FPV Racing Drones
Aerix Drones go to great altitudes to race and get the perfect shot.
Whether you’re a pro drone pilot or just getting started, these speedy FPV racing drones have built-in features that make for smooth sky sailing—and landing. They have an altitude hold feature, which keeps them at a steady height as you learn to master direction and rotation during flight.
The DaVinci drone can fly up to 250 meters away at 30 miles per hour. This mid-sized aircraft has a built-in GPS, smooth brushless motors, and a camera that captures a live bird’s-eye view of the landscape. Monitor your battery life in the air so you have enough time to return home, which DaVinci can handle on its own (along with landing safely).
The smaller Black Talon is 10cm x 10cm from motor to motor and 17cm x 17cm from blade guard to blade guard—and it’s a perfect induction into racing. Plus, it records video and lets you stream it live on your phone.
Speedy, compact, and curious, these drones are a great way to explore new heights.
Robert
Hello Grommet fans! I’m Robert Morrison, Founder, CEO and Head Designer for Aerix Drones. I am excited and honored to have my latest and greatest drone innovations featured as today’s Grommet. I look forward to answering your questions and having the opportunity to welcome you into the Aerix Drones family of pilots.
Mike – Grommet Team
8/17/2015 9:46 AMWhy is this something people should buy over another remote controlled aircraft?
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 9:50 AMWe didn’t just design a nano drone that we thought would be good for beginners, we asked over 10,000 customers who had just flown a nano-sized quadcopter for the first time how to make it the best, then we did exactly that. If you are interested in drones and itching to buy a one or two thousand dollar drone I would have this advice, type in “Epic Drone Crashes” on YouTube, then buy a Nano Drone for Beginners to learn the full mechanics of Quadcopter flight before you end up in one of those painfully hilarious videos.
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 9:51 AMFor the people who will undoubtedly ask, “why is this better than a $15-20 drone I can get on Amazon or eBay etc?” Our reply is simple, we are a US Based small business that is focused on making quality products, providing excellent customer service and creating a loyal following of customers as we grow. You are not just buying a toy from some name online, you are getting a high-quality quadcopter backed by real US people who want you to love our products.
Mike – Grommet Team
8/17/2015 11:26 AMThanks, Robert! And for even more insight on the Axis Nano Drone, check out this video!
Mike – Grommet Team
8/17/2015 9:51 AMPersonally, one of the big reasons why I want to buy this is so I can tell people I have a drone, but who do you see Nano Drones resonating with?
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 9:52 AMI see the Nano Drone for Beginners resonating with the parent of a kid asking for a DJI Phantom who wants them to learn how to fly first, with the office crowd who love a new “office warfare” device in their cubes, with the person interested in drones but doesn’t want to spend a ton of money learning to fly one and to all of us up here in Rochester, NY and other regions that find themselves stuck indoors for the majority of the year due to weather, outdoor drone fun packed into an indoor size device.
Mike – Grommet Team
8/17/2015 9:53 AMWhat do you expect the feedback from the community to be like?
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 9:54 AMI expect a mixed bag of questions and comments, ranging from “why should we buy this quadcopter for $10-15 more than other ones on the market” to “hey this is amazing how soon can I get one?” but one thing I know for sure is that we will stop at nothing to earn their business, respect, and loyalty to our US-based brand as we continue to grow and move forward with new products.
Robin
8/17/2015 12:26 PM@Robert
Robin
8/17/2015 12:29 PM@Robin I do hope you are also teaching the rules: don't fly near airports. NEVER fly it near an airplane. Do not hover over people's privacy fence, esp. if a camera is involved. AND STAY AWAY FROM FOREST FIRES! They can't do their job if you're taking up airspace.
Don't know where you're from but here, people use them for target practice.
Leo
11/30/2017 3:30 PM@Robin you don't have to worry about flying near airports with nano drones LOL
Frank
8/17/2015 12:27 PM@Robert .. I'm a Realtor who has just started hiring photographers who utilize a drone option for some of our Residential photography. Ultimately, I'd love to buy an expensive one with on-board cameras but don't want to risk crashing my expensive investment. If I buy this and learn to fly it well, is it REALLY the exact same flying mechanics as the more expensive (camera) flying ones? If so, this is a no brainer as a cheap and easy way to learn.
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 12:36 PM@Frank all flight mechanics are the same, ascend, descend, Yaw (rotate left and/or right) directional movement relative to drone orientation etc. I will say this though, the larger and much more expensive drones have some fail-safes built in and are easier to fly, but if you master the manual flight on a smaller quadcopter you will be ready for any situation on a larger one.
Barrett
8/17/2015 12:36 PM@Frank Sorry to butt in, but I can answer this having gone from a nano drone to the DJI Phantom 3. Short answer is no! These smaller drones are actually a lot harder to control and maneuver. The "professional" drones are so much easier to control, navigate, and hover. They require very little maintenance, whereas the nano drones will go off balance by the slightest gust of wind or bend in the propeller. The professional drones will have GPS stabilization as well. The nano drones are great toys to learn the idea of how a drone works, but will never be used as a learning tool for professional drones.
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 12:40 PM@Robin our tiny nano drones are only capable of flight up to 50 meters so air space is not an issue at the moment. We are planning to join Know Before You Fly in order to better educate and protect our customers as our products grow in size and features.
Leo
11/30/2017 3:29 PM@Mike These drones are WAY OVER PRICED! I can buy nano drones all day long for under $20 I buy hundreds of drones a year to give away as prizes and these are all overpriced!
Barrett
8/17/2015 12:32 PMHow is your Turbo-X Drone different than the Cheerson CX-10 drones?
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 12:34 PM@Barrett the video above (in the comments) goes into the differences a little further, basically faster motors, more precise movement and stabilization and an improved upon charger port.
Barrett
8/17/2015 12:37 PM@Robert Cool. I have a Cheerson, and the charger port broke and I had to fix it. Having something that won't break as easily is a great idea!
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 12:38 PM@Barrett it is a metal to metal connection that is very stable and easy to use.
Biff
8/17/2015 12:40 PM@Robert I call B.S. These are just rebranded, resold Chinese micro quads you can get for sub $20 anywhere else. I own many different brands of these and they are all exactly the same
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 12:42 PM@Biff I'm sorry you feel that way, we are a US based company with several patents pending on our designs for all 4 models we currently offer. Yes, there are a ton of quads available from China but contributing to those gray markets only exacerbates the problem of not supporting US Based companies and dilutes our patent protections and our market.
Mike – Grommet Team
8/17/2015 12:49 PMAlso Biff, that's not really what we do here at The Grommet. If we wanted to sell just any drone, we could have done so anytime, but we were drawn to Axis Drones because they weren't "just any drone." We love the affordability, the crowdfunded value, the business of Axis Drones and the ease of use. Also, it wouldn't destroy your house as you learned to fly it. At it's core it's a fun toy that also teaches you the fundamentals of flying a drone. We tested a number of drones in the last year, but none matched these.
Biff
8/17/2015 1:08 PM@Mike I understand Axis Drones is a US based company. Good for America and all that, I get it. I am not familiar with any of their business practices and products other than what you advertise on your site. Only from that I gather this company is just a reseller of Chinese micro quads. So far no one has said that they are not
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 1:11 PM@Biff I specifically said we are not a reseller, we have design and utility patents filed for our products.
Biff
8/17/2015 1:13 PM@Robert can I ask you where they are manufactured?
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 1:19 PM@Biff They are designed here in Rochester, NY and just like 95% of all other consumer electronics they are manufactured in China. Our manufacturing partners in China build them to our exact specifications. Once our brand is strong enough and sales outweigh the higher costs we will move manufacturing stateside.
Billy
8/17/2015 1:04 PMAre you planning on having a model that can be outfitted with a small camera?
Billy
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 1:06 PM@Billy we are working with an engineer friend of ours who is currently focusing on a smaller, light-weight FPV camera, the main problem on quads this small is the extra battery weight required to power the camera decreases flight capability and time...but it is on the drawing board!
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 1:07 PM@Robert we also have a next model planned that is about twice the size of our Nano Drone that will feature a camera, you'll have to ask The Grommet to feature that one when it is ready as well :)
Annetta
8/17/2015 1:07 PMDo you also sell parts in case it crashes and gets broken?
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 1:17 PM@Annetta Crash kits and spare blades are available, you will need to ask The Grommet if they will offer them here :)
Guy K
8/17/2015 1:29 PM@Robert
Buddy
8/17/2015 1:07 PMWhy would I pony up the extra $5 for the Beginner model over the Turbo-X Drone? I've never owned one, but they look like fun, especially for office shenanigans.
It's not that $5 is a big deal, but I'm somewhat concerned about buying the Beginner, then "out-growing" it quickly and wanting something better.
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 1:13 PM@Buddy The TURBO-X is great for indoor office fun on low speed but medium is very fast and TURBO-X speed should be used outdoors. The Beginner Drone however will provide just as much fun, especially indoors on High speed AND will provide the additional blade protection to prolong your flight time and life of the drone...Or you could just get 1 of each ;)
Dale
8/17/2015 1:12 PMWhat is the run-time on a single battery charge?
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 1:14 PM@Dale 5-7 minutes depending on flight speed and conditions.
Elezabeth
8/17/2015 1:14 PMI've always loved the remote ...item... This is so much fun! Would a post it stick to it? I would so love to just high fly a note to someone down the hall!... Or a game of fly through the hoops, or can you land it on top of a head game... All games I used to play with my mini copter till it crashed and broke! However the way yours bounced off the wall has me interested! This holiday season it may be the perfect gift! It looks amazing!
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 1:16 PM@Elezabeth We send post-its in the office all the time with these, we also have a 3d printed flight course we created for fun that we are in the process of commercializing for sale in the near future :) Perhaps on The Grommet!
Elezabeth
8/17/2015 1:33 PM@Robert That's how I think too! Maybe a mini sign attachment on the bottom to hang post its from so you can make mini flying signs...It would be so cool to have a small SALE floating around our booth at events! The kids would love it!!!! Okay it's on our official office want list!
Mike – Grommet Team
8/17/2015 3:45 PMThat sounds like an awesome idea, Elezabeth! If you do get one, PLEASE send videos to us on Twitter @TheGrommet! I'm sure Robert wouldn't mind seeing them either!
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 4:11 PM@Mike I would love to see our drones in action from our customers who love them!
Greg
8/17/2015 1:25 PMWhat would you charge wholesale? Are you able to rebrand?
Mike – Grommet Team
8/17/2015 1:35 PMHi Greg, for wholesale inquiries, you can direct your question to our Customer Experience team here. They'll be able to put you in touch with Robert!
Greg
8/17/2015 1:36 PM@Mike Thanks!!
Jeff
8/17/2015 1:40 PMI would like to take photos with a drone. Do you have any suggestions?
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 1:45 PM@Jeff for Aerial photography I personally prefer the DJI phantom series
Helmuth
8/17/2015 1:43 PMHi Robert, my name is Helmuth, I write from Guatemala, I care about your product, what are your conditions to distribute your product and sell it in the market of Guatemala. Thanks.
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 5:09 PM@Helmuth at this time we are not planning to distribute in Guatemala, sorry.
Jeff
8/17/2015 1:53 PMThis is a rebranded Cheerson. They sell for $12-$20 on ebay all day long. Great little toy, do not pay $35-40 for this.
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 1:55 PM@Jeff did you watch the video further up in the comments section here? It explains some of the differences between our models and Cheerson's.
Terry
8/17/2015 2:12 PMHI Robert... i see you typed..." backed by real US people ", "US Based small business "
does that mean these are made in USA with US Parts? and made my us peeps? etc?
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 2:21 PM@Terry They are not currently made in the USA, all parts and manufacturing are in China but the designs were created and are owned here in the US. We hope that as our brand grows (we just launched) that we will be able to bring manufacturing stateside with as many US parts as possible :)
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 2:26 PMAnd all of the customer service and support is located here in the US. We are a small family owned business :)
Donna
8/17/2015 2:26 PMMy grandson is 9, might he enjoy this mini drone? Thinking of getting this for him for the Holidays.
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 2:28 PM@Donna 9 is a little young, you would need to supervise him and see what his skill level is like, if he can maintain steady flight and control then he should be ok but if it flies all over the place and crashes a lot I would say wait. We have to put a 14+ label on the packaging as the blades spin at over 30k RPM. With that being said, I allow my 2 year old son to "fly" with me handling the throttle and he works the directional movement and he absolutely loves it!
Donna
8/17/2015 2:32 PM@Donna Oops, I read the entire by-line, best for kiddos 14 years and up.
William
8/17/2015 2:34 PMHi. I know the quality of those Chinese motors can be real hit or miss. Do you test each drone before shipping them out the door?
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 2:37 PM@William Great question, YES! We hand test every unit we send out for quality control.
Liz
8/17/2015 4:59 PM@Robert hi Robert. My husband flies a small helicopter around the house. He also has several small and large radio controlled planes that he flies all the time. He flies in the field and by the lake. Would this be too easy for him, and if so what do you recommend? Thanks!
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 5:10 PM@Liz If he is an experienced RC Helicopter pilot but has yet to fly drones he should be good to go with the TURBO-X
Liz
8/17/2015 5:52 PM@Robert Then Turbo-X it is. Surprise b-day present for him. Thanks Robert, and good luck with your venture!
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 6:11 PM@Liz thank you so much for your support!!
Liz
8/17/2015 8:24 PM@Robert ????????????????????????
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 8:36 PM@Liz yes?
Nancy
8/17/2015 3:50 PMWe need to order more props. My grandson got a hold of it. Can you help with that? Thank you.
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 4:05 PM@Nancy We do have spare parts in our crash kits and offer spare blades, you will have to contact The Grommet for more details :)
Mike – Grommet Team
8/17/2015 4:35 PMAnd you can do that here, Nancy!
DC
8/17/2015 7:01 PMHi Robert, I really like the concept of a US "Based" company, and promptly put one in my Shopping Cart, because I got the impression from reading here these were made in the US. However when I was double checking the specs on the website I noticed it clearly says "Made in China". That was the point of buying this Quadcopter wasn't it? What role does the "US based" part play in the production if these are still made in China? How are you different than any other US based company that has their products made in China?
Robert – Special Guest
8/17/2015 7:06 PM@DC Similar to the majority of other companies in the US, yes we manufacture in China, our designs, business operations, warehouse, fulfillment and support are located here in the US and we are creating new US jobs in the process. Once we can build our brand and sales to the level that would allows us to do so, we plan to bring manufacturing stateside. The problem with manufacturing here is not only costs but also parts availability (most of which are also manufactured in China) so while we may not manufacture here, we are certainly a growing small, family owned business that spends the majority of our revenue on other US based products, services, labor and taxes. With your help we can grow our brand to a level where we can overcome manufacturing hurdles and create even more jobs here, in the USA.
DC
8/17/2015 7:48 PM@Robert Thanks for your reply. You answered my question fully and I like your business philosophy -that I am willing to support, but only after more consideration. I have been boycotting China for over a decade because I want as much of my money as possible to stay here and NOT go to support a Communist country, ...particularly one that already holds us financially hostage.
So if I get this right, I'm helping you in the future by supporting China now. The end might justify the means in this case, especially since it seems like all quadcopters are made in China anyway. So that makes your product the top choice. I'll have to sleep on it and let my conscience adapt to the concept!
Mike – Grommet Team
8/17/2015 11:12 PMHi DC, you are getting it right, and you are also right to give it some thought. We don't want people compromising their shopping values, but we love it when you recognize and appreciate the missions of young companies. It isn't always easy for Makers to start out manufacturing products in the US, but support like yours goes a long way in turning the desire to manufacture here, a reality.
brenda
8/17/2015 8:45 PMCAN 8YEAR OLD BOYS USE THIS AND IS IT SAFE FOR HIM AND PEOPLE AROUND HIM
Mike – Grommet Team
8/17/2015 11:06 PMHe Brenda, theoretically yes an eight-year-old can use this, but supervision is recommended. Especially if there are many people around.
Sherrill
8/17/2015 9:10 PMCould your drones be used to scare away Canada Geese?
Mike – Grommet Team
8/17/2015 11:07 PMSherrill, I like the way you think. It definitely seems worth a try. At the very least it will be entertaining. Don't let those feathered fiends win!