This post features some of the best quadcopter for beginner to start out with. It also explains what makes a good beginner quadcopter and points you the direction to learn to fly it.
Research and Study
Spend time reading and watching guides, build logs, and reviews. Learning from experienced quadcopter pilots and builders can really help develop your understanding of drones.
You can’t go wrong doing a lot of research, there is an overwhelming amount of useful blog posts and videos online. Ask tons of questions in forums like IntoFPV.com before you spend your hard earned money on a box of stuff you have no experience with.
Check out this comprehensive guide on how to get into FPV mini quad.
Remember that technology advances very quickly in the drone racing industry. Much of the information you gain will be useful regardless of what components you use, but it is a good idea to be aware of when the information you are looking at was published when doing research. At my blog, I always try to keep my articles up to date, anyway you can see the date and edit history at the very bottom of the article.
The Best Quadcopter for Beginner
When I first started in the hobby, I had nobody to teach me and resources like this article were few and far between. So I went and randomly bought a huge 450mm quadcopter with a KK2 flight controller as my first quadcopter, which turned out to be a huge mistake.
This is not at all a good quadcopter for beginner, it’s simply too big and too powerful.
You can probably guess what happened next – I took off, had no idea how to control the thing, it just rocketed into the sky within seconds!
I was horrified, so I cut my throttle and… “Bang!” The quad was totally destroyed in the crash. That was my first glorious 15 seconds with a multirotor… It’s funny now, but I was devastated.
I cannot stress this enough: DO NOT fly a full size drone until you get some experience of flying.
Simulators are your Best Friends!
I strongly recommend learning on an FPV simulator first.
This means that the first thing you should buy is a radio transmitter that you can use to control a simulator. Then you can practice while the rest of the components are in the mail.
Further Reading: This tutorial teaches you how to play FPV Simulators
I have seen first hand how well these simulators can help beginners in real life. A friend of mine who had no previous experience with RC, spent 20 hours on a sim before flying his racing quad, he could do power loops around a racing gate on his first day with the real quad! Really amazing! :)
Micro Quad for Beginners?
Before FPV simulators became realistic, we used to recommend to learn flying on a toy-grade micro quad. It’s still a good way to practice if you don’t have access to a computer with good spec.
Even if you do have a hardcore gaming PC, micro’s are great at providing a different perspective of the “ordinary” surroundings of your home, they can be as fun as sims!
Take a look at this guide and understand the differences between micro quad, and other types of drones on the market, and identify which one you want
Toy grade micro quads are very affordable, usually between $20 to $50.
They are light weight and small, which means they won’t get damaged as easily as the bigger models. They are also easier to fly and maneuver in smaller places such as in your living room.
I listed some good value toy grade quadcopter options here.
Building a Racing Drone
Once you feel confident and brave enough you can start looking into building your own mini quad. There will be a lot more to learn, it will require skill with a soldering iron and a deeper understanding of RC.
Building a mini quad can be beneficial to learning the in’s and out’s of these very technical machines. Watching your creation take to the skies for the first time is one of the most gratifying experiences in the hobby!
In this tutorial, I will show you how to build a racing mini quad from scratch.
Not a fan of DIY? Just Buy an RTF Model.
I don’t encourage people to start out with a pre-built RTF (read to fly) drone, but if you are not confident with soldering, building your own drone might not be the best solution for you. Thankfully there are now many great options available:
Table of Contents
Low Budget:
Medium Budget:
- Holybro Kopis 1 (My Review | Banggood | GetFPV)
- Diatone GT2017 (My Review | Banggood | Amazon | GetFPV)
Top of the line:
Don’t just buy what everyone else is buying because they said it’s the best. Their personal preference and skill sets will vary compared to yours, and what suits them may not suit you.
As a beginner you want to stay away from machines that are overly complicated. Something that flies well “out-of-the-box” will allow you to focus on actually flying. Having all the best equipment is great, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you will be a better pilot.
Learning the basics of multirotor building, flying and repairing should be your first priority, they are all part of the learning curve and shouldn’t be skipped.
And remember, technology and products are constantly moving forward a fast pace in this hobby, it’s easy to get caught up in the rat race of what’s best or what’s the most popular. Something we refer to as the “Hype Train“.
Just find something that you like that flies well for you, stick with it utill you’ve mastered it. Once you’ve done that, you will have a better idea of what is missing and what you want to get in the future.
Learning how to fly
How long it takes you to learn to fly competently largely depends on the person. Spending 30 mins to an hour every day for a week or two practicing flying should get you comfortable with controlling a quadcopter.
Don’t be afraid to crash! Not only is it inevitable (even for experienced pilots), it is a good opportunity to learn emergency maneuvering, or worse, repairing :) These are all crucial lessons you can apply to flying larger and faster multirotors.
We put together a training course tutorial on how to fly a mini quad in FPV.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment, or ask on our quadcopter forum.
Edit History
- Sept 2013, article created
- May 2016, article revised
- Jan 2018, article revisited
24 comments
Thanks for beginner guide for quad copter cause this will help my dream to fly a quad copter.
Great tips. I am planning to buy a drone for personal purposes.
Hi Oscar,
Great advice, my learning has followed a similar route more by luck than judgement. I would make one suggestion based on my experience. Following on from Toy micros and a simulator, I would recommend a BNF type micro, something like a 2-2.5″ on a 2S. I started with a Baby Hawk and then a custom build in the ET125 frame, which has become my favourite. While they are slightly harder to repair/build on due to the lack of space, they are light and the ET125 frame seems indestructible. Beyond the durability, the fact that these weigh around 150g and aren’t overpowered has given me confidence that I would not break anything or hurt anyone if I lost control. They are also a little cheaper than beginner 5″ quads.
Hi Oscar,
First thanks for all yours articles! There are very informatives.
I have some quads ligne the Hubsan H107L, the XK X100 and X251 and I want to buy a RTF racing quad. Do you think the Kingkong 210GT or the Eachine Wizard X220 or the Realacc GX210 will be a good choice? If not do you have another suggestion?
Thanks a lot!
David
Hey I’ve got the same question. I was wondering if you ever found an answer or made a decision and bought one of these. If so can you tell me how you decided and what its like?
Thanks
Elliot
Hi Oscar
“Best Quadcopter For Beginners” is obviously important. I just finished my LKTR120 a few weeks ago and I think it was a good choice because it is small and doesn’t break easily. Currently I am learning to fly and I am sure soon I want a more powerful quad. Now the big question is: How much more powerful? I think about a BoltRC Black Ops but I am not sure if I should built one with 4″ props or 5″ or start with 3S or jump right away to 4S. In the moment I just fly for fun, no racing. What are your ideas for the 2nd quad? Maybe that would be another interesting article to write.
it depends a lot on your flying style :)
but I would recommend going 5″ on 4S…
with 2300KV motors, start with 5030 props if it’s too powerful for you…
gradually you can try higher pitch props, even 5040 triblades…
it would save you a lot of money upgrading over and over
Best setup for beginners is:
* cheap to buy
* cheap to repair
* easy to repair
* durable
I guys,
Thanks for this nice article.
For beginner and for indoor training, I personnaly recommand the Bayangtoys X9. I made a little demo how it can perform in a small area. Links are in the video detals. youtube.com/watch?v=1Z_xn4W0y-Q
This guy is very cheap and fly very well. Parts are cheap too. In my opinion you get more bang for the buck with this little quad
Vincent
Oscar,
I really appreciate all work you put into this blog. I am a beginner and following all your recommendations has releaved me of all the pitfalls and made learning a enjoyable process. I flew airplanes in my youth and took a shot a helicopters but it just did not connect, Quads for some reason is more satisfying. Your blog is my go to source for unbiased information and enjoyable to read.
Bill
Thank you for the kind words Bill! i would really appreciate it if you could join the forum: http://intoFPV.com … I don’t want to miss your comment, because I only check my blog comments once a week, but I use the forum daily!
Hi Oscar,
I’ve crashed my syma x5c everywhere, even in a creek, it has survived so far and keeps coming back for more. Right now it’s in the top of a large tree but I’m having another go at getting it this afternoon. There was a frost last night so I hope the electronics aren’t ruined. IMO it’s a good quadcopter to start out with and at least get the basic hang of things since it’s cheap and replacement parts are available.
Hello Oscar. Thanks for all the informative drone articles. ….well done!
Hello – Thank you for sharing this knowledge. I’m a newbie (or will be) for commercial reasons. I work in the Telecom business and those drones will help us improve site survey, tower and tower based equipment maintenance, etc. Any particularly tips for this industry specifically (Telecom) ? I appreciate you input. Best regards,
for site survey you probably want long flight time, and being able to lift heavy payload, that means you need a relatively large quadcopter or hexacopter that runs 12inch propellers or even bigger ones…
After seeing ” the worlds scariest Video”, and it is 15 minutes of a guy free-climbing a Radio-Tower to install a BULB! Well, obviously the drone would not be able to replicate the job he did, but what about eliminating the job anyways? What about a drone that would fly up and BE THE BEACON? If it could be capable of flying up, attaching itself to some charge-port, and then the bulbs could be flown up and down, or basically, it would be engineered for one purpose only. Fulfilling FAA Requirements, while removing the need for a guy to Free-Climb and replace light bulbs. Another application for Drones, would be ones that take off and hover, then record in Hi-Definition to observe the Earthquakes in Japan, and elsewhere. It would really help the Scientists if the camera was not attached to a wall that is also moving. And, best of all, if you only knew what it costs to repaint Bridges, because of bird-poop. They have a Bridge in my City that costs one-million dollars every three years to repaint. It is not water that degrades the paint, it is the bird-poop that does not wash away. In China, they hire a guy with no harness to walk out underneath and sweep. America is not China, how about some drones that go and squirt a little water on the bird-poop? My original idea is very old, it is simple, a motion sensor hooked up to an electro-hydraulic switch. If a Youth tries to spray-paint your Greek Sculpture, the motion sensor sprays water on the statue, preventing the paint from sticking. This same method could be used under bridges. As well as on a timer, in the entry-way of businesses that have issues with Vagrants. It’s only WATER, I don’t think you would get sued, and nobody would be sleeping in your doorway anymore. I have big solutions, million-dollar ideas, and billion dollar ideas. Even Trillion-Dollar ideas. If you need ideas, ask me.
Hi Oscar,
Starting off standing behind the quadcopter is a good idea. I want to get my son into this hobby. I have really enjoyed it over the years. Hopefully, he will like it as much as I do.
Hi Oscar
Thanks, Im wanting to get my son a Quad and get him off the pstation.. out and about, he works with the Australian Rules footy team RICHMOND and otherwise is stuffed and we have a great partks around to fly, Ive built many balsa remotes but the Quad with a Camera is of great interest for INDRA its his 21st and he has a form of autism but is very good with technology. I wish to get him out and about … And this interests me very much Ie Id purchase a phantom 3 as I love photography but need to start at a level with my son.. Thanks Paul. _Ps I want to get his birthday present along with my toy too.. big dad.. cheers,
Hi Paul, sounds great :)
I think it would be good to start with a micro quad like the hubsan or something… then progress to a 250 mini quad, which you can select your own parts, and build it yourself :D it’s great fun!
How big is the difference between flying a normal RC helecopter and a multicopter? Do you think controling a quadcopter is more or less difficult?
It’s not harder nor easier, but if you can fly a heli, you should be able to fly a multi. It just takes practice.
Of the primary types of rc helicopters each differ in difficulty, I will address them accordingly. Co-axial fixed pitch slightly more difficult than basic quad, fixed pitch conventional heli with a main and tail rotor a little more difficult, collective pitch conventional helis exponentially more difficult. Almost any mini or micro quad will be significantly less challenging than typical rc helicopters. Example I gave a trimmed and setup micro fixed pitch helicopter to a friend who has substantial surface rc experience and he returned what was left of it. I let him TRY my micro skull drone in the garage one evening and that’s the last I’ve seen of my little quad. And he won’t even talk about giving it back. Unfortunately our friendship has more value than the quad, so I ordered 3 more. But don’t tell him!
ok
I like it