One bad experience with these items could be from just bad luck of getting the one with glitches. I build my own from scratch and I have had one Quad give me nothing but problems. It was not the build or the builder. It was just a technical glitch that took me a while to figure out. I ended up re-sinking all my ESC's one by one, updated their firmware, and updated the firmware on my NAZA Board. It was fixed and she runs perfect.
I can't see how a manufacturer could passably produce thousands of these very precise machines with each one having many different controlling processors and then expects them to work right out of the box. If you buy one and you live in Florida and I buy one and I live in Ohio they will both fly in a very different manner until the GPS is calibrated to our locations. My GPS has to be turned 5 degrees counter clockwise to make up for the magnetic pole. If you have a quad that is giving you fits you should just return it right from the start or suffer what I go though and check each component one by one, updating and re-calibrating as you go. My newest build started two weeks ago and as of today she flew the first time in a perfect manner. Now all I have to do is balance each one of my 12x4.5 carbon-fiber blades and motors to get that perfect no shake, jello free video. That is about a one to two hour job if everything goes well.
One time I had a bad speed controller and it took me days to fix it because you can't find it right off the bat. These items are high tech and really should only be taken on by someone who is willing to put in the time to learn every aspect to their flying characteristics and technical set-up. It takes me well over a week to build a perfect running multi-rotor and, man do I get frustrated when it doesn't work right on the first flight but I stick with it.
To expect perfection out of an item that costs under $500.00 is actually in my mind asking for way to much. Just the cost of the motors and ESC's I use in my builds costs me close to $400.00. Then a good controller cost about $400.00. It costs $200.00 for a good control board and GPS system. The battery used in my H4 Hornet costs $125.00. That is over $1,000.00 and we haven't even got the frame, wires, heat shrink, blades, camera, and the other misc. stuff.
If you want a great flying item for around $400.00 I would stick with RC planes. They come with auto pilot and all the same features as the quads and you only have one ESC and motor to deal with when you have a problem. Flying FPV from a plane is way more less-stressful and it is just as much fun plus it will leave you loving the hobby and as you get better and understand the technical part of the electronics you can move up to the quads and you will have a great appreciation and understanding of the problems that arrise.
To call people names because of their frustration only leaves them upset and wanting to argue and defend. We should take the time to understand that we are no better than the person sitting on the other end of the screen. We may know more about a certain area in our hobby because of our own mistakes but everyone makes them starting out. Lord knows I sure did. I have destroyed 4 450 size helicopters, 2 Raptor 50's, 1 $450.00 plane, two Gaui 330X's, and a few smaller toy sized ones. I also have learned from every mistake and I will openly share it with anyone who asks.
So, Saltwater, Don't get discouraged because you got a bad quad. Try to research the issue you had and see if you can fix. You will be so happy when you finally do. If it drops out of the sky it could have been in ATI mode and the stick was taken down too far trying to descend. If you drop below 10 percent on the left stick it keys some multi-rotors to shut off. If you battery reaches a critically low voltage and your return home hasn't been set-up it could drop like a rock.
If you post what it did I will try to see if I can offer some help.
