The BetaFPV Pavo Femto is a 2S 75mm tiny whoop designed particularly for the DJI O4 Air Unit. Weighing below 100g together with the battery, it delivers spectacular 4K onboard recording and a crisp 1080p stay video feed. On this assessment, I’ll stroll you thru my first impressions, discussing design, setup, flight efficiency, and evaluating it to a different O4 whoop—the Meteor75 Professional.
For more information on Tiny Whoops, try my purchaser’s information: https://oscarliang.com/best-tiny-whoop/
The place to Purchase
You may get the Pavo Femto from:
Contained in the field, you get:
- The drone itself
- An additional set of propellers
- A USB-C adapter for connecting the FC to Betaflight
Observe: The advisable battery is a 2S 450mAh pack (not included), get them right here: https://oscarliang.com/product-t4aj. The identical battery designed for the Pavo Pico additionally suits completely within the Pavo Femto.
Specs
- Wheelbase: 75mm
- Motors: LAVA 1102 Brushless Motor
- Body: Pavo Femto Brushless Whoop Body (Black)
- Propellers: Gemfan 1611 3-Blade Propellers (40mm)
- Flight Controller: F4 2-3S 20A AIO FC
- Receiver: Onboard Serial ELRS 2.4GHz
- Digicam & VTX: DJI O4 Air Unit (Lite)
- Hover Time: ~5:quarter-hour
- Weight:
- 54.8g (with out battery)
- 84.4g (together with 2S 550mAh LiHV)
Construct and Design
The Pavo Femto is actually a 75mm tiny whoop that spins 40mm props—however powered by a 2S battery, it packs additional energy for improved outside efficiency in difficult situations in comparison with its 1S counterparts.
It’s extremely compact—even smaller than the earlier Pavo Pico (as soon as hailed because the smallest BNF drone carrying the DJI O3 Air Unit) and even the just lately launched Meteor75 Professional, a 1S whoop with O4. Notably, whereas each the Pico and Meteor75 Professional use bigger 45mm props, the Femto makes use of smaller 40mm props.
Left: Pavo Femto; Proper: Meteor75 Professional
Regardless of its tiny measurement, the burden distinction is putting. With a 2S battery put in, the Femto weighs about 84g—in comparison with 36g for different O4 tiny whoops. In different phrases, this tiny whoop is kind of heavy, it’s successfully carrying two 1S 550mAh batteries. Its “tanky” body, constructed with loads of plastic for elevated sturdiness, additionally provides to the burden.
The battery holder is built-in into the stiff injection-molded plastic body, that means it might solely match one battery measurement. A versatile, detachable TPU battery holder would have been extra versatile, accommodating numerous battery styles and sizes.
The Femto makes use of an XT30 connector, which is widespread for 2S micro drones. I’m a bit shocked BetaFPV didn’t go for their proprietary BT3.0 connector—which I recognize for its simplicity and lighter weight—however XT30 does provide a wider vary of battery compatibility.
Underneath the hood, the drone is powered by BETAFPV LAVA 1102 motors at 14,000KV, paired with an F4 flight controller that includes 20A ESCs. It additionally consists of an built-in ExpressLRS receiver and 16MB of Blackbox logging reminiscence. With a complete of 5 UARTs (solely 2 in use), there’s loads of enlargement potential.
Set up
Putting in the DJI O4 Lite into this compact body isn’t as simple as with different Pavo fashions. If attainable, I’d advocate shopping for the drone with the O4 Lite pre-installed on the manufacturing unit to keep away from the trouble and potential points throughout set up.
For an in depth tutorial on putting in the O4 within the Femto, try BetaFPV’s information:
O4 Integration and Mushy Mounting
The DJI O4 Air Unit wants no introduction—we’ve been speaking about it many occasions prior to now 2 months, try my assessment when you haven’t already. As talked about in my assessment, its susceptibility to vibration and jello means correct comfortable mounting is a should.
BetaFPV makes use of an progressive comfortable mounting mechanism within the Femto that they’ve refined over the previous few weeks. This mount encompasses a two-piece design: a again piece with two mounting screws on the edges (19mm width) and a entrance clamp that secures the digital camera. The 2 components are related by 4 vibration-dampening “balls” that cut back the vibrations reaching the digital camera.
Nonetheless, one difficulty I seen is that the silicone dampers look like touching the body, probably transferring undesirable vibrations. A barely roomier cover may present a wider hole and additional isolate the digital camera.
One other potential difficulty is expounded to the O4 digital camera. Particularly, the digital camera cable is kind of brief and inflexible, which might switch vibration to the digital camera. Be certain that it doesn’t rub in opposition to the body. Moreover, you possibly can strive eradicating 5–10mm of tape close to the digital camera connector to show the extra versatile a part of the cable, lowering rigidity and vibration.
It’s straightforward to entry the bind button and USB-C port on the O4 air unit.
Flight Efficiency
Uncooked footage:
Regardless of its heavy weight, the Pavo Femto is extremely snappy and responsive because of its compact type issue. Outside, it flies easily in calm situations; nonetheless, when you introduce a little bit of breeze, the drone would possibly turn into twitchy—possible because of the mixture of tiny propellers, heavy weight, and the design of its prop guards.
I attempted flying the Femto indoors, however I discovered it more durable to manage exactly in comparison with equally sized 1S tiny whoops. Its elevated weight means it doesn’t really feel as nimble, with extra momentum making fast path modifications slower. Moreover, the Femto is noticeably louder than 1S whoops (together with the Meteor75 Professional O4), and the burden raises considerations about potential injury while you crash.
Stabilized footage utilizing Gyroflow:
On the upside, opposite to stories about O4 stabilization points, I’m pleased to report that mine carried out fairly effectively even open air. There have been some minor vibrations right here and there, however general the stabilized footage was usable. That mentioned, the sector of view is pretty slender, so personally I choose the uncooked, non-stabilized footage.
In my assessments, I used to be getting round 4 minutes and 45 seconds of flight time utilizing the advisable BetaFPV LAVA 2S 550mAh LiHV battery. With a 450mAh battery, the flight time dropped to simply 3 and a half minutes.
Evaluating to Meteor75 Professional
BetaFPV seems to have acknowledged {that a} 1S 75mm platform is barely too small to successfully carry the DJI O4 Air Unit for outside flying.
The Femto, powered by the next voltage 2S battery, is noticeably extra highly effective than the Meteor75 Professional and might deal with stronger winds open air. Nonetheless, this elevated energy comes with trade-offs: the Femto is noisier and fewer agile indoors as a result of its heavier weight. The smaller props imply that the motors need to work more durable (spinning at larger RPM) to maintain the drone afloat in comparison with the Meteor75 Professional, making it louder and considerably much less environment friendly. On the flip aspect, the quicker RPM response interprets to larger uncooked efficiency and responsiveness.
Whereas the Femto’s enhanced energy is interesting for outside flying in calm situations, it’s in a clumsy place. For indoor flying, I nonetheless assume the Meteor75 Professional gives superior dealing with. Outside, the Femto flies effectively, solely when the climate is calm; as quickly because the wind picks up, I begin to discover some wobble and jello within the footage, and the drone could be pushed round extra simply than bigger fashions.
How one can Setup
To connect with Betaflight configurator, use the offered USB-C adapter.
Flight Controller Board Goal: BETAFPVF405 (preloaded with Betaflight model 4.5.0). Unique CLI Diff accessible right here.
The ESC is preflashed with Bluejay, (C-X-70 – Bluejay, 0.19)
Setup Directions:
- Bind the ELRS Receiver: Plug within the USB cable, wait about 60 seconds till the receiver enters WiFi mode (inexperienced LED flashing quickly). In your telephone, be a part of the ExpressLRS RX WiFi community (ensure that to position your telephone near the drone, because the WiFi sign from the FC is extraordinarily weak). Open browser and go to 10.0.0.1, then enter your bind phrase on the webpage. Detailed directions could be discovered right here: https://oscarliang.com/bind-expresslrs-receivers/#Methodology-3-Getting into-Bind-Phrase-in-Net-UI
- Pair the DJI O3 Air Unit together with your Goggles: Observe the directions right here: https://oscarliang.com/how-to-setup-dji-o4-lite/#Pairing-DJI-Goggles-3-with-O4-Lite. The O3 doesn’t require activation, so you’ll be able to fly as quickly because it’s paired.
- Setup the Modes Tab: Configure your arm swap, angle mode, and turtle mode. For steerage, see this tutorial: https://oscarliang.com/betaflight-modes/#How-to-Setup-Arm-Swap
- In Energy tab, set warning voltage to three.4V, and min voltage to three.2V – I are likely to land when voltage drops to three.3V as a result of voltage sag, and while you land the voltage would usually rise to three.5-3.6V.
That’s it—your Femto ought to now be prepared for its maiden flight!
Ultimate Ideas
In conclusion, when you’re on the lookout for a sub-100g tiny whoop that may be flown each indoors and open air, the Pavo Femto is value contemplating. Nonetheless, if cinematic video high quality is your prime precedence, you may be disenchanted with the present efficiency of the DJI O4 Lite. In that case, you would possibly wish to contemplate a bigger drone outfitted with the O4 Professional. Whilst you can fly the Femto indoor, personally I choose the Meteor75 Professional because it’s extra exact, quieter and causes much less injury while you crash.
Nonetheless, for enjoyable flights—particularly open air on calm days—the Pavo Femto proves to be a fascinating and succesful little drone. Its distinctive mixture of 2S energy, compact measurement, and sturdy efficiency makes it a noteworthy entry within the tiny whoop market.
You may get the Pavo Femto from: