RC Quadcopters for Beginners: 5 Things You Must Know Before Buying

Are you just getting started with the hobby? If so here are some really important tips about buying RC quadcopters for beginners that would want to know.  These will help you avoid tons of expensive mistakes – and you will enjoy this wonderful hobby a lot more …

Here’s a video you will want to watch …

https://youtu.be/N4qJNgV0DGI

 

RC Quadcopters for Beginners – Tips

#1. Some quadcopters can be really hard to fly

Maybe it’s due to slick advertising, but many people seem to believe that flying quad copters is like taking a walk in the park.
And this false belief leads them to buy very expensive, dual camera quadcopters – without ever having flown one in the past. Within the first few flights they crash and end up disappointed and some even give up on the hobby before they have given themselves a fair chance at it.

Truth be told, quadcopters can be really, really hard to fly. In fact, these machines are inherently unstable. Had it not been for the flight control and a host of other complex electronics installed on their insides, quarter copters would have been near impossible to fly.

Some quadcopters are designed to be very stable while others are designed to be a lot more agile. The latter are mostly for aerobatics and are designed solely for professionals. This is decided by the way the flight controller in the quadcopter has been set up.

Many beginners also seem to mistakenly assume that bigger machines are harder to fly. That is not always true. Some of the really small, very low cost drones are notoriously hard to fly – because they do not have the expensive electronics inside them that makes bigger drones a lot easier to fly.
It is the electronics inside a drone that make it easy to fly. The really low cost drones do not have the sophisticated electronics that keep the craft stable.

But if you’re just starting out, you certainly would not want to buy a very expensive drone either. You would want to start with something in the $ 100-$ 200 range. Practice a lot with that before you buy a more expensive quad copter. You may also want to check this beginners’ guide to quadcopters here.

#2. Know the difference between RTF, ARF and BNF

This is another mistake beginners make. They buy a quadcopter that is not ready to fly and expect to be able to fly it right out of the box. You certainly would want to know what these acronyms stand for…

RTF (Ready to Fly): these drones to not require any set up or assembly of any kind. All you’ll have to do would be install the quadcopter’s propellers, check if the batteries charged and the machine will be ready to fly.

ARF (Almost ready to Fly): these might require some assembly and typically do not include a receiver or a transmitter. In some kits, motors or even batteries may not be included. You may want to read the fine print before buying to see exactly what you will be getting.

BNF (Bind And Fly): these models come fully assembled. But you will have to buy the transmitter yourself. You would want to make sure you buy a compatible transmitter. In addition to the same frequency, the receiver and transmitter will need to share the same protocol as well or else they will not be compatible with each other.

#3 Be prepared to invest time and money

If you see yourself enjoying this hobby for several years to come, you will want to be prepared to invest both time as well as money into it. Like any other pursuit, this does require quite a bit of investment.

Here are a few tips that can help you a lot…

Research, research, research : while buying your first quad copter may be really exciting, you would not want to rush into that decision. Before buying your first quadcopter, you would want to research as much as possible. Visit a few of the many forums and read what people are saying out there. Talk to a few professional hobbyists, and seek advice from them. Familiarize yourself with all of the various components that go into building a drone.

You will gain a lot of knowledge about quadcopters, be able to appreciate them a lot more than you otherwise would have, and also avoid many a mistake later on.

Buy a good transmitter: if you’re really serious about the hobby, you’ll want to buy a pretty good transmitter. You’ll be able to use it for several years to come as upgrading is relatively inexpensive and easy.

Train with a simulator: a simulator is one of the best investments you can make. Quadcopter simulators that come these days are pretty good and realistic. They can shorten the learning curve and save you a lot of money by helping you avoid potentially expensive crashes early on.

#4 Read the reviews

You would never want to buy any model without reading the reviews first. There are scorers upon scores of reviews on just about any model on the market today. These are written by real people who have purchased the product and used it. So you most certainly would want to know what they have to say before buying any particular model.

#5 Signup for an online forum

There are possibly hundreds of active online forums about quadcopters today. You’d want to sign up for at least a couple and actively participate in them. These forums are populated by other enthusiasts – many of whom are professional hobbyists and know quadcopters inside out. They’ll be able to answer just about any question you may have.

But before you ask a question on a forum, you would want to have done a lot of reading first. And ask only if you cannot find an answer after putting in sincere effort.

If you follow these steps, you should be able to avoid a lot of mistakes beginners usually make. Hopefully, you’ll find these tips on buying RC quadcopters for beginners helpful.