The complete parts list for the v1 airframe — every component our trainees solder, bolt, and calibrate themselves. Quantities, model numbers, and a target build cost.
The Lumipad Quad v1 is a 5-inch quadcopter airframe designed for low-altitude crop surveys over cacao, coffee, and coconut plots in the Philippines. Every part on this list was chosen for one of two reasons: it's already widely stocked by Filipino hobby vendors, or it ships reliably from Banggood, AliExpress and SpeedyBee with established Lazada and Shopee resellers in-country.
Nothing here is exotic. If a motor burns out in Davao, you can have a replacement on a jeepney from Manila within three days, or walk into the Lumipad workshop and pull one off the shelf. That's the point.
Three frame sizes are documented. The 5-inch is the program default — what every Cohort participant builds. 7-inch and 10-inch are for partner organisations that need longer flight times, larger payloads, or coverage of bigger plot areas.
Prices are in USD as of March 2026. PHP equivalents at ₱58 / USD. Actual costs may vary by 5–15% depending on where and how you source parts.
Cohorts include everything. Lumipad participants don't pay this — the program supplies all parts, tools, and a working drone. The BOM is published so partner organisations can build the same airframe and so the alumni can run their own micro-business after graduation.
For partner organisations. The 7-inch is not the Cohort default — partners running long-range or larger-plot programs should plan for this premium over the 5-inch baseline. Roughly 44% more expensive.
Specialised partner builds. The 10-inch is roughly 2.7× the 5-inch BOM. Ranges and payloads expand significantly; so does CAAP regulatory complexity. Contact partners@lumipaddrones.com before committing to a 10-inch deployment.
Each step is a workshop module in the curriculum. Estimated times assume a trainee with no prior electronics experience working alongside a Lumipad instructor. Detail and step-by-step guides live in the curriculum playbook.
The V4 has been shipping since late 2023 and has the most stable supply through Filipino resellers. The V5 is newer and slightly faster but availability in PH is patchy as of early 2026 — half our partner organisations were waiting two months for backorders. The F722 stack is a step up in CPU performance but costs ~30% more and offers no real benefit for our flight profile (slow, planned survey grids, not freestyle racing).
If the V4 becomes unavailable in your region: the V5 is a drop-in replacement and INAV/ArduPilot configs are interoperable. The build instructions don't change.
ExpressLRS and TBS Crossfire offer dramatically better range, lower latency, and modern open firmware — and we use them in the v2 prototype. For v1, the FlySky FS-i6X is the right choice for three reasons.
First: availability. Every drone shop in Manila, Cebu, and Davao stocks FlySky receivers; if a cohort drone needs a replacement RX, it's a same-day fix. ELRS receivers in PH are mail-order only.
Second: cost. The full FlySky combo is ~$66 (TX + RX). An ELRS combo of equivalent quality is $130+.
Third: compatibility with what trainees may already own. Many of our applicants come in with a FlySky transmitter from a hobby-built drone or a flight-school sim setup. Letting them use what they have is one less barrier.
Yes. The platform pipeline accepts NMEA-0183 from any GPS module with a magnetometer/compass on-board. Common substitutes that have worked in cohorts: Matek M9N, Holybro M8N, Mateksys M10Q-5883.
What matters: integrated compass (without it, the FC can't hold heading reliably), UART output (avoid I2C-only modules), and 5V tolerance on the data lines.
The NDVI camera is a separate build — it's an optional add-on that mounts to the v1 airframe via the existing camera plate. The build is documented as its own resource in the SENSORS category: NDVI camera build — Raspberry Pi guide.
The Foxeer Predator (E1) handles real-time first-person video for the pilot. The NDVI rig handles the data capture for the platform's vegetation indices. Most cohort drones run both simultaneously.
The Lumipad Quad v1 is intentionally a 5-inch design — a balance of payload (NDVI rig + spare battery), endurance (12-min flight time at survey altitude), and field-survivability (smaller frames take crashes better than larger ones). All numbers in this BOM assume 5-inch.
For 7-inch or 10-inch builds: motors, props, frame, and battery scale up proportionally; the FC stack stays the same (the 55A ESC handles 7-inch fine, 60A or higher recommended for 10-inch). Expect ~40% higher BOM cost for a 7-inch and ~80% for 10-inch.
If you're a partner planning a non-5-inch deployment, contact partners@lumipaddrones.com — we maintain a separate BOM for each size class but they're not yet published.
For Cohort participants: the program covers any part that fails during training due to manufacturing defect. After graduation, alumni are on their own for replacement parts — though we maintain a discounted-replacement programme for alumni for the first 12 months post-graduation.
For partner-org self-builders: warranty terms vary by vendor. Check return policies before purchasing — most resellers honour 7-day DOA returns.