My first quadcopter

With this article I will try to help beginners to choose their own first quadcopter. In order to make this decision you have to assign your budget and your expectations from the first qaudcopter.

I have wanted to fly remote control multi-rotors for a long time but, for some reason (apart from my son’s cheap $15 infrared remote helicopter), I have never gotten a remote control aircraft. The time to make my wish come true has finally come. At the $65 price point (on BangGood with free shipping and extra battery pack!) I couldn’t pass up the Syma 5Xc.

And now, let me describe you how my journey of flying my first quadcopter started!

In my case, before I made a decision witch one to choose, I started reading more about different models of quadcopters on manufacturer’s websites and various blogs and forums. Reading is cheaper than buying more quadcopters that you really don’t need.

After I familiarized myself with most of the terms from multi-rotor world, I started to make a top 3 of best quadcopter for begginers regarding my needs.

Something about my budget limit, first it was $500 (this amount you need if you want to fly a DJI Phantom FC40 with FPV), but I was afraid my wife will read this post so I quickly dropped my budget limit under $150.

Some of the criteria you have to consider before you buy your first quadcopter:

  • Budget limit – unfortunately this is the tricky part, and can limit your options;
  • Remote control type – dedicated transmitter, FPV transmitter or smartphone (Android or Iphone);
  • Ready to Fly or RTF – take attention to this term, because you can have a lot of surprises, some dealers selling quadcopters without battery or transmitter;
  • Outdoor flight – only indoor flight can be very boring;
  • Flight time – definitely you will need at least one extra battery;
  • Radio signal strength – maximum distance that you can remote control your quadcopter;
  • On board camera – for aerial photography;
  • FPV System – this part is the real fun of flying!;
  • Onboard GPS – for return home and safe landing.

Best first Quadcopter

If you want a fairly inexpensive quadcopter with onboard HD Camera, Syma X5C is a great product to consider. It’s camera is better quality than the other cheap quadcopters. Unfortunately the camera only records, it’s not possible to stream video to fly FPV.

In my next article I will write more about the Syma X5C RC Quadcopter and after I will get it, I will make a full review of this aircraft.

For the beginners I recommend to choose something cheap and easy to fly, and not jump from the start to a DJI phantom 2 vision+. Why? Because they will crash it or they will lose the control and the aircraft will fly away before they learn to fly it safety.

And don’t forget: always buy some extra props and batteries! Trust me, you will need both of them, all the new pilots need them after their first flights.

21 COMMENTS

  1. Hi!

    Could you help me figure out which drones we need for our Technology Student Association competition?

    We need to purchase two drones. Both need to have propellers that are 4 inch.
    The drones will fly through an obstacle course and pick up various objects like bean bags.

    The drone needs to have a camera.

    We need to document our assembly of the drone and how we added the software.

    We don’t need to do the coding ourselves.

    We’re hoping for a kit that has really good instructions and is fairly easy to put together for high school kids.

    We would need the kit, controller, batteries, battery charger, everything.

    The drone we purchased from Amazon last year had terrible instructions in Chinese and we could never get it to work. We’re hoping for a better experience with good instructions.

    Any suggestions for a team of Drone noobs?

    Thanks!
    Rob

  2. Hello,I have been given a present of a fordable 4k drone or it also calls it a quadcopter.It was purchased off Amazon and I can’t find anything about it, I mean zero.
    It says good for beginners so I need to know how to assemble to get it to the flying stage.
    Then I need the how to fly instructions. I am not to worried about taking pictures I just want to learn how to fly it.It sounds like it can almost fly by it self from a plotted course. Take off and land itself.
    Anyway, you guys know all about these $57 drones. Maybe a generic set of instructions would be fine by me? It isn’t hard to find on Amazon if you are looking for a bit of information to help you.
    I don’t expect miracles from you guys I have done a few searches and no one is putting their hand up and admitting to be involved in its manufacture.
    Thank you Craig Flanagan

  3. I just started with this hobby, I’m completely new at this drone thing. I have a QZ-S8 drone that I assembled but never tried to fly. Now, I’m ready to fly it and have no instructions. Any chance that somewhere in your library you happened to get a hold of those??

    Thanks,
    Nick

  4. Hello, my name is Aziz, I living in Turkey,
    Can you help me something? I want to buy my first drone, but I’m so confusing.
    Can you suggest me the best drone under 100?

  5. I’m a completely newbie, could you suggest me a good drone under $50. I know my budget is limited, I want to get the best for it!

    thanks for any help
    Tomek from Poland

  6. I’m looking to buy my first quadcopter, any suggestion from your side would be very helpful. I will be interested in any information you can send me on in relation to the various types of quadcopters available at present.
    – What is the price range of these product (from most expensive down)
    – What quadcopter is the best seller at the moment and why?
    – Have all of your quadcopters got features such as accelerometers (what it’s function) GPS, an cameras?
    – What materials are used in the making of these quadcopters
    – What safety features are present in these quadcopters?
    – Is there any current designs out there that are unique in terms of there shape and form?
    – How long of a battery life do you have for these devices, are they rechargeable?
    – What leisure activities are these mostly used for?

    Thanks very much for your time,
    Tomás

  7. Awesome site guys! had truly helped me choose my first quadcopter to buy!
    Now I want to switch from my X5C to something bigger which model would you recommend me?
    thanks again!

  8. REALLY !!! My wife gave me a SYMA X5c 2.4G the props will not turn? She feels BAD and I feel like a dumb-ass
    What do I do? Send it back????

  9. I ended up going with the X5C-1 just to get my feet wet and to see if I could actually fly the thing.
    Plus I figured it would be fun for my kids to play with. Cheap intro.

    • Just got it. Flew it around a bit inside 2-3 feet. Quickly realized I needed to be outdoors. Almost landed on neighbors house twice.
      Quickly realized I need to be in a field. Lol.
      Cheers!

  10. Make sure when you install the blades that you pay attention to which is lift and which is revers, if you don’t like me on my first attempt, it won’t get of the ground. It will flip spin and skate all over the place.

  11. My first choice, too. Gotta remember to let the motors cool down 10-20 minutes before swapping batteries and taking off again. You’ll kill motors otherwise. I just ordered my second 5XC so I’ll have one to fly right away while the other cools off. Sure doesn’t like wind but, $55 on Amazon, you get the best bang for the buck. Very fun to fly.

    • Thanks for the advice! For now, all the motors are OK but one of my spare battery it looks dead. After a full charge I can fly my Syma X5C only 1-2 minutes.
      It’s normal if the 600mAh is more thicker than the 500mAh? My 600mha seems a little bit swollen…

  12. If you want advanced features like return to home and flight planning on your first quadcopter go on a DJI Phantom.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here