This awesome Air Hogs DR1 FPV Race Drone has First Person Viewing (FPV) to allow you take control in the cockpit! All you need is to download the free app to an iOS or Android smartphone, place it in the headset, and start piloting like a DR1 drone racing professional with a live stream from the camera on the drone!
In addition to the lightweight drone, there is also a controller, FPV headset, short USB charger, 4 spare propellers, 2 spare control sticks, rotor removal tool and instructions. It is suitable for aged 10 and above.
The drone is very well made and measures 3.5 by 3 by 1.5 inches. This quadcopter racing drone has a nimble design that easily handles swerves, tumbles, and even 360-degree barrel rolls. It is durable with ducted propellers and a crash-resistant frame. The live stream camera is located at the front of the drone. The On/Off switch is located at the back along with the charge port. Before you play, plug in the USB charger via a computer to charge the drone. It takes around 80-90 minutes to charge for each play of 20 minutes. The USB charger red light indicator will turn off once it is fully charged. It is important to wait for 10-15 minutes to let the battery cool down before you charge the drone again.
The controller requires 2 AAA batteries which are not included. It is lightweight and a good size. You control everything through this little controller where you can take a photo, record a video and auto take-off/land. The barometric pressure height lock and beginner/advanced modes makes flying effortless for any level of pilot. For now, we are using the beginner mode which makes it easy to fly. Once you have got a handle on things, you can change it to advanced mode to enjoy a more traditional racing drone experience.
The FPV headset design is simple and mainly plain black with white rim on the cap. It is made from a spongy material surrounding your face with a huge gap for the nose. The headset is secured by adjustable Velcro straps. It’s comfortable for an adult and child size head. My ten year old son is able to wear it comfortably. I do find that after a few minutes of playing, we have to remove the headset because we feel slightly nauseous. It is a great idea for the First Person Viewing but it might not be suitable for everyone. We prefer to control the drone from a more traditional third person perspective.
My husband and 10 year old son both find it very easy to pilot the drone. It is very responsive and quick. This is far better than any other drones we have used before. It is very stable and easy to control. Our drone has endured a lot of crashes, mainly because of windy weather and it has survived them very well. I love that it is robust. Occasionally when we flew a bit further out, it did lose connection and it didn’t capture the live stream.
My son really enjoys editing his racing videos using the free Air Hogs app! There are so many features that you can add it into your video and make it look awesome! You can even put music into your video. Each video file is quite small hence the quality is not as great as HD, but it’s fine for what it is.
Watch here for some of the footages we took:
Overall we love this drone. It is so easy to control and has a lot of features. I would definitely recommend it if you are looking for a decent and easy to fly drone. It is available in good toy retailers and Amazon.
If you prefer something more affordable, do check out this Spin Masters Air Hogs drone instead.
Disclosure: We received the sample for the purposes of writing this review, however all thoughts and opinions remain our own.