Non-toy drone: high-speed Predator Z51 Review with a fad for ages 14+
Good afternoon. And we are getting ready to fulfill the New Year’s wishes for children. Our baby made an airplane on the control panel at Santa Claus. The husband, as usual, complicates everything, and instead of buying a toy for the age of a five-year-old, he would rather buy one with which he himself is not averse to indulging. So, we ordered a non-toy drone, a high-speed Predator Z51 with a fad for ages 14+.
Why is this model interesting? Simple, but aeromodelling, practical materials and hull design, considerable dimensions, easy control (by age), the presence of a gyroscope, range and flight time.
Buy Predator Z51 on Official Store
Technical description
Item Name: Predator Z51 Body
Material: Foam, Plastic
Color: Gray
Wingspan: 660mm
Length: 400mm
Motor: 816
Propeller: 5.6cm
Battery: 450mAh
Flight Weight: 88g Flight
Time:
20min Charging Time:
60min Remote control: 2.4GHz
Remote control: 4 * AA (not included)
Control range: 150m
Packaging, delivery set and description of appearance
In front of me is a Predator Z51 plane. The packaging is a large cardboard box with a carry handle. Gross weight 560 grams. The box indicates the model, main technical capabilities, device image and operating conditions.
The delivery set included:
- Airplane (accessories)
- Battery
- USB charging cable
- Plastic wing retainer
- Screwdriver
- 3 bolts
- 2 spare propellers
- Remote control
- User’s manual
The aircraft is packed securely, and this is not surprising, because the aircraft itself is made of foam. This is a prefabricated model, therefore, a kit in parts that are placed in a foam backing.
This toy model copied the original quite well: everything is in order with disguise in terms of color, the wingspan, as expected, is almost 2 times the length of the body, the tail is in the letter V. The only thing is that the engine in this predator is one and it is located in the tail, unlike from the copy, 2 engines are provided here and they are on the wings.
About the gray case — this is not good in cloudy weather at a great distance it is easy to lose. The wingspan is good and the plane keeps balance well during landing. But about the tail — there is a flaw, in a real predator it is made in the form of an inverted letter V. I was not mistaken, there is only one way to install the tail, as in the photo.
The body consists of combined materials, mainly strong foam. Some plastic inserts are included.
Body length 40 cm, at its widest point 5.5 cm. Wing length 33 cm.
The fenders are marked L / R, 2 screws, one on each, from which thin wires extend. the plane was assembled within 5 minutes without instructions, but it is included in the kit. Instructions in English and Chinese. You will not need any special tools and glue to assemble the airplane. The only thing is, maybe for the first flight, you will need to recharge the battery. And yet, the first launch will be canceled if you do not have 4 AA batteries for the remote control at hand.
The chassis is attached to the body, the tires of which have lining made of soft material. The chassis is well cushioned by a thin spring-loaded wire.
Remote control
It is a large square case with beveled corners made of matte black plastic. The plastic is strong. The body does not creak when pressed. The control panel is represented by 2 joysticks, the left one has up / down movement, the right one — left / right. There are 2 buttons under the joysticks, the right one is a trimmer, the left one is a dummy. In the center is the on / off switch, it works softly with a click. There is also an indicator of device operation. On the front end there is a carrying handle, a 2.4 GHz antenna and 2 side buttons, the right one is responsible for the backlight (but in this model it is not provided), the left one is the speed controller.
At the opposite end there are legs for placing the remote control in a vertical position, in the central part of the case — a strap mount. On the back side there is a socket for 4xAA batteries.
In work
Before proceeding with the description of the flights, a few words about installation — the apparatus is mounted quite easily, no special instructions for its assembly are required, it is enough to install and connect the board, battery, attach the chassis, fix the tail section and activate the control path, supplying it with 4 batteries of the type AA.
The aircraft is controlled only by the remote control, no special mobile applications are required. Here it is necessary to describe the operation of the PU buttons. Don’t be confused by the large number of buttons on the remote control, some of them are fake. The left joystick acts as a gas pedal and has forward / reverse travel. Right stick allows you to steer the aircraft to the right / left.
In order for the airplane to take off, you should start it with the power button located on its body and turn on the remote control. Thus, communication is established between devices. This aircraft does not need a runway and can take off handheld. In this way, fly the plane upwind horizontally, only a small tilt angle of up to 15 degrees is allowed. For a normal drone flight, it is worth considering the weather conditions. The manufacturer says about them in the instructions, the case does not have moisture protection, and for launch you should choose a windless day without precipitation. The wind speed should not exceed 4 m / s. Of course, we did not wait for such weather and tested the plane in harsh conditions for it.
The range of the remote control is no more than 150 meters, then the plane loses contact with the control source and crashes. If it is necessary to urgently interrupt the flight, it is enough to turn off the power button on the control panel, the propellers will continue to work for another 3 seconds, then they will stop and the plane will crash.
It is worth saying that in those descriptions the manufacturer also warns about the maximum weight load. Thus, the manufacturer allows the installation of additional modules, such as a backlight or a small camera (not included).
To land the plane, you need to slow down and bring it as low as possible on a level surface. For a soft landing, the design provides wide fenders and a spring-loaded chassis with soft wheels. In order not to lose them during planting, I would advise you to take them with glue.
This aircraft model is equipped with a stabilization system, due to a gyroscope, and also has feedback with the remote control for signaling about a low battery.
The autonomous work of the drone is 15 minutes. The battery is charged within an hour. A USB cable is used to charge the battery. You can buy a spare battery to extend your flight time, but you need a screwdriver to remove it.
Output
So, our drone remained undamaged after the first flight !!!
At the moment, this was the only launch, because the plane will be presented to the child. The weather was bad, and our flying object was intractable. During a strong wind, it was not possible to launch it out of hand, although I watched a video where this model is easily launched in this way. There were hard landings and an accidental fall into trees (during the flight, the gas pedal was completely released). In the trees next to the predator sat a huge fat hare! and then how it will run … Out of surprise, I was confused and did not have time to photograph either the attack of the predator or the handsome hare.
The plane is quite playful, but responsive. An adult will like to fly it, and the flight is much more interesting than a quadcopter flight. But I don’t undertake to assert that a 5-year-old child will cope with his management.
Video review:
What I want to say about the quality of materials and reliability, of course, at first glance, the foam body will seem unreliable, but practice has shown that foam products are ideal for flight and soft landing. It is not for nothing that this material is used in the manufacture of toy flying vehicles, which makes them light and cheap. From experience: even after an unsuccessful landing, it looks like new: the body is intact, the screws and removable parts are in place, there are no visible traces of use. That’s all, happy shopping!
Conclusion: Predator is a great drone and lives up to its name!
