Best Quadcopter Buy and Fly Shootout 2018
Below is a list of my current buy and fly quads, a general discussion of each one and which is currently my favorite.
Gear In A Nut Shell Review:
SPC Maker 140x – my newest and current favorite. Best flown on 3s for racing and 4s for acro. With the PIDs dialed in this is an extremely predictable quad to fly via FPV or LOS. Small enough to be portable but heavy enough that I can fly it in a steady crosswind. I have one complaint that I detail in the expanded review below.
SPC Maker 95GF – my second favorite quad. I love the size of this quad and it provides more than enough power to have fun with. I have one complaint that I detail in the expanded review below.
- Line Of Sight Video Coming
- Park FPV Coming
Gnarly FPV Guppy – Best back yard quad I’ve flown thus far. I have zero complaints for this quad. This is a great buy and built by a true enthusiast.
QQ190 RTF – A very dependable quad that is fantastic for beginner & intermediate pilots. It’s reliability means that you keep flying even after crashing it a dozen times.
- Line of Sight Video Coming
- Park FPV Coming
QQ190RTF:
This is not my favorite quad to fly but it deserves the spotlight because it literally will not die. I remember reading somewhere that this quad had been nicknamed the “tank” and it truly is. I’ve had the QQ190 basically from day one. I have crashed this quad literally more times than I can count (300+), and apart from the motors which I’ve had to replace – it just keeps on ticking. I think the TBS power cube truly deserves a great deal of praise for its build quality and durability. That power cube paired with the QQ190 frame literally creates a tank of a quad and that means you have a quad that you can fly, keep flying, and progress with. I used to think this quad was crazy fast but compared to some other quads I’ve flown now, it is actually quite tame. Another great thing about the QQ190 is the VTX that comes installed which allows you to bump the transmission strength up to 800mw. You will catch a lot of flak if you’re flying around others and multiple frequencies are being used but it really allows you to fly this thing to great distances and maintain a stable video feed.
Pros:
- Extremely Durable
- Fantastic premium quality beginner drone that features top of the line components.
- TBS Powercube is extremely reliable
- QQ190 Frame is a TANK. It is by far the strongest frame I’ve flown thus far.
- OSD Configurable (You can adjust PIDs, VTX settings, call signs, etc. all through your goggles)
- Plenty fast for the beginner or intermediate pilot.
Cons:
- Sluggish compared to my 140X and even my 95GF.
SPC Maker 140x
This is currently without a doubt my favorite quad at the moment. It is the prefect balance between size, power and performance. It is fast, it is nimble and the camera that it comes with generates the best image quality out of all of my drones. When I first got this unit it had some pretty rough mid and high throttle oscillations. I’ve been able to tune out all of the oscillations on 3s but on 4s I am still contending with some high end oscillations (could probably just up TPA). Even with the high end oscillations on 4s, it is still very predictable and fun to fly.
I have flown this quad four days in a row now, each time going through all of my batteries. I was trying to make a decision on which battery I like best for this setup so I could order more. The conclusion I came to is that this battery is best on 3s for racing and 4s for acro / fun.
The power to weight ratio on the Turnigy Nano-Tech 1000mah 3s makes for a very easy to fly and predictable quad when racing. I am able to make smooth transitions, snappy turns and quickly accelerate out of the apex. As long as I’m on a course and flying in a relatively predictable manner the 3s is my go to. At almost $10.00 less than the 4s battery I’ve tested, if you are looking for just one battery to go with hands down go with these. They produce plenty of punch, provide longer flight times, are more predictable to fly and are half the cost. My only gripe about these batteries would be that the balance charge cable needs to be cut in half, which I did.
The Turnigy Graphene 850mah 4s is is about 20 grams heavier or 10% heavier than the 1000mah 3s I’ve beenf lying. Strangely, you can really feel this extra weight difference and I find it much harder to fly this quad in a smooth and consistent manner. I could step down to a 650mah setup but I’d rather have the extra juice for 30 seconds more flight time. With all of that being said… the 140x paired with this battery is freaking insane. It rips is all I can say. The extra power you get from the 4s setup makes for an electric acro and freestyle experience. I can push this quad hard, loop it as I please and the power is always there should I need to recover. I don’t like the cost of this battery compared to the Turnigy 3s batteries but I sure do like flying them.
My only complaint for this quad is that the frame was poorly constructed. I’ve only crashed this quad three or four times, never a direct impact and I’ve already found three areas where the carbon fiber has severe delimitation and stress fractures as a result. I’m confused by this as my 95GF, which is also made by SPC Maker, has taken way more impacts and it is showing no signs of stress fractures or delimitation.
Pros:
- Very fun and predictable to fly
- Fantastic power to weight ratio (flown with Turnigy 1000mah 3s)
- Amazing video quality
- Good flight times and plenty of power on 3s (I’m getting a solid 3 minutes with this setup when pushing it on the track and could easily get 4 or 5 minutes doing fun casual flying)
- Small size makes it a fantastic portable but very fast option compared to bigger 5″ quads.
- Crazy fast
Cons:
- Fragile Frame due to poor carbon fiber lamination process (they forgot to cross laminate the carbon fiber)
- Not good for beginners
- The single button VTX on this quad is really frustrating to use.
