Sky Viper V950 HD: A Camera-Fitted & Lightweight High-Definition Vehicle

The Sky Viper V950 HD quadcopter is an interesting gadget with controls that are very easy to follow. It gives you a fun-filled flying experience, but you must avoid windy days. Otherwise, it may get lodged within a tree. Also, it’s not recommended to fly it near water, so simply avoid anything that could inflict damage to your drone.

Keep in mind: You will have to remove the camera setup to make the stunt button and features operate if you are an admirer of stunts. A plain tap on the ‘Stunt’ pattern lets you conduct barrel-rolls in the middle of your flight.

On the downside part, we have to mention that it does not have a GPS facility. Also, the LIPO battery that the drone comes with allows only five to eight minutes of flight. Because of this, it’s advisable to have a higher output battery in place, with higher voltage, since the drone can easily support 1S 3.7v Lipo battery capacity. If you are not that familiar with RC batteries, and not so sure which ones to use, we have an article about drone batteries and it offers all the information you need to know about them.

Finally, its 720p HD video along with a still camera and inbuilt micro SD card clicks good pictures. The height angle of the camera can be adjusted but it’s not automated.

Product specifications:

Buy Sky Viper V950 HD on Amazon

Sky Viper V950 HD has great durability and is more useful and fun for beginners than for advanced users or stunt lovers who would like to maneuver powerful quadcopters. If you wish to train yourself in drone-flying, then it is a suitable choice. It is incorporated with calibration and sensitivity buttons that provide you with the advantage of learning simple flying procedures for fast flips and swift turns.

A fun toy, the Sky Viper is devised from a material that is resistant to crash landings and is equipped with blade protectors so that there is no blade damage and no one sustains injuries. With three sensitivity settings, it is easy to fly. Speaking of toys, in case you want to know more about this kind of drones, you can also check out our article about toy drones.

Build Specifications

Packaging

The Sky Viper v950 HD package should contain the following:

• Quadcopter 4 rotator drone
• RC transmitter
• Camera module
• 4 GB micro SD card
• Micro SD USB adapter
• A rechargeable LIPO flight battery
• Charging cable
• 2 sets of props
• 4 extra screws
• Screwdrivers
• Instruction booklet

Order an additional battery pack if you intend to carry it to the park to include some nice flight time. FAA registration is also needed for flying this drone.

Design and Durability

The V950 is a light and flexible drone which appears quite flimsy, but it is excellent if you are in the habit of crashing.

The body is made of Duraflex which bends quite easily. Applying light pressure is sufficient to bend the arms with mounted motors. Their malleability to curve and flex during flight makes it difficult to control, but the arms don’t break in spite of crashing frequently. And so you can enjoy the effortless flying experience!

Modifiable sensitivity instruments make it a joy to fly for starters as well as skilled pilots. The 4 blades provide the greatest degree of aerial control and allow the drone to perform barrel somersaults in mid-flight at an easy tap of stunt button. The Sky Viper V950 is almost indestructible and extremely lightweight and fast.

The drone is equipped with four big rotors driven by small motors. There are two gears on the v950, one on the motor and a bigger one on the rotor drive shaft. The motor thus has to make more than one rotation for one revolution of the blades.

The motors are quite fast to deal with this, though this reduces the drone’s speed and response. Each motor is equipped with LED lights (front arms are green and the back red). A group of attached motor protectors latches on the motor housing to secure the rotor blades during crashes. And speaking of motors and motor parts and accessories, for those who are not that familiar with this topic, we suggest checking out our article about drone motors.

The miniature size camera lies beneath the central portion of the case and the lens is situated within a revolving cylinder. The lens slant is adjusted manually and it cannot be changed in flight. The camera is attached to the primary body by an unsecured cable and fastened with a simple latch which allows you to separate the camera easily if you don’t need it while flying.

However, the camera can’t be used elsewhere as it is powered by the drone’s battery. The v950HD model carries a microSD card capable of holding up to 32 GB which slots into the camera rear to gather the HD video.

The drone is powered by a tiny 650 mAh, lithium-ion polymer battery which is lodged in the case’s back. You can learn more if you watch the above review.

Camera

The alterable HD SkyPro camera on Sky Viper V950 HD provides a total bird’s eye view and can record 720 pixels high definitions images and video.

The MicroSD memory card of 4GB can record flight footage of nearly 20 minutes. The one touch panoramic video capture enables it to get into a controlled spin flight trajectory to capture awe-inspiring 360-degree shots from a distance of 200 feet.

Battery and Flight Time

The battery lasts for only 5-8 minutes, which is quite small. To remove it, you have to take off a screw at the base of the drone’s body and pull it out by pushing a latch. The 650 mAh Li-ion polymer batteries are the standard for this drone and the spares cost $6. A USB cable is required to charge the batteries which will take nearly 35-40 minutes.

After a full charge, you should cool off for 45 minutes before replugging the charger.

The battery array features 4AAA class of batteries. As is common for such small models, the flight span is short between 5-7 minutes, though the flying is entertaining with the camera and other features.

The good news is that the battery can be charged fairly quickly to resume the flight and you can buy more batteries to prolong the flight time (with breaks for changing the batteries, of course). Also, you can learn a few charging, and discharging, tricks that will allow you to keep your drone in the air a few minutes longer. Those tricks can be found in our article about ways to extend your quadcopter’s flight time.

Controller

The Sky Viper v950 HD has a tiny controller and looks almost like the Xbox controller. It carries 2 control sticks enclosed by trim buttons and one power button with a slider for the controller’s sensitivity. A lone shoulder button places the drone in stunt mode.

To activate the controller, 4 AAA batteries slide onto a cavity beneath a panel at the controller’s rear. The controller fits snugly into the hand and communicates to the drone across a 2.4 GHz WI-Fi connection.

The Sky Viper v950 HD is not that great for beginners because of its small remote control. Even more, there are 13 buttons on the remote control and you need all of them during flight. But don’t worry, you can navigate the drone with a bit of practice.

To start the drone, press the power button, wait for a beeping sound emanating from a speaker in the drone followed by flashing of a red LED flash brightly. This indicates that the drone is prepared for flight. The first stick controls the drone’s spin and elevation with the right one controlling the front, back and side movements.

Flying Performance

The versatile V950 HD can ascend to an altitude of approximately 150 -200 feet. Its 2.4GHz controller transmitter mounts it to 200 feet to make the drone cover a long distance. You can even achieve the high-performance speed of 16mph with it.

This stunt drone has a flight time of 7 minutes but by ordering 3.7v batteries you can upgrade the flight time to 15 minutes!

And finally, this video drone is programmed to take a controlled spin flight for recording stunning 360-degree view at a height of 200 feet.

Check out the above test flight videos.

Value for money and guarantee

The Sky Viper Camera Drone is priced at $89.99 and is equipped with a VGA camera. As you noticed already, the drone is affordable, but it is basically a toy. This means that an advanced drone pilot or someone looking to capture high-quality videos won’t find it useful. On the other hand, a beginner will appreciate this cute drone and will enjoy testing their flying skills on a cheap, durable drone.

The merchant’s website spells out the guarantee and there is a lack of availability of replacement accessories like propellers, batteries or crash packs. You can communicate with the manufacturer at support@skyrockettoys.com in the case of any issues.

Unique Features

The Sky Viper V950 drone is a high definition vehicle that records 720p pictures and video. You can use the embedded 4GB Micro SD Memory Card to record flight footage of 20 minutes at a given time. It captures a complete 360-degree panoramic view with a button click. While having a camera is far from being unique, having an HD one on such a small drone, is quite interesting.

Also, the drone has been designed with s strong Polypropylene body which can withstand any flight impact. Its four blades provide maximum aerial control for you to enjoy the thrill of flying.

Even more, this tiny, affordable drone can record stunning 360-degree aerial shots from a distance of 200 feet. Its variable sensitivity lends accuracy and control to suit any experience level.

Similar models and main competitors

The  S670 Stunt Drone

The Sky Viper s670 is equipped with a “JST”-type connector and does fly well for a starter. It also has a flight time of 4-5 minutes and is powered by 3.7V 650mAH LiPo battery. The tiny battery made of the lithium-ion polymer is embedded within the drone case and can be removed with a screwdriver. But, this stunt drone is not equipped with a camera like the V950 HD model. It does have however, a 2.4 GHz controller, just like the V950 drone.

Made of a highly durable, Duraflex frame, the S670 is a quick and agile stunt drone just like the V950 HD model. It displays aerial flight moves at high output speeds of 16 MPH. The s670 can perform cool stunts at the press of a button and can fly both indoors and outdoors. Its adjustable Flight Controls provides precision that matches with your flight experience levels.

Like this product? Then you can buy it on Amazon.

Nano (M200) Vehicle model

If you are out to explore a four-blade quadcopter that can fly indoors, well the mini Nano of the size of your palm has quite the punch in it. This Nano is thrilling to fly once you gain command over the throttle because it is vital to know how to control altitudes.

As compared to Sky Viper V950,  it is very stable while performing a rotational yaw. It is the cheapest version of the drone model and Nano presents three varied sensitivity control and a single –click barrel roll as its Stunt button is clicked.

If you think that this product could be useful for you, then you can buy it from Amazon.

The v950STR

The v950 STR is another promising drone you can have your eyes on. However, unlike Sky Viper V950 (HD), this drone lacks onboard storage potential. However, you can stream videos on your mobile via Wi-Fi through its Sky Viper Viewer app. V950 HD undoubtedly provides a better video resolution when compared to this drone.

However, both the drone versions contain the “panoramic view rotation” component. When the stunt button is held and pressed and the direction stick is moved, the drone slowly rotates and encircles in place and completes a full circle in 7 seconds. The reason behind is that you can shoot visuals or video to record a panorama.

The photographs are clicked manually and integrated into panorama software. Both the v950’s models provide enough features for a price tag of below $100 for a simple to fly a quadcopter. However, you should know that the v950STR with its phone addition is slightly unbalanced.

Like this amazing product? Then you can buy it on Amazon.

Overview

Let’s take a look at some advantages and disadvantages of Sky Viper V950 HD Video drone:

Pros:

• The v950HD is a light, flexible drone and is perfect if you are not good at stable flying and suffer from frequent crashes. The plastic-like body is made from Duraflex (a combination of fiberglass, plastic, and flexible resin) that can be bent easily.
• The video drone is simple to install and its battery uses a JST connector for use with other universal batteries and has amazing durability.

Cons:

• The camera captures details quite well, but gives flat colors and the video appears grainy. The video appears wobbly with jelly look while maneuvering the v950HD due to motor vibrations. However, its camera pales when compares to the finest camera drones present like the Phantom or Inspire.
• The body is malleable to twist and flex in flight which makes controlling the drone tough.
• This $89 priced quadcopter brings more enjoyment to beginners than advanced or stunt fliers who most probably will discover it to be underpowered
• In comparison to racing drones like Hubsan X4, the v950 is slow-moving and an ordinary flier. Though it moves at a speed of 17mph, it becomes difficult to maneuver at such speeds. It is more convenient to handle when it moves slowly and a notable drawback is its 8 minute flight time.

For its price tag, the drone is quite enjoyable for beginners, someone working up to acquire their second drone, or on the lookout for a larger gadget with a camera.

This might not be the perfect drone if you are looking to pursue drone-flying as a hobby or looking for a GoPro. To sum up, the Sky Viper v950 is an affordable, easy-to-fly drone that captures decent video so far as you are not seeking documentary standard video or prompt responses.