Altair 818 Hornet Beginner Drone with Camera | Live Video Drone for Kids & Adults, 15 Min Flight Time, Altitude Hold, Personal Hobby Starter RC Quadcopter for All Ages (Yellow 818 Hornet)

Let me just start by emphasizing that you're almost certainly not going to use this drone for professional work. But the FAA currently considers drones under 250g to be toys, and at 248g this one is correctly classified. If you're a hobbyist who likes to shoot photos/videos or training to become a commercial drone pilot, this is a rugged little drone that's a great choice. For me, after learning to fly with this, transitioning to a professional drone (which will cost you at least 10x as much as this one) was a breeze.The big pro for this drone is that it's simple and durable. I crashed it countless times while learning, and it keeps on flying. The controls were easy to master, and Altair Aerial's customer service was very helpful when I had a question. (The instruction manual was clearly translated into English by a non-native speaker.)The big con is that it's simple and lightweight. That means that every breeze, every convection current grabs it and tosses it around. This is great for making you a better pilot, but your only prayer of getting great imagery out of it would be on unnaturally calm days. That said, the fact that you can take pictures and videos with it means that emerging pros can get used to flying and shooting at the same time, and amateurs have the ability to get imagery at a very reasonable price.The secret with any drone purchase is to know what you plan to do with it, and to select the right drone for the job. I'm a photographer who bought this so I could learn to fly on something I didn't mind crashing. I'm very happy with this purchase.

This is mine and my daughters first drone. She loved flying the little choppers from the local stores so we decided to step it up. What sold be on this drone was the 15 minute flight time per battery and that replacement batteries are cheap and quick to swap out.To be honest we haven't tried to use this drone past beginner speed yet but we are having a blast with it learning to fly. It did take a bit to get used to the controller, as for video games the sticks are opposite from the drone. The right stick goes forward/backward instead of the left but after a little practice we are getting adjusted.The spare motors and blades are a nice addition that I am sure we will need in the future. Also this drone seems pretty duarble since we have flown into every wall, tree and bush we can find.Very impressed with this and glad we chose this to learn with. Not sure we would have had this much fun with only 5-7 minute flight times of other drones.

I am NOT a drone pilot, but this drone is a great way to learn. The instructions are very clear (except for hover control) and well-written. The drone is extremely easy to set-up and paired with my Samsung Galaxy Note SM N920A without any problems. I appreciate the fast/slow speeds. The battery lasts close to 10 minutes, but I bought extra batteries for increased flying time. The 2mp camera doesn't offer the clarity of a higher mp camera, but for a starter, it's great fun. The drone is very sturdy and despite hard landings and collisions with a few walls, the only damage has been a few scrapes on the propeller guards. The control box is comfortable and easy-to-learn. Being able to add your own smartphone increases the fun factor.All together, I would recommend the drone. I hope in the future, I can upgrade the camera to a higher pixel.

This drone was purchased for Xmas 2018 and I'd like to share a few experiences with it. This is my first Quad chopper and is excellent for beginners like myself. I decided the purchase of this one opposed to others because, it came with an extra battery, two motors and 4 extra prop blades. The batteries have approx. 15 min flight times per. After running into many walls in the house, the outside brick walls, patio furniture and having to hit the Emergency Stop ( E-stop) on numerous occasions the Quad has taken it all in with no damage. I engaged the E-stop on one occasion from approx. 30 ft high because the 15 mph winds were to much and took it away, (beginner mode) the Quad dropped/slammed into the road across the street. Only issue was the camera came off..to easy slapped it back on and good to go. 2nd E-stop was from approx. 20 ft in the air, the quad got away and had to drop it in the neighbors yard twice, no damage.Here is one for you, after about 3 weeks one of the batteries went bad, I called Altair and spoke with Matt ( he actually speaks English ) who said that I could send the whole Quad back for a 100% refund. I was shocked and told him that I only wanted to replace the battery. He told me to go to their website explain what was wrong and put in my mailing address and he would ship out a new battery. This is a 5 STAR Quad for beginners or experts because it has three modes to choose from. This puppy is not only durable but is built with quality material that has been abused by me, not purposely. Only Cons, takes about an hour to charge batteries, not a bother for me as I ordered two more and have 4 on hand. Thumbs up AERIAL!!! GREAT PRODUCT!!

This is a great drone. However, be aware that although it is being sold internationally, spare parts from Altair are not available outside the US. Also, the specifications on the Amazon site show the inclusion of 2 spare motors, an SD card and a card holder - the company actually discontinued putting these in the bundle 2 years ago - it needs updating on Amazon guys!