cheerwingCW4 RC Drone with 720P HD Camera for Kids and Adults RC Quadcopter with Auto Hovering

This drone is amazing. It has a ton of features that many drones three times its price don't even have.My favorite features:* Easy to learn to fly.* Takes GREAT video.* Take off and holds altitude with the click of a button.* Lands with a click of a button.* Responsive controls. Doesn't seem too sensitive or two sluggish. Seems just right.As others have mentioned, the camera points slightly downward. I really don't mind this, because I usually want video or pictures of the people on the ground rather than the horizon or of the general landscape. But if you want scenic video, others have mentioned that you can adjust the camera by simply loosening a couple screws and wedging something between the camera and the body of the drone. I haven't tried it, but based on how it all looks, that appears to be true. I might try it in the future if I need a certain kind of shot, but I'm happy with the camera angle for now.But the customer service is really what gives this drone five stars. When I lost my first drone, the company contacted me and offered me a replacement, saying that they strive for 100% customer satisfaction. Well, I've got to say, I'm 100% satisfied!If you're buying your first drone, don't hesitate to buy this one. It's great.A few recommendations:* Thoroughly understand the controls and pre-flight procedure before your first flight.* Have a plan for what to do if you lose control of your drone due to unforeseen circumstances* Write your phone number on your drone with a fine tip permanent marker. That way, if you lose it, hopefully some kind soul will give you a call.* Attach a GPS tracker to it. I ordered a Tile Mate tracker and will be securing it with a zip tie to one of the drone's feet. It's not a perfect solution, and does add 50% to the drone's cost, but it does give a bit more peace of mind in case you lose control or sight of it.* Cheerwing makes it clear that it's really not for windy days. Stick to that recommendation.All that said, I have no regrets about this purchase. I wish I could use it when it was just a tad windy out, but for the price, you really can't complain, especially with how awesome the customer service is. If you're looking to buy your first drone, you can't go wrong with this one.--- ORIGINAL REVIEW ---I had high hopes for this drone. I did a ton of research before purchasing it. I compared it to all the drones in my price range, and this one seemed to be the one I'd always wanted. I was blown away by its features.My only hesitation was the same one regarding almost every drone out there: stories of how the drone would randomly fly away on its first flight, never to be seen again. Nevertheless, I told myself that it must just be the user's fault, not taking the time to properly learn how to fly the drone, or neglecting to calibrate it before each flight. So before my first flight, I read every word in the manual. I took it slow. I practiced in safe places. I always followed the proper pre-flight procedure. I was amazed how fast I got the hang of it. Within a couple hours, I could fly it fine.And then, disaster.On my second day of having it, after many successful flights, I took it out in front of my house, where this is a wide-open field. I flew it for a few minutes, and then heard the low battery alert (which also doubles as the "out of range" alert). So I hit the "one touch down" button, and starting directing it to come closer via the controls. It was coming closer, but it didn't seem like it was descending. So I hit the "auto land" button again, and also directed it to descent using the altitude control. It was overhead at this point, so I tried to tell it to go forward again, but it wasn't responding. It kept going backward, over my house, so I ran around the house to the backyard as fast as I could so that I could see it and keep controlling it, but it was too late. It was nowhere in sight, and even though I spent hours looking around my neighborhood, I now reluctantly have to admit that it's lost.Was it my fault? Maybe, I really don't know. I really thought I had a good handle on how it operated, but I'm starting to doubt myself. Did I turn off "headless mode" when I thought I pushed the "auto land" button? Did I fly it too high and it therefore just wasn't responding to anything I was trying to do? I don't think so, because it was just barely able to fly over my house, which is a ranch-style home. But I guess I'll never know.My advice: make sure you are 100% confident in your ability to control it before letting it get too far away or too high. Not 99%. Not 99.9%. 100%. Otherwise, you may never see it again.

The first thing I noticed about this is Cheerwing no longer lists replacement props or batteries for it, however it may use the same parts as another more current model, but I have not confirmed if that is true or not.When you power it up it turns on in 'headless mode' in medium speed. There is a bit of a learning curve using this toy. It records video on your micro SD card, the card slot is in the camera body. The camera is activated to shoot video or take still photos using the controller. The camera is aimed to look forward and down but if you are careful you can adjust it to look more ahead than down.The owners manual has a VERY poorly written English translation, I'm sure you've seen that sort of translation before. I ended up making my own one page instruction sheet.It comes with a second battery, a screwdriver, and 4 spare props. I installed the prop guards which protect the props from impacts in almost any direction, even landing upside down! So far I have had over a dozen low speed crashes and never once broke a prop. This drone is unbelievably lightweight, which means it is very easy for the wind to blow it away, so I never go above 10 feet above the grass.You MUST read the directions to operate this toy. The only reason it is marked as good for beginners, not because it is easy to fly but because it is cheap to replace!The blinking LEDS under the drone can only be seen at night and are pretty much worthless. You will need to calibrate it first time to establish true level (the manual calls it flat instead of level).With one battery fully charged it flies for about 7 minutes then the controller starts to beep.It also comes with a charger adapter (you supply the USB power supply - nearly any model will work). It also includes a micro-SD card adapter to USB. I do not know what the biggest memory card you can use but I'd bet the max is 32gb. I've only used an 8gb card.I can honestly say its been fun to fly outside in calm winds, read the manual first, especially the start-up and shut-down order of steps, to help prevent it flying off all on its own. So far I have no buyers remorse and I am learning the basics of how to fly and adjust trim settings and how trim works. I might buy another one just in case I destroy mine!

I spent some time researching drones in this price range for both ease of flight (and learning to fly without too much electronic hand holding) and a reasonable quality of video. Reviews for the CW4 plus those for Cheerwing customer service won the day and it was delivered in quick time (2 days with Prime for me).While the drone is easy to control for a beginner pilot and is a good drone to learn the basics of flying manually (recommended to get to the next level) the drone itself did not meet up to my expectations in some areas:First, be careful when you read many of the reviews on this page which mention an onboard SD card. I would have preferred one, but there isn't one (FPV only)!! Confusing that the reviews suggest otherwise.Second and even more concerning is the fact that the operating instructions pdf on the product page (at the time of purchase in April 2022) is for a different version of the CW4 which has an SD card slot and a different controller which looks more feature-rich than the one that came with my CW4.(Full disclosure, I contacted the seller after receiving the drone and was told that the old version of the CW4 has an SD slot, the current version does not (FPV). Who knew there were 2 versions ? (I hope the old pdf will be replaced because it is confusing to potential customers, showing as it does a version that is apparently no longer shipped). As for the myriad "onboard SD card" reviews, I guess that's down to bundling together reviews for different versions of the CW4 which have different features and hardware than that sold on the current product page).Finally - and this may be a unique issue to the particular CW4 I received - but the low battery constant beeping noise kicks in after only a few seconds of flight, even with a full battery! In fact, I've flown a total of 3 times now, all with full batteries (3 different ones and each time I barely get off the ground before the annoying beeping starts. And it clearly is not appropriate because I can continue to fly for several minutes like this as the battery is slowly depleted in flight, so it cannot be almost depleted at launch even though the beeping would suggest otherwise.In summary, make sure you know - despite the reviews and documentation here saying the contrary - that you are ordering a FPV drone with no SD card slot. You can fly it as a raw drone without a phone (just the controller) but you'll need a phone and a downloaded app in order to use the picture and video functions. Hope this helps.Undecided yet as to whether to return.Update: April 8th 2022The seller reached out to me to help with issues. I think they genuinely want to back up their product so extra star for that. The pdf on the product page is now the correct one so that's good.The beeping I isolated to additional supposedly compatible batteries I bought to get more flight time, so not sure if a few charge cycles might cure the problem.I decided to keep the drone but as it's not exactly what I wanted, I'll likely gift it to a neighbor's child.

It's a good, cheap little drone for beginners. Fairly easy to learn to operate but has a few downsides. First, it's very lightweight and a light breeze will make it very difficult to operate. Second, an hour to charge just one battery (thankfully it comes with two) that lasts only a few minutes. Third, you can't let it get more than about 20-30 feet away because it loses it's connection with the remote. And fourth, the plastic pieces are cheap and break easily.I've had mine for about two weeks and I'm already buying new batteries and replacement parts. The damage has come from a light breeze blowing it away causing it to crash. Flying it inside is recommended if you have a large area so that you don't lose connection or have a breeze blow it away. Unfortunately, I'm in a small apartment so I don't have a choice but to fly outside. For the price, it's not bad for learning how to fly drones. But if you're experienced with flying them, spend a little more for a better one.

The CW4 was my first drone and I'm really glad it was, for several reasons:1. It has altitude hold, which means that you can fly it to a certain height and it will hold that height (more or less). Drones without altitude hold are much harder to fly.2. It's very sturdy. Face it, you're going to crash your first drone a LOT. I crashed this thing probably 10x every time I'd take it out but it took it like a champ. Even the blades, after many flights, had little more than surface scuffs and scratches on them.3. The controller will feel familiar to anyone who's played video games in the last 30 years. Many other drones have big bulks controls that are made to look like R/C airplane controllers and they just don't fit the hand as well. The CW4 has a nice medium sized controller that will fit both small and large hands.4. Flight time is pretty good and wind resistance is okay. Flight time could be better, of course, but with brushed motors this is pretty average. Likewise for a lightweight drone wind is going to be an issue, period, but this one at least has the power to fight it to some extent.5. Power. For such a cheap drone this thing has enough power to lift and fly a GoPro camera attached to the bottom of it. Now mind you battery life will be cut in half (if not more, so expect 2-4 minute flights) but nevertheless it CAN lift one.6. Comes with two batteries, many drones only come with one7. Has a camera, not a great one, but not a totally abysmal one either. It's usable.Cons:Like any product there are some cons. It's far from a perfect drone, but you shouldn't be expecting that for $50. Even at $250 most drones are still fairly cheaply built.1. Range, it's not abysmal but it's not fantastic either. You won't be hitting 500ft in altitude (nor should you for safety reasons!)2. Camera takes okay 720p video...but the problem is that it is not a very wide angle at all. It's a 50mm equivalent so provides a fairly narrow field of view. Also, in stock form, it points down at like a 30 degree angle meaning you have to get some altitude to shoot anything. A little tinkering can fix this though, as I did on mine.Thoughts1. Remove the blade guards. The provided props are very durable and all they prop guards do is add wind resistance (cut down on flying time) and provide a convenient spot for branches to catch if it goes near a tree.2. Take apart the little camera and modify the plastic inside to allow the little circuit board to slide forward a few millimeters, this will allow the camera to face forward, making it much more useful.3. I can not stress this one enough, PAINT THE REAR OF THE COPTER A BRIGHT COLOR! If you can't tell what the front is and what the back is you will have a hard time flying it. I sprayed some red on the rear pylons and landing gear. Made a world of difference in me being able to tell from a distance what my orientation is.