Looking for a Starter Multicopter

[Holt]

Howdy, my first post here.

I'm looking for something relatively cheap that I can learn on, and eventually upgrade to one of these Phantom 3 quads (I must have one). I'm very interested in this as a hobby, and even the possibility of making money commercially by providing an arial imaging service. (I'm aware of this Section 333)

But I don't want to buy something so expensive and risk the possibility of crashing it while learning. Are there any suggestions from pilots here on where I should begin learning to fly? I don't have any experience with RC aircraft of any kind, but I'm a pretty mean chopper pilot in DayZ and ArmA ; )

 

[redmoe]

Hubsan 107l, it will cost you $50 and teach you how to control an un gps aided quad. Plus they are super fun

 

[NickCopter]

Another vote for Hubsan x4 models. Those things are great, and super durable. I crashed mine at least 15 times in the first week I had it (mind you they were drops from like 100' up straight down onto cement, a few crashes into redwood trees, some crashes into sandy beaches, etc) and never had to repair anything. Not even the props.

Plus once you learn to fly the little Hubsan, upgrading to a P3 will seem like a child's toy with how easy it is to fly.

 

[snowghost]

I learned on the X5C. I still fly it.

 

[RoyVa]

Learning to fly any 4/6 channel quad will help prepare for a Phantom. The Hubsans are popular but may type are available. Get one that has the same conrtrol system as the Phantom. Even a $20.00 Cheerson CX 10 will work as a trainer.

 

[Holt]

Ok, thanks for the responses.

So which ones have the same control type as the Phantom?

 

[Meta4]

Here's a contrary view.
You'll get plenty of people suggesting this toy quad or that one but no trainer quadcopter is as easy to fly as the Phantom 3.
There's plenty of reading and understanding needed but it will take you about 5 minutes to learn to fly it - really.
But it will take plenty of practice and experience to become proficient and understand all the things that can go wrong and how to ensure that they don't.

 

[Holt]

Here's a contrary view.
You'll get plenty of people suggesting this toy quad or that one but no trainer quadcopter is as easy to fly as the Phantom 3.
There's plenty of reading and understanding needed but it will take you about 5 minutes to learn to fly it - really.
But it will take plenty of practice and experience to become proficient and understand all the things that can go wrong and how to ensure that they don't.

Makes sense. But I learned to drive an old beat up pickup truck before I bought a nice new one ; )

I'll be ordering a couple of these little ones to play with, then I'll look into buying a nice P3.

Y'all are very helpful.

 

[Josh Curtiss]

I'm prone to agree with you meta, unless you get a super cheap quad. I went straight for a P2V+, against my wife's suggestion [emoji12] BUT I had bought a $40 quad for my nephews and had flown it a handful of times. Also flew a micro quad that I had returned, but I did fly it indoors for a few days (felt it was poorly made, props kept falling off). Anywho, point is I *did* play with some cheapo quads ahead of time.

What I don't recommend is getting some midrange $300 quad to bide your time. You'll outgrow it too quickly but now you're a few hundred in the hole that could've gone toward the real deal.

That's my thought anyway!

 

[TimBarnhart]

Blade nano qx has gotten my buddy hooked in the hobby now he loves it and has since upgraded to a dx6 TX and a 200qx with rayon help upgrade kit that I sold to him

 

[Josh Curtiss]

How is the flame wheel for a starter quad? Learn the tech for potentially cheaper? I dunno how much all the equipment is. Anyone?

 

[Lone-Rider]

I had the same thought, start small and work my way up. More I looked into it the more I decided to just jump in to a P3 with both feet. Gonna spend the money eventually, and the money I don't spend on trainers I can use for parts if needed.

Glad I did it this way, 15 flights in and almost an hour of air time (lots of short flights practice manual take off/landing and getting bearings, a few 5-6 minute ones and one 15 minute nonstop) and the P3 is a piece of cake. Very flat learning curve for the basics of getting it up down and around. Immediate gratification of live video downlink, performance, tech, all the bells and whistles.

Was very nervous the first couple of flights, but it really I stills confidence. Best part is if anything starts getting uncomfortable, hands off and it hovers and holds position, letting you sort out the problem and figure what you need to do. Completely get over your head and RTH it and regroup (though I have not had to do so, knowing it was there is comforting)

 

[redmoe]

Put my x4 in the pool sat at the bottom for several minutes still lit up! Dried it off and flew, freakin tough.

Depending on your budget and commitment to hobby (read obsession) you may want to build a cheap 250 next. A complete kit radio and all can be done for under $250. Super fun to fly and the build gives insight to how these **** things work.

Next hit up the P3 or you can go straight for the P3. My first quad was a new P1.1.1. The P3 is so stable you should not have issues. Problem I had was when I built my first 250 I realized I needed to learn how to fly (enter the x4).

 

[RedHotPoker]

There are a couple or three small quadcopters in my SIG.
They each have their good and bad points. Check YouTube vids for beginner quads and be amazed how well they mostly fly.
The awesome Blade mQX or the HeliMax 1SQ are fun learning quads, relatively cheap on the pocket book, and fun to crash, being so sturdy.
If in flight mode 2, the sticks will be configured the same as the default mode of the Pilot App. Which is a North American standard. We all fly this way...

RedHotPoker

 

[Bryce]

My first bike was a 1600. Never died.

Just get the phantom and be smart... Save the inevitable upgrade costs for something you know you'll be getting anyways. With the saved upgrade costs you'll be able to get a couple extra batteries.

 

[Bret Lucas]

To really get a handle on flying quads, try the Blade Nano QX in agility mode. It'll teach you to fly manually with no GPS or VPS as in the Phantom 3. Nail this sucker and the chances of a mishap, due handling errors, on a more expensive quad, are remote.