A reference board, not a restriction.
Use the ESPFlight reference hardware as a known starting point to learn how the system is put together, validate a working build, and then adapt it to your own size, layout, frame, and ideas.

Start known. Make it your own.
The reference design exists to remove repetitive groundwork while still leaving room to study, modify, experiment, and create a different implementation.
Compatibility should be explicit.
These are design goals for a broader multi-maker ecosystem. They are not all requirements of the current reference hardware.
Board identity
A broader ecosystem should expose maker or brand identity, model, board revision, and capabilities to the app when those fields are formally supported.
Power & sensing
Reference values should be measured and validated on real hardware, not treated as universal assumptions.
Motor interface
The firmware-facing motor and I/O contract should stay documented so custom boards remain predictable.
Provisioning
Custom hardware should have a clean first-run connection and pairing experience rather than depend on build-time network setup.
Want to build your own board?
The ESPFlight Hardware Reference is licensed under CERN-OHL-P-2.0. The public EasyEDA project and board-fabrication notes will be linked here with the reference-hardware release.