Drone-Clone Xperts manufacture UAVs that bring the latest tech to the market at a lower price but is the Skyline X Drone actually any good or just another rip-off of a more expensive drone?
Is the Skyline Drone any good?
Skyline X drones are a cheaper drone that’s more like a toy than a photography drone. Drones with quality photography and videography start around the $300 mark.
Cheaper models, including the Skyline X drone, are good for people new to UAVs that want to try them without investing too much but be warned that if you do actually enjoy flying drones you’re quickly going to want to level up to a better drone especially if you’re interested in aerial photography.
How far can the Skyline X Drone fly?
The Drone-Clone Experts claim that the Skyline X can fly up to 4km in test conditions (no wind or transmitter interference) but in reality the range is closer to 100m… A pretty big difference but this is standard when compared to similar drones at this price.
How long can a Skyline drone fly for?
The marketing for Skyline X claims that this drone can fly while recording video for 15 minutes before the battery needs to be recharged, but the battery actually only lasts 7-10 minutes. The drone comes with 2 batteries which take about an hour to recharge so, for longer flight time, it’s worth buying the spare battery kit which includes 2 batteries.
Skyline drone vs DJI
The Skyline X Drone is comparable in price to the DJI Ryze tec Tello. The Tello is DJI’s most popular toy drone, it’s small, agile and can often be picked up on sale or refurbished for under $100.
Skyline Drone Vs DJI Comparison Table
| Max Flight Time / Battery | ||
| Camera Stills Resolution | (1920 x 1080 pixels) | (2560x1920 pixels) |
| Video Resolution | ||
| Weight |
The camera on the DJI Tello is higher resolution than the Skyline X Drone. The Tello captures 5 MP photos which means 2560 pixels wide by 1920 pixels tall. However, the Skyline X claims to have 1080p video resolution which is higher res than the Tello. This could be achieved by pixel splitting.
To give some context about how many pixels you need to take ‘good’ photos, the standard resolution of a desktop computer is 1080p (however, desktop computers with higher resolution are becoming common).
The flight time on the Tello is slightly higher which is surprising given it has a heavier build. The Skyline drone only weighs 133g compared to the Tello’s 498g weight.
Does the Skyline X need to be registered?
If the Skyline X drone is just being used for fun, it does not have to be registered with the FAA. It’s under the 500g registration regulation but even drones under 500g need to be registered with the FAA if they are being used for any purpose other than fun i.e. Any paid or unpaid volunteer work.
Is the Skyline X suitable for Kids?
The Skyline X drone is suitable for older children (12+). It has functions that make it easy to get started like one button take off, headless mode and gesture control.
Younger kids would need help with some functions like calibrating the drone with the controller and setting up the connection with the phone app to use gesture controll.
How to calibrate the Skyline X drone
To calibrate the Skyline X drone with the controller:
- Unfold the drone legs and press the power button on the top of the drone
- Turn on the controller (centre sliding button)
- Push the left toggle forward then back (1)
- Push both toggles down to the right (2) and the right LED light on the controller will flash blue
The arrow buttons are used if the drone drifts, this is called trimming.
Why do drones need to be calibrated?
Drone calibration is important to check how accurate the sensors are before flying and correcting for any errors. If you fly the drone without calibrating you’re more likely to have difficulty controlling the drone.
One button functions on the Skyline Drone
- Take off
- Return
- Land
- 3D flips
- 360 roll
How to use gesture control on the Skyline X drone
In the KY FPV app, select the gesture recognition button (this is a waving hand icon). You need to be about 2m from the camera for this to work.
Gesture Photo: Hold your hand up with fingers spread out, your hand needs to be to the side of your body, not in front so the drone camera can clearly see your hand signal. You then have 3 seconds when the countdown timer starts to lower your hand and get into position.
Gesture Video: Hold your closed fist up to the side of your body, the camera recognizes the gesture and starts the count down from 3 seconds. To end the video repeat the gesture.
What is headless mode and how to use it on the Skyline X
Headless mode makes steering the drone easier for beginners. This means that if you find it difficult to tell the front of the drone from the back when it’s in the air, headless mode sets one direction (eg. true north) as forward so that even if the drone is accidentally flipped around, you still just need to point the steering toggles forward to steer the drone to the direction you have set as ‘forward’.
Activate headless mode by pressing the top left button on the controller:
Wrap up on the Skyline X Drone
There are a few claims that the Skyline X drone is a scam… I think this is because there is some marketing that exaggerates what this drone can actually do. For example, some marketing says this drone can record video for 15 minutes but the battery only lasts 10 minutes.
Ultimately you get what you pay for and this is a relatively cheap drone. It’s going to be fine for someone that just wants to try out flying a drone as a toy and isn’t bothered by having some drift, but if your interested in taking good quality photographs and video this probably isn’t the drone for you.
Personally, I think the DJI Tello is a better choice for drones in this price bracket, to see a few of my recommendations on higher quality drones, check out these 3 drones under $300 or longest flight time drones under $200.
