Dromida Ominus

by FliteTest | December 22, 2014 | (8) Posted in Reviews

Quads are an intimidating platform to get into if you are a beginner. The worry of crashing your investment is every looming, especially if you are putting that investment into the hands of your little pilots. 

Never fear! Dromida has an ultra durable, ultra cheap solution

This RTF quad is less than $100

Everything you need, including the battery and this 2.4 GHz transmitter, comes with the quad. They even throw in the AAA batteries needed for the transmitter. 

The battery also comes with a little USB adapter so you can charge off any device that accepts USB. 

We ended up getting so many of these things we weren't sure if we could fly them all at once. Turns out that we could bind 5 at the same time with no stepping issues. See if you can get more in the air at once and let us know how it goes!

So with 5 quads in the air we had to play some kind of game. This time Alex came up with the "Toy Car Balloon Pop Challenge!" 

We tied a balloon to an R/C car and the first person to pop two balloons would be the winner. 

Driving the car is our favorite camera man / editor Brian. He is definatley the best looking member of the Flite Test crew. Look at that awesome sweater! What a swell guy. 

So who won the balloon pop? Watch the episode to find out!

So if you are wondering what this odd contraption is, this is the Piasecki PA-97, AKA the Helistat. 

Designed for the US Forestry Service in 1986, this steampunk looking airship was supposed to carry huge loads more efficiently than other craft at that time. 

Unfortunatly, the one and only prototype was completely destroyed during a test flight. The vibrations from the helicopters caused the frame to collapse and the entire thing essentially just fell apart. 

Peter wanted to see if this thing could scale down and have a little more success. He built a plywood frame and glued 4 Ominus (Omini?) to it. 

If you want to see this thing in action, check out the episode. 

 

What other oddball ships or planes would you want to see us recreate? Let us know in the comments!

COMMENTS

udo789 on December 22, 2014
Is it just me or are member's articles getting more interesting than FliteTest's? FliteTest seems to be in some kind of holding pattern.
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udo789 on December 22, 2014
Coming to think of it, maybe it's the Holidays. The New Year will bring many exiting things, I'm sure.
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PropSpinner on December 23, 2014
Fun and entertaining episode. Nice to see kids doing something besides playing video games.
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GlueTapeNFly on December 30, 2014
Just picked one of these up at the the hobby shop and I am very pleased with how it flies. My first multirotor was a Hubsan X4 H107L which I still love flying. The Ominus as I expected is not as agile as the Hubsan but I still get a kick out of flying it. I am mostly an airplane kind of guy but I have two multirotors (The Hubsan and the Ominus) of which I both thoroughly enjoy. The main reason that I bought the Dromida Ominus, is that I wanted a bigger quad that had good battery life and that it wouldn't drain my wallet. The Ominus excells in all three respects! I am getting 15 minute flights out of it and because the batteries it uses have JST connectors, I can charge it on my HITEC X1 MF charger. All in all I give the Dromida Ominus 5 stars!
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BenC on December 22, 2014
Is this a good trainer if you're looking to advance into bigger quads? I plan on getting a trainer to learn during the winter/spring, then when flying season comes around I'll think about building an electrohub.
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swiss_flyer on December 24, 2014
Where is Josh Scott???
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TapeGlueSolder on December 23, 2014
I appreciate and liked this review! Looks like something to enjoy with the kids and friends.
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SGRacer on December 22, 2014
Has anyone else noticed that 1 cell batteries don't last. I don't mean flight time, I mean i charge them about 6-8 times and they no longer charge? Anyone have a solution for this?
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Jonaith on December 23, 2014
Thanks for sharing this product i was looking for a quad a little bigger then the nano qx or the 1sq for better visibility and that can take a good beating! I must be one of a kind but right now i'm showing my grand-father how to pilot rc heli and mini quad, just wanna find something he can crash without worrying to much if about fixing it when it break. And just a little question when i'm at it, compare to the latrax alias it's cheaper , quad as well as part but is it as crash resistent as the alias?
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NewZee on December 23, 2014
I have two of these great little quads, it compares very favorably to the "Alias" it is much cheaper ($79) and parts are readily available!! I've replaced a few shafts and a bearing so far but have given them a beating!! Some folks are "upgrading with Alias props, and motors, but I think it flies great as stock! 3 flight modes, flips at the push of a button, great platform to learn on and an easy flier for kids (of any age), good visibility at night too!
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Crazy68 on December 28, 2014
Great review! I'm glad this involved the kids more, and happy to see more quads. I am getting into the quads more now that winter is here, and would love to see more quad reviews. (the blade 180 QX would be great).
Keep up the good work, and ya, where is Josh Scott?
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noaflight2 on December 22, 2014
Anyone familiar with the wilga-2000 trainer epo 1160mm from hobby king?
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HarleyRev on January 12, 2015
I bought an ominus based on many reviews stating it toughness and easy to fly .
It seems to be both. Lots of fun ! My first time flying anything .
I mostly fly inside as it winter now.
Bought an extra battery at the hobbyshop that is 750mah , stock battery is 700.
14 mins , 13 mins fly time with each .
Took it outside , slight wind . Flight time cut in half , ofcourse i was flying it much harder and fighting the wind . Was very fun to fun and decently stable.
Get several batteries for it . Using both batteries back to back motors are barely warm.
Today one of its motors died , after only 3 days and around 20 flights.
I have written support and asked for new motors , it comes with a 30 day warranty i believe .
So hopefully they will help me out .
After reading many reviews on many of these type of quads , apparently the quality of these little brushed motors is hit n miss on all makes and models.
Motors are $10 to $12 dollars . The hobby shop also recommeded this quad for durability and the fact that they carry all the parts for replacement if they get broken in a crash .
All other parts range from $1 to $3.
Motor shafts are soft , some say per design , either way they only $1 .
I recommend getting an extra set of shafts , motor gears and battery or two.
I think its still a great buy and good flyer . Hard to beat for the price and cheap , easy to get parts.
In 3 days ive gotten to fly it , ive had tons of FUN !
Well worth the cost of the unit .
Sad part is I cant fly until i can get a new motor ....
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Dromida Ominus