I wanted to try an inexpensive platform for drone experimentation with APM 2.5, and I found that a plywood frame was suitable for my purposes.

Here is the part list:

Frame:

Hobbyking Quadcopter Frame 680mm - $9.95

Motors:

Turnigy Multistar 4822-490Kv 22Pole Multi-Rotor Outrunner - $30.99

Propellers:

Slow Fly Electric Prop 11X4.7SF (4 pc) - $3.64

Speed controllers:

Turnigy dlux 20A SBEC Brushless Speed Controller w/Data Logging (2s~4s) - $14.76

Total weight: about 1.5 Kg with 3000mAh 4S1P

I have a lot of free space on the frame and I can use it for video link devices and so on.

The quadcopter is pretty stable also in auto mode, and the motors-propellers system is quite efficient.

Battery life:

with 3000mAh 4S1P: 16 min
with 3000mAh 3S1P: 12 min
with 2200mAh 3S1P: 9 min

Please tell me your thoughts.