First flight success

Ross R Zanzucchi

I purchased this to learn how to fly drones. My goal is to move up to larger, more sophisticated drones and incorporate them into my existing Realestate photography business.

The package came with no damage and everything was included as described. I opened the box and immediately started charging the batteries...I purchased an additional 3 and charging hub with the drone. I went over the instructions, which were basic but enough to get you in the air, and by the time the batteries were charged I was ready to fly.

I went into my garage, moved the cars and shut the door. Even though it was rather inexpensive, I didn't want to loose it on the first throttle up. Well, I didn't need to worry. After syncing the wifi I made sure it was on slow speed and then hit engine start . Props began spinning and I slowly moved the throttle up...left stick. It immediately ascended to about 5 ft and I let go of the throttle. It maintained it's hight and started drifting right so I started moving the right stick to the left and it came back and I landed...First flight Success!

From there I couldn't stop. It took very little time to learn to control the drone. I did crash hard about 5 times learning to rotate the drone with the left stick, but there was no damage to the drone. I did have the prop guards on or I'm sure I would have broken a prop or two. I made an imaginary course in the garage with 2 landing points and within an hour I was flying the course with ease..

I downloaded the app and used it to see the video as its being taken...very cool and works flawlessly so far. I don't have any good video yet but thats because I'm still learning to control the drone, but the footage I do get is decent quality. Today I'm taking it out of the garage and and letting it soar...well, maybe up to 50 ft or so, we'll see.

My opinion this drone is well worth the money if your looking for a starter drone. I would also recommend you buy the additional 3 batteries and charging hub...batteries only last 8-10 minutes each.

I think learning how to fly drones without GPS is an important step on your journey to more advanced machines, and this little drone delivers on price, performance, and durability.

Fun thing

Goat Man

Lots of fun for a little toy. Plenty of transmitter range. Reasonably robust, survived being flow. By my 2 year old.

Updated Review!!

Elizabeth R.

UPDATE: Holy Stone contacted me within a matter of hours after seeing my review and apologized for the incorrect description of this product and then shipped me ANOTHER drone at no charge. And not only was it another drone, but it was the UPGRADED MODEL with the adjustable camera angle that we need. I can’t even begin to describe how impressed I am with their customer service. Just OUTSTANDING. This is the kind of customer service that ensures I’ll be recommending this brand over and over again to friends and family. Thank you, Holy Stone!!!

Original Teview: The product description clearly states that the camera angle can be manually adjusted. That’s the main reason I chose this model. But the instructions don’t even mention it, which leads me to believe that it can’t be done. I’m using this drone to inspect my roof, gutters and other areas around my property that are too high for me to safely access by myself. I need to be able to make the camera point downward. The drone, itself, seems to work like it should. I’m just upset that the product description is misleading.

Highly recommended drone!

Ahksmom

What a wonderful product you have. It took a few times to get it to track right. So happy to have this drone! My girlfriend bought it for my birthday and then I left her

Expectations well met, and then some.

RandyT

I had checked several reviews and YouTube videos on the HS170D before I purchased it, so I knew what to expect in the box. One thing not shown in the Amazon picture is the cute little note pad with pen, colored stick-on tabs and post-its. Inexpensive cardboard cover, but a nice touch with Holy Rock's Hotline and email address printed on the back.
I am a total novice with drones, my only experience being a disaster with a toy helicopter several years ago.
I set the speed a 1 (must have controller linked to the drone) to start. With the automatic start and land, and altitude hold, initial flight was not difficult (though not necessarily simple) for this first timer. The only disadvantage of the slowest flight mode was when I got a little too high, and a breeze (surely not my flying) took it from the backyard into a tree in the front yard.
Today I got brave and took it from the backyard to a nearby sport field. After it ended up in a neighbor's yard, I bumped the speed up to 2, and had no more problems controlling it with the slight breezes.
My only complaint is that it is difficult to tell the orientation, when it's too far away to see the camera in front or the battery in the back. I still need some time to get used to using the FPV from the camera on my phone to keep track of things.
At some point I lost the SD card out of the camera. I don't know if I didn't seat it properly or if it came out on one of my not so gentle, unintentional landings. I didn't lose the video though, as it was also recorded on my phone, although, maybe not at the same resolution.
Speaking of rough landings, I've had a few, including falling 15 feet out of a tree onto the sidewalk. The only "damage" has been one of the propeller protectors came off, and the one of the double axial ribs on a protector broke (still quite usable). HS includes two extra protectors, extra landing gear, and a full set of propellers with hardware, so you can survive quite a few rough landings before you'll have to order spare parts.
I purchased four extra batteries and the cubical battery charging station (wall wart not included). I could have bought one fewer batteries, though, as Holy Stone will send you a battery if you "Share Your Awesome Flying Experience by Writing Honest Amazon Product Review." I assume they would have honored that for a less positive review, but this one is honest.
Would I buy it again? Absolutely. Would I recommend it to others? Yes.
I could probably say more, but no one will read this far anyway :-).
UPDATE: I lost my drone on 9/27. After a couple of days of looking for it, I finally ordered another, verifying the answer to my "Would I buy it again" question. Ordered on 10/1, received on 10/2. Flew it to examine the trees where I lost the first one, but to no avail. Then, while looking again today, I found the first one in tall grass. Yeay! Guess the grandkids get a drone when I see them at Thanksgiving!
A couple of caveats on the rave review: After a few crashes, I have lost three LED covers. HS supplies two spares, but I can't find a crash kit that includes them. I've emailed HS regarding replacement purchase. Also the battery has come out on crash a couple of times. Make sure you push it in fully, then give it a little extra push. Same for the SD card. Make sure it clicked into place.