To Buy a Phantom 1 or Not?

[dan0mite]

I did a quick search but this is more of an opinion thread than anything...

My first quad is a Mavic and I’ve also got a Spark that was my 2nd. I have a chance to buy a like new, hardly flown, still in box, etc. Phantom 1 for $200 shipped to my door. It looks super clean and I’m inclined to trust the seller (for an extra $50 he’ll throw in brand new hardware to add POV (screen, cctv cam, antennas, mounts, etc.)).

My consideration for this P1 is because I want to learn flying in atti mode. My searches here have led me to believe that the Phantom and Mavic have totally different “feels” while flying in atti but if I was going to spend around $100 for a cheap toy drone to learn with, I’m thinking an extra hundred bucks for a newish P1 makes a lot of sense. I don’t care about anything other than learning atti flight with this P1 so everything else would be irrelevant (photos, video, etc.).

Would this P1 be a good idea for my intended purpose? Should I get the POV hardware also?

I’d like some opinions on this so any and all are welcome. Thanks!

 

[dan0mite]

Pics of P1 I’m looking at buying:

The POV hardware he bought for it but never installed (all brand new):

 

[Capt. Oveur]

I can't believe the ATTI feel could be that much different. I agree that $100 is great (assuming batts and charger included). But it is old tech. Do you intend to buy a newish Phantom at some point? If not, save your money. I fly Phantom in ATTI all the time. No big deal as long as you keep it in sight.

But if you were looking to do something crazy (like fly it into a concrete wall) and spend $100 for the pleasure, go for it.

 

[AeroMirage]

Sounds like a good deal. I would get it all.

 

[Anthony Viscomi]

For the price you got nothing to lose. Though buying it just for the practice of flying in atti mode isn't logical.

 

[MadValley]

I got a little toy drone (Syma X1) and set the sticks the same as the Mavic. I think it was a really good way to lower my threshold SMP factor by several orders of magnitude. Plus the muscle memory directly ported over to my MP.

 

[dan0mite]

I can't believe the ATTI feel could be that much different. I agree that $100 is great (assuming batts and charger included). But it is old tech. Do you intend to buy a newish Phantom at some point? If not, save your money. I fly Mavic in ATTI all the time. No big deal as long as you keep it in sight.

But if you were looking to do something crazy (like fly it into a concrete wall) and spend $100 for the pleasure, go for it.

Not sure if I’d ever get a newer Phantom at some point...but anything is possible.

You “unlocked” it to be able to utilize other modes?

Sounds like a good deal. I would get it all.

For the price you got nothing to lose. Though buying it just for the practice of flying in atti mode isn't logical.

I’m sure I would fly it for other reasons than just atti practice (I do have a GoPro that I can put on it)...but that would be the motivation to buy in the first place.

 

[Capt. Oveur]

Not sure if I’d ever get a newer Phantom at some point...but anything is possible.

You “unlocked” it to be able to utilize other modes?







I’m sure I would fly it for other reasons than just atti practice (I do have a GoPro that I can put on it)...but that would be the motivation to buy in the first place.

I’m sorry. Meant Phantom in Atti, not Mavic.

 

[Lake_Flyer]

I did a quick search but this is more of an opinion thread than anything...

My first quad is a Mavic and I’ve also got a Spark that was my 2nd. I have a chance to buy a like new, hardly flown, still in box, etc. Phantom 1 for $200 shipped to my door. It looks super clean and I’m inclined to trust the seller (for an extra $50 he’ll throw in brand new hardware to add POV (screen, cctv cam, antennas, mounts, etc.)).

My consideration for this P1 is because I want to learn flying in atti mode. My searches here have led me to believe that the Phantom and Mavic have totally different “feels” while flying in atti but if I was going to spend around $100 for a cheap toy drone to learn with, I’m thinking an extra hundred bucks for a newish P1 makes a lot of sense. I don’t care about anything other than learning atti flight with this P1 so everything else would be irrelevant (photos, video, etc.).

Would this P1 be a good idea for my intended purpose? Should I get the POV hardware also?

I’d like some opinions on this so any and all are welcome. Thanks!

I would say go ahead do it.
The P1 is the nicest drone I ever had and still have. All the nannying from DJI on the newer drones, as well as all the autonomous functions that became standard practice took a lot of fun out of my flying. The P1 can be equipped with a decent gimbal for a Gopro class camera (there are more choices). Adding the FPV would be great if you want to practise lining up shots in Atti. Atti is wonderful for smooth long shots, just let it drift in the wind while filming and only use the yaw. As soon as your ready simply switching to GPS stops the P1 right where it is. RTH is always available unless you programmed the switch position to Manual (no GPS, no Barometer), which is also a lot of fun, but take baby steps and switch back to GPS whenever you feel it is getting out of control.

I still use my P1 for fun and practise and am even thinking about registering it for my company so I can use it for certain jobs. There are no no-fly zone limitations on the P1. With a good gimbal and a Gopro Hero4 Black I could still get decent results for some type of inspections/surveillance.
It flies awesome and is very reliable. Simple but very good flight controller NASA-M V2 that is easily adjustable to your needs with the assistant software.

The Phantom1 is what has made DJI today and it still is a great quad!
And way way better than anything you could buy for 3 times more the cost.

definitely don't get a P2. Those where the first to be limited by DJI with no-fly stuff and max descend speed.

 

[Lake_Flyer]

 

[dan0mite]

So I went ahead and bought everything for $225 shipped. Received it all yesterday and flew it today. It’s all in great shape and I’m happy with the purchase. I actually enjoyed flying it more than the Mavic and Spark only because I wasn’t worried about losing it or crashing it. I feel it’ll be a great quad to play with and develop some skills that I can transfer to the more expensive quads and feel more confident.

Thanks for all the feedback!

 

[Lake_Flyer]

So I went ahead and bought everything for $225 shipped. Received it all yesterday and flew it today. It’s all in great shape and I’m happy with the purchase. I actually enjoyed flying it more than the Mavic and Spark only because I wasn’t worried about losing it or crashing it. I feel it’ll be a great quad to play with and develop some skills that I can transfer to the more expensive quads and feel more confident.

Thanks for all the feedback!

Good!