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Best cheap practice drone?

tpop24

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Sending my MP to DJI for the 2nd time and have an itch to fly. What are your suggestions for a cheaper drone to play with while I'm waiting for it to come back. Camera quality isn't that important. Would like it to be somewhat stable and offer FPV thru phone and my cardboard style goggles. Something I could use inside or outside would be nice.

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Syma X5C-1....but this $70 drone has no stabilization or GPS, so you really learn to fly. Good prop guards are standard, so you can fly indoors. It's really help me hone my skills. I asked the same question a few weeks ago, and then did research for a couple days on it , everything pointed to the syma. Make sure you get the –1 unit, it's upgraded and hovers better....it weighs next to nothing so you can literally fall out of the sky from 100 feet and be perfectly fine. I've crashed it tens of times, drones that have no stabilization, tend to "slide" to the side like they're on ice.
 
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The syma x5c-1 was also my first drone. It will definitely help you hone your flying skill.


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Hubsan X4. No FPV but super cheap. I got mine off of Newegg for $30 and 5 extra batteries for $10ish. Ended up buying 4 for everyone to fly around first that want to try to fly the Mavic.
 
SYMA X5C-1...Hands Down! Another user said it as well and it's a bargain for the technology. 720P camera which ain't bad for $50ish. I still fly mine. Love it! I got 5 Batteries and a 5 Battery Charger $20. 850mah so upgraded lasts 10 minutes in air no issues.

Everybody should have it! It's cheap reliable and yeah fun. I like my Mavic better obviously but I still use it and learned a lot from the SYMA and my coaxial. At the very least it'll prepare you for ATTI mode. Many people think they are great pilots well the Mavic is GPS 9/10 times. You can't master anything without knowing the RC hobby. So it's a good buy.

Plus fun indoors and under .55lbs so you can risk some things. It'll break 400ft as well.

All good things! DJI for the Consumer Professional Drones and SYMA for the Toy Hobby Drones. The way to go!

The SYMA is more difficult to fly unless something is severely wrong with your Mavic but it's resistant. I'd recommend anyone starting there to learn the RC first. When the flight changes direction so do the controls etc. You need to know! The Mavic is too intelligent. My fear is many people may not be able to fly their drones in a total loss of sensory and since ATTI mode gets some help from some sensory and is only enabled when GPS is lost. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND SYMA X5C-1 as your starting place.

Most crashes are do to sport mode or the ATTI mode switch. The Mavic is obviously still receiving updates but I can gurantee a lot of the incidents are people that realize it's easy to fly and then have a loss in some of the sensory and crash. Having a Model RC background even if it's basic is important. I've had my share of RC Aircraft when I was younger etc.

Model RC pilots, it's much more difficult to fly and they are much more skilled than the average user purchasing a drone. They have a reason not to respect the average drone enthusiast.

Did you know? If you let go of the stick a helicopter or RC plane may loose altitude. Haha. The drone is too intelligent and it's great but most people don't realize with out that sensory odds are your not a good pilot if you never experienced the basic hobby. Even the SYMA has an accelerometer.

DJIs simulator is good but puts to much emphasis on the intelligence of the drone. It's no where near what the raw hobby is. The SYMA X5C-1 a little bit closer.

It's almost like an Automatic Transmission Vs a Manual Transmission in a car. I encourage anybody to learn both. As the Mavic is somewhat manual in ATTI mode etc.

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I was on the same boat when the whole shipping ordeal so I went with the Hovershot. it's a small drone with some sick features. Very easy to fly and is smooth when hovering and fast when moving. Video quality isn't so bad. $100 when I bought it. I now use it to teach my 8yo..



 
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Got my 8yo a UDI 818.
It was either that or the Syma X5C-1... after watching reviews online I felt like the UDI would be more durable. The wife is scared to fly the Mavic due to the price so I'll probably get her the Syma :)
 
Got my 8yo a UDI 818.
It was either that or the Syma X5C-1... after watching reviews online I felt like the UDI would be more durable. The wife is scared to fly the Mavic due to the price so I'll probably get her the Syma :)

We need ATTI Mode option in DJI GO. This is driving me nuts and crucial. Anybody going for a license is required to demonstrate flight in ATTI mode. The SYMA and UDI ATTI mode all day hahaha! Plus this is important so people can get a feel for the aircraft in that mode. Something has to give on this one. I have a feeling some of the ATTI mode crashes on the switch was pilot inexperience or improper calibration. The GPS will fight the calibration to keep it still to an extent and then when it's gone, well there you go drift etc. Obviously the app will notify you if something is out of whack but what's the tolerance. In ATTI mode a hair can be a major movement.


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We need ATTI Mode option in DJI GO. This is driving me nuts and crucial. Anybody going for a license is required to demonstrate flight in ATTI mode. The SYMA and UDI ATTI mode all day hahaha! Plus this is important so people can get a feel for the aircraft in that mode. Something has to give on this one. I have a feeling some of the ATTI mode crashes on the switch was pilot inexperience or improper calibration. The GPS will fight the calibration to keep it still to an extent and then when it's gone, well there you go drift etc. Obviously the app will notify you if something is out of whack but what's the tolerance. In ATTI mode a hair can be a major movement.


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I'd love a free fly mode like the early days of my P3 before firmware updates took it away. Problem is DJI would have to charge huge money for the insurance package. It's a fortune on the P3 just because they are so much easier to crash...

Want attitude mode badly as a life long RC pilot. The MAVIC is almost autonomous and if you are unskilled enough to be able to stuff it you need to learn to fly basically.

Get a 3 axis Hubsan and learn the craft [emoji1365]


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I'll second the Syma for all the reasons stated above. Plus replacement parts are super cheap and available on Amazon.


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X8 syma if u want cheap outdoor bird that can go a mile with antenna mod, all for bout 65$ rtr...its a phantom replica.

Do not buy an x5 for outdoor use that is a small toy i have 2 myself and two x8's

If u want a gps bird that performs closest to the mavic go for hubsan h501c for 160$ or the fpv model H501s for 250$. No gimbal but the picture is great and it can do couple miles with antenna mod

Ive researched bought or flown most popular toy quads & the syma x8 is the only 1 for 75$ that can tow a gopro up into the clouds . Extra 10$ fetch ya go pro mount with antivibe plate etc.

My mavic works fine but i still fly x8's all day with buddies. Its amazing how capable it is for 65$ its almost stupid not to try it for urself imo

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Go to youtube for tutorials. Do drone and controller. Just solder onto stock antenna cuz its super thick wire
 
Hubsan X4. No FPV but super cheap. I got mine off of Newegg for $30 and 5 extra batteries for $10ish. Ended up buying 4 for everyone to fly around first that want to try to fly the Mavic.
+1 on the X4. $30 on Amazon, buy extra batteries, charger, props, etc. At that price you can have a lot of fun. I have yet to destroy mine, it's a tough little bugger.
 
Get a Hubsan X4 without the camera. Plan on buying another one or two as you lose them, and get them stuck in trees, etc. Fly in easy mode for a while and when you feel comfortable, switch to advanced mode. When you get good at that, you'll be able to pickup flying anything. Flying the Mavic after you can fly the hubsan well, will be easy.
Plan on spending hours and hours with the hubsan till you get comfortable flying anywhere. Also, get good at hovering with the quad pointed in any direction.
 
Sending my MP to DJI for the 2nd time and have an itch to fly. What are your suggestions for a cheaper drone to play with while I'm waiting for it to come back. Camera quality isn't that important. Would like it to be somewhat stable and offer FPV thru phone and my cardboard style goggles. Something I could use inside or outside would be nice.

Sent from my SM-G920V using MavicPilots mobile app
I had a Hubsan H501C GPS quad and it has a lot of the same friendly smart functions of the Mavic, with RTH, GPS altitude lock , and a 1080p camera. Some great youtube video reviews on this brushless quad. I paid $160 for it new from the Gearbest US warehouse in CA.
 
Alright, just got the Hubsan x4. Looks like I should be practicing in mode-2 to be the same controls as DJI mavic's default control. Is that correct?
 
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