I bought two of these, one as a Christmas gift for my father-in-law, and one for myself. Naturally, I have been testing it using mine to make sure it is a good gift. I currently have put in a little over an hour in flight time with this Parrot Swing. It is very fun and easy to fly, it is affordable, but there is one issue that can ruin a flight.
My first impressions when opening the box was pleasant as the drone is packaged very well. The possibility of receiving a damaged drone from shipping will be very rare. The package comes with both the drone, and the fly pad. The fly pad is built very well, it feels like an Xbox One controller and seems to match the quality of one too. It comes with a mount that you can attach to the controller so that you can mount your phone. With the phone mounted to the controller, you get details about your flight such as such as time and battery life. You simply pair your drone and fly pad to your phone via Bluetooth and the free flight Parrot app. Of course, you always have the option to fly via your phone if you choose not to use the fly pad. The Parrot Swing itself is very light and very delicate feeling. I was a little concerned about its ability to handle the occasional crash. Otherwise, it seems that it is built well. It has a camera and some sensors on the bottom to help it take off, land, and sustain positioning when you choose to let it hover. It also has a power button on the side.
Before flying the drone, be sure to get the firmware update. You can easily do this through the free flight app via Bluetooth. It only takes a couple minutes. Then you are ready to fly. The first flight went well, I just flew around in drone mode to get use to the controls. This thing is very impressive for lift off, maintaining its position, and landing. When you first take off, you literally push one button and nothing else. The drone will maintain its initial take off altitude and positioning with zero input from the user. It is very similar to the GPS enabled drones. It will even fight wind automatically to maintain position. It really works well. The battery lasts about 6 minutes give or take 30 seconds, so there is a pretty good amount of flight time for a charge.
first time I put it into plane mode, was the first time that I had an issue, and it was frustrating. I went to a big, open parking lot with very few trees in the area. In fact, the closest tree was about 30 feet away. I took the drone to about 15 feet in altitude and threw it into plane mode. As soon as I did that, I had no way to control the drone. It flew straight into the tree at about 15 feet up and got stuck. I was rescued by a neighborhood kid walking his dog. Like a ninja squirrel, he climbed the tree and got my drone. I looked up the issue and found that it is common, and the only fix is to do a hard reset to the drone by holding the power button. After the hard reset, everything worked great. The drone is super easy to fly and can do little stunts with the new firmware update. Later that day I took it out front of my house to show the neighborhood kids. Took it to a safe altitude, and started flying. Went into plane mode, and yet again, right into a tree… same day, same scenario, was once again saved by the tree climbing kids. My lesson was learned, hard reset the drone before every flight. It sucks, but it is effective. I also ran in into issues with the flight pad and my phone switching priority mid-flight. Meaning the fly pad would stop working and my phone would take over, then it would switch back, even though I selected the option to only use the fly pad. It has only happened once.
Other than those minor issues, the drone works great and I am super happy with the purchase. I bought some aftermarket batteries with a charger from Keenstone for about $25. They exceed the flight time of the provided Parrot battery by about 20 or 30 seconds. The only small issue is that the batteries fit tight compared to the Parrot issued battery.
Parrot Minidrone battery,Keenstone 3PCS 3.7V 650mAh 20C Li-po Battery w/3-Port Charger for Jumping Sumo,Swing,Mambo,Rolling Spider, Air Night Airborne Cargo,Jumping Race,Jumping Night,Hydrofoil Drone
UPDATE (12/13/17): I have put another hour of fly time in now and haven't had any of the issues mentioned earlier. I drive to the park by my house to fly because it is a huge open space. I forgot my fly pad one session and had no choice but to use my phone. It worked great, I was able to enjoy the flights just fine. Though, I still like the fly pad more. Now that I haven't had issues, I am bumping this review to 5 stars. This thing is a blast to fly!
There is a newer model of this item:
Parrot PF728000 ANAFI Drone, Foldable Quadcopter Drone with 4K HDR Camera, Compact, Silent & Autonomous, Realize your shots with a 180° vertical swivel camera, Dark Grey
$449.99
(1,944)
Only 5 left in stock - order soon.
$449.99
(1,944)
Only 5 left in stock - order soon.
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From the manufacturer
The stability of a quadcopter, the power of a plane
Parrot Swing is the first Minidrone that takes off and lands like a drone, and flies like a plane. It's also equipped with autopilot and a vertical take-off and landing mode. Pilot your Swing like a pro with the new Parrot Flypad controller and watch it soar through the air at speeds up to 19 mph!
Dual Piloting Mode
Parrot Swing’s unique X shape provides you with two drones in one. Pilot in either Quadcopter mode or Plane mode. The advanced flight controller and reliable sensors help Swing fly like forward like a plane with a vertical take-off and landing. Sturdy and easy to grasp, nothing can stop you!
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Acrobatics in FlightIn Quadcopter mode, piloting Swing is simple and intuitive. The autopilot functionality ensures that that it will stay stable and hover, even if you let go of the controls. In Plane Mode, race around corners with high speed turns and maneuvers. You can also enjoy limitless thrills with in flight acrobatics: flips, dives, loops and many more! |
Gain SpeedChallenge your friends to a race and take off at speeds up to 19 mph! To gain speed, tilt your Parrot Swing forward and watch it zoom away! The more you lean, the faster you go. You can also activate Boost Mode for an extra dose of power mid-race. At these speeds, you’ll soar across the finish line with ease. |
Precise PilotingParrot Flypad allows you to customize your piloting controls for the Parrot Swing minidrone, and extends your flight range to up to 196 ft. Mount your smartphone to the Flypad using the included phone stand, and monitor both battery power and flight time on your screen. You can also use your smartphone to connect to the controller and customize your settings to match your piloting preferences. |
Download, and You're Ready to Have Fun
FreeFlight Mini’s easy-to-use interface makes piloting simple, even for beginner pilots. The app connects to your Minidrone via Bluetooth Low Energy.
Once connected, select your preferred piloting method and take-off. You can pilot using virtual joysticks in Joypad mode (default setting), or by tilting your smartphone/tablet in the direction you want your drone to go in Accelerometer mode.
Tips for getting started
- Before takeoff, be sure to update your Swing's software and fully charge its battery. For double the flight time and twice the fun, pick up an extra battery with your purchase.
- If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our support team.
Reviews with images
Remarkable!!
Ok, So I'll start by saying that I was very happy with this product. This might be long so I will divide it into two main sections. Ill start with the parrot flypad. The feel: easy to hold and is pretty close to a ps3 controller. It takes two or three hours to charge and the battery lasts about six hours. It pairs great and works a lot better than the app. There is a cell phone mount, but I haven't found a reason to use the app when you have the flypad because it does not live stream video. Ok, on to the actual drone. Durability: I have wrecked it multiple times and have just picked it up and flew it again. The most remarkeable thing is that I accidentally crashed it on a neibors two story roof. It was completely stuck. So I waited and hoped that it would blow down. The problem was that night when it rained. The next morning I woke up and seeing how wet the ground was I had no hope that it survived. My neibor found it on the ground and brought to my door. (It must have blown off). I tried to fly it and was amazed to see that it actually flew!!! Speed: parrot claims that it can go 20 mph. I would say that it would be an accurate claim at full speed. Handling: it is very smooth and has simple controlls. Its hover works very well and can stay in the same spot even with wind! The auto takeoff and landing works very well too. Camera: only takes pictures and they are not very clear. Tricks: it does a cutback and barrell rolls. It also does a 15 foot flip!! Battery life: it lasts hovering about 5 minutes and flying about 8.This is a really remarkable product and I would highly reccomend it.Please mark if helpfull, thanks.
Top reviews from the United States
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Top reviews from other countries
Graham S.
Worth the 55$ Canadian Forsure!!! Really fun! Easy to Fly!
Reviewed in Canada on January 18, 2020Color: BlackVerified Purchase
Graham S.
Reviewed in Canada on January 18, 2020
Images in this review
Alexandre Miranda
Muito bom, fácil de operar.
Reviewed in Brazil on August 26, 2019Color: WhiteVerified Purchase
tutu68
Amusant, facile à piloter, mais très sensible au vent
Reviewed in France on May 23, 2020Color: WhiteVerified Purchase
