Hi All,

Having never flown a drone before I am thinking of getting a practice drone before taking to the skies with my Mavic. As I live in Scotland I am thinking that something that can operate both in and outdoors I have 2 of interest can anyone with more experience give me advice and pointers, ideally I'm looking for whichever wil give the easiest crossover when the time comes.

The 2 I am considering are:

Yuneec Breeze or Hubsan X4 H107D

Cheers

Chappy

I got a $40 drone from the toy aisle of a grocery store. I crashed it a bunch of times, and crashing it didn't particularly bother me because it was so cheap. I watched youtube videos about exercises I could practice with my drone. They were very hard with the weak little toy drone, but very helpful.

I feel like I learned a lot from that $40 drone.

The Mavic Pro is very different from a 'toy drone'. For example, with those 'toy' ones you need to be constantly making adjustments to the sticks in order to keep it balanced while it's in the air to avoid crashing. The Mavic Pro on the other hand has a bunch of sensors and other great technology integrated into it for safe flight, and has one touch take-off and landing. Once it's in the air, it stays there hovering until you make a movement with the sticks, or use the 'tap to fly' intelligent mode to move the drone with a tap of your finger on the screen. It really couldn't be any simpler. It is a excellent start-up aircraft for newcomers to the drone flight hobby.

I got a BayangToys X16 as practice drone. It's the cheapest brushless quad I can find with Altitude hold.

Just fly the Mavic and learn on that. No need to waste money on something cheap if you just read the forums, the manual and watch a few tutorial videos on youtube.
My first flight with a drone was with the Mavic, and so far I've logged 1.5hrs in the air

Stokke Posted at 2016-11-11 10:21
Just fly the Mavic and learn on that. No need to waste money on something cheap if you just read the ...

I would love to, but it looks like I'll be waiting for quite a while and just looking at something to get in the air with to practice so I don't wreck an expensive drone.

I bought one of these and the thing is incredible.

I did so because all my rc has been on fixed wing and I wanted to train my brain to act without thinking in all orientations.  Do this so that you don't end up with stick panic with the Mavic when things aren't going perfectly. My advice is that despite all the sensors and technology it is still a mind and coordination trick to be able to calmly control these things in 3 dimensions.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product ... 0?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The beauty of buying a cheap toy drone is that there really is a lot you can learn from it.

For example, orientation. It's easy to turn a drone, including a mavic, then forget which way it is facing and send it flying in the wrong direction. I've seen plenty of youtube videos where people talking about the importance of getting used to remembering which way the drone is facing instead of just pressing left and assuming it will go left.

Another good thing is that the toy drone doesn't have a camera. If you've never flown a drone before, this removes the temptation to try and rely entirely on the video feed. You have to get used to keeping line of sight and controlling it that way because there's no other option.

Yes, the mavic is much more user friendly and easier to control. That just means that you'll have a lot of fun with the cheap drone while you're learning some basics, then the mavic will feel like a dream. If you have to wait for the mavic to be shipped anyway, it's a decent way to practice.

I agree with many other posters - worth practicing and getting used to orientation.

For me, that's the most difficult part. GPS quads are great as you can let go of the sticks and they should sit in the air but once you have the thing pointed towards you, left/right forward/back are effectively reversed. I still find myself turning to face the same way as the quad just to be sure in tighter spots.

Flying toy grade quads is more tricky but if you can get good with them, you'll do really well with the Mavic.

A lot of people like the Syma X5.

I've had a bunch of the small toy-grade quads and hexacopters - JJRC H20, WL V686G, Fayee FY805 nano, JXD 509G and one of the original Hubsan H107

Some are better than others but they are all ok to have a play about - just keep them in sight and avoid windy days! Search for "quadcopter101" on YouTube for a huge amount of reviews and some tutorials.

symbol Posted at 2016-11-11 12:32
I agree with many other posters - worth practicing and getting used to orientation.

For me, that's ...

Ideally I would like something that would hover when I let go of the sticks and easily available in the UK/Amazon prime, what would be your suggestion

I did the same pal brought the syma x5c battery's last a good 5-7 mins it's a bit slow when windy and found its range about 80 metres on the plus side it does stunts with one button and it's 2mp built in camera let's you upload in 750 HD https://youtu.be/SVMQQriL44w

720 sorry my fat fingers

The Hubsan is great, I have the  X4 107C. It can fly inside and outside. It flies amazingly well in a light 10 - 15 mph wind.

destinylove1 Posted at 2016-11-11 12:41
I did the same pal brought the syma x5c battery's last a good 5-7 mins it's a bit slow when windy an ...

Hi All,

Thanks for the advice, I ended up buying a Syma x5csw as it was available for prime should have it tomorrow but realistically on Monday £80 for the drone and case with 5 battery and 2 crash kits so should be everything I need.

Thanks again and happy flying to all

Chappy Posted at 2016-11-11 12:36
Ideally I would like something that would hover when I let go of the sticks and easily available i ...

The cheapest GPS quad that I know of would be the Hubsan 502C - about £80 new. Has a camera (but not a gimbal so fixed and a bit shaky). Its small so again, nothing too windy. I'm tempted, and the 502S has FPV and can do basic follow-me and RTH. There's also the 501C and 501S but suddenly the price is £130 - £200

Altitude hold quads will keep their height (give or take) but will drift. My 509G has this feature but it didn't like coming back down - still a toy remember.

Chappy Posted at 2016-11-11 07:58
Hi All,

Thanks for the advice, I ended up buying a Syma x5csw as it was available for prime shoul ...

The Syma X5 is a great little drone. I was in the same boat as you and got the X5 and have been flying it for a little over a week now and I feel so much more comfortable for when the Mavic arrives.

Since so much on the Mavic is automated, I wanted to feel comfortable with full manual control and the smaller drone fit the bill. That little X5 can take a beating too! My wife has been learning as well and she's had some pretty fantastic crashes, but that little sucker still works like day 1!

CaptumLux Posted at 2016-11-11 13:38
The Syma X5 is a great little drone. I was in the same boat as you and got the X5 and have been fl ...

Is it OK for indoors?? as weather is pretty poor here at the moment

Chappy Posted at 2016-11-11 08:50
Is it OK for indoors?? as weather is pretty poor here at the moment

I've been flying it around my average sized living room pretty regularly. It's more fun outdoors, but I feel indoors gives me much more of a challenge. Just make sure you use the prop guards as if you get close to the ceiling it will suck the drone right up against it.

I had the same issue and bought a Hubsan 502E. Indoors no GPS so you have to control it manually. If I can fly that thing properly indoors, I should be ok outdoors I guess. I've crashed it twice, only one prop damaged. I think it's a great benefit before flying with the Mavic. Enjoy flying (and crashing )

Hubsan x4    Even after you get your mavic you will still fly the hubsan. I fpv mine around the house when the weather is crap.