I have a Phantom 3 Professional.  I would like to practice with something that is not my P3P.  I would like to find a quadcopter with a similar control feel to the Phantom series that I could use for practice.  It should not have any camera features (or if it did, no cost penalty).  The cost should be $150 or less.  It would be nice if it was much less, but I don't want to sacrifice the similar control feel by going too cheap.  It should be easy to repair inexpensively and not distruct in a minor crash.
Any suggestions?

one of these with a prop guard ... small but very good at learning flying skills with .... I still have one and fly it in my living room on expert mode it really does prepare you for quad flight .... buy a prop guard and a few spare batteries and your good to go .... very hard to break as well ...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/bhp/hubsan-x4

You need to buy a Syma X8C (£55 on eBay). A very responsive fabulous fast flying drone that is the same size as the Phantom and can take many knocks and crashes and still fly perfect afterwards. The parts are very cheap and it is very easy to repair (should you need to) as well! You can't go wrong with the X8.

My vote also goes to the Hubsan X4. Great learning tool.  I flew it for about a month before my Phantom arrived. Probably crashed it 50 times and it's still good to go. Prop guards, extra props and extra batteries are a must.

rasit Posted at 2016-3-23 19:53
My vote also goes to the Hubsan X4. Great learning tool.  I flew it for about a month before my Phan ...

I have a couple of Hubsan X4 great learning tool and really teach you how to fly.  I also ordered a crash kit on amazon (shell batteries tons of blades). Learn to fly this around the house and you get a really good idea of navigation and control.  Only problem is my wife doesn't understand why there are huge hunks chopped out of her indoor plants and where the dents in the coffee table came from.

threre are loads of them. but if you have time i'd recommend you to diy one with CC3D flight controller so you can learn a lot about how multirotors work

For outside the syma x5 very cheap these days, for indoors the eachine h8 fantastic little drone loads of fun. Or using a descent simulator can help loads and save you lots of $$$$ in the long run ;)

Bhujang Posted at 2016-3-24 08:58
For outside the syma x5 very cheap these days, for indoors the eachine h8 fantastic little drone loa ...

I just purchased a Syma X5-1 from Amazon.  Should be here tomorrow.  It appears that it will pilot in a similar way to the Phantom.  I look forward to trying it.

These phantoms are incredibly easy to fly, a chimpanzee could fly one. Just go some place were its wide open and take your time plus do your research.

R&L Aerial  Posted at 2016-3-24 20:25
These phantoms are incredibly easy to fly, a chimpanzee could fly one. Just go some place were its w ...

Lol for sure but also very expensive. I can understand their concern especially with all the troubles you read on this forum. Usually human error too ;)

Bhujang Posted at 2016-3-24 17:12
Lol for sure but also very expensive. I can understand their concern especially with all the troub ...

I used to fly 450 size helicopter with the bell hiller head, let me tell you, those are hard to fly. It takes about 50 hour flight time and about 10 crashes just to be able to do a stable hover. These new quads are to easy, there's almost no reason to ever crash one of the quads.

vu.q.le@outlook Posted at 2016-3-24 18:58
Most people destroyed their phantoms because of ego and stupidity. That's why you buy something like ...

Well, the Phantom is very easy to fly--easier to fly than the Syma X5, but I can fly the X5 and crash it and I don't have the scary issues found from crashing a 3 lb, $1000 investment.  I am trying to build up my muscle memory with the X5.  When the drone does not go the direction you expect, you tend to react improperly.  Also, when the props on the P3P lock in a crash, the thing screams, smells  and all kinds of scary things happen.  When the X5 crashes, it bounces, doesn't squeal, no smelly motors and has no broken ANYTHING.  The only down side is that even the slightest wind will take control out of your hands.  I am considering the Syma X8C as a better alternative to duplicating the control feel of the P3P.  

Any thoughts on that?

a cheap used cx20.
you will get the gps hold pos and hold atti mode, but not going full manual.

LordNeo Posted at 2016-3-27 22:51
a cheap used cx20.
you will get the gps hold pos and hold atti mode, but not going full manual.

The lowest cost is around $150 for the CX20's I see now on Ebay.  It might be an option, but for now, the little X5C-1 will probably do, especially if I can practice in calm air. Have you used the CX20?

eganders Posted at 2016-3-28 09:23
The lowest cost is around $150 for the CX20's I see now on Ebay.  It might be an option, but for n ...

Yep, i had the CX20 before buying the P3Pro, it feels a lot more like the P3 in the way it holds the atti and doesn't just fall like a brick when left alone. It also have the RTH (and some things more you can modify using the APM) to simulate situations.
If you want to practice the on-the-fly/under pressure decision making, the Tarantula X6 is also a good option, because it's like the X5, but faster and more responsive. In this way, the cheap Eachine H8 is a good minidrone to fly at home, fast responsive and it cost about 20 bucks or so.

If you want to use indoors, I'd suggest a Blade Inductrix RTF or Blade Nano QX RTF. Its small and although it doesn't have GPS, it hovers very well for a practice drone. I use this all the time and it has helped me fly my larger, more expensive drones like my Phantom 4. If you want to spend a little more and be at the price point that you suggested, then look at the Blade 180 QX RTF. This is great to use outdoors like your backyard. Out of all of the ones that I mentioned, I like the Inductrix the most because I can fly indoors and its very smooth to control.  Although all three of these doesnt' have a camera gimbal on them and a RC that connects to your mobile device, it forces you to fly in manual using line of sight. When I practice with my Inductrix, I create obsticles like chairs, tables, etc. and make the drone fly through small spaces which forces me to control manually. I also practice flying my drone by 'banking' (combining both the yaw and the aileron controls) my turns unlike most beginners would just move their right control stick to steer their drone. I hope this helps.


Blade Inductrix
Blade Nano RTF
Blade 180 QX HD RTF

Cheapest i could find.