Guides/FC Blueprint

Design the Flight Controller your build actually needs.

The full design process for a custom flight controller — component selection, schematic, layout and firmware. Every decision explained, from a board we designed, built and fly.

Contents
8 chapters
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10xGuides/Flight Controller Blueprint
Chapter 02

Architecture of a Flight Controller

10x Flight Controller
Schematic in the interactive viewerPropertiesReferenceU1ValueSTM32F405FootprintLQFP-64LCSCC15742Focused on U1Re-center
02What you can build
Any build

Design a flight controller for any kind of build.

This isn't one board you copy. The guide lays a foundation allowing you to apply the concepts to any kind of flight controller.

01

FPV Drone

Analog OSD30x30
Flight controller for a FPV Drone build
02

Autonomous

GPSBarocompanion UART
Flight controller for a Autonomous build
03

Fixed-wing

Servo Outputs
Flight controller for a Fixed-wing build
Build for your preferred firmware
BetaflightBetaflightArduPilotCustom firmware

This guide is not affiliated or associated with the Betaflight or ArduPilot projects.

03Beyond the AI answer

AI is a great place to start. A board that flies needs more.

Designing with AI alone

ClaudeOpenAI
  • Trust. Great for quick answers, but it will confidently suggest parts or values that aren't compatible with your firmware and will break your board.
  • Experience. Strong on general theory, but lighter on the drone and FPV specifics that decide whether your board will work as intended.
  • Direction. Answers whatever you ask, but it won't surface the questions you didn't know to ask.

What you get with the guide

Populated FC Blueprint flight controller, built and flown on the 10x high-speed drone
  • Trust. Every part, value and decision is verified and tested on real hardware.
  • Experience. Written from designing flight controllers for our own builds.
  • Direction. One clear path that walks you through every decision in the design.
04What you get

Content

8 chapters · select one to preview
02

Architecture of a Flight Controller

Explaining the architecture of flight controllers by building a system diagram including the two-stage power regulation and how the MCU connects to sensors, OSD overlay, connectors, and ESC.

Architecture of a Flight Controller preview

Learn from validatedDesign Files

The guide provides tested design files that are referenced in the chapters and available for download. The integrated KiCad viewer lets you explore the files while building your own design.

Schematic.kicad_sch
Schematic from the FC Blueprint KiCad project
Full schematic including manufacturer part numbers
PCB layout.kicad_pcb
PCB layout from the FC Blueprint KiCad project
Fully routed PCB layout
05Testimonial
Placeholder

Trusted by engineers building tomorrow's innovations.

Alexander Le Maitre
Building hardware from ground zero is slow, expensive, and full of dead ends. FC Blueprint gives you the head start, so you can skip the struggle and get straight to building.
Alexander Le Maitre
Founder
06Who made this

About the Author

, Lars · Hardware Engineer · 10x
Lars · Hardware Engineer · 10x

Since I started flying drones I wanted to design my own hardware optimized for my custom builds. Making my first Flight Controller was a frustrating process and took months of research.

This guide is everything I wish existed when I started. Everything you might find in forums scattered across the internet, but compressed into one clear path that walks you through every decision.

07Pricing

Lifetime Access

Buy once and get lifetime access to the guide, design files and every future update we make.

  • 8 Chapters
  • KiCad project files
  • Lifetime updates
  • 30-day money-back guarantee
The Guide
8 chapters
$79.99
excl. VAT
KiCad design files
KiCad Design Files
Full schematic, PCB layout & BOM
$9.90Included free
bonus
Total
excl. VAT
$79.99

Lifetime price

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08FAQ

Common Questions

Do I need prior PCB experience?
Some prior PCB design experience will help you get the most out of it. The guide focuses on the decisions behind the design, not on how to use KiCad itself.
Does this cover KiCad specifically or is it software-independent?
The design is created in KiCad but the concepts and design decisions are software-independent and applicable no matter what you use to design your board.
What format is it?
The guide is in a text format with integrated graphics and interactive design files, hosted on our website.
Do I get updates if you add new content?
Yes, you get lifetime access to the guide and all future updates we make to it and the design. "Lifetime" here means for as long as we run the guide on our website — it's not a fixed number of years, and we'd give notice before retiring it.
What if it's not for me?
We offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you're not satisfied, contact us within 30 days of your purchase for a full refund.