Haven't seen any chatter about this one. I swore off building another micro quad but I have most of what I already need for the build except the motors. I am Pretty much going to use the same electronics they use in the BNF version. At $165 BNF its not a bad deal but that is hard to gauge now a days. Seems like prices are all over the place. Probably would cost about $130 if you are starting from scratch just for the components.
I would love to hear from anyone who has built one or bought the BNF version.

Crickets!

I have my eye on this one also however I don't think they'll be out until June 30th?
I like the tiny whoop form factor and the RKH 66 looks good on paper.
Had issues with the Jumper X68S so I'm interested in reviews on the RKH 66 before I decide.

The Rakon having the motors enclosed was what peaked my interest. Really nothing this size that has ducts interested me until this. I was very impressed with the way my Q70 flew but not having ducts, it severely limited the indoor fun. So I am going to raid the components from it to put in the Rakon.

(Cross posting this from the sub 40g micro quad thread)

I pre-ordered the DSM2/X version last week and actually received it already, surprisingly - maybe the demand isn't high so they already have inventory ready to go? It isn't a powerhouse with the 12,000kv motors, but the CF + delrin frame seem to hold up really well to your typical indoor bumps and crashes, especially since the total weight of it is light enough.

With the provided 3-bladed RH props it feels a little underpowered, especially during flip recovery, but switching to 4-bladed MicroHeli 31mm props (1mm shaft) makes it feel more like a normal reasonably fast whoop (19500kv range), but with much snappier control responsiveness. I think the faster motor response makes the lower power output less of an issue - you just remember to not dip your throttle when doing flips and it feels great. Even when trying to maintain throttle on my brushed whoop, I feel like recovery was still an issue unless you timed the flip perfectly with an apex of a jump. With this brushless whoop, I feel like I can do flips more easily and maintain control without dropping out of the air, even if the total power of the motor isn't much different from a brushed model.

15,000kv br0703's probably would do nicely, but I havent had an issue now that I have the 4-bladed props. With the 12,000kv's I get about 3minutes 20 seconds of flight with a 205mah HV 1s lipo (crazepony), although you start to feel a bit of power weakening around 2:30ish.

Overall, super happy with it, and after owning an Aurora 90, and 68, it finally feels like I have brushless I can fly indoor as safely and without worry as a normal Tiny Whoop

Originally Posted by noisufrm

(Cross posting this from the sub 40g micro quad thread)

I pre-ordered the DSM2/X version last week and actually received it already, surprisingly - maybe the demand isn't high so they already have inventory ready to go? It isn't a powerhouse with the 12,000kv motors, but the CF + delrin frame seem to hold up really well to your typical indoor bumps and crashes, especially since the total weight of it is light enough.

With the provided 3-bladed RH props it feels a little underpowered, especially during flip recovery, but switching to 4-bladed MicroHeli 31mm props (1mm shaft) makes it feel more like a normal reasonably fast whoop (19500kv range), but with much snappier control responsiveness. I think the faster motor response makes the lower power output less of an issue - you just remember to not dip your throttle when doing flips and it feels great. Even when trying to maintain throttle on my brushed whoop, I feel like recovery was still an issue unless you timed the flip perfectly with an apex of a jump. With this brushless whoop, I feel like I can do flips more easily and maintain control without dropping out of the air, even if the total power of the motor isn't much different from a brushed model.

15,000kv br0703's probably would do nicely, but I havent had an issue now that I have the 4-bladed props. With the 12,000kv's I get about 3minutes 20 seconds of flight with a 205mah HV 1s lipo (crazepony), although you start to feel a bit of power weakening around 2:30ish.

Overall, super happy with it, and after owning an Aurora 90, and 68, it finally feels like I have brushless I can fly indoor as safely and without worry as a normal Tiny Whoop

Sounds good!

Do you have any higher capacity batteries to try?

Hoping to get a little more flight time with higher capacity batteries without losing too much flight performance...
Maybe it would do ok with the Hubson styled batteries that the Jumper uses (8-11grams)???
The Jumper x68s uses 4 blade props with 0703 - 15KV motors and gets 3-4 minutes with a 380mah battery.
Heaver batteries may not be a good match with the lower KV motors on the RKH 66 BL.

How does the RKH 66 BL act when the battery gets low?
Does it get weaker, fall out of the sky or lose control?

Originally Posted by aeropuppy

Sounds good!

Do you have any higher capacity batteries to try?

Hoping to get a little more flight time with higher capacity batteries without losing too much flight performance...
Maybe it would do ok with the Hubson styled batteries that the Jumper uses (8-11grams)???
The Jumper x68s uses 4 blade props with 0703 - 15KV motors and gets 3-4 minutes with a 380mah battery.
Heaver batteries may not be a good match with the lower KV motors on the RKH 66 BL.

How does the RKH 66 BL act when the battery gets low?
Does it get weaker, fall out of the sky or lose control?

I tried the Crazepony 260mah HV and I could fly it for 4 (and a bit more) minutes, but maneuvers definitely felt more sluggish.

I haven't had it lose control or drop or anything when nearing the end of flight time. It just starts to feel weak and more sluggish to punch out and then you pretty much fall slowly (due to low power) to the ground over the course of ~5 seconds when you really push it (feels like when my makerfire brushed whoop power drops) - I set my timer for 3:20 to be safe and my batteries need up at 3.65v or 3.7v and I can still punch out a bit when landing at that time. I said 2:30 is when it feels sluggish but I thinks more like 2:50 before I really notice. If you were trying to do fast racing or powerloops (my whoop skills aren't quite at the level of indoor powerloops) you'd probably notice sooner. The best time to do push it is really within 1:30 or 1:45. In terms of actual flight time, I've pushed it to 3:30-3:45 and then it slowly dropped.

The 3D printed battery holder is perfectly sized for 1S long Whoop style batteries, but you can unscrew the holder and use a rubber band if you wanted.

Keep in mind that I have the Racewhoop FC DSMX version, so I'm not sure how the FrSky board will handle low battery.

Also, the only downside of the assembly is that the motor-to-esc wires are a little bit exposed, and you just need to be careful not to move/tug on them repeatedly when changing batteries to ensure you don't accidentally wear the connection out. Hasn't happened yet but I had bad luck with the Aurora 68 ESC connections needing to be resoldered, so I am paranoid.

The USB connection is still accessible with the canopy on, but pressing in a cable without being able to reach the board puts sideways stress on the TPU (I think) FC mount, so I've only done it twice in total just I case. You can always remove the canopy to hold the board with your fingers.

Originally Posted by noisufrm

I tried the Crazepony 260mah HV and I could fly it for 4 (and a bit more) minutes, but maneuvers definitely felt more sluggish.

I haven't had it lose control or drop or anything when nearing the end of flight time. It just starts to feel weak and more sluggish to punch out and then you pretty much fall slowly (due to low power) to the ground over the course of ~5 seconds when you really push it (feels like when my makerfire brushed whoop power drops) - I set my timer for 3:20 to be safe and my batteries need up at 3.65v or 3.7v and I can still punch out a bit when landing at that time. I said 2:30 is when it feels sluggish but I thinks more like 2:50 before I really notice. If you were trying to do fast racing or powerloops (my whoop skills aren't quite at the level of indoor powerloops) you'd probably notice sooner. The best time to do push it is really within 1:30 or 1:45. In terms of actual flight time, I've pushed it to 3:30-3:45 and then it slowly dropped.

The 3D printed battery holder is perfectly sized for 1S long Whoop style batteries, but you can unscrew the holder and use a rubber band if you wanted.

Keep in mind that I have the Racewhoop FC DSMX version, so I'm not sure how the FrSky board will handle low battery.

Also, the only downside of the assembly is that the motor-to-esc wires are a little bit exposed, and you just need to be careful not to move/tug on them repeatedly when changing batteries to ensure you don't accidentally wear the connection out. Hasn't happened yet but I had bad luck with the Aurora 68 ESC connections needing to be resoldered, so I am paranoid.

The USB connection is still accessible with the canopy on, but pressing in a cable without being able to reach the board puts sideways stress on the TPU (I think) FC mount, so I've only done it twice in total just I case. You can always remove the canopy to hold the board with your fingers.

Thanks for all the details!
I'm looking at the DSMX version.
In the photos it looks like the motor wires could be secured to one of the duct supports for more protection.
I like to cruse around the house so 4+ minutes are desirable however fast and light with a 205mah sounds good too...time to learn a little acro
Is it as durable as the Inductrix - Tiny whoop - Tiny 6 versions?

Originally Posted by aeropuppy

Thanks for all the details!
I'm looking at the DSMX version.
In the photos it looks like the motor wires could be secured to one of the duct supports for more protection.
I like to cruse around the house so 4+ minutes are desirable however fast and light with a 205mah sounds good too...time to learn a little acro
Is it as durable as the Inductrix - Tiny whoop - Tiny 6 versions?

I've put about 12 batteries through it, and nothing has cracked or broken. The FPV antenna (the common vm275t dipole kind) has bent back a bit from landing upside down a few times, but that is kind of expected with these mini cams and I ordered a boldclash F01 with the more flexible dipole for the future to try out as an alternative.

It feels so far just as durable as my inductrix and Makerfire whoops, and the delrin prop guards seem like they won't snap like the stock inductrix frame, but time will tell as I fly more.

Again, the weight of this micro (without battery) of ~24-25g I think helps a lot in not stressing the frame during a crash

I got the frame kit yesterday. Something that wasn't clear was whether a camera mount came with the kit. It doesn't so keep that in mind if you order the kit. I 3d printed a camera mount that fit my camera. Not a bad thing as there was no guarantee the Rakon mount would have fit the camera I chose. Seems like a quality frame and reasonably priced for what you get. Wish they made the 3d printed part models available. I also like the use of delrin for the prop guards. Nice and rigid and appear that they will hold up well.
This is the first frame kit I have seen that checks all the boxes for a brushless whoop.
I'm guessing Horizon will put out one next now that there are small enough motors being made.
I did order both BR0703 15k and 20k motors to try out. I think the 20k motors are going to be energy hogs. I have HV 250 mah batteries to run in it. Will probably only charge them to 3.3v to avoid possibly burning up the tiny pepper electronics. At standard voltage the battery capacity drops to 230mah.

Originally Posted by noisufrm

(Cross posting this from the sub 40g micro quad thread)

I pre-ordered the DSM2/X version last week and actually received it already, surprisingly - maybe the demand isn't high so they already have inventory ready to go? It isn't a powerhouse with the 12,000kv motors, but the CF + delrin frame seem to hold up really well to your typical indoor bumps and crashes, especially since the total weight of it is light enough.

Thanks for the info noisufrm as this little one certainly looks like a keeper! If possible, could you please post some pictures of your little bird, so we see what it actually looks like. BTW, where did you order your RKH 66 Brushless Whoop from?

Can't wait for a YouTube review to drop.

How's the noise level on it?

I would imagine it's pretty comparable to a standard brushed whoop, since its using the same props and the motor noise is going to be comparable to a 6 or 7mm coreless.

Originally Posted by aeropuppy

Sounds good!

Do you have any higher capacity batteries to try?

Hoping to get a little more flight time with higher capacity batteries without losing too much flight performance...
Maybe it would do ok with the Hubson styled batteries that the Jumper uses (8-11grams)???
The Jumper x68s uses 4 blade props with 0703 - 15KV motors and gets 3-4 minutes with a 380mah battery.
Heaver batteries may not be a good match with the lower KV motors on the RKH 66 BL.

How does the RKH 66 BL act when the battery gets low?
Does it get weaker, fall out of the sky or lose control?

I think the x68s is wasting energy carrying the heavier battery and isn't gaining any extra flight time. It really gets to be a fine line on these micros. Andyrc made a comment in his video review about the X68s getting sluggish and unresponsive when the battery would get low. I experienced this same phenominum in my Quattrovollant Q70 when I tried running it on a 450mah pack. Something that did not happen on a 250 mah pack. Possibly the FC processor runs slower when the voltage drops in turn making the quad feel sluggish to command inputs when it's carrying the extra weight?
Brushless motors are roughly 10% more efficient then brushed motors so if you get a solid 3-4 minutes in the Rakon, thats pretty good. My brushed 6mm and 7mm whoops get 2.5 minutes maybe 3 if I don't push them too hard.

Originally Posted by dalturbo

Thanks for the info noisufrm as this little one certainly looks like a keeper! If possible, could you please post some pictures of your little bird, so we see what it actually looks like. BTW, where did you order your RKH 66 Brushless Whoop from?

Can't wait for a YouTube review to drop.

I ordered it directly from RKHs website

I've attached some photos too - I put a piece of foam and vhb tape under the antenna to help support in crashes.