Better PID tuning for Betafpv HX115 LR

The betafpv HX115 is one of the first Bind-and-Fly (BNF) drones with ExpressLRS integrated in the All-in-One card.

This fact by itself makes it an interesting drone to test.

Because it’s small size and the shape, this quad is classified as a toothpick, and Betafpv is labeled long range, mainly because it supports ELRS which one of its strengths is long reach of the control signal.

Flying this drone out of the box doesn’t bring the best experience. Betafpv has even been working on an alternative PID tuning after initial feedback of the community, and have produced a new configuration which makes the flying experience much more appealing.

I got my hands on this configuration and I’m pasting it here for the use of more people:

# profile 1

set dyn_lpf_dterm_min_hz = 84

set dyn_lpf_dterm_max_hz = 204

set dterm_lowpass2_hz = 180

set p_pitch = 96

set i_pitch = 135

set d_pitch = 95

set f_pitch = 143

set p_roll = 89

set i_roll = 128

set d_roll = 87

set f_roll = 135

set p_yaw = 95

set i_yaw = 135

set f_yaw = 135

set d_min_roll = 0

set d_min_pitch = 0

The hX115 LR flew much after this change, improving even the flying time!

With a 1S LiPo battery this drone doesn’t have enough power to be a real freestyle drone, or better said, there are much better options in the same price range, maybe not 1S drones, but in the same size and price range. At the same time, the LiPo only lasts around 3 min, which reduces the possibility of using this drone for long range.

Betafpv explains in its website that this drone can use a 18650 Li-ion battery to fly around 10-15 min. But you can’t buy the dorne in that configuration, nor can you buy from them the battery case for the 18650 battery. This means that if you want to use it with a Li-ion 18650 battery, you have to procure yourself the battery case, and manually change the one you have, or create some kind of adapter to connect the new case to the existing power line, which most probably is something not many are looking to do from a BNF.

ExpressLRS works perfectly here. The AIO card has it integrated and that is fantastic. But the question around who this drone is for remains unsolved in my head.