The WL Toys V959 Quadcopter – Future Battleship Gatling Machine Gun is a budget priced Quadcopter that performs surprisingly well for its price point. Even a quick glance at its colorful paintjob and toy Gatling gun will tell you that this isn’t a professional drone. But it does come equipped with a camera and can make a good training drone for someone new to quadcopters.
The WL Toys V959 Quadcopter is constructed of durable materials and has four rotors driven by individual motors in protected housing. Its lightweight body provides an excellent power to weight ratio, and the on board gyro helps to provide a smooth flight experience. It also comes with adjustable control sensitivity, so as your experience grows, you can customize it to your preferences.
It also comes with a Gatling gun mounted on its belly, and at the flip of the switch it can rain destruction down on your family members and nosey neighbours. Well, imitation destruction at least, since the bullets are plastic, but it is one of the most exciting things about this drone.
The drone also comes with a very basic quality camera, but this is more for fun than anything else. It takes decent pictures, but in comparison, even the most basic model phone offers superior picture quality. The camera can be activated via the controller, but it offers very little in the way of control or feedback.
The drone is also capable of doing basic tricks, and once a button has been activated, it enters “trick mode”. This allows it to do flips and other tricks where it doesn’t have to remain stable in the air. This should only be attempted in near perfect conditions, since it doesn’t handle very well in windy conditions.
Buy the WL Toys V959 Quadcopter at Amazon.com
Personal Experience
Having just finished reviewing the excellent UDI U818A Quadcopter, I was looking forward to trying another budget priced quadcopter. And while the WL Toy 959 Quadcopter has numerous bad reviews out there, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it handled in the trials for the Robot Stockpile.
Let me get straight to the point on this one – this is more of a toy drone than a professional drone and you won’t get anywhere near the performance that you would with an Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 or the DJI Phantom 2 Quadcopter . With that being said, you also aren’t paying anywhere near what those drones cost, and this drone provides an excellent experience that I would recommend to anyone just getting started in the world of drones.
After I had received the drone and got it up and running, it was time to put it through its paces in the green space behind my house. The WL Toy 959 Quadcopter doesn’t come with protection around the rotors than many other drones do, so I was hesitant to risk using it inside of the house – at least until I had gotten the hang of it.
I chose a day with near perfect conditions outside, with very little wind and midday lighting so I could easily see what I was doing. I started the quadcopter up slowly and tried some basic maneuvers with it. It was relatively easy to keep stable, but required more work than many of the higher end quadcopters that come with self-stabilizing software.
After a few minutes of playing around, and with one very near crash, I started to put it through some more advanced movements. I tried some of the basic tricks, and even managed to do a quick roll without causing a mini aviation disaster. I couldn’t quite manage to pull off a flip, but after two more outings with the drone, I was able to complete it without loss of life or limb (or drone).
I also tested the camera several times, and while it’s nothing to write home about, it is serviceable and fun to play around with. It did take a bit of getting used to before I could get a decent shot, and the feedback is less than intuitive, but it does work as advertised.
After about a week of piloting this drone, it’s definitely going into my collection of “will fly again”.
Final Word
The WL Toys V959 Future Battleship Quadcopter occupies a strange niche in the done market. It’s slightly too expensive to really be considered as a toy, but doesn’t come with all of the nice features that the more professional level drones do.
That’s not to say that this isn’t a fun drone, but if you are serious about getting into drones, then you should consider either the UDI or the Parrot Drone. Otherwise, this toy provides an excellent beginner drone for you to begin to learn how to fly it properly.
Click here to read more reviews at Amazon.com. For our Canadian readers, you can find the WL Toys V959 at Amazon.ca.
Leave a Reply