Review: Flywoo CineRace20 DJI O3 – A Compact Cinewhoop for Indoor and Outdoor Cinematic Footage

Introducing the Flywoo CineRace20 DJI O3 Edition, a compact and versatile cinewhoop expertly crafted for indoor and outdoor flight and capturing breathtaking cinematic videos. Boasting an impressive flight time of 7-8 minutes on a 4S 750mAh battery, this drone excels at delivering smooth footage with minimal vibrations. In this review, we’ll dive into the key features of the Flywoo CineRace20 DJI O3 Edition, exploring its design and overall performance.

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Check out other recommended Cinewhoop options: https://oscarliang.com/cinewhoop/

Where to Buy CineRace20 O3?

You can find the Flywoo CineRace20 with O3 Air Unit here:

• Flywoo: https://oscarliang.com/product-o9ju (coupon: oscar)
• RDQ: https://oscarliang.com/product-xwsw
• AliExpress: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DktQ6Kh

It’s also available without the O3 AU at a much lower price:

• Flywoo: https://oscarliang.com/product-s4z4 (coupon: oscar)
• RDQ: https://oscarliang.com/product-fz3o
• AliExpress: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DktQ6Kh

In the Box you will find the following items:

• 1 x CineRace20 HD DJI O3
• 8 x D51-5 props
• 2 x Battery strap 9x150mm \ 9x200mm
• 1 x set of spare screws
• 1 x SanDisk Extreme microSD Card 128GB
• 1 x 90° USB Type-C

Features and Specs

• The smallest cinewhoop with DJI O3 Air Unit from Flywoo
• Supports 4K 60fps recording
• Sub-250g including battery
• No propellers in view
• Equipped with high performance GPS module up to 30 satellites
• Ideal for both indoor and outdoor flying

Specifications ：

• Frame: CineRace20 O3 (Different from CineRace20 V1.2\V2 frame )
• FC and ESC : GOKU GN 405S 20A AIO
• GPS: GOKU GM10 Nano V3 GPS
• Buzzer Included
• Camera, VTX and antenna: DJI O3 Air Unit
• Propeller: D51-5 51mm
• Motor: Flywoo NIN V2 1203PRO 4850Kv
• Weight: 139g 140g without battery, 220g with 4S 750mah
• Recommended Battery:
  • 4S 450mAh max flight time 5 mins (from my testing)
  • 4S 750mAh max flight time 7:30 mins (from my testing)

Design and Build Quality

Key Features

The Flywoo CineRace20 FPV drone has undergone numerous updates and modifications since its debut in 2020. Now in its third iteration, the DJI O3 edition features a DJI O3 Air Unit capable of recording stunning 4K footage, eliminating the need for a bulky GoPro camera and offering a substantial performance advantage.

The CineRace20 captivates with its remarkably small size and light weight, boasting a wheelbase of just under 100mm and a mere 220g all-up-weight with a 4S 750mAh, providing almost 8 minutes of flight time.

Featuring a “Pusher” design, the Flywoo CineRace20 positions its propellers on the drone’s underside, effectively reducing its total footprint and enhancing its compactness and lightweight nature. The protective ducts are great for safer indoor flights and close-proximity filming. It’s perfect for navigating tight spaces and significantly safer than standard 5″ drones when flying around people, minimizing the risk of injury.

It’s even smaller than the popular BetaFPV Pavo25.

Let’s delve into the other aspects of the CineRace20.

Motor and Propeller

The Flywoo CineRace20 DJI O3 Edition retains similar frame and duct design as its predecessors while featuring a higher motor KV version (4850KV). Equipped with 1203 motors and 5-bladed Gemfan props, this 2″ cinewhoop delivers stable and powerful flight performance.

“Dual-Duct” Frame Design

The CineRace20’s innovative frame design grants users easy access to crucial components, such as the USB ports. This thoughtful design choice streamlines the process of updating firmware, accessing flight logs, and downloading flight videos.

This unique frame design features ducts that can be split into two separate parts (left and right). They are held together by the top and bottom carbon fibre plates and four M2 steel bolts. The simple yet effective construction offers a sturdy and stiff frame with minimal flex when attempting to twist it by hand, and it’s easier to take apart when repairing is needed.

The O3 air unit is mounted on the top plate, while the flight controller (FC) is on the bottom plate.

The DJI O3 camera is housed within a 3D printed TPU mount. This soft-mounted camera, encased in flexible material, aims to effectively dampen vibration and jello, improving image stabilization and overall video quality.

Soft foam can be found on the the exterior of the ducts, cushioning impacts during crashes and increasing longevity.

A super sticky battery pad ensures the battery stays in place, even when the drone is flipped upside down without a battery strap!

ExpressLRS Receiver

The ExpressLRS receiver is located at the rear of the quad, secured with a zip tie. The antenna is securely mounted in a 3D printed TPU holder.

GPS, LED and Buzzer

The drone comes equipped with the GOKU GM10 Nano GPS module which enables GPS Rescue mode (similar to return-to-home functionality). This tiny GPS module is specially designed for micro drones, minimizing weight while enabling them to search for up to 30 satellites thanks to the advanced M10 chip. You can purchase the GPS separately here: https://oscarliang.com/product-m08c

A long strip of LED lights is mounted around the ducts, illuminating bright blue light as soon as you plug in the LiPo battery. According to Flywoo, they offer a variety of LED color options, adding a touch of fun during races or other events.

The LED is powered by a dedicated 5V BEC located underneath the drone, where you can also find the beeper.

DJI O3 Integration

The integration of the DJI O3 FPV system distinguishes the CineRace20 from most other cinewhoops on the market. With stabilized 4K footage and exceptional signal penetration from the DJI O3 Air Unit, the CineRace20 is perfect for both indoor and outdoor aerial photography. This setup eliminates the need for additional action cameras, making the drone lighter and fly better.

The O3 Air Unit is capable of recording 10-bit videos with 4K resolution, providing plenty of flexibility to choose frame rates, image settings, color profiles, and stabilization options for your footage.

Flywoo generously includes a SanDisk Extreme 128GB micro SD card with the drone, enabling users to start capturing high quality footage right out of the box. You can’t take the SD card out easily because the O3 Air Unit is buried deep inside the frame (requiring disassembling the quad), but users can conveniently access their footage on the SD card through the USB-C port.

If you want to purchase more SD cards for the O3 Air Unit, check here for my recommendations: https://oscarliang.com/sd-cards-fpv/#GoPro-and-Other-HD-Cameras-4K-Videos

To fully utilize the DJI O3 camera’s potential, it’s recommended to use ND filters and lock the shutter and ISO at fixed values. However, this will inevitably affect the image displayed in the goggles, this is a trade-off when combining FPV and HD recording without a separate GoPro onboard. Since cinewhoops typically fly slowly, it should not pose a significant issue in my opinion. Moreover, you can easily adjust camera settings in the goggles menu and monitor the exposure in real-time, allowing for necessary adjustments.

You can learn more about how I use ND filters with the DJI O3 camera in this article: https://oscarliang.com/flywoo-nd-filter-o3/

Flywoo offers a set of ND filters designed for the DJI O3 air unit, you can purchase it here: https://oscarliang.com/product-imq6

Flight Characteristics

Because the Flywoo CineRace20 doesn’t carry a GoPro, it’s lighter, faster, more agile, and more efficient, providing longer flight time. It hovers at 40% throttle, offering stable flight performance, precise altitude control, and plenty of power.

The flight characteristics of the CineRace20 DJI O3 Edition remain consistent with its previous versions. Its ducts make it susceptible to wind, so flying in low-wind conditions or indoors is recommended for optimal performance. Nevertheless, the footage captured by the DJI O3 air unit is clear and jello-free, with no propellers visible even with the DJI O3 camera’s super wide field of view.

Flywoo recommends using this 4S drone with batteries ranging from 450mAh to 750mAh. With a 4S 750mAh battery, you can expect around 7:30 of flight time at approximately 30km/h cruising speed. When flying faster and performing acrobatic moves, the flight time decreases to around 5:30. This drone offers more flight time than most freestyle drones, making it an ideal choice for those seeking a sub-250 drone with extended air time.

However, the CineRace20 shares similar yaw washout behaviour with the BetaFPV Pavo25, and some instability may be experienced when performing extreme manoeuvres. This is pretty common in cinewhoops due to the ducts affecting aerodynamics, and there isn’t much that can be done about it. One possible solution is to run “props in” instead of “props out,” as some pilots have reported this resolves the issue for them.

It’s also worth noting the drone’s noise level. It’s considerably louder than typical freestyle FPV drones due to the motors constantly working hard to stay airborne. The noise level is comparable to other 2″ or 2.5″ cinewhoops. If you’re new to cinewhoops, you might be surprised by the loudness but rest assured, it’s normal.

The GPS performs exceptionally well, acquiring a GPS lock within a minute of powering on and finding up to 26 satellites during my testing. This is a significant improvement from the previous GPS module used in the Flywoo Explorer. GPS Rescue also works right out of the box; however, the FC is not loaded with the latest version of Betaflight 4.4, so Rescue mode is unable to land itself. You could upgrade to BF4.4 yourself, but you’ll need to retune filters and PID. As it is, the drone can return close enough for you to regain control and land manually.

How to Set Up For First Flight

Betaflight Version

The drone comes with Betaflight version 4.3.1. The flight controller board is FLYWOOF405S_AIO (STM32F405).

Original CLI dump can be found here: https://intofpv.com/t-cli-dump-for-the-flywoo-cinerace20-dji-o3-edition

Setup Receiver

The ExpressLRS receiver comes with ELRS 2.2.0 firmware. To update it to ELRS 3.0, you can follow my tutorial here: https://oscarliang.com/setup-expresslrs-2-4ghz/#Build-and-Flash-RX-Firmware

Note that the Device Category is DIY 2.4GHz, and Device is DIY_2400_RX_ESP8285_SX1280.

In Betaflight Configurator, Receiver tab, enable Telemetry.

Setup Modes

In Betaflight’s Modes tab, setup the flight modes you plan to use.

For Arm, set it to AUX1 (originally it was set to AUX3), and drag the range to the end so it covers the appropriate value. Beeper was originally set to AUX1, so I set it to another AUX channel (in this case AUX3).

And in the Failsafe tab in Betaflight, set AUX3 from “set to 2000” back to “hold”. I am not quite sure what they are trying to do here, they had AUX3 for arming originally, so I am guessing they are trying to keep the drone armed when it goes into failsafe? But setting it to hold does the same thing so I am puzzled. Anyway, lets keep going.

Don’t forget to enable Turtle mode, so you can flip the drone over when it’s crashed upside down.

Setup DJI O3 Air Unit

The O3 Air Unit came activated and updated to the latest version (V01.02.0000), so I didn’t have to do anything. But it’s best if you check.

Simply connect the USB cable provided to the O3, and follow the instructions here: https://oscarliang.com/dji-o3-air-unit-fpv-goggles-2/#Activation

Bind the O3 to the DJI Goggles 2 follow these instructions: https://oscarliang.com/dji-o3-air-unit-fpv-goggles-2/#Pairing-DJI-Goggles-2-and-O3-Air-Unit

Here’s where to press the bind button on the O3; you don’t need to take it apart, but you do need something pointy to access the button.

Setup GPS Rescue

GPS Rescue mode is already set up out of the box, and it’s used as the Failsafe procedure as well. When you lose signal, the drone should fly back to you automatically. I tested Rescue mode without changing any config, and it worked fine for me. However, when testing, make sure you fly outside of the minimal distance. If you activate GPS Rescue within the minimal distance, the drone will just drop to the ground. Don’t ask me how I know :-p

If you are planning to fly indoor, make sure NOT TO USE rescue mode, and in Failsafe tab, set it to “Drop” instead of GPS Rescue.

Turn Off LED

I wanted to turn off the LED, but I couldn’t find an easy way to do so. It claims to have an LED switch, but I couldn’t find it. The little PCB that connects to the LED appears to be just a regular voltage regulator, with no switch on it. I didn’t really like having bright LED when I am flying in the park, which attracts attention, so I removed power to the LED by cutting the 5V red wire from the voltage regulator.

Final Thoughts

The Flywoo CineRace20 DJI O3 Edition is a compact and versatile FPV drone that excels in capturing relaxed, stable, cinematic footage. Its lightweight design, extended flight time, and integration of the DJI O3 air unit make it the ideal choice for those looking to record stunning aerial shots even in the tightest of spaces.

The name “CineRace” suggests that Flywoo is marketing this drone for both cinematic flying and drone racing. While it can certainly be used for racing, thanks to its robustness and bright LED lights which make it highly visible to spectators – it truly shines in relaxed, cinematic cruising, delivering smooth, high-quality footage. Also the DJI O3 may not be the ideal choice for racing due to its latency and high replacement cost.

A small limitation of this drone is the camera mount’s tilt angle, you can’t go faster than 55km/h without looking at the ground the whole time. It certainly has enough power to go faster though if the mount allowed a higher camera up-tilt.

The Flywoo CineRace20 DJI O3 Edition is priced at $489.99 with the DJI O3 Air Unit, or you can also get it for $224.99 without the O3, which allows you to install your own camera and VTX. It may not be ideal for freestyle and acro flying, but it offers a user-friendly experience, perfect for navigating tight spaces and capturing cinematic video.

Keep in mind, however, that despite the DJI O3’s impressive performance, it might not replace the latest GoPro models for professional filmmakers in terms of image quality. Also, because changing camera settings in the O3 affects what you see in the goggles, it might not provide the best flying experience. But for hobbyists, the O3’s image quality is more than enough for social media, and not needing an additional GoPro saves 150 grams on the drone, offering a substantial advantage in terms of performance and cost.

You can get 4S 750mAh batteries here:

• Flywoo: https://oscarliang.com/product-14cn
• GetFPV: https://oscarliang.com/product-giob
• RDQ: https://oscarliang.com/product-348m

Get some spare propellers here:

• Flywoo: https://oscarliang.com/product-5mrg
• GetFPV: https://oscarliang.com/product-c1aa
• RDQ: https://oscarliang.com/product-2cq9