Overview: BetaFPV Air65 II Whoop with Upgraded Body — It Retains Getting Higher!

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As winter approaches, it’s whoop season once more! BetaFPV has one thing particular for us — a brand new Air65 II body and cover for his or her standard 65mm Tiny Whoop. The improve guarantees higher efficiency and sturdiness. On paper, it seems like a small replace, however after testing it, I can confidently say this model takes the Air65 to a complete new degree. Let’s dive into what’s modified, the way it performs, and the way it compares to the unique body.

Be taught extra about tiny whoops on this purchaser’s information: https://oscarliang.com/best-tiny-whoop/

The place to Purchase

Get the brand new Air65 II Body:

Get the Air65 Whoop BNF (authentic body):

Specs

• Body: BetaFPV Air65 II Body
• Wheelbase: 65mm
• Propeller Measurement: 31mm
• FC & ESC: Air 5-in-1 FC (FC + ESC + ELRS RX + VTX + OSD)
• ESC: 4-in-1 5A, working Bluejay 96kHz firmware
• VTX: Built-in 5.8GHz (adjustable from 25mW to 400mW)
• Receiver: Built-in ExpressLRS 2.4GHz UART
• Digicam: C03 Digicam
• Motors: 0702 27000KV
• Propellers: Gemfan 1219 (3-blade)
• Battery Connector: BT2.0
• Beneficial Battery: 1S 300mAh LiHV (≈4 minutes of flight time)
• Weight (with out battery): 17.27g

New Air65 II Body and Cover

At first look, I used to be a little bit confused why BetaFPV despatched me one other Air65, since I had already reviewed it final yr. However upon nearer inspection, I spotted this new model options the up to date Air65 II body and cover. Whereas the adjustments might sound minor at first, they create some significant enhancements in sturdiness, efficiency, and flight really feel.

Body Design Enhancements

Probably the most noticeable replace is the diminished variety of help struts beneath every propeller — from six all the way down to 4. This enables extra unobstructed airflow, enhancing thrust effectivity and total flight efficiency. The ducts are additionally barely narrower, which helps cut back drag and enhance dealing with in ahead flight.

Apparently, regardless of having fewer struts, BetaFPV claims the body is extra sturdy. The remaining helps are positioned extra strategically in high-impact zones, serving to the body take up crash power higher.

In hand, the brand new body feels stiffer than the unique, which seemingly contributes to the quad’s sharper and extra responsive flight traits. After loads of indoor flights — and the inevitable bumps into partitions and furnishings — I can affirm that this body holds up rather well. It feels more durable and extra resilient than earlier than.

Weight-wise, the Air65 II body is just about equivalent to the unique Air65 body (V2 weighs 2.57g vs. V1’s 2.63g — basically no distinction in apply).

A small however considerate design element: the motor mounting pads now embrace three raised contact factors simply outdoors the screw holes. This helps forestall the steel motor screws from scratching your flooring or furnishings throughout indoor flights — a pleasant contact for whoop pilots flying round the home.

Up to date Cover

BetaFPV additionally up to date the cover, and that is an enchancment I actually recognize. The digicam angle adjustment belt on the again has been prolonged, permitting the digicam to tilt decrease than earlier than. This makes an enormous distinction for indoor flying — now you can comfortably fly at slower speeds with a decrease digicam angle, excellent for learners or relaxed cruising round tight areas. It makes the Air65 far more gratifying to fly straight out of the field for slower, extra informal pilots like me.

As of this writing, the BNF Air65 nonetheless ships with the unique body, however you should buy the brand new Air65 II body individually and swap it your self. Hopefully, BetaFPV will begin together with the up to date body in future batches of the Air65.

The remainder of the {hardware} stays basically equivalent to the unique model, which I’ll go over briefly beneath.

Restricted Halloween Version

BetaFPV is providing a restricted Halloween version of the Air65 II body — and it glows at midnight! Merely go away it underneath a light-weight supply for some time, and it’ll take up power to glow at midnight.

Sadly, BetaFPV advised me this particular glowing body isn’t bought individually; it’s solely accessible with the Air65 BNF Halloween Version. Additionally they talked about that as a result of completely different materials composition, this glow-in-the-dark body is much less sturdy than the usual Air65 II body. So in the event you plan to fly aggressively, it’s greatest to stay with the common model for sturdiness.

To be sincere, it’s a enjoyable however considerably gimmicky thought. The glowing impact fades fairly rapidly — after about half-hour, the brightness drops noticeably and turns into barely seen, even in darkness. If you would like constant, vibrant lighting in your whoop, you’re nonetheless higher off including RGB LEDs as an alternative.

Flight Controller: The Air 5in1 FC

On this Air65, it continues to make use of the identical Air 5in1 flight controller. Because the identify suggests, it integrates the flight controller (FC), ESC, ExpressLRS receiver, video transmitter (VTX), and on-screen show (OSD) right into a single compact board. This design saves weight and simplifies wiring — perfect for tiny whoops the place each gram counts.

There’s no USB-C port on the FC itself. As a substitute, BetaFPV features a USB adapter cable that you simply use to attach the board to your laptop. It’s a minor inconvenience, however a good compromise for maintaining the board light-weight.

The ESC runs Bluejay firmware at 96kHz PWM frequency, which improves motor effectivity and makes throttle response smoother and quieter. In case you choose stronger braking and snappier throttle response, you possibly can re-flash to 48kHz, however needless to say doing so can cut back flight time noticeably.

One other noteworthy element: the motors are soldered on to the FC as an alternative of utilizing plug connectors. Whereas that makes repairs barely much less beginner-friendly, it’s a superb design selection. Direct soldering lowers electrical resistance, improves energy supply, and saves a small however significant quantity of weight. And realistically, motor failures on whoops are fairly uncommon, so it’s not one thing most pilots should fear about typically.

VTX and Digicam Setup

The built-in VTX helps output energy from 25mW as much as 400mW, adjustable in Betaflight OSD menu. For indoor flying, I discovered 25mW to be completely ample — larger energy isn’t at all times higher except you want extra penetration or vary. Actually, working larger energy indoors could cause the VTX to overheat and drain your battery sooner.

The light-weight dipole antenna performs surprisingly effectively for short-range flights. When you may improve to a round polarized antenna for improved penetration, I’d argue it’s pointless for an indoor whoop — each further gram counts right here. The antenna connects by way of a U.FL connector, making it simple to improve, or change if it will get broken.

In case you expertise video interference from your private home WiFi, attempt switching to a Raceband channel that’s farther out of your router’s frequency — Raceband 8 (R8) is a good possibility for a cleaner sign. Be taught extra in my FPV channel information: https://oscarliang.com/fpv-channels/

The C03 digicam delivers clear analog video. It’s nothing groundbreaking, nevertheless it’s completely succesful for freestyle and racing apply.

Flight Efficiency and Sturdiness

On paper, the Air65 II’s new body design sounds promising — however does it make a noticeable distinction in flight? I flew the brand new Air65 II and the unique Air65 back-to-back, and truthfully, the distinction wasn’t large. Maybe the brand new model felt barely extra responsive and snappier — although that may be as a result of my older Air65 has seen over 100 flights and the motors aren’t in one of the best situations.

One factor I did discover, nevertheless, is the elevated body rigidity. Whenever you twist the brand new body by hand, it feels stiffer with much less flex. Within the air, this interprets to a firmer response and sharper management really feel. It’s potential that BetaFPV tweaked the fabric combine or body geometry to enhance structural stiffness. A stiffer body can even produce cleaner gyro knowledge that helps PID tuning.

That stated, the advance isn’t dramatic — most pilots seemingly wouldn’t discover except flying each variations back-to-back.

With a 1S 300mAh LiHV battery, you possibly can anticipate round 4 minutes of flight time, relying on how exhausting you push it — fairly typical for a 1S 65mm whoop.

After about 20 packs of indoor flying (and loads of crashes into partitions, doorways, and furnishings), my Air65 II body remains to be holding up completely. In comparison with my older Air65, which began to indicate seen scuff marks and minor duct deformation, the Air65 II stays in noticeably higher situation.

Out of the field, the tune from BetaFPV is great — clean, locked-in, and responsive. It handles sharp turns easily, throttle management feels clear, and there’s no noticeable oscillation or jello. That stated, I feel there’s nonetheless some room to fine-tune it additional. Would you wish to see my customized PID and filter tune for the Air65 II? Let me know within the feedback beneath — I’d be joyful to share it.

Enhancements

In case you’re trying to squeeze a bit extra efficiency out of your Air65 II, listed below are a number of easy upgrades value making an attempt.

First, think about changing the inventory steel motor screws with PEEK screws (m1.4). They’re lighter and have a decrease tendency to come back unfastened throughout flight. Get them right here: https://oscarliang.com/product-afj6

There are additionally a number of small areas the place you possibly can trim pointless plastic or materials to save lots of weight:

• Take away the “arrows” on the body
• Trim any extra warmth shrink on the VTX antenna.

These tiny tweaks shaved off round 0.7g from my construct, lowering the entire weight from 17.3g all the way down to 16.6g. That may not sound like a lot, nevertheless it’s a couple of 5% discount — and in a tiny 1S whoop, that’s sufficient to note enhancements in flight time, throttle response, and agility.

Battery Suggestions and Charging Recommendation

Correct battery care is vital to getting constant efficiency and lengthy lifespan out of your 1S packs. Listed here are my suggestions:

• Keep away from discharging beneath 3.0V throughout flight. Land earlier than it hits 3.2V per cell, after touchdown, the voltage ought to get well to round 3.6–3.7V.
• For security, it’s beneficial to cost at 1C (0.3A). In case you determine to cost at sooner charges, ensure to observe battery temperature commonly for security.
• In case you received’t be flying for greater than every week, retailer your LiPos at 3.8–3.85V per cell to extend battery life.

I like to recommend utilizing a devoted 1S charger with storage mode, such because the Vifly WhoopStor V3 or GEPRC WooPower. Each are compact, simple to make use of, and feature-packed 1S battery chargers.

Setup

Firmware:

• The FC comes with Betaflight 4.5.0, and the FC goal is BETAFPVG473. Yow will discover the default CLI diff right here.
• ELRS Receiver: BETAFPV 2.4GHz AIO RX ExpressLRS firmware model 3.5.6
• ESC: A-X-5 – Bluejay, 0.19, 96kHz

Firstly, bind the receiver, comply with this information in the event you don’t know the way: https://oscarliang.com/bind-expresslrs-receivers/

Listed here are the Betaflight configurations:

1. Load ExpressLRS Preset
2. Set Your Charges
3. Allow Telemetry
4. Set Arm swap, angle mode swap, turtle mode swap
5. Set OSD (disable “Core Temperature” underneath warnings)
6. Scale back present sensor scale to 660 for extra correct mah studying (would possibly want additional adjustment).

Conclusion – Ought to You Get the Air65 II (or the New Body)?

The BetaFPV Air65 was my favourite whoop of 2024, and with the brand new Air65 II body, I can confidently say it stays my favourite going into 2025. It’s probably the most well-balanced whoops accessible at present — providing a superb mixture of energy, effectivity, construct high quality, and tuning proper out of the field.

Whereas the Air65 II doesn’t look drastically completely different from final yr’s model, the refinements add up. The body is stiffer, extra sturdy, and the brand new cover design permits for a decrease digicam angle, making it extra gratifying for learners or anybody who prefers slower, extra relaxed flights indoors.

That stated, the efficiency enhancements are refined in real-world flying. In case you already personal the unique Air65, there’s no pressing have to improve. However in the event you’re available in the market for a brand new whoop, or planning to switch the body, the Air65 II body is totally value getting — it’s a refined evolution of top-of-the-line 65mm whoops you should buy.

Get the brand new Air65 II Body:

Get the Air65 Whoop BNF (authentic body):