If you’re an FPV drone enthusiast you’ll have heard of the Flywoo Firefly. Flywoo specialize in lightweight, high-performance micro drones and long range FPV drones. The Flywoo team have a loyal customer base of FPV drone pilots thanks to their strong focus on research and development guided by customer feedback.
In this article, I’ll take a deep dive into the Flywoo Firefly, an FPV nano drone with lots of design options. There are many versions of the Flywoo Firefly available so I’ll start by going through each of the main model options then go through a closer look at the Nano Baby and Hex.
If you’re new to FPV and drone racing, check out this article on race drones and how they are different to camera and FPV drones.
Analogue Vs Digital Firefly Drones
Deciding between analogue and digital is the first decision you need to make when getting started with Flywoo Firefly in the FPV drone hobby. Analogue and digital are the two main types of signal that are used to communicate between the drone, FPV goggles and controller. All three components need to have the same system unless you want to re-configure it.
So which is best, analogue or digital?
Both systems have their pros and cons but it basically comes down to interference, cost, ease of use and latency:
Analogue Drone System
- Cheaper
- Anyone / multiple users can view the FPV signal
- Low latency
Digital Drone System
- More expensive
- The FPV view/channel can only be picked up by your goggles
- Some latency due to decoding of signal which increases with distance
- Higher quality (less grainy)
- Simpler to set up
Cost
Analogue drones and FPV goggles can be bought much cheaper than digital. There are very few types digital FPV goggles available, the most common type is the DJI Digital FPV System which cost around $500 USD.
There are a lot more options if you choose an analogue drone starting as cheap as $50 USD. Some brands that do analogue FPV goggles are Fatshark, Skyzone and BetaFPV.
FPV Sharing
If you want to share your FPV view then you can only do this with analogue signal drones, anyone can pick up the signal.
Digital systems are encoded so when the signal is received it’s decoded by the matching device. This decoding mechanism is the reason there is more latency in digital systems.
Latency
Latency is the time difference between the image being captured by the drone and us seeing the image on the headset or app. Analogue drones have lower latency so if you do drone racing, this is the better option.
Digital systems have higher latency because they have to decode the signal as it’s received. I expect this will improve in time as the technology improves but generally the further away the drone is, the greater the latency.
Interference
Digital drone systems are better when it comes to interference. All drone systems are impacted by surrounding signals from wifi, Bluetooth and microwaves. They can also be blocked by walls, windows and other physical objects.
The FPV on analogue systems goes grainy and snowy when the signal is impacted, making it hard to see.
Digital drones are still impacted by interference but tend to perform a lot better. As you get to the maximum range or when interference is high, the edges of the view tend to get blurry rather than getting that snowy look over the whole field of view.
Deadcat vs X Frame for the Flywoo Firefly
Deadcat and X Frame refer to the arm shape on Flywoo Firefly drones. Deadcat frames have the from two arms positioned further to the sides of the drone. This is so the front propellers don’t intrude as much into the field of view. X Frame is preferred by drone pilots that are into FPV racing, the angle of the front arms is symmetrical to the back.
The body style doesn’t matter as much if you’re planning to attach a camera to the top of the drone. GoPro cameras and the Insta 360 Go sit higher up so the propellers aren’t sitting in front of the camera.
Flywoo Firefly 1s vs 2s vs 4s
The 1s / 2s / 4s in the Flywoo Firefly drones represents the battery size.
The difference between 1S, 2S, and 4S batteries lies primarily in their voltage and capacity. The “S” stands for a single cell, so a 2s battery has two single cells combined.
A 1S battery consists of a single cell with a voltage of 3.7 volts. This type of battery is used in nano drones and micro quadcopters. Since it has a lower voltage, a 1S battery provides less power and shorter flight times compared to higher cell count batteries. However, the benefit of having a 1s battery is that the drone is lighter and more responsive.
A 2S battery consists of two cells connected in series with a voltage of 7.4 volts (3.7V + 3.7V). They have a higher voltage output and increased power compared to a 1S battery. 2S batteries are commonly used in small to mid-sized FPV drones to support more weight and lift additional attachments like cameras.
A 4S battery is made up of four connected cells, giving it a voltage of 14.8 volts (3.7V + 3.7V + 3.7V + 3.7V). 4S batteries are used in larger FPV drones to provide greater voltage output, increased thrust, and longer flight times but have the downside of weighing down the drone.
It’s also worth mentioning that along with the voltage, the capacity (expressed in milliampere-hours, or mAh) of the battery also affects the flight time. Higher-capacity batteries can store more energy and provide longer flight durations, but they also tend to be heavier.
Flywoo Firefly: Hex Drone Review
The Flywoo Firewoo Hexo Nano is a tiny 6-prop drone. It only weighs about 120g with the 4 cell battery installed. It’s usually bought in a kit with the SMO 4K camera which is super lightweight. The Hex Nano also has a built in camera used for piloting the drone but the resolution isn’t as impressive as the external camera. The 4k camera produces smooth high-resolution video without any vibration from the props.
The flight time on this Flywoo Firefly is 5-6 minutes when using the 4s 450mah battery. The flight time is closer to 5 minutes when the 4K camera is attached so it doesn’t have a big impact on battery usage.
There are two versions available, the BnF (Buy ‘n Fly) and iNav. The iNav version comes with GPS which sits in the position where the camera would be mounted on the BnF version.
This model is pretty cool, there aren’t a lot of hexcopters available or micro drones with 4K. The 6 props on this drone make it more powerful than quadcopters that are the same size so it handles extra weight really well. Even with the camera attached it’s agile and responsive.
Flywoo Firefly : Nano Baby Drone Review
The Flywoo Firefly Nano Baby is a super speedy micro drone. There are two battery options. If you want to fly really fast, go for the smaller 450MAH. However, if you go for the larger 750MAH battery you’ll get about 12 minutes of flight time which is really impressive for these micro drones.
The Nano Baby comes in both digital and analogue so make sure you order the correct version if you already own FPV goggles and the controller.
This is a pretty affordable, fun little drone. It’s really robust with the carbon fibre frame and powerful mini motors. The main downside is that the built in camera angle isn’t adjustable. This means that if you’re flying slow the body of the drone isn’t tilted and the camera is pointing upwards rather than in front of the drone. However, even though this is a micro drone, it can still carry a small camera attachment like the Insta 360 Go.
The Wrap Up on Flywoo Firefly Drones
These are just two examples are the Flywoo Firefly drones that show how different Firefly models can be. The Nano Baby is really impressive for the 12 minutes flight time per battery. I rarely, if ever, see this kind of flight time in micro and nano drones.
The 4k detachable camera on the hex makes it stand out from the rest. If you want smooth high resolution packed into a super agile micro drone, this is a great choice.
These tiny, zippy UAVs are a tonne of fun. Once you get started in the FPV drone racing hobby it gets pretty addictive… One drone is never enough!!
