Drones have many forms and sizes, but here we are going to talk about the fixed-wing drone. The drones with fixed wings have unique advantages and make them suitable for many different usage scenarios.
Drones with fixed wings require take-off and landing runways due to their inability to take off vertically. Though many models are capable of doing this, they cost more and are limited to get. But, their most significant advantages are better power efficiency and longer air times due to gliding capabilities.
These winged drones possess unique traits and are often equipped with state-of-the-art cameras or thermal imaging solutions. It also ensures the work efficacy of these drones. For those of you interested in which particular industries are taking the most advantage out of fixed-wing drones.
In this article, we will give you a closer look and search for the best fixed-wing drone you can get from the market. Here, you will find 5 of them, which are currently the most popular winged drones.
- Parrot Swing with Flypad
The Swing is the low-priced, fixed-winged drone model coming from the parrot. Most recently, the company declared its first huge fixed-wing drone. They also concentrated on the opposing end of the market and have also renewed their range of smaller, indoor-friendly drones.
To make it lightly, made it from a variety of polystyrene. These big blade-fixed wings are slim but wide to maximize the coverage area. This design suggests it can act as wings when the Swing flips 90 degrees to fly in its plane mode.
But, little do they know that this model supports dual flight modes as a quadcopter mode and as a plane mode, making it extremely versatile.
Moreover, it is designed for all sorts of aerial acrobatics with Customizable piloting settings due to its high agility and maneuverability in the air.
The parrot tried something a bit different with this latest small drone. The Swing can fly with its propellers aiming upwards or ahead.
The underneath ultrasound sensor can measure how far away the ground is, as long as you don’t fly it above four meters. It also has an Ultrasound sensor that can measure altitude and ensure the Swing stays in the air.
It also has a 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis gyroscope to estimate its speed, tilt, and how hard it’s hit an obstruction.
Moreover, there’s a camera, micro USB, and pressure sensor on the opposite end to the shuttle, while the underside is a mostly hollow rounded plastic case.
It can control in two ways, such as the Swing can Pilot with a smartphone app, then, you can either use your smartphone by installing the control app, or use the included Parrot Fly-pad controller.
The advantage of the Fly-pad is that you get up to 60 meters range, whereas your smartphone’s connection (Android or iPhone app) will likely max out at 20 meters. Plus, with its propellers and nose facing forwards for fly speeds up to 20mph.
Furthermore, it also possesses an automatic take-off and landing button, alongside plenty of settings for replacing elements like maximum height and speed. Indeed, with a 30-minute recharge per battery, some are waiting around to be done after just 25 minutes of fun.
Tech specifications:
Weight 295g
Battery 550 mAh, Li-Po, removable battery
Dimensions 32.5 x 12.6 x 12.1 cm/ inches
Camera 4K resolution
Control range 60 meters
Max flight time 25 minutes
Max speed 20 mph
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Easy to fly
- Fast battery charging
- Fast top speed
- Not much expensive
Cons
- Battery life is poor
- Limited range
Available on amazon.com
- KKMOON F949
The KKMOON F949 may not be rife with high-quality features, but it does a great job of providing a fantastic flying experience at an affordable price. This drone by KKMOON is an exceptional yet highly impressive drone with fixed wings that will only cost you $60.
It is made of cheap materials EPP, which gives it a much lighter weight. With such a low price, you would not expect to buy a carbon fiber drone.
The KKMOON F949 is a fixed-wing plane designed by a real Cessna-182. It is controlled through a transmitter and can operate a 2.4GHz transmission frequency with up to 3 channels. It and Capable to be flown both indoors and outside.
Moreover, it features 360-Degree Rotation, Spirals, and Loops capabilities. It also possesses a respectable and maximum transmission range of up to 200 meters. Plus, it features a combination of the three-coreless motor, which provides more durable driving power.
Its maximum range (long-range drones) goes somewhere around 200 meters, which is not that bad, especially at this price range.
It also has a flight time of up to 25 minutes, which is good enough and much better than some other models on our list of the best-fixed wing drones. For beginners, a fixed-wing drone KKMOON F949 is the best option.
Tech specifications:
Weight 771g
Battery 3.7V, 500mAh, Li-Po
Dimensions 21.45 x 8.4 x 4.8 inches
Camera 4K resolution
Control range 200m (0.2km range)
Max flight time Up to 25 minutes
Max speed NA
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Affordable drone
- Decent flight time
- Easy to assemble
- Great for learning to fly
Cons
- Low-quality material
- Average maximum range at best
Available on amazon.com
- Parrot Disco FPV
The Parrot Disco FPV is a considerable drone with fixed wings of around 1000mm. Its design and intelligent utilization of the right materials all contribute to this craft’s fantastic flexibility.
The Disco is comfortable, lightweight just 750g, and compact, and it’s also ultra-precise. The body construction uses expanded polypropylene and lightweight carbon.
It feels lightweight yet still robust. It is furnished with the Sky-controller 2 remote control, which practices MIMO Wi-Fi to communicate with the drone, and has a range of 1.2-mile.
The Disco is also harmonious with third-party remote controls, but it would require an extra RC transmitter for the CHUCK.
Its landing is as simple as take-off. Just hit the Take-off and landing the Disco will automatically incline the flaps on its wings, descends to 6m in altitude, and the engine thrust reverses to reduce the smooth landing speed.
The Disco uses signals from its altimeter, ultrasound sensor, and vertical camera to aid in landing. During grounding its rear propeller is also folded flat to bypass any accident.
There’s a Return Home function that uses the GPS and GLONASS, and you can also set an auto-geo-fence mode to stop the Disco from getting away from you in its companion app, called Free Flight Pro.
One of the best parts of the Disco is the battery life of 45 minutes, which is more than most drones available.
The Disco is equipped with a 1080p/14-megapixel wide-angle front camera that uses a 3-axis gimbal for stabilization. Footage and photos are saved to the internal 32GB of storage.
The Parrot Disco also has a first-person view (FPV) headset along with the latest sky controller for enhanced steering precision and perfect accuracy. You can link your chosen smartphone in and connect it through a USB cable to the Sky-controller 2.
Its unique design makes it super aerodynamic and fast. Its top speed clocks in at around 50 mph, making it extremely fast. The 1.2-miles range is an extra selling feature for pilots who like to take their planes distant.
Tech specifications:
Weight 750 g
Battery 2700 mAh, 3-cell Li-Po Battery
Dimensions 4.70 x 45.20 x 22.80 inches
Camera 1080p Full HD 4K camera
Control range 1.2 miles (2km)
Max flight time 45 minutes
Max speed 50 mph
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Excellent flight time.
- Return Home function
- Orbital standby mode
- Fast charging time
Cons
- Need open space for landing.
- Little bit Pricey
Available on amazon.com
- Hubsan H301S Spy Hawk
The Hubsan H301S Spy Hawk is a fully-fledged drone with fixed wings that will surely provide you with a ton of fun for just a fraction of the price you would have to pay for a premium model.
It is an average-sized RC drone with a fixed-wings pan of 1000mm. The Hubsan H301S Spy Hawk can fly beautifully in the air with consistently stable performance. Despite the lightweight of the SPY, HAWK is handled very well in windy conditions.
The Hubsan H301S Spy Hawk is among one of the best-fixed wing drones. It provides excellent value for money and is a fantastic drone for pilots with fixed-wing flying.
The drone comes installed with a 1080p HD wide-angle camera that can be used for FPV flying. This smart-looking camera plane only weighs 350g, which makes it easy to carry.
It also comes equipped with many useful features. These include an auto return to home, GPS precise Stability System, auto-balanced technology, automatic return to home, and position hold capability. These safety features make the Hubsan a great fixed-wing drone for beginners looking to dip their toes in drone piloting.
This winged drone has a range of 1000m which is very decent and gives a flight time of about 30 minutes.
There is a 3.5 inches On-Screen-Display (OSD) in the center-top of the 2.4Ggz transmitter. With its relatively low price and reliable performance, we dare to say that Hubsan did a pretty good job.
Tech specifications:
Weight 355g
Battery 1300mAh, Li-Po
Dimensions 40.5 x 7.1 x 14.3 inches
Camera 1080P HD with 120-degree wide-angle lens
Control range 1000 meters
Maxi flight time 30+ minutes
Max speed NA
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Easy to fly, smooth and stable
- Decent flight time
- Automatic return to home function
- GPS flight control system
Cons
- Needs space to fly
- May need a little trimming.
Available on amazon.com
- Xcraft XPlusOne Hybrid
XPlusOne Hybrid is another premium fixed-wing drone with plenty of aces up its sleeves, and it can act as a quadcopter and as a plane, allowing you to choose in midair what particular model you’d like to fly in.
The Xcraft XPlusOne Hybrid Quadcopter combines the hovering capability of a traditional multi-rotor drone with a high-speed flight that can take quality aerial shots at high speeds.
To achieve both accurate hovering and enhanced top speed, the XPlusOne features an upward-facing wing instead of the traditional quadcopter design.
The best information about this drone is its ability to take off and land vertically, eliminating the need for huge runways. The vertical take-off and landing flying wing/quadcopter hybrid can go up to 60 MPH (100 km/h), double as quick as a conventional quadcopter.
Flight control is managed by altering motor speed to give a pitch, roll, and yaw direction, even in advancing flight mode.
The Xcraft XPlusOne HYBRID incorporates a 3DR Pixhawk autopilot, which allows different autonomous flight modes and characteristics.
The XPlusOne Platinum’s rechargeable battery yields a flight time of up to 20 minutes with a single charge, so you’ll get plenty of time in the air, the speed is where this baby shines the most.
The auto-recovery switch ensures that if you get in trouble, one flip of a switch will put the craft into an auto-level hover.
Optimized control algorithms and an optional 2-axis brushless camera gimbal can get rock compact, silky smooth aerial video, and pictures. The Film packages also throw in a micro DV or GoPro Hero camera.
The XPlusOne is abundant in safety features, including Safe-Arm and Auto-Recovery, as well as automatically holds GPS position and altitude for excellent shots.
Plan your missions using a Google Maps-like interface and let the craft fly the entire mission, take-off to landing, without any additional user input.
Tech specifications:
Weight 1350 g
Battery 2700 mAh, Li-Po
Dimensions 32.50 x 19 x 14 inches
Camera 4K resolution
Control range 1.5 miles (2.4kmrange)
Max flight time 20 minutes
Max speeds 60 mph
Pros & Cons
Pros
- 2-axis brushless gimbal for GoPro
- Optional GoPro Hero HD action camera
- Can take off vertically
Cons
- Comparatively expensive
- Steep learning curve
Available on amazon.com
Final Words:
To sum up, from the discussion, we surely say that this list of drones with fixed wings will be useful. It will assess you to make your final decision about buying a drone.
The primary purpose of this writing is to provide information to you regarding a low-cost fixed-wing UAV for inland lake shoreline and adjacent area investigation.
Fixed-wing drones can provide an excellent tool for accurate surveys of a shallow lake shoreline specifically for small inland reservoirs.
It also provides valuable geo-information data faster than the traditional total station or RTK methods.