CheerwingSyma X5C-1 Explorers 2.4Ghz 4CH 6-Axis Gyro RC Quadcopter Drone with Camera

I purchased my first two Syma drones in 2015, an X8W and an X8C. They are both good drones that are much larger than the X5SW that I purchased in February of 2023 and this X5C-1 that I purchased just this last week. For me the problem with the X8W and the X8C is that their much heavier size and weight, and plastic parts that are nearly ten years old translates into a lot of repair parts if you make any type of hard landing or run into something. Thankfully, parts for even the older Syma drones are still available and cheap.Flying drones is a hobby for me and I have a lot of other drones and each has its own set of unique features. Some of them are tiny and used for flying in the house on days when the weather is bad. Several have GPS and pretty decent cameras, including a DJI drone with a remarkable camera and remarkable 3 axis gimbal which takes spectacular photos and video. This drone can be programmed using GPS waypoints with several different software packages. It will fly a specific route defined ahead of time where you can specify everything for both video and still photography. It also has incredible range and numerous other features.You might wonder why did I just buy another $40 toy drone that is very similar to my other small Syma drone? My old X5SW has been a favorite for practicing hands on drone flying to maintain and improve my skills. It has hundreds of hours on it and is starting to get a little tired. I thought that it would be a good idea to get a spare while they are still available.Here is why… the Syma drones I own do not have altitude hold, they have a throttle lever that does not have a spring so that you have to constantly adjust it to maintain your altitude. Despite this being a feature of any true racing or actual FPV drone controller... this is getting to be a very rare feature in inexpensive toy drones. The newer model Syma drones such as the version 3 of the X5SW are all coming out with altitude hold as well.It is much easier for a beginner to fly a drone with altitude hold and GPS. You can fly them to a position near you, take your hands off the controller and they will hover in one place until the battery goes dead. My Syma drones requires constant input if there is any wind at all. This develops your muscle skills for the controller and awareness of what is going on with your drone that a super easy flying drone will not.Why is this important? When flying drones it is not uncommon to get yourself into some type of hairy situation. It happens all the time. Sometimes it is caused by the wind, sometimes just a moment where you become distracted momentarily. If your skills are not developed and maintained it is almost certain that you will do the wrong thing basically every time. Your expensive drone will fly away; your drone will fly into a tree, your drone will hit powerlines, or fly into a structure or end up upside down on a road where it will get run over.These two small Syma drones are also nearly indestructible. If it looks like you are about to fly into a tree all you have to do is cut the throttle and it will drop to the ground picking up enough momentum that most the time it will not get caught in the upper branches not be that difficult to retrieve and most likely not get damaged when it hits the ground. If you somehow do manage to hurt something the parts are super cheap and easy to replace, with videos on YouTube showing you how to do it. Many of my other drones will need some type of repair nearly every time and often the parts are difficult to find.Another nice thing is that the batteries are super cheap. For about $10 this drone currently can be bundled with four extra batteries and a 4 way charger. If you didn’t do this to begin with it still does not cost much later. I would recommend getting the batteries that Syma sells.The batteries last around 9 minutes when new. For the longest life LiPo drone batteries should be stored at around 3.85 volts. These two drones start blinking and then losing power before they get to 3.85 volts. So. if your kids or you do not charge the batteries after you are finished flying chances are the batteries likely are already at the proper voltage for storage. This is not common. Most drone manufacturers like to brag about how long their batteries last by designing the drone to drain them to a much lower voltage. Syma could have designed their drones to keep flying until the batteries were at a low voltage which would damage them if they were left that way. I still have batteries from my Syma X8 drones which are nearly ten years old that are still working pretty well. Other than DJI most other brands do not seem to care much about their customer’s long term battery life.I highly recommend this drone, my personal favorite is actually still my trusty old the Cheerwing Syma X5SW Version 1 Wi-Fi FPV Drone that this one is a spare for. They are very similar, costs about the same and uses most of the same parts, but it is configured slightly differently. The X5C has a higher resolution camera. The X5W has a WiFi camera that can theoretically be used for actual FPV flying under the right conditions. I do not use either with their cameras because I have other drones with much better cameras along with gimbals. I just like the flying manners of the X5W a little bit more. The X5C is a little lighter with a lower profile so it climbs faster and doesn't slow down as quickly when you change directions. But you really cannot go wrong with either.

This is my first Quad-Copter (at age 67) and I'm not disappointed. After spending days and days looking at reviews and videos on YouTube, I decided to get the Syma X5C-1. In everything I viewed and read, I couldn't find a significant reason not to get this quad. One thing I'm learning is to take my time, and do it right. If I learn bad habits now, it will be magnified later, when I start buying the $100's of dollar quads. I can tell, I am going to enjoy the X5C-1 for a long time. I didn't put the prop guards on and I took the camera off (just need to remove the two screws holding it on to the battery door) but left the landing gear. With the spare batteries, I would rather have the landing gear on until I learn to control the quad better. Then I'll put the camera back on. This quad is very well built (based on some of my very short flights against the wall or rapid decent to the floor). I also bought some nano-quads (Eachine E010 and FuriBee F36) to practice in the house, but the controllers are very touchy to a newbie, or at least me. The controller for the X5C-1 is much better for me while learning. In anticipation of eventually being able to fly, I sent off for the X8C controller because of the extended distance it will give me over the X5C-1 controller. My X5C-1 has the V6 flight board, so the X8C controller will work without having to open up the X5C controller, solder, and other mods to get the extended distance of the X5C. That just means I can lose it way out there instead of just down to the corner. I'm having a ton of fun and highly recommend the Syma X5C-1. You won't be sorry if you purchase this quad. Just take your time in learning how to fly properly. Also, take care of your batteries. The Li-Po's can be a potential hazard and could cause injuries, or even burn your house down. Read up on the proper care of the batteries. I think I'm going to put a couple of strobe LED's on the quad so I can see it better when I do learn to fly it out there a bit. There are strobes that are very light weight and have their own battery power so you can see the quad at a distance. Listen to me, a newbie that's already planning 4 miles out. Anyway, I highly recommend the Syma X5C-1. May even buy another X5C-1 to Woop with FPV. I know, I know...crawl, walk, then run.

Using directions - first would NOT turn prop. Second one - after four or five tries did fly -somewhat. Have flown them for years. Could not control it. Sent it back. ME? Or bad instructions? Ordered a large one from China. Not here yet. I'm a licensed FAA pilot. Have co-piloted real choppers!