The Strix Screech 5″ freestyle frame is a great value option developed by ReadymadeRC. I am still finding it hard to believe you can get a frame of this quality at such a low price.
Learn more about mini quad frames.
Frame Specs and Features
I love the simple selection of hardware, no confusing assembly! However I do think it would be helpful to include a printed manual.
The Strix Screech frame is a “True X” design, meaning it has equal width and length, which is 165mm. The motor to motor distance (wheelbase) is 235mm. I would consider that quite a large frame for running 5″ propellers, but I later learned that it also takes bigger 5.5″ props as well!
This is a low deck frame, with only 20mm height between top and bottom plates. That’s not a lot of space, so you have to watch out what goes into your FC stack. It’s barely enough for an FC and 4in1 ESC.
It is however quite a long body so there is plenty of room for other components.
I like the unique inter-locking arm design, two arms are in the same piece of carbon fibre. Fewer bolts are required for a tight and secure fit, at the same time it’s easier to replace the arms. That’s also the downside – if you break one arm you would have to replace both arms…
However the arms are 5mm thick and appear to be extremely durable and stiff, it’s hard to imagine breaking one of these :)
The edges of the arms are nicely chamfered, with extruded tips to protect the motors in crashes.
However the top and bottom plate are left with sharp edges. I wish they at least sand down the LiPo strap slots to prevent cutting LiPo straps in a crash. You can easily do this yourself – here is a guide on how to chamfer carbon fibre edges.
I do love the fact that the slots are wide enough to even fit thick Kevlar straps.
By the way, there is no LiPo strap slots in the bottom plate, indicating the frame is designed for top mounted battery only.
The camera mount is simply made up of two 3D printed TPU plates (3mm thick) that slide onto the front standoffs. There is clearly room for improvement when it comes to print quality, but it is functional and good design nonetheless.
It takes both micro and mini FPV cameras, mounted by 4mm M2 screws which aren’t included in the frame kit. Luckily these normally come with Runcam’s cameras.
Other Features:
- It has mounting holes to takes both 30x30mm and 20x20mm FC stack
- Dry frame weight: nearly 100g – the steel bolts and standoffs must weigh around 15-20g alone
- Many slots on bottom plate for zip-tie to go through for mounting components
- Bottom plate has a protruding lip below the FPV camera for extra protection
- The straps it come with are 26cm long, which are a bit too long so I had to use my own in the end (22cm)
STRIX Screech Freestyle Build
Parts I am using in this build:
- FC: Frsky OmniNXT F7 with Built-in R9MM RX
- ESC: iFlight SucceX 60A 4in1
- Motors: Rotor Riot Hypetrain Blaster 2207 2450KV
- FPV Camera: Runcam Micro Swift 3
- VTX: RMRC Nano Cricket VTX
- Props: HQ 5.1×4.1×3
- LiPo Straps: IntoFPV LiPo Straps
Total weight with GoPro Session 5 and 4S 1300mAh LiPo: 600g. Dry weight 450g.
Here are some more pictures of the quad:
The GoPro mount was included in the Kit when I get mine, but they are not going to provide it anymore with the kit. I think you might be able to purchase this separately on RMRC’s site.
I will upload some footage soon.
7 comments
Oscar, does your ESC hardware touch the frame? is it okay if the mosfets touch the frame? my concern is for both electrical conductivity AND crash impacts.
Best not to, if it’s getting real close to the carbon fibure, put some electrical tape on the frame.
pro (which far outweigh any con)
-plenty room around the stack; the standoffs do not interfere with the ESC solder joints at all (as opposed to FlosStyle 5 v2)
-boomerang arms can be mounted left-right or front-back because the mounting holes are precisely square in measurement
-plenty of well oriented zip-tie slots in the bottom plate rear-end (no need for TPU “bed” as required in my Flosstyle)
-top screw-heads do not interfere with a well positioned battery!
-rear standoffs can be double or single standoff
-large strap-slots
-PRICE
con:
-recessed stack-screw holes on the bracket-plate which are designed for pan-head screws (i prefer normal holes for normal screws)
-large opening in the bottom plate’s front, below the camera (i prefer solid area with slots, matching the rear)
-could use a bit more room in the front for a lost-buzzer (again, i prefer solid area with slots for zip-ties)
-FPV camera TPU was too thick for my camera screws (used the Flosstyle’s TPU instead)
-Strix’ don’t have nearly-perpendicular “fingers” like the Hyperlite’s (maybe not a real problem, just dont crash! lmao)
I like this frame more than the flosstyle v2 5″ frame. here is my pros and cons on the screech. (mostly pros)
If you want bottom mount lipo, you have to mount the arms front and back instead of left and right. This does not change the dimensions. And according to RMRC, it does not change the strength of the frame.
Yes that’s a good point!
I was always interested in this frames thanks for the review!