Looking for a mini-quad for 5 year old

[army_guy137]

I am not 100% sure if I am posting in the correct thread or not, or if this type of thread is allowed....

My son loves "drones". LOL. I have a simulator on my PC for quads, heli's, and planes. He loves to fly them (not very well, but still enjoys it).

I am looking for a small inexpensive "drone" that I can get him for christmas. Personally I was leaning more toward the inductrix RTF for him, and I was planning on getting an inductrix bnf to fly with him on my Dx6i.

The other option is the Eachine 010. But from the reading that I have done is that the Remote control is lacking.

My biggest debate is this, which quad do I get for a 5 year old? Even the most basic quads are still pretty advanced, and I was looking for further suggestions.

 

[kdobson83]

I bought a eachine 010 for myself a month ago, and my 4 year old LOVES it. I can't get it out to fly it why he is around as he bugs me till I give it to him to fly. He has crashed it more times than. I can count. Full throttle into the ceiling then no throttle free fall 10 feet to the floor. Now, that being said, he is getting better at flying it, can do flips, hover, tornados, but still needs work at directional flying. But, it is starting to show signs of wear on the frame. The plastic tabs that hold the motors in the ducts are turning white from the stress of crashing and breaking off. The good news is, a new frame is $4. The better news is, the quad is only $15. Lol cant beat the price. And they fly really well too. My suggestion, go with the eachine e010.

 

[makattack]

Welcome to the FT forums army_guy137!

Why not both? Sounds like that eachine model is pretty inexpensive. If you already have a Spektrum TX, the BNF Inductrix makes sense for when you want to give him experience on a full range/high end TX. Fly the inductrix yourself with your son flying the eachine until he's ready to move up.

Ok, maybe bad advice coming from an RC addict to a new guy to just buy 'em all This is how it starts.

 

[Craftydan]

Hey army_guy, welcome to the forum!

Overall, either of the plans you lay out should be fine for helping your son (really, anyone) transition from sim to real life.

The 010's remote is pretty small but I expect your 5yo's hands are still just about right for it. If you go this route, I recommend getting a pair of long push-pins, drill a pilot hole, then stick/glue them into the ends of the TX's sticks to give a bit more length -- two different push-pin colors can also help you tell him which stick to change.

The DX6i will get him used to using a full sized radio earlier, but the switches and antenna on the 6i are a bit fragile -- easy to break if dropped. You can gauge your 5yo's maturity better than we can, but knowing the typical 5yo, I'd hesitate to hand them a nicer radio, particularly if I know the switches are fragile.

As for other suggestions . . . I've had good success with the Hubsan 107 series quads (L = lights, C = camera, there's an FPV version, but it's larger and much more expensive) and the Dromida Ominus and Kodo quads. I'd lean you toward one of these, more because of the larger size -- in general, "Bigger flies better" applies. These are a bit larger than the 010 and inductrix, but still light enough to bounce, but their larger size makes them less twitchy, more stable and less subject to wind.

Any of these would be fine, but the slightly larger ones are still small enough to be relatively safe, but big enough to slow them down a bit.

 

[army_guy137]

I bought a eachine 010 for myself a month ago, and my 4 year old LOVES it. I can't get it out to fly it why he is around as he bugs me till I give it to him to fly. He has crashed it more times than. I can count. Full throttle into the ceiling then no throttle free fall 10 feet to the floor. Now, that being said, he is getting better at flying it, can do flips, hover, tornados, but still needs work at directional flying. But, it is starting to show signs of wear on the frame. The plastic tabs that hold the motors in the ducts are turning white from the stress of crashing and breaking off. The good news is, a new frame is $4. The better news is, the quad is only $15. Lol cant beat the price. And they fly really well too. My suggestion, go with the eachine e010.

I like that it's durable, my only drawback is the remote. Can I bind it to a spektrum to give him the "full size feel"?

Hey army_guy, welcome to the forum!

Overall, either of the plans you lay out should be fine for helping your son (really, anyone) transition from sim to real life.

The 010's remote is pretty small but I expect your 5yo's hands are still just about right for it. If you go this route, I recommend getting a pair of long push-pins, drill a pilot hole, then stick/glue them into the ends of the TX's sticks to give a bit more length -- two different push-pin colors can also help you tell him which stick to change.

The DX6i will get him used to using a full sized radio earlier, but the switches and antenna on the 6i are a bit fragile -- easy to break if dropped. You can gauge your 5yo's maturity better than we can, but knowing the typical 5yo, I'd hesitate to hand them a nicer radio, particularly if I know the switches are fragile.

As for other suggestions . . . I've had good success with the Hubsan 107 series quads (L = lights, C = camera, there's an FPV version, but it's larger and much more expensive) and the Dromida Ominus and Kodo quads. I'd lean you toward one of these, more because of the larger size -- in general, "Bigger flies better" applies. These are a bit larger than the 010 and inductrix, but still light enough to bounce, but their larger size makes them less twitchy, more stable and less subject to wind.

Any of these would be fine, but the slightly larger ones are still small enough to be relatively safe, but big enough to slow them down a bit.

Are any of the models you listed "bind-able" to a different TX?

 

[Craftydan]

Are any of the models you listed "bind-able" to a different TX?

The Hubsan can be bound to a multi-protocol module -- I'm not sure about the dromidas, but there's a chance they can. Those modules can either be popped into a transmitter with a matching bay or wired into a Wakera devo radio that supports the deviation ROM -- not exactly plug-n-play, but we're talking about a sub-$50 RTF quad. You'll likely spend more getting it to work with nicer radios than just throwing it away and buying a BNF one (inductrix, nanoQX, 180QX)when he's ready to move to a bigger radio. If you like hacking, it's a fun project. If you don't, it's costly for no reason and more work than it's worth.


There are also a few tiny-whoop clones (small brushed quads with/without FPV) out on Banggood that will bind to FRSKY or DSM2 (you pick at time of purchase) . . . from all I've seen, they're good quads. I haven't heard if any need tuning, but they probably need a bit of setup with the bound radio. It gives you other options besides Blade's that are BNF, but may be more than you want to get into just yet for him.

 

[kdobson83]

I think if u have a module or something the e010 will bind to frsky but not to spectrum. There are videos of guys flying it on frsky on YouTube, I think a YouTuber called RC Frequent Flyer does it. He said putting the upgraded motors on it makes it a rocket. Anyway, cant go wrong with $15. Gota keep in mind, it is for a 5 year old. I have to keep reminding myslef not to rush my son into the hobby. He's 4 and has more RC stuff than me... lol
I'm sure he will love what ever you get him. But let me say this one last thing, what can u get him that won't make you cry when he destroys it?
Have fun and good luck.

 

[Allenhat]

I vote eachine for now. You will be breaking frames in the Inductrix if you don't brace it or just swap it to the stock eachine frame. I have been seriously thinking of getting a couple eachine for my 5 and 6.5 year old boys just so I can fly in peace with my Inductrix. I do have a nano qx with the stock blade/horizon controller and am impressed with the feel. I mostly picked the controller so I didn't have to give my kids my Taranis when the wanted to fly the nano qx. I am finding it a pleasure to fly with the stock controller. It is noticeable larger then the eachine controller. The other nice thing with the eachine is it is practically disposable at its current price. There also sites in the US carrying spare parts for the eachine because of the compatibility with the Inductrix. You won't have to wait for the part to come from China if you want to fix it.

 

[ragged_flyer]

I've ordered a pair of JJRC H36 nano quads for the kids to get started with, at $20 AU each they are good buying ... let's see if they are good flying! Coincidentally these look pretty much identical to the Eachine 010/Blade types.

Hopefully they arrive for Christmas or dad's going to have to think of something else!!

I'm thinking of getting a battery kit, charger and a set of spare batteries, has anyone tried upgrading from the 150mAh to something bigger? I'll search around to see what I can read.

Cheers,
ragged flyer

 

[CrazyRCJoe]

Helix x4