Parrot Disco FPV – Easy to fly fixed wing drone, up to 45 minutes of flight time, 50 mph top speed, FPV goggles

I bought this drone just before Christmas. I finally flew it yesterday. I was nervous due to not having control of the launch like my Bebop 2, and absolutely no flight experience with a fixed wing anything. When the drone was released into the air, then began to circle, it was the coolest thing. This drone, was so much fun to fly. And easy right out the box. I really dont understand the bad reviews. I have no prior experience and successfully landed the drone 3 times during the flight session. I suggest to anyone who buys it, to make your first flight in an area you are familiar with. That way you know the attitude you will need to maintain to avoid any crashes. Great drone at a great price. UPDATE: July 5, 2018 So, back in May of this year, I was flying my Diso at the same location. The drone lost connection and the "Free Flight Pro" app suddenly crashed as the drone was flying away from me. I restarted the app, but could not reconnect to the Diso. The drone returned to my GPS location approximately 10 minutes later. I then tried to reconnect to the Disco via the aforementioned app. Failed each time. Restarted the app, tried everything I could. Just had to helplessly watch my drone do donuts in the sky. Suddenly, without warning, the Disco spiraled down out of the sky, crashing to the ground with enough force to eject the nose clone glass and camera, which could not be recovered. The wings were dislodged, but surprisingly, undamaged. About a month ago I decided to contact Parrot to see if they could repair the drone. They were very helpful, and after providing them with the information they requested, I shipped just the damaged section of the Disco, which was the main body with the nose cone to Parrot. I was told by a Parrot represenative that they were going to replace the drone, and was waiting for one to come in stock. Today, UPS delivered my Parrot Disco. But not just a new body with a new camera. Parrot sent me the whole FPV package, which is awesome because I now have a set of replacement wings, and can use the other Skycontroller 2 and glasses to pilot my Bebop 2. Like i said before, I love the company. Can't wait to buy the latest drone from Parrot, the Anafi.

I used to fly radio-control planes when I was younger, but got disenchanted after going through the 'build it, crash it' cycle too many times. I was very intrigued by the Disco - it is a very different take on the consumer drone concept. I was very concerned, however about all the poor reviews on Amazon and elsewhere. My concerns were unfounded, though. The Disco has performed better than I hoped! A few caveats, though - I knew (from my previous RC airplane experience) that a lot of space is needed. Don't expect to fly this in your back yard, or even in a small field, like you might a 'normal' helicopter drone. I fly mine around a large ranch, and it works great in that scenario. I did carefully read the manual (which is very basic, as the critics have mentioned). I also watched the Parrot tutorial videos. Launching was easy once I saw the technique, and I never had any problem. Once in the air, it climbs to 150 feet and circles, giving plenty of time to get settled writhe controller. Landing worked well, too, but just like an RC plane, it is important to line up properly, and the more space available, the easier it is. I did have problems viewing the instruments displayed on my iPhone - it's really to bright outside to see the display. The FPV goggles, on the other hand, have been really fun. Once the plane has been launched, I can load the phone into the goggles and get them over my eyes while the plane is loitering overhead. The FPV video resolution is pretty grainy (it is adjustable, however), but it is easily good enough to get the sensation of flying. I've been quite pleased with the video output, as well. It is 1080p at 24 FPV, and the footage is optically stabilized so it looks far better than what I see in the goggles. The 32 Gb of storage is far more than what's required for a flight, and it's been easy to transfer it to my phone or laptop. The software allows you to place limits on max range, and min and max altitude. I extended the range from the default 1500 feet to 2400 feet, and had no problems with connectivity as long as I pointed the transmitter at the drone. I have yet to try further distances - as it is, at 2400 feet, the drone is practically invisible and silent. I have been being conservative on run times, usually calling it quits at 35% or so, but still have been getting over a half hour on a charge. The transmitter has more capacity, so there should never be a time when it runs out before the drone. Two minor quibbles - the recharger will either charge the drone battery OR the transmitter, but not both. I plan to buy another recharger so I don't have to change cables back and forth. Also, the throttle has a spring that returns it to a middle setting - I'd rather have no spring, so that the throttle stays in place if I release the stick.

This is quite literally the worst product I have ever used. The marketing is excessively misleading to the point I feel ripped off. The thing does not land. I watched all the videos, read the manual, pressed the right buttons. It just kept taking off again when it was coming in for a landing. I crashed it into a soft tree twice. The camera they put in the nosecone can VERY easily and permanently be moved out of focus. You can't adjust it and this seems intentional to me. You have to go buy a 150-300 dollar replacement. That is likely their plan as I could get a camera that seems comparable for 30 bucks but it isn't compatible. But the worst thing is, on only my third flight, I lost video feed, tried to land it, it took off again. I brought it in again via the home button which worked, but the plane was flying crappily with unsteady rpms. It had been fine when the flight started. Then it lost all connection and nose dived where i can never find it. I looked at the app to get flight history data and it had no record of the flight at all! It was like it deleted evidence of its failure. Heaven help me if the people who were unlawfully shooting at it (no, they did not hit it, I was way too far and high and not over their property and it was a different flight that it crashed), find it and review the footage showing from whence it took of. Because, brilliantly, the product automatically records when you take off. You have to turn it off immediately or else your crashed drone will advertise where it came from. This product is a total nightmare. There is no homing beacon, no fall back to find it. They make it look like it automatically lands but my experience was that I spend a fortune on this, mainly for this feature and it was completely not working. I could have bought a plane for the fraction of the cost if it was just going to fly off and crash in a mountain somewhere. I am so extremely disappointed I am not sure I will even look for the plane tomorrow. I'm not sure I even want it back. I already wasted hundreds of dollars on a piece of crap, why waste more time, when i should spend that looking for a solution/product that might actually work and provide value?

It is really really cool but there's one point that I have to say, DON'T FLY NEAR THE TREE, DON'T TRY TO LAND WITHOUT A LARGE AREA OF GRASSLAND!!!! Or you will see the photos attached near your house. My drone was stuck in a 20-meter-high tree. There was no way to rescue… I prayed for the storm and it did come and save my drone… only slight damage at last

I have several Quad drones. Phantoms 3 and 4 and now the Mavic Pro. This is a very different flying experience. I have been flying fixed wing R/C planes for many years so it helps! Some of these negative reviews are from people who have no previous flight experience. The Disco is nothing like flying a GPS controlled quad! Flying a DJI phantom is more like playing a video game! The Disco is a remarkable new kind of drone. If you have never flown a fixed wing R/C plane before launching it will NOT be intuitive! You really need to get help from someone who has flight experience. Also, you need to be in a really open space the first time you fly it. Again, if you have never flown R/C before landing is the toughest part! As far as landing go the DISCO is about the easiest it is ever gonna get baby! Flight Plan is really cool. Cost an additional $20. Overall if you have R/C flight experience and Drone, you will love it.

The biggest problem w. the Parrot Disco is the lack of a good user manual that fully describes its very complicated flight control and autopilot system. I have a lot of experience w. RC aircraft and quadcopter drones of all makes and functionality, from the simplest to the most complex. Before I ever flew the Disco I spent a LOT of time reading the inadequate Parrot manual, looking at YouTube videos, and talking to customer support. My first flight was in a huge open pasture, and went just fine .. but it was a totally manual flight .. no "Flight Plan" preprogrammed autonomous flight ... That was only after 4-5 manual flights to "manual" landings. "Manual" is in quotes, because you cannot land the Disco manually, you have to hit the "Land" button and the Disco takes over and does a pre-programmed approach and landing FROM THE LOWEST ALLOWED ALTITUDE YOU HAVE SET in the configuration parameters. If you set 100 ft., you can fly the Disco no lower than 100 ft., so you can't descend to a lower altitude and land ... it will take over at 100 ft. ... Hence the recommended lowest altitude setting of 16 ft. ... From that point a "manual" landing causes the Disco to keep its wings level, gradually descend to about 6 ft., flare, settle and for a brief instant (try to find that anywhere except tech support) reverse its motor to allow a minimum speed landing .. it "auto brakes" to markedly slow its forward motion. "Spiral Landing" mode is to be avoided unless you own, or have access to, a 100 acre flat field ... In that situation, from an autonomous Flight Plan flight the Disco does the entire landing from a wide spiral .. so good luck picking a landing spot. A very unusual fact w. the Disco is that you are not flying the aircraft ... you are sending instructions to the autopilot which then flies the plane ... much like modern drones like the military Raptor ... and you can upload a pre-programmed flight plan that the Disco will fly quite nicely .. including altitude changes, different video views, etc... Parrot needs to revamp its manual ... or have a continuously updated PDF manual online that they should INSIST that users read before flying the Disco .. that would solve 90% of the problems. It is not a simple, intuitive drone like the DJI Phantom, but if you fully understand it, and its limitations, I think users will have an enjoyable experience. Take it out of the box, charge it, and try to fly it with only the packaged documentation and you will be very disappointed. Can't comment on FPV flight as I'm not that far yet ... and I've been flying it for several weeks.

I am a complete noob in the aviation community but after watching the Parrot videos I was hooked. I have never been a fan of quadcopters. I've always wanted an RC Plane that was user friendly and had the FPV capabilities. The Parrot Disco fit the bill. The Disco is extremely user friendly and the FPV is great when it works... emphasis on when it works. The company advertises a range of 2000 meters but so far I have been unable to take this drone past 700 meters before the connection is broken and the Disco is forced to return home. Video footage begins to hang and become fragmented after 400 meters and then it freezes / disconnects after 500+. I wrote a review on my site at gear-nut dot com There are some things Parrot is not disclosing that I feel prospective buyers should know about before making the plunge.

Truly a "Yuneec" experience even if it is by Parrot. I have several drones, all non-fixed wing, by Yuneec (Typhoon H Pro) and DJI (Phantom 4 and 4 Pro). This fixed wing Disco is another world entirely. 45 minute fly time ! Autonomous flight to the extreme ! You WILL need a totally clear area at least the size of a soccer field with no obstructions on either end as, obviously, it does not land vertically. It lands (automatically) like an airplane. If you ignore this advice you surely will damage your expensive toy. The camera is 1080p. Lots of fun. Obviously in winter in the northern climes be prepared for 1 hour in the cold with warm boots and proper nimble gloves. I do NOT suggest for kids under 18 years of age and especially with a fixed wing "drone" much more good judgment is necessary. This can fly at 50 mph. If it hits something or someone, it would likely cause damage and/or harm. After buying this I purchased several "mini" drones from Parrot for non-serious fun. This requires registration as a Hobbyist with the FAA in the USA. No test required, for NON-COMMERCIAL PURPOSES. Before flying, check the B4UFLY app as to clear (and legal) airspace and familiarize yourself with the local and FAA regulations. Any type of drone of this weight (and size) requires the exercise of GOOD JUDGMENT. Just don't "kick the tires and light the fires".