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What are the 5 Top Beginner Drone Kits You Can Buy in 2017 to Learn and Build Your Drone

The prices of drones have fallen recently and building a drone from a drone kit may not save you money but it is still a fun and a learning activity. When you build your drone from scratch, you know what goes where and it helps if something gets broken. You can quickly buy the replacement and fix it. Drone kits are therefore still popular for amongst many drone enthusiasts. In this article I have tried to list five top drone kits in the market you can buy and build your drone.

1. F450 ARF Drone KIT from DJI

This is a starter drone kit. Good frame design with sufficient space to mount the accessories. The frame is available in three different colors. The accessories you have to buy separately are the radio controller, gimbal and camera and the batteries. There are helping tutorial videos available which will assist you in building your DIY drone.

2. LHI250 Quadcopter Kit

 This is a mini quadcopter kit with a frame size of 250 mm. The kit is unassembled. You may also purchase an assembled version which is a bit more expensive but you can still learn from it more easily if you are just a beginner. You will have to buy the radio transmitter separately. The prices are very reasonable. Four LHI MT2204 2300KV Motors comes with the kit with LHI 12A Brushless SimonK ECSs.  OpenPilot CC3D is the flight controller. The best part is that you can use opensource OpenPilot software on your tablet.

3. 3D IRIS+ Quadcopter Kit by 3DR

This is the best kit for beginners. The kit include all the required components and you just need to put them together. However, the gimbal is not in the kit. You can buy this as an add-on. Tarot is the recommended gimbal for this kit. The kit include the radio controller, , props, landing gear, telemetry module, cables and battery with battery charger. The telemetry antenna is attached and the frame is pre-assembled. You should order the proper (American or European) telemetry radio set when ordering the kit.  The flight controller is Pixhawk.

4. QAV250 Carbon Fiber Mini FPV Quadcopter Kit

This is a drone kit by Lumenier. QAV250 is a popular mini FPV quadcopter kit. The frame size is 250mm.  This G10 version is a carbon fiber version. It can accommodate 5" Props. For bigger 6” props, you need to buy QAV250 6" Carbon Fiber Arm Extensions.

 You can also buy QAV250 frame-only and then can add other components of your choice. You can also buy this drone on Amazon and getfpv websites. A good kit for beginners, it can save you time, and you can still play around and learn. The 250mm is the distance measured motor shaft to motor shaft diagonally. If you go for a frame-only option, the compatible motors would be light and sturdy Lumenier RX2206 2350kv motors.  You can also use GoPro camera instead of a Lumenier camera, you would need a QAV250 CF Vibration Damping Camera Plate. This will reduce the vibration by separating the camera plate from the air-frame and by absorbing vibration. 

5. GB 190, Racing Drone kit by Gearbest

It is a full quadcopter kit. You just have to add a radio receiver which should be compatible with your radio transmitter. The kit has two versions, standard and racing. Here we discuss the racing version. The kit comes with an X frame, PDB, F3 flight controller, EMAX RS2205 motors (brushless), camera, props, ESCs, connectors, VTX and antenna and few other accessories. The price is very affordable. The camera is also included. The kit is very compact. Frame arms are mad of carbon fiber with one small structural component made of aluminum.

Want to Buy a Drone:

If you are interested in buying a drone, you may find the following articles useful on Personal Drones:

1. 4 Best Beginner Drones

2. 5 Affordable Drones with Camera