| Spaßfaktor | |
| Flugverhalten | |
| Materialqualität | |
| Aufnahmequalität | |
| Preis-Leistung | |
| Average 0/5 |
Hexacopters are often offered as a model kit. But we have found a copter with 6-propeller-drive, which you can buy pre-assembled and which is not that expensive.
It is the Simulus Hexacopter GH-60.clv with FPV live image transmission and a HD camera.
Technical Details
Unfortunately this drone has no gimbal system and the HD camera is fixed. Nevertheless, it is suitable for beginners, because it has a solid workmanship and can be operated intuitively.
It is driven by 6 motors, each of which drives a propeller. The construction of the rotors is ok but not really outstanding, because when flying, there are quite loud flight noises.
For this purpose, the drone is held perfectly in the air. Hexacopters are generally more stable to fly and less prone to crashes than quadrocopters with 4-propeller propulsion.
Should one engine fail or even 2 (which is really unlikely), the aircraft will still stay in the air and you can land it safely.
Processing and material
The processing of the GH-60.clv makes a very robust impression. In addition to high-quality plastic, robust aluminium struts have also been used. The landing skids are additionally padded.
The design makes a futuristic and cool impression. On the other hand it also has something insect-like about it.
26 colored and bright LEDs are distributed all over the hexacopter, they are placed in front, back, top and bottom. This ensures that the drone can be flown in the dark, at dusk or even in complete darkness, because the position lights have different colours at the front and rear, so that the direction of flight can be clearly identified.
The drone has a total weight of 540 g and measures 54 x 47 x 21 cm. This makes it quite large. In combination with its 6 propulsion units it can therefore also fight very well against medium strong gusts of wind.
Camera and data storage
Compared to other drone models, the HD camera performs slightly worse. It only has a resolution of just under 1 megapixel. Unfortunately the photos are not of very high quality, but can be sufficient for hobby use.
But if you are looking for a camera drone, which takes very good pictures, maybe you should rather look for another model.
Due to the lack of a gimbal system, any misalignment of the drone is logically visible in the videos. The camera can only be tilted manually from 0 to 120 degrees in its vertical axis.
We can take photos and videos with this model, but we are not so enthusiastic about its quality. Nevertheless, we recommend not to disassemble the standard camera of the Simulus drone, because otherwise the FPV mode is no longer available.
The image and video recordings are stored on a micro-SD card. A slot on the camera module is provided for this purpose. A 4 Gbyte micro-SD card is included in delivery. According to various shops, cards up to a maximum memory size of 32 Gbyte are compatible.
Battery, flight and charging time
The hexacopter is a little weak in terms of power supply. There is a large battery with 7.4 V and 1,500 mAh available, but instead of 4 motors 6 have to be driven. Therefore the charging capacity of the flight battery is exhausted quite fast.
The flight time is about 10 minutes on average. It takes 2.5 hours to charge the camera. Therefore we recommend to buy several batteries. Then you can increase the flight time with some intermediate landings. The flight batteries are not very expensive.
Remote control, range and functions
A 2.4 Ghz remote control is included. This has a FPV live image monitor, on which you can view your aerial shots in real time from a bird’s eye view during the flight.
The navigation is very precise. With the left joystick you can turn the drone up and down, as well as right and left around its own vertical axis. With the right stick you can tilt the hexacopter in all 4 directions, forward, backward, right and left.
In many shops a maximum transmission range of 500 meters is specified. But this is only partially true. In reality, this range only applies to remote control, whereas FPV video transmission only reaches about 300 meters. Due to interferences it can also come to a smaller range or transmission breakdowns.
Advantages and disadvantages
This is a drone that polarizes. Many people do not want to miss the Hexacopter anymore, but other buyers are dissatisfied. We would like to show you the most important facts once again to make your purchase decision easier.
Advantages of the Hexacopter:
- Operation is very easy – the drone can be controlled intuitively and is therefore well suited for beginners
- Very reasonable price – other hexacopters cost considerably more
- Return-To-Home mode
- Extensive LED lighting – This makes the aircraft easily visible even in the dark
- FPV live image transmission directly to the screen installed in the remote control
- Battery is replaceable
- Range up to 300 meters (without live picture 500 meters)
- High flight stability thanks to the 6 drives instead of only 4
- Padded landing skids to protect the construction even during hard landings
Disadvantages:
- Flight time is 10 minutes maximum with a high load time (2.5 h)
- No gimbal system installed
- The camera has only 1 Megapixel
Scope of delivery
The model is delivered almost rtf, i.e. Ready To Fly. You only have to screw a few elements together and off you go. The delivery includes everything you need to take off. We recommend you to charge the flight battery completely before the first take off.
The package contains the following parts:
- 1x Hexacopter with 6 drives and rotors
- 4x additional spare rotors
- 1x 2.4 Ghz remote control with live image monitor
- 1x screwdriver
- several replacement screws
- 1x flight battery (1.500 mAh LiPo)
- 1x battery charger
- 1x camera with different connection cables
- 1x 4 Gbyte microSD memory card
- 1x USB card reader
- 1x German operating instructions
Conclusion
All in all, the Hexacopter is quite good for the price. It even has a Return To Home mode and has a high transmission range.
With a little practice, flying the Simulus drone is child’s play. So far we have already tested a hexacopter, the Typhoon H from Yuneec. We liked this model a little better, but this drone costs almost 4 times as much as the Simulus Hexacopter.
A clear advantage of this model is the rather low price compared to other drones with 6-propeller propulsion. So far we have never seen such a cheap Hexacopter anywhere. Therefore the Simulus is definitely worth its money despite its teething troubles.
