At first glance, the Pavo20 Pro II 4S cinewhoop looks very similar to the previous 3S version, but there are several meaningful upgrades underneath. It gets a new FC/ESC, new motors, new propellers, and a redesigned battery mount, all intended to support the higher-voltage 4S power system.
After testing it, I think the 4S Pavo20 is probably the best in the lineup when it comes to flight performance. But should you upgrade if you already own the 3S version? That’s a different story. Let’s find out more in this review.
Learn more about cinewhoops in this buyer’s guide: https://oscarliang.com/cinewhoop/
Where to Buy
Get your Pavo20 Pro II 4S from:
Batteries are not included. I recommend the LAVA II 4S 580mAh or 680mAh:
Get spare propellers:
Get an ND filter for the DJI O4 Pro (review): https://oscarliang.com/betafpv-nd-filters-dji-o4-pro/
Specifications
- Wheelbase: 93.9mm
- FC: Cube G4 2–4S 30A 3-in-1 AIO FC
- Frame: Pavo20 Pro II Brushless Frame
- Motors: LAVA Series 1104 Brushless Motors
- Props: Gemfan D2.2 3-Blade Props
- Receiver Options: Integrated ExpressLRS / DJI SBUS
- Supported FPV Systems: DJI O4 Pro Air Unit / DJI O4 Wide Air Unit
- Input Voltage: 2S–4S
- Battery Connector: XT30
- Battery Slot: 29mm wide, unlimited height
- LED Strip: NightFire RGB LED Strip
- Buzzer: Built in
- Recommended Batteries: LAVA II 4S 580mAh/680mAh, LAVA II 3S 580mAh/680mAh, LAVA 3S 450mAh 75C, LAVA 3S 550mAh 75C
- Claimed Flight Time:
- 8 min 30 sec with LAVA II 4S 580mAh
- 10 min 30 sec with LAVA II 4S 680mAh
- Weight:
- 113.3g with O4 Pro installed (without battery)
- 168.3g with 4S 580mAh
- 176.9g with 4S 680mAh
Frame Construction
The 4S version of the Pavo20 Pro II continues to use the same 2mm carbon-fibre plate with injection moulded plastic prop guards.
Among small cinewhoops, the Pavo20 Pro is one of the easiest to take apart, repair, and maintain.
There are only four main screws to remove before you can access the electronics.
That simplicity is one of the things I like most about this frame, it’s simple and practical.
What’s New?
The original Pavo20 Pro II was limited to 2S and 3S. The new model supports 4S, which required several changes to the power system.
Overall design remains largely unchanged, but BetaFPV has upgraded:
- FC/ESC AIO board
- Motors
- Propellers
- Battery mounting
- Buzzer
New Cube G4 AIO FC
BetaFPV has upgraded the flight controller to the Cube G4 AIO, which now supports 2S to 4S.
The built-in ESC has also increased from 20A on the older version to 30A. The ESC now runs Bluejay, which is a good choice for ongoing firmware support and development.
New 1104 5500KV Motors
The 4S version still uses 1104 size motors, but the KV has been reduced to 5500KV to account for the higher battery voltage. The older 3S version used 7200KV motors.
Maximum Motor RPM is proportional to KV multiplied by voltage, so when increasing battery voltage, KV generally needs to be reduced to keep RPM and current draw within a sensible range.
New T-Mount Props
BetaFPV has also changed the propellers.
The older Pavo20 Pro used friction-fit 2.2-inch props. They were lightweight and efficient, but because they were simply pressed onto the motor shaft, there was always a possibility of them slipping under high load or when obstructed during a crash.
That might be acceptable on 3S, but it becomes more of a concern with the additional power available on 4S.
The new version uses Gemfan D2.2×3 propellers secured with screws, which should be more reliable.
Improved Battery Mount
Older Pavo20 designs had two plastic tabs underneath the frame. These helped secure the battery in place, but they also limited the width and shape of batteries you could use.
BetaFPV has now removed those tabs, giving you far more freedom to use different battery sizes and brands.
I think this is a worthwhile improvement, especially now that the quad supports larger 4S packs.
Beeper
The new version now has a physical buzzer inside the drone.
This is useful if you crash in tall grass or vegetation. You can activate the buzzer from your radio and use the sound to help locate the quad. It is considerably louder and easier to hear than relying on motor beeping.
GPS Holders
BetaFPV also offers two GPS mounts that can be installed above the O4 Air Unit. The holder supports typical GPS modules of around 12mm and 18mm width.
With Betaflight GPS Rescue configured correctly, the quad can attempt to return home if the control link is lost or if you become disoriented. I have a tutorial explaining how to set it up: https://oscarliang.com/setup-gps-rescue-mode-betaflight/
But why I’m Not Using GPS on the Pavo20: The Pavo20 still uses a simple monopole receiver antenna—basically a simple copper wire—and it is tucked inside the frame. Because of that, I do not consider this setup ideal for long-range flying. Personally, I would not treat it as a platform intended for flights much beyond a few hundred metres. At those distances, GPS is often unnecessary unless you are flying somewhere such as mountains, cliffs, or over water, where having an additional safety net against failsafe or loss of orientation could be useful.
LED Strip
The same RGB LED strip is included. You can change its colour and display modes using the button on the LED controller board.
The LEDs are mainly cosmetic. They can look great during night flying but do not add much during the day. Personally, I left the LED strip unattached because I do not really care about the lighting and would rather save a few grams of weight.
USB Access
The flight controller does not have a directly accessible USB-C connector. Instead, you need to use the included USB adapter.
Access is not particularly easy, and depending on the size of your fingers, plugging it in can be fiddly. It is slightly annoying, especially if you are tuning the quad and need frequent access to Betaflight, but with practice it has become less of an issue for me.
Mounting DJI O4 Air Units
The Pavo20 Pro II comes with 2 camera canopies, one for the DJI O4 Pro air unit and the other for the O4 Lite/Wide.
O4 Pro vs O4 Wide
For casual flying, I think the O4 Wide makes more sense.
It is cheaper and lighter, and reducing weight generally improves flight performance, efficiency, and durability.
The O4 Pro gives you better image quality, but it is also slightly heavier.
One thing I noticed is that the O4 Wide canopy is more difficult to install due to the fiddly rubber grommets. If you frequently need to remove and reinstall the canopy, the O4 Pro version is easier to work with.
How to Install O4 Pro
Flight Performance
Flight footage:
Power and Speed
The Pavo20 Pro II 4S hovers at around 28% throttle, I estimate its top speed at roughly 100km/h.
It is noticeably slower than the Darkstar25 I reviewed recently, which is also a 4S cinewhoop. However, that is expected because the DarkStar25 is a 2.5-inch drone with much larger motors, while the Pavo20 is only a 2-inch.
The Pavo20’s advantage is its lower weight.
It feels more nimble and precise, and its lines are cleaner when carving through the air. For example, during a Split-S, it tends to go exactly where I expect it to. Overall, it feels more natural and predictable when doing freestyle manoeuvres.
However, the Pavo20 Pro II 4S suffers from a similar slight shakiness at high speed and in windy conditions to the DarkStar25. It is nothing major, and most of the small bumps can be smoothed out in Gyroflow.
Improvement Over 3S
The 4S version is slightly heavier but also considerably more powerful. It feels more stable, has more control authority, and accelerates faster. Overall, I think it is simply a more capable cinewhoop, and the difference is noticeable.
However, if you already own the 3S version, is it worth spending another $105 just to upgrade? Probably not if you are simply flying for fun. But if you are more serious about performance and want the best version of the Pavo20 platform, then the 4S model is worth considering.
Freestyle Capability
The Pavo20 Pro II 4S can definitely freestyle. It feels snappy and locked in, and the stock tune is very good.
However, freestyle is not what this quad is primarily designed for. It is still a small cinewhoop with heavy prop guards, so it will never fly quite as good as an open-prop design when pushed aggressively. That is simply a limitation of the aerodynamics, so it is important to set your expectations accordingly.
For a cinewhoop, though, it is impressively smooth. There is very little propwash, and although it can become slightly shaky in windy conditions, that is not unexpected for something this small.
Flight Time
I tested the Pavo20 with these batteries:
- BetaFPV LAVA II 4S 580mAh: 6 minutes (mix of freestyle and cruising)
- BetaFPV LAVA II 4S 680mAh: Almost 8 minutes
I did not get anywhere close to the claimed 10-minute flight time. It is possible BetaFPV achieved these figures under ideal conditions, perhaps hovering indoors.
These batteries are awesome, barely any voltage sag even during punchouts. I’ll post my testing data in this post shortly: https://oscarliang.com/whoop-toothpick-lipo-battery/
You can purchase them here:
Range
The main weakness of the Pavo20 Pro II remains its control-link range, mainly because of the receiver antenna.
Personally, I would not fly much beyond 300–400 metres with the stock setup without carefully monitoring Link Quality, as there is increased risk of failsafe. Learn more about link quality: https://oscarliang.com/lq-rssi/
The antenna is simply a short copper wire tucked inside the frame, which is not ideal for maximum range.
However, most people buying a Pavo20 will be flying at relatively short distances anyway (like in a small property or small park), and a few hundred metres is more than enough for typical cinewhoop use.
If you need more range, you could install an external ExpressLRS receiver and mount its antenna in a better location. The limitation is that there is only one spare UART. If you use that UART for an external receiver, you may no longer have a free UART available for GPS.
Noise
The 4S Pavo20 is noticeably noisier than the 3S version, which is one of the trade-offs for having more power.
I could still hear it from around 200 metres away, so it is definitely not particularly stealthy. If low noise is a priority, the 3S version may actually be preferable.
Throttle Expo
BetaFPV has also done a great job setting up Throttle Expo. This changes the throttle response around your hover point and gives you finer control in the part of the throttle range you use most. That can make flying through tight gaps and indoors noticeably easier. As far as I know, BetaFPV is one of the first manufacturers to configure Throttle Expo properly on a BNF quad from the factory.
You may or may not like the feel as it’s mostly personal. If you prefer a more linear throttle response, set Throttle Expo back to 0. Alternatively, follow my tutorial to fine-tune it to your preference: https://oscarliang.com/throttle-mid-expo/
Custom PID Tune
BetaFPV has done a very good job with the stock tune, and I do not think you really need to change the PID settings to enjoy flying the Pavo20 Pro II 4S.
I spent around an hour trying different filters and PID tunes, but the difference was not dramatic, and in the end I decided that the stock tune was already good enough.
If you really want to optimise it, you could reduce filtering slightly and push the PID Master slider a little higher. However, doing so will make the quad less forgiving if you have bent or damaged props, and the motors may also run hotter.
For most pilots, I would simply leave the stock tune alone.
How to Setup
Firmware
- The flight controller (FC) board target is BETAFPVG473_V3, and it comes preloaded with Betaflight firmware version 2025.12.2. For CLI Diff, see here.
- ESC Firmware: Bluejay 0.19 (C-X-70)
- ELRS Receiver Firmware Target: BetaFPV 2.4GHz AIO RX, firmware 3.5.6
UART
There are only 3 UART on this FC:
- UART 1 is not used
- UART 3 is used for the onboard ELRS receiver
- UART 4 is used for the DJI O4
Betaflight Setup
Conclusion
The Pavo20 series has been one of my favourite 2-inch cinewhoops. Its construction is simple but practical, it is easy to repair, and most importantly, it flies really well.
The main weakness remains range, but for short-range flying, the stock receiver setup is adequate.
If you are currently considering buying a Pavo20 Pro, I would definitely choose the 4S version. The improvement in flight performance is meaningful. It feels more powerful, more stable, and more capable outdoors, while retaining the nimble character that makes the Pavo20 enjoyable to fly.
Get your Pavo20 Pro II 4S from:
However, if you already own the 3S version, the decision is less clear. If you can justify spending another $105 for what I would roughly describe as a 10–20% improvement in flight performance, then the 4S version is worth considering. For casual flying, though, I would probably keep the 3S version and save the money.
