbon fibre rods that mount on a spring-loaded system to join the body. Springs will contract like tiny shock absorbers to dissipate impacts and, in ideal situations, save you from broken propellors. Those carbon rods can be replaced with 6 mm carbon kite poles. Prototypes are currently 3D-printed, but will be injection-moulded out of glass-filled nylon.

I trashed an eighth-generation model, snapping three props and unseating one of the arms as I ploughed into a fence and a damp rugby field. I should’ve spent time on a simulator the day before coming out to test out this quad. I should’ve bought and built my own practice rig by now. But I didn’t, because I want a DJI Spark. I want to fly hasslefree and have time to enjoy the scenery without having to worry about my gorilla thumbs being too aggressive on the controls, causing me to over-correct and lose control.

A light touch takes time and patience. That’s what makes drone racing so hard. The first time I ever flew a

drone was about a year ago and I have since only logged about an hour of flight time, most of that on a Tiny Whoop and indoors. The rest of the time was spent flying a Phantom 4 and Mavic Pro. That’s not really flying. Those DJI machines have so many pilot assist features that you don’t really gain respect for the fact that you’re piloting an aircraft.

What makes the Crashbox approach unique is that the rest of the industry is wholly focused on throwing 4 mm carbon laminates at the problem. Is it better? Time will tell. This design is just as difficult to fly as any other similar frame, but whereas a snapped arm on a conventional frame will end your day, Jonathan had the trashed drone ready to fly within an hour. Could’ve been 20 minutes had he known how crap a pilot I was and brought his tools and more props with him.

Within the world of FPV, I like the Crashbox design. The hinged enclosure for the PC boards is great. The colours and aesthetics are amazing. And the custom mounts for the high-res camera are among the best solutions I’ve seen. Am I tempted to back him on Indiegogo? Yes, I am. But for now, I’ll get back to the simulator.

Crashbox frames are designed with modular parts so you only buy the exact thing that broke. We’re big fans of the hinged cage because it makes it easier to access components on the go. If anything, Heaney should add in propeller guards, which can be...