Cheap starter quad to carry a smartphone?

[somersetsimon]

Hi everyone - first time poster here.

Together with a few friends, I'm building a quadcopter at work that we're going to fit with a PX4 autopilot and write our own control laws. A few of the guys have fixed wing and helicopter RC experience, so they'll be flying it.

As I've never flown any RC vehicles, I thought I'd like to get myself a cheap and cheerful quad just to get used to flying one. Ideally, I'd like to carry a smartphone on it so I can capture video.

I've seen a few quads advertised complete with a RC transmitter kit for under £100. Is this a reasonable way to get started flying? At some point, I'll build my own, but I just want some experience first. Any suggestions for a little quad that I could start with?

Thanks

Simon

 

[Mike]

If you just want to practice flying, that should be good, but definitely research the specific model you're buying to ensure it has good support. A lot of ready to fly copters come from manufacturers in China that don't even provide any kind of documentation with them.

 

[holtneil]

hi mate look at hubsan x4 quad they fly well can be fixed if you crash and you will we all did and the first one is now very cheap £27 then they do one with a camera so you can record on a smart card £50 then the mutts plums is the £150 fpv hubsan its larger then the first one but its fpv is top built in monitor in transmitter

 

[Mike]

The availability of replacement parts is very important, so if it's fixable by the owner when crashed, that's always a huge plus in my book!

That looks like a very good deal. $40 on Amazon for the non-FPV one. The FPV one for only $215 also looks like a good deal. You getting one? If so, let us know how it turns out. People are always asking for recommendations for a good starter quad for cheap.

 

[holtneil]

Hi have the first hubsan quad and its great parts are not bad to find the new ones are bigger so would hope easy to fly i have moved on to a 450 quad and soon a tri copter but my mate at work is looking into the fpv hubsan so will let you know he has never flown before so will be a good test

 

[holtneil]

Hi mm, hope your well my mate is getting the hubsan fpv but not till after xmas , i will give you feed back on it when he gets it but if some one wants a cheap quad then hubsan is good for a start now.
the new ones are out price will come down, but if your coming into this hobby for real then the mqx or nano qx with the dx6i is the best start parts are easy to get most hobby shops carry parts and are cheap to fix,
the transmitter can then move on to bigger quads just by getting the receiver to fit in the kit so no money gets wasted on what may become a shelf filler once you get a bigger quad

 

[Mike]

Good advice. I'm a firm believer that you should buy the cheapest stuff for the air when you're a beginner, but you should invest in good quality equipment for the ground (dx6i will grow with you!). Lack of experience flying won't break ground transmitters usually!

 

[Mike]

Good advice. I'm a firm believer that you should buy the cheapest stuff for the air when you're a beginner, but you should invest in good quality equipment for the ground (dx6i will grow with you!). Lack of experience flying won't break ground transmitters usually!