Hello, my name is David Brodosi and I’m a quality-driven and award-winning Videographer with 15+ years’ progressively responsible experience. Adept at filming, shooting and producing video content to meet different clients’ specific requirements. Ability to strategize brand teams to identify content needed to meet company goals. Artfully edits raw footages to create powerful videos using a variety of software products.
The UVify Draco is a slightly different take on FPV race quads. UVify is a company with deep roots in racing, and they know the frustrations that come with flying (and crashing) FPV drones. Breaking into the FPV hobby isn’t always easy. A lot of people get into the hobby with high hopes but are often let down by either faulty components or the tedious nature of repairs. On top of that, the build and setup process can be confusing and tiresome. UVify has looked to address all of these issues with their top-of-the-line Draco FPV race drone. Think of the Draco as the big brother of the OOri.
UVify Draco
The UVify Draco has the heart and soul of a traditional race quad. You can see that right off the bat. However, it is distinctly different than most FPV racers and freestyle quads I’ve flown. The Draco looks and feels like a premium product. It is extremely solid and well-built. UVify didn’t use cheap parts. In fact, they’ve designed both the flight controller and motors in-house.
The Draco is a modular drone. That means if you break an arm or burn out a motor it can be quickly and easily replaced. The arms are plug-and-play. No soldering is required. Remove some screws. Snap out the old arm. Replace it with a new one and you are good as new. When you fly FPV, you will crash. When you crash, things will break. This is by far the fastest and easiest way to replace an arm on a quad.
David Brodosi
Most FPV racers use Betaflight, but the Draco runs on a UViflight configurator. It is basically a forked version of Betaflight, and if you are familiar with Betaflight, you’ll have no issues using the UViflight configurator. They chose to do this to make it easier for people that haven’t used Betaflight before. Like Betaflight, it has an expert mode tab, and if you have used Betaflight before, I recommend enabling it so you have more functions and capabilities. If you haven’t used Betaflight before, I probably wouldn’t suggest tinkering around until after you’ve done some research.
If you just want to fly the Draco, getting it into the air is simple. You charge the batteries, bind it to the remote, and fly. Arming the quad is a throttle movement to the bottom and center. Disarming it is throttle bottom and left. If you want to fly acro and set up arm switches, you’ll have to use the configurator and set up the i6S remote.
David Brodosi
Flying the Draco
I was initally surprised by how smooth and stable the Draco was. It hovered almost like a GPS drone, and throttle management was very easy. The UVify Draco is a heavier quad, and with the battery, it is slightly more than 700 grams. I was again surprised by the power that was generated by the 2206 2300 KV curved magnet motors. The Draco has some serious power. UVify did a superb job of building a ready-to-fly FPV drone that is both stable and fast. I swapped out the included two-blade propellers for some tri-blades. The two-blade propellers are a little faster, but I find tri-blades give me a little more handling.
The camera on the Draco has an excellent picture. The colors are good and the picture is very crisp, especially if you are flying in good sunlight. I flew a few batteries at dusk, and like most FPV cameras, it was much darker and didn’t perform as well in low light situations. It was still certainly good enough to fly, and overall, I was very pleased with the camera.
The Draco that I received was the ready-to-fly kit. It included the goggles, drone, battery, charger, Flysky i6S remote, and a handful of extras. I like the Flysky i6S remote, and it is a big upgrade over the original i6. It feels comfortable in your hands and the antenna is internal, which makes traveling with it easier.
The FPV goggles work well enough and have two antennae. They are box-style goggles. The FPV goggles have two antennas, which is helpful for increasing range, but no DVR to record your flights. They are a small and lightweight set, and I very much prefer my low-profile set. These goggles are good for beginners, but I would recommend eventually upgrading.
I really like flying my Draco, and I think that UVify has built a nice premium product. However, with most premium products, it comes with a premium price tag. The Draco isn’t cheap. With a price tag of $599, it is much more expensive than other FPV drones like the Eachine Wizard. But if you want premium parts in your FPV drone, you’ll have to pay a little bit more.
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