I actually favored the Firefly20, and on the identical product web page Flywoo additionally provides the Firefly25 variant, which is principally the identical quad however with a barely larger body and a couple of.5-inch props. After flying each, it actually makes me query the existence of the Firefly20, as a result of the Firefly25 simply appears to do the whole lot higher. Let me clarify on this assessment.
Try my unique assessment of the Firefly 20 Professional: https://oscarliang.com/flywoo-firefly-20-pro/
The place to Purchase
Get the Firefly 25 Mini from:
Within the field it comes with these equipment.
Specs
- Designed for DJI O4 Professional Air Unit
- FC / ESC Board: GOKU F405 SE 20A AIO
- Gyroscope: ICM-42688-P
- Flash Reminiscence for Blackbox: 8MB
- Receiver: Flywoo EL24E ExpressLRS 2.4GHz
- Motors: ROBO 1303 6000KV
- Propellers: Gemfan 2520-3 3 Blade 1.5mm shaft
- Battery Connector: XT30
- Beneficial Battery: 3S 550mAh / 750mAh / 1000mAh LiHV
- Claimed Flight Instances
- 3S 1000mAh: 12 min 30 sec
- 3S 750mAh: 9 min 30 sec
- 3S 550mAh: 8 min
- Claimed Max Velocity: 95km/h
- Weight (excluding battery): 113.5g claimed, 114.8g measured
Design and Construct High quality
From the skin, the Firefly 25 Mini seems so much like the Firefly 20 Professional that it’s straightforward to mistake one for the opposite. One makes use of 2.5-inch propellers, whereas the opposite makes use of 2-inch props, however the distinction in general dimension isn’t that huge.
Left: Firefly 20; Proper: Firefly 25
The Firefly 25 Mini additionally makes use of precisely the identical elements because the Firefly 20 Professional. The one variations are the marginally larger body and bigger propellers.
Regardless of the small distinction in prop dimension, the result’s a giant distinction in flight efficiency and general management really feel. The Firefly25 is considerably extra environment friendly and provides for much longer flight time — virtually 50% extra.
There’s a catch although. Not like the Firefly20, Flywoo solely recommends 3S batteries for the Firefly25, as 4S could be a bit an excessive amount of.
On 3S, the Firefly25 feels noticeably much less agile and slower, which makes it extra suited to clean cinematic cruising and long-endurance flying. That stated, it might probably nonetheless do loads of freestyle strikes similar to its smaller brother, simply with a much less aggressive and fewer nimble really feel general.
No GPS
The shortage of GPS on the Firefly 25 Mini means it turns into riskier the farther you fly, particularly when it’s carrying an costly DJI O4 Professional. So it’s higher suited to close-range or indoor flying, the place you possibly can nonetheless simply retrieve the drone after a crash.
That stated, the flight controller has a devoted port for a GPS module, so set up is straightforward if you need options like Rescue Mode or Place Maintain.
I not too long ago examined fairly just a few GPS modules, and for a micro drone just like the Firefly25, these are some good choices:
NewBeeDrone M10Q Micro
FlyFishRC M10 Mini:
Cyclone M10:
Beeper
It’s good to know the Firefly 25 Professional has a bodily buzzer positioned below the flight controller (built-in into the FC itself). It makes a giant distinction once you crash and lose your drone in tall grass. Micro quads this small don’t generally include a correct beeper, so you’d usually must depend on the motors beeping by means of DShot Beacon. However that’s often very quiet, which makes it a lot tougher to seek out your quad. With an actual buzzer, it’s a lot simpler to find the Firefly 25 Mini.
Utilizing 4S Battery?
As talked about, the Firefly 20 and 25 use virtually the identical elements, so how come the 20 runs 4S whereas the 25 can solely runs 3S? That comes right down to prop dimension. The bigger 2.5-inch props draw rather more energy.
For reference, with 2.5-inch props on 4S, max present draw is round 55A. On 2-inch props, it’s only round 40A, so the distinction is kind of important.
That’s the reason Flywoo recommends 3S, to keep away from overheating and placing an excessive amount of stress on the ESC and motors.
With that stated, it’s solely potential to run 4S on the Firefly25 by lowering Motor Output Restrict to one thing like 75% or 80%. With out making this adjustment, the motors may get scorching, which might result in decreased energy and effectivity. Within the worst case, it might even burn out the motors.
Alternatively, you possibly can merely swap the two.5inch props for 2-inch when operating a 4S battery, whereas holding Motor Output Restrict at 100%.
Battery Selections
These are the batteries I examined. You should buy them right here:
Firefly25 vs Firefly20
Frankly, the scale and weight variations between these two fashions are so small that it actually makes me query the purpose of the Firefly20.
Though the Firefly20 flies nice and I actually prefer it, the Firefly25 is simply a lot extra versatile.
For example, if you need an environment friendly long-range cruiser, simply use the two.5-inch props with a big 3S battery. And if you need a quick and aggressive freestyle ripper, simply put a 4S battery on it and cut back Motor Output Restrict in Betaflight to 75% or 80%. Or just swap to 2-inch props, which successfully turns the Firefly25 right into a Firefly20. 🙂
Flight Efficiency
First rate PID Tune, however Lacks Refinement
Each Firefly25 and Firefly20 share the very same PID and filter tune. Whereas it does work and flies fairly nicely and easily out of the field, I’d anticipate a extra customized tune for the Firefly25, as a result of it’s designed for a quite totally different flight model.
Extraordinary Flight Time
Flywoo’s bold declare of 12.5 minutes of flight time on a 3S 1000mAh battery turned out to be actual.
That may be very spectacular for a micro drone this small. Even with this massive battery, the drone nonetheless feels comparatively nimble.
With a smaller 3S 750mAh, I used to be getting round 8 minutes of flight time (cruising).
The Firefly25 additionally handles wind higher than the Firefly20. I used to be flying it once more in 16 mph wind, and it felt extra steady and smoother. The larger props actually do make a distinction.
Nevertheless, on 3S, cruising velocity is kind of gradual. Management feels a bit of sloppy and lazy. But when your purpose is environment friendly, relaxed cruising, it’s nonetheless completely flyable.
This is sensible, actually. All of it comes right down to the speed of RPM change. Bigger props are tougher to spin up and decelerate (for a similar motor), in order that they really feel much less responsive. Alternatively, smaller props spin at greater RPM, which provides you a higher-pitched noise, however they’re additionally much less environment friendly. These are the trade-offs.
With 3S, high velocity is round 100–110 km/h based mostly on my estimate.
Not Supreme for Lengthy Vary
Though the product web page states the Firefly25 is for “lengthy vary”, I don’t assume it’s the only option for long-range flying, a minimum of not in its unique kind.
Positive, it has lengthy flight time, however the true bottleneck is the way in which the RX antenna is mounted. It sits behind the body and battery, so once you fly again towards your self, the sign might get blocked.
See the screenshots under: the RSSI_dBm worth is excessive when the quad is flying away, as a result of the antenna has line of sight to the transmitter, nevertheless it all of the sudden drops considerably when the quad turns round and the antenna turns into blocked.
I’ve not examined most vary since this quad doesn’t have GPS, however based mostly on my estimate, you possibly can anticipate as much as round 1.5 km of most vary at 250Hz packet charge. It might go farther if you happen to use a decrease packet charge.
For most individuals flying micro quads in native parks, although, I suppose that’s greater than sufficient vary.
In case your purpose is lengthy vary on a micro quad, it is best to actually take a look at the Flywoo Explorer: https://oscarliang.com/flywoo-explorer-lr4-o4-pro/
How Does It Deal with on 4S?
It’s completely AWESOME on 4S! The quad actually comes alive. It appears like a very totally different machine — so punchy and agile. Throttle is extremely responsive, simply very enjoyable to fly.
As talked about, Flywoo doesn’t suggest utilizing 4S on the Firefly25. In the event you determine to make use of 4S, accomplish that at your personal danger.
The primary time I examined 4S on this quad with out making any changes (inventory tune and a couple of.5-inch props), I seen some trilling oscillation. That prompted the motors to get heat after a flight, although the ambient temperature was solely 10°C, which suggests it might be reaching its restrict. Tuning didn’t actually assist both.
To keep away from burning the motors, I’d strongly suggest lowering Motor Output Restrict to 80% a minimum of, if you wish to attempt 4S. The truth is, that additionally eradicated trilling oscillation for me, which is one other bonus. It does barely cut back efficiency and responsiveness, nevertheless it nonetheless feels snappier than 3S.
4S with 2-Inch Props
With out altering any Betaflight settings, you possibly can run 4S just by utilizing 2-inch props — the identical props that include the Firefly20 (Gemfan 2023-3, 3-blade, 1.5mm shaft).
This successfully turns the Firefly25 right into a Firefly20. I’d say it flies about 90% the identical. It might be a tiny bit much less snappy in sharp turns and through flips and rolls, and a bit extra propwash, most likely as a result of barely bigger body (the motors are farther away from the middle of gravity).
That basically made me surprise: what’s even the purpose of the Firefly 20? 🙂 The scale distinction is so small anyway.
How Loud Is It?
The Firefly 25 is about as loud because the Firefly 20 when utilizing the identical battery voltage, however the lower-pitched sound profile makes it barely much less annoying.
PID and Filter Tuning
The PID and filter settings are tuned on the manufacturing facility, however for my part the tune is fairly conservative and undoubtedly has room for enchancment.
It additionally runs an older model of Betaflight, so earlier than I tuned it, I up to date it to the most recent model (2025.12.2). In case you are already pleased with the way it flies, I’d keep away from updating Betaflight as a result of you would need to set the whole lot up once more from scratch.
I’ll share my customized PID and filter tune on my Patreon shortly, together with screenshots of all of the settings I modified: TBA
My customized tune is for 4S, nevertheless it must also work superb on 3S if you happen to restore Motor Output Restrict to 100%.
Putting in DJI O4 Professional
The quad I’m reviewing doesn’t include the DJI O4 Professional, so I needed to set up my very own.
Though it’s a simple course of, I want it got here with extra detailed directions, or a minimum of some data on which screws ought to be used for what. I feel that might be particularly helpful for newbies and assist keep away from confusion.
Find out how to Setup For First Flight
Firmware
- The flight controller (FC) board goal is FLYWOOF405S_AIO, and it comes preloaded with Betaflight firmware model 4.5.1. For inventory CLI Diff, see right here.
- ESC Firmware: Bluejay G-H-30, 0.19, 48kHz
- ELRS Receiver Firmware Goal: Flywoo EL24E, doesn’t specify what model, nevertheless it binds with radio on V3 firmware
- The quad runs props out (motors reversed).
Steps to Setup
- Bind the ELRS receiver (related to UART3) – Element tutorial: https://oscarliang.com/bind-expresslrs-receivers/
- In Preset tab, search and cargo the ExpressLRS preset that matches your packet charge – Directions: https://oscarliang.com/rc-link-preset-betaflight/
- In PID Tuning tab, arrange charges in response to your desire – My Charges: https://oscarliang.com/charges/#My-Charges
- In Receiver tab, allow Telemetry. Roll and pitch channels jumps a tiny bit, so setting deadband (each RC and Yaw) to three may help forestall jitters
- In Modes tab, setup arm swap, Angle mode, Turtle mode, Beeper, and so forth.): https://oscarliang.com/betaflight-modes/#How-to-Setup-Arm-Swap
- In OSD tab, below Video Format, choose HD. Then setup OSD parts, or you possibly can copy my CLI traces: https://oscarliang.com/betaflight-osd/#My-OSD-Setup-CLI-Instructions
- Pair the DJI O4 Air Unit together with your goggles (related to UART6) – Information: https://oscarliang.com/how-to-setup-dji-o4-pro/#Pairing-DJI-Goggles-3-with-O4-Air-Unit-Professional
- In Energy & Battery tab, I lowered Amperage Meter Scale from 170 to 165.
Conclusion: Ought to You Get the Firefly 25 or 20?
When utilizing 3S, the road between the Firefly25 and Firefly20 is obvious: one is designed for aggressive flying, whereas the opposite is designed for long-endurance cruising. However as quickly as you set 4S on the Firefly25, that line begins to blur. It may well now do just about the whole lot the 20 can do, and in some methods do it higher.
Get the Firefly 25 Mini from:
I don’t totally perceive why Flywoo launched two fashions which are so related. Possibly they’re merely making an attempt to throw the whole lot on the wall and see what sticks. For purchasers, that may really be a superb factor as a result of it provides us extra choices. However general, I desire the Firefly25, and it might be the higher selection for people who find themselves nonetheless deciding between the 2.
Don’t get me flawed, the Firefly20 is a implausible micro drone. In the event you merely desire a small 2-inch freestyle ripper, you’ll not be dissatisfied. However if you need a flexible micro quad that may do a little bit of the whole lot simply by altering props or battery, the Firefly25 appears to be the higher possibility. And actually, the scale distinction is so small that they’re virtually like twins. I generally even get them blended up and choose up the flawed one. 🙂
