I love micro quads, and the WalleFPV Lightning V3 is one of those quads that genuinely gets me excited. The Lightning V3 is not a complete redesign. It is an updated version of the older Lightning2, with changes to the frame layout, antenna design, prop options, and overall refinement, while keeping the same core idea intact: a quiet, efficient, fun, and lightweight park ripper. In this review, we will take a look at the hardware, flight performance, and whether you should get it.
Where to Buy
Get the WalleFPV Lightning V3 from:
It comes with these accessories:
- 2 sets of HQ T2.2×1.6×3 props (8 in total)
- 1 × M1.5 screwdriver
- 1 × Phillips screwdriver
- spare screws
- 2 × 3D-printed battery holders
Specifications
- FC: JHEMCU G4 AIO
- Motors: 1003 10000KV brushless motors
- Receiver (optional): ELRS 2.4GHz, TBS Nano RX, PNP, TBS Nano RX (SE)
- VTX (optional): 250mW analog VTX, Walksnail Mini 1S Kit, Walksnail Ascent Lite, HDZero Whoop V2 Bundle, DJI O4 Air Unit
- FPV Camera (analog version): Caddx Baby Ratel 2
- Battery Connector: XT30
- Recommended Batteries: GNB 2S 550mAh or 2S 720mAh
- Recommended Propellers: HQ T2.2×1.6×3 or GEMFAN 2023-3
- Onboard buzzer
- Weight:
- Without battery: 50.9g
- With 2S 550mAh LiHV: 79.3g
- With 2S 720mAh LiHV: 85.3g
Supports Both Analog and Digital FPV Systems
The Lightning V3 frame is designed to support a wide range of FPV systems, including:
- Walksnail Mini 1S
- HDZero Whoop V2
- Walksnail Ascent Lite
- DJI O4 Lite Air Unit
- Analog
However, WalleFPV recommends the analog version for the lowest weight and best flight performance. It is also the cheapest option, of course.
And that is the version I am reviewing here.
I wanted to fit the DJI O4 in this frame, but unfortunately I found that the Flywoo wide-angle lens would not fit inside the camera cage properly. It is simply too large. That feels like a missed opportunity, because a lightweight sub-100g analog-style frame that also worked perfectly with the wide-angle O4 Lite would be very compelling.
Design and Build Quality
The WalleFPV Lightning3 is an incremental upgrade over the Lightning 2, which already had a reputation as a smooth, quiet micro quad that flies well. So the goal here seems to have been to improve the formula rather than replace it.
One of the biggest physical changes from the older model is the move to a true X frame, which should offer better freestyle handling and easier PID tuning. The arms are also slightly longer, allowing it to fit larger 2.2-inch propellers. That might not sound like much, but it actually increases prop disc area significantly by over 20%, which should improve efficiency and overall flight feel.
The longer arms add a little weight, so WalleFPV compensates by using slightly thinner carbon fiber plates. The unibody frame uses 2.5mm carbon fiber, compared to the 3mm carbon on the previous version, but it still feels quite stiff.
The overall frame design remains very minimalist and streamlined. The body uses CNC-machined aluminum alloy, and it is mounted to the frame with only four screws, making it easy to remove for maintenance or repair.
The camera is well protected by the metal camera cage, so there is no longer a protruding lens sticking out.
The XT30 connector is fixed in place at the rear, which helps prevent cable movement during flight and reduces the chance of vibration reaching the gyro.
They also upgraded the VTX antenna from a simple dipole to a proper circularly polarized antenna. This adds a couple of extra grams, but in exchange you get better video performance and better range. In my testing it has shown this quad is capable of 500m+ range without issue.
You can also buy the frame kit and build your own quad from scratch. The frame kit itself weighs only 12.4g.
Components Close Look
Note that the frame only supports motors with a 3-screw mounting pattern. That is okay because many 1003-size motors nowadays offer both 3-screw and 4-screw mounting options.
The motors are 1003 10000KV. According to WalleFPV, they believe these are the optimal choice for 2.2-inch propellers, offering a good balance between power and flight time on 2S. If you want more power and responsiveness, you could upgrade to 1203 or 1204 motors, but that would come at the cost of increased weight, higher current draw, and shorter flight time.
The Lightning3 comes with HQ T2.2×1.6×3 propellers. These are a great choice if you prioritize efficiency, low noise, and smoothness. If you prefer more power, you could try the Gemfan 2023-3, which has a larger blade surface area and is also more durable in crashes. However, the tiny 1003 motors are already struggling with the lighter HQ props, so I am not sure it would be a good idea to use the heavier Gemfan props.
The props are press-fit and held on by friction. It is a very tight fit, which is a good thing because they are unlikely to come off during flight, but it also makes them a bit tricky to remove when you want to replace them. I recommend using a proper prop removal tool to avoid damaging the motor: https://oscarliang.com/tiny-whoop-propeller-removal-tool/. If you force them off repeatedly, the motor shaft may eventually slip inside the motor bell (the shaft is only glued to the bell).
There is also an RGB LED board at the rear, which makes the quad stand out visually at night. Out of the box, it displays red when disarmed and blue when armed. The LEDs can be configured in Betaflight for different display modes.
The Lightning3 also comes equipped with a buzzer, which makes it much easier to find when you crash in grass.
One downside is that the FC still uses micro USB instead of USB-C. It is not a deal breaker, but on a new release it definitely feels dated.
Battery Choices
Batteries are not included, so you will need to get your own.
WalleFPV recommends 2S 550mAh and 2S 720mAh LiHV packs, and both seem to work well.
Weight
- 50.9g dry
- 79.3g with a GNB 2S 550mAh
- 85.3g with a GNB 2S 720mAh
Even with the larger battery, the Lightning V3 remains comfortably under 100g, which is a big selling point in today’s regulatory environment.
Personally, I prefer the 2S 720mAh. Not only does it give longer flight time, it also suffers less from voltage sag. The 2S 550mAh packs are lighter, and you can definitely feel the difference in the air — the quad feels more nimble. But the voltage sag gets pretty bad in the last third of the pack, so I was constantly getting low-voltage warnings in the OSD and from the beeper, and it did not have much punch left either. If that is the battery you decide to use, make sure to lower the low-voltage alarm in Betaflight.
Note that you need different 3D-printed TPU battery holders for these batteries, which I find slightly less convenient than using simple LiPo straps if you want to switch between different battery sizes. And you are also forced to use batteries of these specific sizes too.
- 2S 550mAh: 17.7mm x 11.8mm (width x height)
- 2S 720mAh: 17.7mm x 14.7mm (width x height)
Another thing to be mindful of is that, when inserting the battery, the screws on the bottom of the frame press slightly against it. I wish WalleFPV had included some foam tape for the underside of the frame to help prevent the screws from puncturing the battery in a crash or hard landing.
Flight Performance
The quad hovers at around 30% throttle.
It does not have GPS, so I can only estimate the top speed, which I would say is around 100-110km/h (60-70mph).
With a 2S 550mAh LiHV battery, you get around 4 minutes of flight time, while a 2S 720mAh gives around 5 to 6 minutes.
My first impression was that the Lightning3 feels quite floaty. Flips and rolls feel a bit soft and less snappy than I expected. There is also quite a bit of prop wash when doing sharp turns or recovering from dives. I think the main reason is that the motors are just a tad small for 2.2-inch props. Perhaps 1203 or 1204 motors would have been a better choice if the goal was maximum power and freestyle performance.
With that said, these 1003 motors are totally fine for cruising, and still capable of basic freestyle, while also being more efficient. Balanced performance seems to be the main focus of this quad.
To make the flight feel more vivid, you can also try standard 2-inch props, which gives it a slightly different character right away:
- a bit more agile
- a bit more responsive and snappier
- but slightly less efficient
The drone itself is quite robust. I had a few minor crashes and it held up well, apart from a few bent HQ props. The blades bend quite easily, but you can usually just bend them back into shape.
The buzzer is such a godsend. The grass grows very tall in the summer where I fly, and it would have been almost impossible to find the quad after a crash without a proper buzzer.
Another important consideration is noise. The Lightning3 is really quiet — you can barely hear it from 50 meters away. That makes it perfect for flying in a local park. A quiet drone is easier to fly in small spaces, less likely to annoy people, and generally feels more casual and approachable.
Custom PID Tune
The real bottleneck to flight performance is the small motor size, but in my opinion the quad could still benefit from a custom tune.
The Lightning 3 comes with a very conservative tune. Filters are mostly left at default values, and the PID values are quite low for a 2-inch quad. There is definitely room for improvement.
There is 8MB of flash memory for Blackbox logging, so you can tune it if you want. Here are my tuning tutorials: https://oscarliang.com/pid-filter-tuning-blackbox/
I plan to create a custom tune for this quad, and while I am at it I will probably also update it to the latest Betaflight version. I will share that on my Patreon later: TBA
Betaflight Setup
Firmware:
- The FC target is JHEG474, and it came loaded with Betaflight 4.5.2. The original CLI diff can be found here.
- ESC firmware is Z-H-30 – Bluejay, 0.18, 48kHz
- Onboard ExpressLRS receiver: JHEMCU 2.4GHz Lite RX (Firmware V3.x.x).
- Propellers mounting: motors are reversed direction.
To setup for first flight, I did the following:
- Bind ELRS Receiver: Plug in the USB cable to the flight controller, the onboard ELRS receiver will go into WiFi mode after waiting a minute. Join the WiFi network “ExpressLRS_RX”, go to 10.0.0.10 in your browser, and enter bind phrase. And binding was done. For more detail: https://oscarliang.com/bind-expresslrs-receivers/#Method-3-Entering-Bind-Phrase-in-Web-UI
- Presets tab: make a backup of the current settings (press the Backup button); Load ExpressLRS preset based on your ELRS packet rates, how to do: https://oscarliang.com/rc-link-preset-betaflight/
- Receiver tab: enable Telemetry
- Modes tab in Betaflight Configurator: Configure the switches for arming, angle mode, and beeper. For some reason WalleFPV does not recommend enabling turtle mode (flip over after crash), maybe to prevent burning the motor or ESC.
- OSD tab: select HD Video Format, and load my CLI settings: https://oscarliang.com/betaflight-osd/#Analog-without-GPS.
- PID Tuning tab: set your own rates, here’s my rates for reference: https://oscarliang.com/rates/#My-Rates
- Change amperage sensor scale to 410 in the Power and Battery tab
For reference, here’s what the UART used for:
- UART1: not used
- UART2: SmartAudio (VTX)
- UART3: Serial RX (ExpressLRS receiver)
Final Verdict: Who Is This For?
If you want something fun to fly outdoors, but not so powerful that it draws too much attention, then the Lightning V3 looks like a very appealing option.
Raw power is not its biggest strength — the motors are a little on the small side, and the handling feels a bit soft. But its biggest strengths are that it is affordable, discreet, quiet, and small enough to fly almost anywhere outdoors.
Get the WalleFPV Lightning V3 from:
