Heli Nation Talon F7 20x20 Flight Controller : Tiny Beast
I believe 20x20mm components are the future…and the future is here. The Talon F7 20×20 flight controller is a tiny powerhouse loaded with features!
Highlights
- 20x20mm M3 mount pattern
- F7 processor
- BetaFlightOSD
- can take power directly from battery up to 8s (36v)
- 5v/2A BEC
- 6UARTS
- 4 Full UARTS RX/TX pins
- Built in camera control
- 8 pin ESC plug, direct plugin with the Aikon AK32 20X20
- 5V/3.3V selectable rx power
- smart pin layout for a clean build
Parts used in this build
- FlightClub Neutron – 5″ Race with hybrid canopy configuration
- Talon F7 flight controller
- Aikon AK32 20x20mm ESC
- Foxeer Arrow Micro Pro
- Brotherhobby R2 1750kv Motors
- TBS Unify PRO32 Nano VTX (check out the review post)
- Lumenier AXii Stubby
- TBS Crossfire Nano
- Immortal T Antenna
- Crossfire Immortal T Antenna mount
- Crossfire MicroTX
- GemFan 5149
- Pulse 1000mah 6s
Other Parts used in this build
My old favorite setup was the EMAX mini magnum 2 for all my Neutrons. It was a super easy and clean build but the M2 holes is a major flaw.
Most flight controllers fly similar if tuned right. When it comes to choosing a flight controller look for easy to build, features and board layout. The Talon F7 has the best 20x20mm flight controller layout available.
The pad layout on the Talon F7 has been really well thought out. A huge plus is the 8 pin connector is a direct plug in to the Aikon AK32 20x20mm ESC. No need to worry about ESC signal wires or how to power the Talon f7. Aikon ESCs are some of the most reliable ESCs available.
This orients the power cables coming out the rear, USB on the side, camera pads and RX pads on the top of the board, VTX pads on the bottom. It’s the perfect layout for a super clean build.
Time to build!
Having the 8pin connector as a direct plug in on the Aikon AK32 takes a lot of work out of the build. It’s a very straight forward build.
Just make sure on the back of the Talon F7 flight controller you select the power output you want for the VTX. In this case jump the 5v side since I’m using the TBS Unify PRO32 Nano. I’m skipping the build and install of this vtx because I’m making a separate post on this tomorrow. This is probably my new favorite VTX. You’ll see why 🙂
Solder up the Crossfire Nano RX to TX2/RX2. Note there is an error on the label on the board. The white wire is connected to “GND” but it’s actually RX2.
I wont go into detail on hooking up the TBS Unify PRO32 Nano VTX in this post cause I’m doing a post on it next week. But while you’re here go ahead and install the wires on the Talon F7 and solder a wire from the Crossfire Nano on CH4.
Mount the ESC and Talon F7 on the quad and solder up the motor wires.
Install the 8 pin harness from the Talon F7 to the Aikon AK32. No need to rearrange any wires in the harness. It’s a direct plug in on this ESC. This eliminates a lot of work!
As far as the Talon F7 goes, the build is done. I will finish the VTX install in the post next week.
BetaFlight
The BetaFlight setup was pretty straight forward. I haven’t had time to do any tuning but even with stock PIDs the quad flew great!
The Talon F7 flight controller paired with the Aikon AK32 20x20mm is so easy to build and so clean!
Time to fly!
This build weighs just 238g with no props or battery. After putting in a couple of packs I realized this quad is actually too light! I found the myself strapping on bigger batteries and a GoPro mount to add some weight and it flew much better. I’ll probably swap out the Brotherhobby R22205 for the Tmotor F40 PRO 1750kv just to add some weight.
If you are looking to build a 20x20mm stack, I highly recommend the Talon F7 20×20 flight controller paired with the Aikon AK32 ESC. It’ll be my new setup on the Neutrons.
If you found this post helpful, it would be super cool if you purchased the components from my store or purchase items from my Amazon links. These posts are expensive and take a loooong time to make so the purchases make it possible for me to keep making them. Thanks in advance, I greatly appreciate it 🙂