BetaFPV Aquila20 HD FPV Kit Review
• Chris
BetaFPV’s Aquila20 HD FPV Kit is an all-in-one bundle that pairs the Aquila20 HD whoop with the LiteRadio 4 SE and the rest of what you need to start flying digital FPV out of the box. The kit is aimed at people who don’t want to source drone, radio, goggles and batteries separately and would rather pay one price and start flying. Is the convenience worth it?
The kit was sent to me by BetaFPV for review. They had no input on this article, they however did answer a lot of questions that I had and tried to help out with some of the issues I was having.
What’s in the box
The kit ships as a complete starter package - here is everything you get:
- 1x Aquila20 brushless whoop quadcopter (with the ArtLynk P1 Air Unit pre-installed)
- 1x LiteRadio 4 SE radio transmitter
- 1x VR04 HD FPV Goggles
- 2x Aquila20 batteries (2S LiHV, 1100mAh, BT3.0)
- 2x 18650 2600mAh batteries for the goggles
- 1x 2S HV battery charger / voltage tester (BT3.0)
- 4x Gemfan 2218 spare propellers
- Quickstart guide
Where I am coming from
I have to preface this by saying that I explicitly asked BetaFPV if this copter was running Betaflight, because generally speaking I am not interested in closed-source proprietary copters. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with them, but if I have the choice, I would rather go full open source. So there was a bit of miscommunication and my critique might be a bit harsher from that perspective - this might not matter to you though. What counts in the end is whether this is the right fit for you, and you might not value open source as much as I do, which is fine.
The Radio
The kit ships with the LiteRadio 4 SE - the trim-button-less variant of the LiteRadio 4 that BetaFPV reserves for their bundle SKUs. I have already taken a look at the radio in a previous review, so I won’t repeat that here. The short version: solid little gamepad-style ELRS radio, great value, but the ELRS-fork lock-in is a real concern - read the linked review for my full take.
The quad is already bound to the radio and the goggles, so no additional setup is required here: you power everything on, and you are good to go. Radio, goggles, quad - in this order. I mean, radio or goggles first does not matter, but quad should be the last thing after the radio, so it is in a known state after power on.
The Aquila20
The Aquila20 is BetaFPV’s 2” HD whoop - 100mm wheelbase, 127g takeoff weight, 1103-10500KV motors and Gemfan 2218 3-blade props. It uses BetaFPV’s own ArtLynk HD digital video system (the P1 Air Unit, 1080p60, ~60ms latency, ~400m range) rather than DJI O3/O4 or HDZero. Control link is ExpressLRS 2.4G V3.
The kit also bundles the VR04 HD FPV Goggles (with 2x 18650 2600mAh batteries) and a 2S HV charger / voltage tester. BetaFPV lists “about 10 mins” of flight time per pack; in my own testing I get around 9-10 minutes when cruising - punching out repeatedly drops that noticeably.
Here are two full-pack flights for reference - same location, same pack, just different camera angles on the Air Unit:
Higher camera angle.
Default camera angle.
The camera angle can easily be changed from the outside, you don’t need any tools, this is just friction fit and you can tilt it to your liking. If you want to cruise, obviously go with a less aggressive tilt.
Flight feel & the pusher format
Being a pusher, this copter is clearly not made for pushing it hard - pun intended. Yeah, I don’t like pushers, I’ll admit it. They all just feel to me like flying a school bus. If you like flying smooth and cinematic, a pusher might be straight up your alley. I like to rip around, cut throttle, flip, roll and crash. Well - I don’t like to crash, it’s just part of it I guess… Anyway, I feel like pushers are just not cut out for this. Or at least, none that I have ever laid my hands upon.
Just to clarify: on a pusher, the motors are turned around facing downwards, with the props on the bottom. This allows the copter to be a bit “flatter” overall. Usually pushers also have the battery on top, whereas I prefer the battery to be on the bottom - at least with whoops.
And for some reason pushers tend to be like twice as loud as their same-sized counterparts. This is definitely something you should be aware of - you will for sure draw more attention with this one than with a “regular” whoop.
And you definitely can feel the wind outside - again, typical pusher problem I’d argue. If it’s not storming, you will be able to fly, but you will be pushed around a bit for sure.
For indoor, this one is too big and too loud for me personally, so no, I would not recommend flying this one in your flat. Test hovering is OK, but I would go mad with the noise if I were to fly a full pack in our flat.
Durability
At first I was a bit shocked: all plastic construction, no carbon to be found anywhere. The plastic is OK though - I mean, I have seen more durable frames from BetaFPV, but given that you are not supposed to bash this one around too much, I guess it is OK. Me flying in a parking garage definitely left some major scratches on the frame.
The props, on the other hand, have held up really well. I have crashed plenty into twigs and grass and they are still going strong - no chips, no bends. BetaFPV includes a spare set of Gemfan 2218 props and a prop tool in the kit, which is exactly what you want to see. That said, props are consumables - buying an extra set or two on top is never a bad idea, especially since they are cheap and you do not want to be grounded just because you snapped your last one.
Brownout on low voltage - the one real problem
This is the one issue I would call a genuine problem rather than a quirk: once the pack gets low, the FC and ESC simply cut power mid-air. The quad does not warn you, it does not descend gently and it does not disarm in a controlled way - it just drops out of the sky.
What’s interesting is that this is not the “smart” battery’s protection cutting its output. I was still getting a clean video feed while the motors were already dead and the TX had lost the link - so it is the FC itself browning out, not the pack shutting off.
Both times it happened, the battery ejected on impact. I was recording both flights, which is honestly the only reason I managed to find the quad again afterwards.
So until BetaFPV addresses this, my advice is simple: watch your flight timer and land early. I would much rather have the firmware ride the battery all the way down to a hard cutoff once the quad is safely on the ground than have it hand me a dead, falling quad at altitude.
One thing you can do to mitigate it: bump the minimum voltage threshold up in the BETAFPV Configurator. It won’t stop the FC from cutting power, but raising the threshold makes the warning kick in earlier - while you still have enough juice to bring it down under control - instead of letting it sneak up on you right as the pack runs dry. It’s a workaround, not a fix, but it makes the behavior a lot more predictable.
Modes and speeds
There is a quickstart guide included, describing the functionality of all the buttons on the transmitter. It is clear and well laid out - a genuine beginner should have no trouble following it to get into the air. The transmitter has 3 different modes and 3 different speeds. The “speeds” basically increase the degrees/second that the copter will move - on the slowest speed you barely move at all. The fastest speed is OK for me - personally I’d prefer it to be higher, but I understand I am not the target audience for this copter.
The 3 different modes are altitude hold, stabilized and - I think they call it sport mode - which basically is acro mode, where you have full control. Again, I am not interested in the first two modes, which are basically the top selling points for this package.
Batteries and charging
The Aquila20 uses BetaFPV’s Aquila20 Exclusive Battery - a 2S LiHV, 1100mAh, 15C pack on a BT3.0 connector, 52g each. Two ship in the kit; spares are sold in 2-packs. 15C is on the modest side for a 2” HD whoop, so expect this to be the limiting factor on how hard you can push the throttle.
For charging, the obvious upgrade is the Aquila20 Three-Way Charging Hub: three BT3.0 ports, 8.7V output, USB Type-C PD3.0 input rated for up to 45W total (15W per port), charging three batteries in roughly 40 minutes. Two things worth knowing before you buy it:
- You need at least a 45W USB-C PD charger to actually run all three ports at once. With a weaker adapter (typical phone charger, low-watt laptop brick), the hub will light up an orange warning LED and only enable a subset of the ports.
- The batteries don’t start charging automatically when you plug them in. Each pack has a button that you need to short-press and then long-press to start a charge cycle on that channel. Easy to miss the first time - the hub looks idle until you’ve done the press combo.
What is really a bummer is that the charger does not come with any way to discharge the batteries or put them to storage voltage. This is a big oversight in my opinion, especially since their form factor makes it hard to simply plug them into a regular charger - at least not without a pig-tail adapter. BetaFPV told me that they might integrate this feature into one of their next iterations.
Also - I am not a big fan of “smart” batteries. Do they really need an extra power button? This is just one more thing that can break - why add it?
Inside you find a fairly standard 2-cell protection circuit (two MOSFETs and a protection IC), plus a small additional controller that handles the button press-to-enable behavior - that’s all the “smart” really is here: the pack refuses to deliver or accept current until you press the button in the right sequence. The actual cell balancing and charge management still happens in the charger, not in the battery itself. So you’re not getting any extra battery-side intelligence in exchange for the extra failure point - just a switch that you have to manually arm before each charge and to power on the quad.
The HD system
As mentioned in my ArtLynk article - I really like the system, or at least the idea behind the system: one system, shared between all manufacturers, cross-compatibility in a low-priced HD package - what’s not to like? Well, it turns out the whole system does not seem to be as cross-compatible as it is supposed to be - at least YET. But I have high hopes. Maybe my wish for it is higher than my hopes, but it would be so awesome for this to work out the way it works out in my mind.
The latency is higher than analog. It is also higher than state-of-the-art digital systems, but it has a lot of potential and it is more than flyable today. It took me like 3 packs to get used to it. Sure, if you fly it back-to-back with lower-latency systems you can feel the latency - but again, nothing that a couple of packs won’t adjust you to.
The two flight clips above are straight off the goggle DVR. To my eye the live image in the goggles actually looks a touch better than what the DVR records - though that might be placebo, or simply down to the smaller goggle screen hiding flaws that a big monitor reveals. Either way, the recordings are perfectly usable for reviewing a flight or finding a downed quad.
The goggles though - boy, are they just not for me. Don’t get me wrong: I don’t care for the form factor - I have been in the hobby for long enough that style is not an issue for me. No matter how slick goggles are, you will still look like a nerd to anyone who is not in the hobby, no matter if box-style goggles or the latest DJI gear.
But this one, I don’t know where to start: the top strap is useless for my head - I cut it off. The strap, not my head. I also don’t like the battery to be on my head; with this one you don’t have a choice, it sits on the back of your head. And the fit - oh boy, my face must be so far outside what BetaFPV designed against that I almost feel like crying. Sure, I can position it so that it is usable, but adding thicker foam would have made the whole experience so much more enjoyable. For a goggle that comes with a kit at this price point I still think it is acceptable. If the system works as it is supposed to, we will soon have more options anyway.
I provided all this feedback to BetaFPV, they listened and assured me that they will forward it to their product development team. I hope that translates into actual changes in the next iteration.
Firmware - not Betaflight
This is where things take an unexpected turn: the Aquila20 does not run Betaflight. Instead, BetaFPV ships its own custom, proprietary firmware on the flight controller. You can’t open it in Betaflight Configurator, you can’t tune PIDs the way you’re used to, you can’t change rates, filters, or any of the usual Betaflight knobs.
To configure the FC at all you have to use the BETAFPV Configurator - the same Electron app used for the LiteRadio 4. It is the only software that knows how to talk to this flight controller. That means everything you can change on this drone is whatever BetaFPV decided to expose in their configurator, and nothing else.
For absolute beginners that might be fine - fewer ways to brick it, fewer ways to get lost in settings. For anyone with prior Betaflight experience it is going to feel locked down very fast.
The ESCs are a similar story. From the startup tones I can tell they are flashed with Bluejay, which is great in principle - but I can not connect to them via esc-configurator.com either, so you are not meant to touch any ESC settings. Same pattern as the FC: open-ish firmware underneath, locked down on top.
Linux compatibility
A heads-up for Linux users: I was not able to connect to the FC via the BETAFPV Configurator on Linux. The radio side works (with the caveats already documented in the LiteRadio 4 review), but the FC simply does not show up in the configurator’s port dropdown when plugged in. I have not yet determined whether this is a USB descriptor / VID-PID mismatch like the radio side, a CDC vs HID issue, or something else - I just know it does not work out of the box.
If you are on Linux and the FC is the thing you wanted to configure, treat that as a real blocker until either BetaFPV ships an updated configurator or someone reverse-engineers the protocol. I will report back once I have had a chance to test this on Windows - I don’t have a macOS machine to try it on.
Pricing
BetaFPV lists the kit at $358.99 USD at the time of writing. For that you get the drone, the radio, the goggles, two flight packs, the 18650 cells for the goggles, the bundled 2S HV charger, spare props and the quickstart guide. Sourcing the same components piecemeal - especially anything with a digital HD video link - would land you in much higher territory, probably twice that, once you add up the parts. So on pure price-per-thing-in-the-box, the bundle is very competitive.
Conclusion
Before I get to who this is for, here is the short version:
Pros
- Complete “unbox, charge, fly HD” package for one price - nothing else to buy to get started
- Genuinely competitive value compared to sourcing the parts separately
- Beginner-friendly altitude-hold and stabilized modes, plus an acro mode to grow into
- Under 250g, which keeps you in the most relaxed regulatory category in most regions
- Clear quickstart guide; bound and ready out of the box
Cons
- Low-voltage brownout: the quad can cut power and drop out of the sky when the battery runs low
- Closed, proprietary firmware on both FC and ESC - no Betaflight, no Bluejay config, only what BetaFPV exposes
- Does not work with the configurator on Linux at all (FC side)
- “Smart” batteries with no storage/discharge option and a fiddly press-to-charge step
- Pusher format: loud, wind-sensitive, and not made for aggressive flying
- VR04 goggles are a poor fit for me (thin foam, head-mounted battery)
So who is this for? If you are looking into getting into FPV and you prefer cruising around and want an all-in-one solution where you don’t (and really can’t) fuss around with settings, this might be for you. Especially at this price point it’s hard to argue against it.
One can see that they tried to go the “DJI” way here. Personally I don’t think this is anything you want to aspire to, but again - I do understand that I am an outlier here. Most people want something they can take out of the box and legally fly around with - so yeah, this kit checks all those boxes.
And that is exactly where I think this kit makes the most sense: if you are eyeing one of the DJI-style camera drones but don’t want to spend that kind of money, the Aquila20 kit is a much more budget-friendly way to get into the same “unbox, charge, fly HD” experience. You get the stabilized and altitude-hold modes that make it approachable, a complete package for one price, and - unlike a locked-down camera drone - an acro mode waiting for you once you want to actually learn to fly. It’s a low-risk way to find out whether FPV is for you before committing to pricier gear.
It also helps that the whole thing comes in at 127g - comfortably under the 250g mark. In most regions that keeps you in the most relaxed regulatory category (no registration in the US for recreational flying, the EU A1 “open” category, and so on - always check your local rules), which is one less hurdle between an absolute beginner and their first flight.
The one thing I would genuinely hold against it is the low-voltage brownout: a beginner kit that can drop out of the sky when the battery runs low is a real issue, not a nitpick. Raising the voltage threshold in the configurator mitigates it, but I really hope BetaFPV fixes this in firmware - until they do, keep an eye on your flight timer and land early.
Me personally, I would rather direct you to the upcoming Meteor HD kit (link to come once it is publicly available). Same radio, same HD platform, but a much more capable copter for freestyle flying, which I simply enjoy way more.
Chris is a Vienna based software developer. In his spare time he enjoys reviewing tech gear, ripping quads of all sizes and making stuff.
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