75mph? 11 minute flight times? What sort of madness is this? Oh, it's the new TBS Oblivion, Team Black Sheep's latest bid to produce one of the most impressive FPV race quad's we've seen. Although it's certainly faster without it, it is designed to carry either a GoPro Session or a Hero 6. It comes with two different foam mounts depending on your camera of choice.
The Gemini and the Vendetta are two previous quad released from Team BlackSheep and the Oblivion is pretty different from both of those. The most obvious difference is the frame design, TBS is calling it "ultra crash proof" which is certainly a bold claim! The quad uses injected composite polymer instead of the more traditional carbon fiber. This makes for a durable and easy to build quad. There's a custom plastic used on the frame that maintains its shape after a crash. The mould of this plastic 'canopy', if you will, results in a nice aerodynamic appearance.
But how much is one you say? Well, the PNP set is available fully assembled (minus a receiver) in the Flite Test store for $299.95. If you need to pick up a frame, that comes in at $39.95. If you want to pick up a Tango, Crossfire, charger, battery and a special carry case along with your TBS Oblivion, you could choose to get the 'TBS Oblivion Full Set' for $599.95. From there, you'll be able to (quite literally) tear it up across a picturesque meadow just like this.
So the frame is a bit average regarding weight, (110 grams) but the aerodynamics of the frame is where the efficiency and longer flight times come from. Also, with an injection molded frame you can also design the frame in full 3D with all of the ideal aerodynamics where with a carbon fiber frame you are limited by the geometry of the 2D form factor.
The ready-to-fly (RTF) version is super beginner friendly too. It comes with everything except for FPV goggles. So this includes a battery, charger, a TBS Tango, a carrying case and even some tools. Team Black Sheep say that you can get your quad up in the air within 5-minutes of opening the box.
The Oblivion is also designed in such a way to make it modular meaning that you can replace parts and repair your drone (should it need it) without any soldering. It will accept any 20x20-30x30 electronics stack so you can even buy the frame separately if you like the concept of the indestructible frame. The TBS Oblivion Frame is also going to be available in the Flite Test Store.
Here's a brief spec for all of you who are wondering how this thing stacks up against other quads out there.
- Flight Time: 3-4 mins typical, up to 11mins with 1300mAh 4S.
- Weight: 315g w/o battery
- Motors: Custom Cobra CT-2205-2400kV
- Battery: 4s LiPo 1300mAh - 2200mAh
- Propeller: HQ 5×4.5×3 V3 Tri-Blade propellers
- Flight controller: TBS Colibri F3 with BetaFlight 3.3
- ESCs: BLHeli-S Multishot TBS PowerCube 20A 6S ESC's
- Camera: TBS Oblivion 650TVL FPV Camera
- Receiver Compatibility: CRSF, S-Bus, Spektrum™ compatible
From the video, it looks like the small form factor and impressive power to weight ratio of the quad makes the Oblivion capable of some almost unbelievable performance.
Is this a racer? Is it as tough as they say? We will be getting a unit very soon and you can expect us to put it through the paces! As we discover more about this quad, we'll be sure to let you know first. This article will be updated in time, most noticeably when we get our hands on one of these little beasts, so watch out for more in this space!
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Article by James Whomsley
FliteTest.com Editor
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