The 3″ Eachine Twig is basically a slightly enlarged toothpick micro quad, featuring ultra light weight, super simple setup and awesome flight performance.

Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. I receive a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these affiliate links. This helps support the free content for the community on this website. Please read our Affiliate Link Policy for more information.

Disclaimer: The frame design of the Eachine Twig is a copy of the Speed ​​Racer Twig, and they even copied the name to the letter. We want people to be aware of this and take this into consideration before buying.

Where to Buy the Eachine Twig

You can get it from: http://bit.ly/2nOwZxa

There are two versions, Standard with Runcam Nano 2, and the HD version with Caddx Baby Turtle. The Caddx Baby Turtle is basically a smaller version of the Turtle camera, which is capable of recording 1080p HD footage while being used as an FPV camera. However, based on the reviews I’ve seen on the Baby Turtle, I’d probably avoid. The HD recording looks pretty good, but the FPV feed is very sketchy and makes flying difficult. The one I got is the Runcam Nano 2 version.

It comes with manual, a spare set of props, screw drivers and spare screws. Oh, and a very nice carrying case too.

Specs

• Crazybee F4 PRO V3  FC
• EX1105 5200KV Motors
• Gemfan 3025 Two-Blade Propellers
• Runcam Nano 2 FPV camera
• VTX: 25mW – 200mW power switchable, supports SmartAudio
• Supports 2S and 3S Lipo or LIHV
• Frame Wheelbase: 115mm (diagonal motor distance)
• Size: 105x100x45mm (without propellers)
• Weight without battery: Standard 64g 60.5g, HD 72g

Frame

The frame design of the Eachine Twig is a copy of the Speed ​​Racer Twig.

The bottom plate is 2.5mm thick, not the best quality carbon fibre but it will get the job done.

However I do like the canopy, very stiff and strong compared to the typical TPU canopies, works well to prevent vibrations. The only downside is it might crack if you crash too hard, which is why some prefer the more flexible TPU canopies, they are almost indestructible.

The battery is intended to be placed under the frame, secured by a Velcro strap.

The Micro USB connector is easy to access from the bottom of the quad with the battery removed. Make sure to use the foam tape provided to avoid USB port digging into your battery.

The overall weight of this quad is 60.5 grams without battery. That’s about 10g heavier than a typical 2.5″ toothpick, and 20g more than the Sailfly and RedDevil. But the increase in prop size (disk area) and power definitely make it up in terms of performance.

The motors are the Eachine EX1105 5200KV (probably manufactured by Happymodel), and the props are Gemfan 3025 two-blade. Each prop is mounted with two M2 screws. These props seem to be very sensitive to throttle changes, and doesn’t have much grip in the air. I’d probably try some other lighter/lower pitch props.

This motor/prop combo works better on 3S than 2S.

FPV Setup

The main electronics are both made by Happymodel – the AIO FC is the Crazybee F4 Pro V3 (with integrated 10Ax4 ESC), and the VTX is the same VTX used in the Trashcan and Mobula7. The camera is the Runcam Nano 2 which in my opinion is a great budget camera.

The VTX works really well IMO and confirmed by several other reviewers as well. It supports 40 channels, with a switchable output power between 25mW and 200mW.

VTX Antenna connector is U.FL which means you can replace / upgrade to a better antenna.

You can also adjust the tilt angle of the FPV camera which is nice.

FC Board

I’ve been using the Crazybee F4 Pro V3 on another quad, and it has been reliable for me. Compared to the Crazybee V2, the V3 is using stronger 5V BEC and ESC, so it doesn’t need an extra capacitor solder to the XT30 lead anymore even on 3S.

However the SPI radio receiver is still terrible when it comes to range, providing only about 120m of range. And you are limited to D8 mode as D16 mode causes FC lockup, which means you can’t use your new Frsky ACCESS radios with this quad.

The good news is they’ve provided a cable for you to connect an external receiver like the XM+, which is already soldered to the FC. If you don’t want to do that, you can de-solder it or cut it off to save a gram.

All the components use connectors, which means when you replace these parts you don’t have to solder.

Recommended LiPo Battery

Since this is a bigger 3″ quad, you can use slightly larger battery than the ones you normally use on the 2.5″, e.g. 3S 450mAh.

See my testing here to see which battery performed the best.

How to Setup

The Eachine Twig comes with Betaflight 4.0.4, firmware target is CRAZYBEEF4FR.

The FC has only two UART’s, UART 2 is used for SmartAudio. and UART 1 is not used. If you want to use an external receiver, enable Serial RX in UART 1.

Binding

Beware that the receiver comes with non-EU firmware, but that shouldn’t be a problem if you are pairing in D8 mode.

In CLI, enter “bind_rx_spi” will put the SPI receiver in binding mode, no need to press any buttons. Bind in D8 mode.

Betaflight Setting

It came pretty much all setup, you only need to change a few settings.

• Disable “Motor Stop”
• Enable RX_Set under DShot Beacon
• Enable Airmode
• Betaflight OSD
• Setup switches for arming and flight modes

Conclusion

You can get the Eachine Twig from: http://bit.ly/2nOwZxa

The good things:

• Quite light for a 3″ micro quad, only 60g without battery
• Flies well out of the box without any tuning
• Camera and VTX performance is decent
• Camera angle adjustable
• Supports both 2S and 3S Lipo
• Really stiff and strong canopy – doesn’t cause jello like some other softer TPU canopy
• The manual is excellent, it explains the setup, and how everything is connected/wired together

What’s Not So Good:

• Eachine shouldn’t have copied the frame and the name
• USB port sticks out, has the potential to puncture the LiPo
• It would be nice to have a brighter color canopy, and also a buzzer to help finding the quad in grass
• Range is not great, though you can hook up your own XM+ receiver

DJI / Crossfire Conversion

I am slowly upgrading my fleet to the DJI FPV System. The Caddx VISTA VTX is light enough, the Eachine Twig should be able to handle the extra weight without problems. The HD FPV feed is going to be awesome!

I am also upgrading to the Crossfire nano receiver. You might be wondering why use long range system on a micro quad. Well, I am putting an expensive DJI Air Unit on it, so I wanted a bit more reliability. And the range from the built-in RX is just too limiting. For wiring, here is the pinout of the FC.

This was an easy conversion, thanks to the 3D printed canopy I downloaded from thingiverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4352790

However I had to replace the FC screws to shorter M2 12mm in order to use the canopy. Video:

Edit History

• Oct 2019 – Review published
• May 2020 – DJI / Crossfire Conversion