As far as the best drones for beginners go, top-of-mind features should be ease of use and flying modes. The Parrot Mambo Fly comes with an easy-to-use controller that makes it easy for new pilots to earn their wings, and the three flying modes allow them to progress at their own pace. Battery life leaves something to be desired, but quick charge times should alleviate this a little. If you are in the market for a top-rated drone, then you may want to read through this review.
Why We Like It – Parrot Mambo Fly
The Parrot Mambo Fly boasts enough features to make it a great drone for beginners. The 18 miles per hour top speed steadily eases newbies into flying, and the impressive 30 minutes of charge time allows you to continually operate the drone without having to wait around too much.
- Three Flying Modes
- Easy to Use Controller
- Quick to Charge
- Short Battery Life
- Blades Made of Plastic
- Camera Resolution Could be Better
Speed/Power
The top speed on the Parrot Mambo Fly is about 18 miles per hour. Considering this is a beginner drone, it should be more than enough to get you accustomed to flying. You can check out the DJI Mavic Mini if you’d like something a little speedier. The Fly also comes with three different flying modes: easy, drift, and racing. As you progress, you can switch modes to hone your piloting skills.
Related: You will love our Parrot Swing Drone review if this speed is good enough for you.
Range
Flight time is one of the drones’ weaker areas. At only eight minutes, you’ll run out of battery just as you’re starting to get the hang of flying. On the plus side, you can buy additional batteries so you’ll always have a fresh one when the other runs out. But if you’d like something longer-lasting, consider the DJI Mavic Air 2. But the Fly can fully charge in 30 minutes though which saves the battery from being a complete disgrace.
Durability
Unlike the Parrot AR Drone 2.0 Elite, the Mambo Fly is made of plastic. This extends to the blades, which can get bent if you crash into something metal. You can bend them back into place easily, but it’s a little annoying. However, the included flypad controller looks and feels like an Xbox controller. Anyone with any video game experience should find the Fly easy to control, and crashes should then be kept to a minimum.
Camera Features
Just like the RC Helicopter with a camera, the Parrot Mambo Fly comes with an FPV camera that fits snuggly into the drone and doesn’t move even during shaky landing. That said, the camera isn’t the best quality, and the resolution is pretty low. Consider the Holy Stone HS100 or the Potensic T25 GPS FPV RC drone for something better. The vertical camera on the Fly will automatically send the pictures you take to your phone, though, eliminating the need for an annoying middle-man.
Value
If you don’t want to use the included remote when flying the drone, you can always download the Freeflight Mini App and control the drone with your phone. You’ll get a better range on the controller though, 60 meters compared to 40 meters, than you would with the phone. But if this is your first drone, you wouldn’t want to stray too far from it so operating range shouldn’t be too much of an issue. For professionals, you may want to go through our Parrot Disco FPV review.
Parrot Mambo Fly Wrap Up
You’re more than likely going to crash if this is your first drone. The people at Parrot Mambo should have at least made the wings out of something more durable than plastic, but it does help to keep prices down. But as long as you progress slowly and don’t jump into top speed right away, the Fly should provide you with a great learning experience.
