Christmas 2018 was close, and RCMoment sent me a little foldable toy drone that costs around 40 dollars: the Visuo XS809S. I took it out on an insanely windy day to see if it could be the perfect gift for a first-time pilot.
A tiny Mavic lookalike
First of all, thank you to June at RCMoment for sending me this drone. This is the improved version of the Visuo XS809S, with better stability, better altitude hold and better controls than the previous one. It doesn't do the 360 flip any more, which is a bit of a bummer.
It looks like a smaller, lighter Mavic Pro. It folds, so it's very easy to carry around, and the build quality is very good for the price. It doesn't feel cheap in your hands. The controller is well made and solid, with a clever phone holder that unfolds from the centre. Remember you'll need AAA batteries for the controller, which aren't included. In the box you get prop guards, spare props, a tiny screwdriver, the battery and a well-written manual that I suggest you read. The battery charges over regular USB, not a proprietary charger.
Setting it up
You connect your phone to the drone's Wi-Fi and open the app (it's called XSW UFO, the same app we used with other toy drones). Pair the controller by pushing the left stick up and then down, then calibrate by holding both sticks down and inwards for a couple of seconds until it beeps. Done.
Flying it in the wind
By the time we got outside it was very windy, which was actually a good test. There's no optical flow and no GPS, so you have to adjust the trim with the directional buttons on the controller: press the opposite direction to the drift until it holds its position. It flies very well and has three speeds. I flew in the second one, because the fastest would have been a bit too much in my garden and I didn't want to lose the little guy. In that wind, for a drone this size and this price, it was kind of amazing.
The specs: up to 20 minutes of flight time, about three hours for a full charge, a 2-megapixel 720p camera and altitude hold.
Who it's for
For around 40 dollars, it's a great Christmas present, especially for someone who has always been afraid of flying a drone, breaking it and losing a lot of money. It's a real starting point for a first-time pilot.