I Need Advice On An Inexpensive Drone

[MrMavic]

My little brother doesn't know a lot about drones, and I don't know much about the inexpensive ones. He doesn't want to spend over $150.00. Has anyone here had any experience or done any shopping for a cheap one? He knows he wants altitude hold and positioning, Brush-less motors, low battery and signal loss Return to Home, and a digital display on the remote. Thanks Guys.

 

[brett8883]

My little brother doesn't know a lot about drones, and I don't know much about the inexpensive ones. He doesn't want to spend over $150.00. Has anyone here had any experience or done any shopping for a cheap one? He knows he wants altitude hold and positioning, Brush-less motors, low battery and signal loss Return to Home, and a digital display on the remote. Thanks Guys.

Tello. It’s the only thing in your price range worth the money and the next step up will cost you $400. It’s fun as heck. Buy Tello | DJI Store (United States)

 

[MavicFT1P]

Eachine make a range of good cheap drones

So he doesnt have a phone to use with it?

 

[brett8883]

Oh yea there’s not gonna be a remote or a display... you’ll use your cell phone or other iOS/Android device and connect via WiFi

 

[Former Member]

Get him a used Spark. Cant go wrong!

Tell him he can either spend $250 on a used DJI product (Spark with controller), which are built like tanks, or spend $150 on an inferior drone that he will never be happy with.

I love my Sparkie.

 

[MavicFT1P]

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Can fly with or without phone. Worth a look for $150

 

[MavicFT1P]

My little brother doesn't know a lot about drones, and I don't know much about the inexpensive ones. He doesn't want to spend over $150.00. Has anyone here had any experience or done any shopping for a cheap one? He knows he wants altitude hold and positioning, Brush-less motors, low battery and signal loss Return to Home, and a digital display on the remote. Thanks Guys.

How old is he btw? You said little, so I assumed he is youngster.
Ive noticed kids dont care about a lot of features that high end drones offer.
And LOS control is more fun for them than the video almost.

My Niece/Nephew get bored flying my mavic higher up

 

[Former Member]

Ive noticed kids dont care about a lot of features that high end drones offer.
And LOS control is more fun for them than the video almost.My Niece/Nephew get bored flying my mavic higher up

Kids dont always do whats best for them, thats why they have us adults to help them make the right decisions. LOS and "video" flying are not mutually exclusive, in fact VLOS is required even when flying the display.

 

[MavicFT1P]

You have Thunderkids?

Edit: You know what i dont want to know. And Wttw you might want to ease up on the FAA 107 stuff,
people might mistake you for the rolling eyes emoticon

 

[John Kyte]

I have never had any luck with cheeper drones, most failed or flew away within a year. I almost quit the hobby until I purchased my first DJI product the Spark. Spent way to much time and money on crap, bite the bullet and get a Tello or better yet the Spark and you won’t regret it. The new Iron Man Tello looks really cool for $130 bucks.

 

[JMagnus]

I just bought the Tello with a controller. Yes you need a phone to work it, but for the money - $150 for all - I love it! I also have a MP but up here in the cold country I don't get out as much as others in the south. Since I was new to drones and wasn't a gamer I decided to get something simple I could practice controlling without worrying about losing a $1000 drone. I highly recommend it for something to get him started.

 

[Thomas Fields]

I think a cheap plastic drone with an RC is a good training tool. If you can learn to fly one of those on a breezy day, you can learn to fly any consumer drone.

 

[pinoydrone]

cant go wrong with Tello,and its fun to fly it too,got one for my grandson....

 

[Former Member]

My personal opinion is that the tello is strictly an indoor drone. If you take it outside on a windy day you may never see it again,

This Spark is an all condition drone and I would fly any time and not have to worry.

 

[sadatoni]

The Tello, with the TelloFPV app has return to home. It does not, however, have brushless motors. Good for calm days outside, or any day inside.

 

[Doecliff]

I have a tello and they are really good for $100 drone. add another $30 and you can get the Bluetooth controller and have a really nice package. Of course like everyone else said, they are horrible in the wind and the range is limited.

 

[LowCountryFlyer]

My little brother doesn't know a lot about drones, and I don't know much about the inexpensive ones. He doesn't want to spend over $150.00. Has anyone here had any experience or done any shopping for a cheap one? He knows he wants altitude hold and positioning, Brush-less motors, low battery and signal loss Return to Home, and a digital display on the remote. Thanks Guys.

This is a fairly open ended question and will depend a great deal on what your brother's goal is with the drone. Are you looking for a toy or a professional grade piece of equipment? Indoor or outdoor? Fun to fly or you want to use it for photography?

These needs have to be tempered by both not spending an excessive amount of money on an aircraft you'll never use nor want as well as remembering that in drones, as in anything else, you get what you pay for.

My advice would be for your brother to decide on what he really wants, then decide on a budget. What ever that figure is, add 25% more and use that as your max buying limit. You will pay slightly more, but get a superior product and you won't regret buying.

 

[JFreeman]

Two sub $200 drones I have flown and recommend ( both GPS ) are the MJX Bugs 5W and the Tanquo Visuo XS 812. ( about $100 ).They both have many features found on more expensive models and are good first drones to train on. ( The camera quality is not great BUT you certainly can learn basic quadcopter flight control for not a lot of $$ ).

 

[Slade]

OK. Here’s my two cents worth. Nothing beats learning to pilot using a toy drone. My favorite to fly is still the Visuo XS812. Great drone. I paid $95 and received a 2nd battery. Check it out at Banggood. Good luck and Happy Flying??

 

[Maviac]

My personal opinion is that the tello is strictly an indoor drone. If you take it outside on a windy day you may never see it again,

This Spark is an all condition drone and I would fly any time and not have to worry.

True. The Tello is fun to fly around my house but with even a slight breeze it isn’t great outside. I fly it with my kid outside but even in almost imperceptible winds it acts weird.

(She keeps asking to fly my “big helicopter” meaning my Mavic Air, which she knows she can’t fly. I don’t have the heart to tell her I’m thinking of selling it and getting an M2P).