DarwinFPV BabyApe Pro V2 V3 V4 FPV Drone

TLDR:
I had a great time flying the pro. It arrived built very well with receiver installed (d81). Flew great, awesome punch out with a 450 70c. For analog camera range was good & it was clear. (I'm using FXT VIPER V2 headset.)

However, I had a run-off after approx 20 flights. (radiomaster r81 with a radiomaster t16s v1)

If you're buying I'd purchase the $1.00 20% off coupon to offset any QA issues. (I wish I did)

My Experience:

I've been flying quads & Planes (LOS 5y) FPV (2y). I primarily fly at an RC flying club field with a group. Occassionaly we will fly in other areas or local events.

I'm Currently running with a Radiomaster v1, FXT VIPER V2 headset.

In June, I purchased the BabyApe pro, and the sales department's Sarah noticed that I had purchased a Radiomaster D81 receiver with the quad and asked if I wanted it installed. I chose to have them install it, and they did an excellent job of soldering. (Darwin, a radio button in the shopping cart asking if you would like your receiver installed would be a great addition.)

The BabyApe was completely ready to fly out of the box. I just double-checked the failsafe and changed the angle mode's pitch to be more aggressive. Acro performed flawlessly, with no modifications required.

The construction is fairly sturdy. There were no loose connections on the board, and the hold downs were tight. It held up to crashes very well. I spiked it once in the ground from on high and it was fine and had a few minor crashes.

I would, however, suggest two things.

1.) Don't use the rubber bands to hold your batteries. It seems snug but they wear fast. Use 2 straps instead. (there are a couple included in box)

2.) Glue the 3d printed holder for the antennas or use a zip tie under it to hold it in place. It has a tendency to drop down when you're changing batteries and you will get a prop strike. I did get a wire strike because of this once on a minor crash. Easy fix though.

I had some of my drone club members look at it, and they were all pleased with the build quality. I took a few airplane guys for a ride at the field and they liked it. With a light 450Mah 70c battery, the punch-out is fantastic. 2 Minute flight times with CHNL ministars.

For the club, we were considering a Babyape pro group buy. We thought it would be beneficial for club activities. Bind up and go; everyone is on the same playing field for a race or simply freestyle.

Unfortunately, after about 20 flights of testing mine ran off on me yesterday (7/26/22). We were not able to recover it and after seeing some additional QA issues in recent review profiles we're a bit leary now.

That being said, if Darwin can get QA taken care of it I would not think twice about another purchase for myself. I was having a great time flying it. I loved the punch-out. More punch-out!

TLDR:
I had a great time flying the pro. It arrived built very well with receiver installed (d81). Flew great, awesome punch out with a 450 70c. For analog camera range was good & it was clear. (I'm using FXT VIPER V2 headset.)

However, I had a run-off after approx 20 flights. (radiomaster r81 with a radiomaster t16s v1)

If you're buying I'd purchase the $1.00 20% off coupon to offset any QA issues. (I wish I did)

My Experience:

I've been flying quads & Planes (LOS 5y) FPV (2y). I primarily fly at an RC flying club field with a group. Occassionaly we will fly in other areas or local events.

I'm Currently running with a Radiomaster v1, FXT VIPER V2 headset.

In June, I purchased the BabyApe pro, and the sales department's Sarah noticed that I had purchased a Radiomaster D81 receiver with the quad and asked if I wanted it installed. I chose to have them install it, and they did an excellent job of soldering. (Darwin, a radio button in the shopping cart asking if you would like your receiver installed would be a great addition.)

The BabyApe was completely ready to fly out of the box. I just double-checked the failsafe and changed the angle mode's pitch to be more aggressive. Acro performed flawlessly, with no modifications required.

The construction is fairly sturdy. There were no loose connections on the board, and the hold downs were tight. It held up to crashes very well. I spiked it once in the ground from on high and it was fine and had a few minor crashes.

I would, however, suggest two things.

1.) Don't use the rubber bands to hold your batteries. It seems snug but they wear fast. Use 2 straps instead. (there are a couple included in box)

2.) Glue the 3d printed holder for the antennas or use a zip tie under it to hold it in place. It has a tendency to drop down when you're changing batteries and you will get a prop strike. I did get a wire strike because of this once on a minor crash. Easy fix though.

I had some of my drone club members look at it, and they were all pleased with the build quality. I took a few airplane guys for a ride at the field and they liked it. With a light 450Mah 70c battery, the punch-out is fantastic. 2 Minute flight times with CHNL ministars.

For the club, we were considering a Babyape pro group buy. We thought it would be beneficial for club activities. Bind up and go; everyone is on the same playing field for a race or simply freestyle.

Unfortunately, after about 20 flights of testing mine ran off on me yesterday (7/26/22). We were not able to recover it and after seeing some additional QA issues in recent review profiles we're a bit leary now.

That being said, if Darwin can get QA taken care of it I would not think twice about another purchase for myself. I was having a great time flying it. I loved the punch-out. More punch-out!

Very smooth and nimble easy to fly and set up. Nice if your looking to experience something new and light weight.
I did break off a motor (had a few crash and bound to happened) have new set on order.

Guys it totally with it for the price. I paid few hundred from drones I didn’t enjoy. This one kills it! Buying more

Very smooth and nimble easy to fly and set up. Nice if your looking to experience something new and light weight.
I did break off a motor (had a few crash and bound to happened) have new set on order.

Guys it totally with it for the price. I paid few hundred from drones I didn’t enjoy. This one kills it! Buying more

So I've only had this baby ape for a little over a week and the flight controller burnt out while I was flying emailed support and all they want to do is give me 50% off of a flight controller when in all reality there warranty States 30 days from when you receive the drone so when the drone fell out of the sky it chipped the arm so therefore I need a whole new drone not just a flight controller

This is a great little flyer, especially considering the price.
I modified mine to carry a gps receiver by moving the smart audio onto softserial. This frees up a Uart for the gps connections.
Using a 1600mAh 2s lipo I'm getting 15 minute cruising flights. Very smooth and stable on the stock tune!!
A few flight tests to come using li-ion 2s power, hopefully I can extend the flight time.

I got this drone in mind that it will be week... Came out that I tuned it and made it fly like a real rocket! Awesome for freestyle.

i'm still waiting ....

This will be my second baby ape if it arrive at all. Getting a feedback form while you are still
Waiting for the delivery is in result of a lame configuration. 30+ days later the chat bot is not saving your questions and replying 1 from 4 attempts. Im annoyed and will not order anything in future.

i do not know what is wrong with it . i got it and bound it and flew it but after a few flights it turned off and now after i plug the battery in it beeps and turns off

The way that the VTX and camera are mounted means that the plug and its wires are up against the plug and wires on the VTX this is pretty hard to see from the exterior of the drone, the camer in this state cannot be tilted very much otherwise you can break the plug off of the VTX PCB.luckily there are pads in the rear of the VTX that can be used to replace the plug.this is pretty unacceptable as the first thing that takes a hit is usually the camera.i wouldDefinitely wait to buy one of these until V4 is released because this IS a drone worth buying but in its current configuration it will break o you and require some soldering skills to fix.

I was disappointed to see that wqhen drone arrived it was an old betaflight version. not a previous version but a very old one. Checking the settings i first needed to explore an very old verion. This is not what you want. So pay attention to what version you order and check triple times on the site because it is a hassel

I've had 3 of them, and all of them don't work. Always some fault will pop up; the motor stops spinning. I admit one ran for 2 weeks, but the other two are useless, so that's a lot of money to waste.
My kid keeps asking when we getting another!!# ive brought x2 all ready in the space of x1 month!

I can't even test the quad, 2 motors have a breaking sound, and it makes random movements around the yaw axis, really disappointed

Received this craft a gew days ago (batteries still on the way) BUT, I ordered some from The House of Besos. Maiden went fine and flawlessly. If you're getting this craft, go over EVERYTHING before flying and make sure screws and wires are buttoned up nicely. Darwinfpv, thank you so much.

Received this craft a gew days ago (batteries still on the way) BUT, I ordered some from The House of Besos. Maiden went fine and flawlessly. If you're getting this craft, go over EVERYTHING before flying and make sure screws and wires are buttoned up nicely. Darwinfpv, thank you so much.

This drone is probably really great, that's what lots of people seem to say. There are plenty of youtube reviews of this quad singing its praises. But I think it's important to remember that reviewer products are not randomly selected, they are tested extensively beforehand generally speaking. As you read in the title, my drone experienced only one flight and zero crashes before falling out of the sky due to a motor not spinning. When I tried to take off again, I saw that the led on the arm of the failed motor wasn't lit, which told me it was an esc problem and not a motor problem. I took it to my desk and found that the 3 mosfets closest to the failed motor had all burned out using a multimeter on continuity mode. To me this is unacceptable quality control. I asked darwinFPV for a refund or replacement over email, but they refused because it had already been flown. All they could offer me was a crappy 5% discount to but a new FC/ESC combo. That also sucks because I really only need a new ESC, the FC is perfectly fine, but since they are stuck on top of eachother they need to be bought as a combo for a much higher price. A few notes also: I was using 2s lipos and drawing well below the advertised 15amp rating, and I didn't even use the top of the throttle because I was still getting used to how the drone felt. Overall, the quality control of this drone and lack of customer service make me really regret wasting my money on this drone. Unless you are willing to take the risk I suggest you look for a drone with a better warranty.

Bought on a whim but very impressed by the tune out of the box!
I wish I setup the controller better as I crashed it from over 50ft in the air down on to tarmac!
The only damage was a bent motor.
This drone is great if you are just starting. Start on a 2s battery 450 mAh, as it is fairly fast for a mini.
Fpv is good if you bought the pro ONLY BUY THE PRO!!!!
Put a thumb cam 4k and you will get some great footage.
Great product at a stupidly cheap price.
Will definitely buy another Darwin fpv drone.
Definitely designed and not copied,
You can tell by its tune.
Make sure you use a decent radio transmitter I have used a radiomaster Zorro to feel the full tuning that Darwin fpv have achieved as I started with a radiomaster t8 lite which is ok but it feels slow and indirect.
Fast delivery as I live in the UK.
Great communication,any issues or questions have been dealt with in quick, helpful and respectful manner.
I hope that they grow and they keep their great core values as I am only writing a review as I truly believe that they have a great product.
The customer service I have received made me feel like I was only messaging my local shop, and not a business on the other side of the world!
To everyone at Darwin fpv many thanks for such a great affordable drone that made me enjoy fpv!

Bought on a whim but very impressed by the tune out of the box!
I wish I setup the controller better as I crashed it from over 50ft in the air down on to tarmac!
The only damage was a bent motor.
This drone is great if you are just starting. Start on a 2s battery 450 mAh, as it is fairly fast for a mini.
Fpv is good if you bought the pro ONLY BUY THE PRO!!!!
Put a thumb cam 4k and you will get some great footage.
Great product at a stupidly cheap price.
Will definitely buy another Darwin fpv drone.
Definitely designed and not copied,
You can tell by its tune.
Make sure you use a decent radio transmitter I have used a radiomaster Zorro to feel the full tuning that Darwin fpv have achieved as I started with a radiomaster t8 lite which is ok but it feels slow and indirect.
Fast delivery as I live in the UK.
Great communication,any issues or questions have been dealt with in quick, helpful and respectful manner.
I hope that they grow and they keep their great core values as I am only writing a review as I truly believe that they have a great product.
The customer service I have received made me feel like I was only messaging my local shop, and not a business on the other side of the world!
To everyone at Darwin fpv many thanks for such a great affordable drone that made me enjoy fpv!

great for beginner pilots learning to fly- only weak link is the motors be sure to grab an extra set!

great for beginner pilots learning to fly- only weak link is the motors be sure to grab an extra set!

Be careful its easy to plug battery in backwards. Mine went up in flames

Be careful its easy to plug battery in backwards. Mine went up in flames