Hobbyking is now selling the i86 Lite – in essence a rebranded Eagle N6 V2. The improvements are a slightly lower price and the fact that the microcontroller is now getting its clock signal from a crystal oscillator, which provides for a more stable clock frequency.
And how does this improve the flight performance? Quite frankly, not at all. It’s a more clean design from an electronic engineering point of view, but out on the airfield it doesn’t matter. The regular i86 has more than adequate flight stability and whether the clock frequency is exact down to the second comma is irrelevant for that.
On the negative side, the i86 Lite loses support for fixed wing aircraft, so you cannot use it as a cheap and powerful 3-axis airplane gyro anymore.
Our verdict: Skip the i86 Lite, it’s not easier to use, doesn’t offer more stability, but actually has less functionality at the marginal benefit of a more stable CPU clock. Get the regular i86, it’s the simplest and cheapest way to get flying with a multirotor craft today. You set the DIP switches for your craft, dial the pots so it doesn’t wiggle, and you’re good to go. Check our i86 Flight Controller Review for all the details on this board.
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