Hummingbird F4 V2 BNF ELRS

A ready-to-fly drone that’s perfect for beginners!

By Gwen Mathis | [email protected]  Photos by the author

As seen in the September 2023 issue of Model Aviation.

The HummingBird F4 V2 BNF ELRS from NewBeeDrone is a great drone for beginners.

AS A NEWER employee of AMA, as well as a being new modeler, flying can be a bit of a daunting task. When I began working at AMA in October 2022, I quickly realized that learning how to build and fly would be required in order to successfully do my job, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I was slightly worried.

I had never flown anything other than a paper airplane in my life, and now I was expected to eventually fly with confidence? Because of the cold and unpredictable Indiana winters and early springs, I haven’t had many opportunities to fly outside. My flying experience has been limited to indoor flights in empty conference rooms and one educational event in an atrium filled with teachers and students. As you can only imagine, my flying skills need a little bit of work.

When the HummingBird F4 V2 BNF ELRS from NewBeeDrone appeared on my desk one day, I was skeptical. I’d flown other drones from NewBeeDrone in the past and hadn’t been very successful with them—entirely because of user error. I’d accidentally crashed a drone at an educational event I was working at less than a week before being given the HummingBird, so I didn’t have high hopes for my personal flying experience!

I was pleasantly surprised with the HummingBird, and I’m pleased to say that I believe my flying has slightly improved, thanks to its ease of flying. The HummingBird is easy to handle and very durable, which is great news for people who are new to the hobby. They also come fully built, pitch-tuned, and ready to fly! So, if you’re looking for an easy, ready-to-fly drone, read on to see if the HummingBird is right for you.

At a Glance

Specifications

• Drone size: 65mm
• Weight: 24 grams (without battery)
• Camera: Mark 3 with 25mw VTX
• Motors: Four 0802 19,000 Kv double ball-bearing brushless
• Propellers: Four Azi Tri-Blade 31mm
• Receiver: Built-in SPI ExpressLRS
• Battery Input: 1S
• Frame: Cockroach65 Brushless Frame
• Canopy: Goober Canopy v1
• Price: $94.99

Pluses

• Pretuned and ready to fly when it leaves the box.
• Great for new fliers.
• Reliable and durable.
• Good for indoor flight.

Minuses

• Short flight time.

Manufacturer/Distributor

NewBeeDrone

[email protected]

https://newbeedrone.com

Build and Materials

The HummingBird comes fully built in a convenient, little package. When you open the box and look at the drone, you’ll notice how durable and sleek it is. It is equipped with a Mark 3 camera, four 0802 19,000 Kv double ball-bearing brushless motors, four Azi Tri-Blade propellers, the radio and camera antennae, and an all-in-one (AIO) board with F411 and built-in ELRS SPI. All of these components are kept safe by the drone’s Goober canopy and Cockroach frame.

The HummingBird’s Goober canopy keeps the camera and AIO flight controller safe from collisions and drops, holds the drone’s radio and camera antennae in place, and protects the Mark 3 camera against tough impacts, thanks to its neck collar. The Cockroach frame is lightweight, versatile, and durable, protecting the drone while still looking sleek and stylish. The frame houses the motors and propellers, and it has a small shelf that stores the drone’s battery during flight.

BETAFPV’s LiteRadio 2 SE radio transmitter pairs well with the HummingBird.

The HummingBird is easy to control and is optimized for indoor drone racing.

I can tell you from personal experience that NewBeeDrone’s Goober canopies and Cockroach frames are difficult to damage or break; my NewBeeDrone handled a nearly 25-foot drop from the third floor of a museum atrium without a break or even a small crack. In the event that a canopy or frame does break, they are easily replaceable and affordable through the NewBeeDrone website. If you’d like to spruce up your HummingBird, you can even replace the frame and canopy with colorful alternatives!

The HummingBird does not come with batteries, but you are still able to purchase batteries from the NewBeeDrone store that are compatible with this drone. Nitro Nectar Gold batteries are small, 1S HV LiPo batteries that will give you a few minutes of flight per charge. They range from 200 to 300 mAh, depending upon the battery that you purchase. Because of the small size of the HummingBird, it is important that the batteries are able to fit snugly and weigh less than other LiPo batteries for easy use. The HummingBird comes with a shelf on the bottom of the Cockroach frame to fit one battery at a time. Nitro Nectar Gold batteries are rechargeable and can be used on other NewBeeDrone products.

Flying

Although some of the other Tiny Whoops I’ve flown from NewBeeDrone have been optimized for freestyle or general flying, the HummingBird is optimized for racing. Thanks to its motors, it has great control of its torque. The HummingBird can handle yawing, pitching, and rolling well. I found that I was able to make turns around corners with the HummingBird easier than anticipated. It was not hard to handle or overly powerful while traveling in a straight line.

I flew this drone in both line-of-sight (LOS) and FPV. My experience with LOS flight started out bumpy, but thanks to the stability of the HummingBird, I was quickly able to gain a good sense of control over the drone. I went from flying the drone immediately into the ceiling to carefully weaving it under and over the conference room tables at AMA Headquarters in Muncie, Indiana.

I eventually grew familiar enough with flying LOS and connected the HummingBird to NewBeeDrone’s FPV goggles (not included with the purchase of the HummingBird). After I began flying FPV, I only grew more comfortable with the process. From time to time, the camera feed would glitch for a moment, but overall, I was able to clearly see where I had piloted the drone and could find my way back to the imaginary course that I had created in the conference room.

I eventually felt relaxed enough to let others watch my newly acquired flying skills and fly the drone in close proximity to people, as long as we were all mindful of where it was. I even grew comfortable enough to attempt to fly it outside at the park on a particularly warm day in March, but I do caution you to check how strong the wind is. Even the slightest breeze can push the lightweight HummingBird away from you.

The HummingBird’s Goober canopy and Cockroach frame protect the drone from tough crashes and hard falls.

Because the HummingBird does not include a radio transmitter, I used the BETAFPV LiteRadio 2 Radio Transmitter because I am fairly familiar with it. This transmitter is a 2.4 GHz digital system, supports simulators, has a highly sensitive antenna, and is equipped with a 1,000 mAh LiPo battery. I had little trouble binding the transmitter to the HummingBird. I contribute some of my comfort with the HummingBird to my familiarity of the transmitter; however, you can use any compatible radio transmitter that you are comfortable with to fly the HummingBird.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I had a positive experience with the HummingBird. As I mentioned (many times) earlier, I am a beginner flier and modeler. For those of you who have been flying for years, it might be easy to forget the beginning of your model aviation adventure. Experienced pilots might be laughing (understandably) at my clumsy description of the HummingBird and the tellings of my flying horror stories. I hope that, in a few years when I can casually fly a more advanced drone or model airplane, I will look back on this column and appreciate how far I have come.

It is important to remember that everyone has to start somewhere, and when you start at the beginning, you can only improve. If you are an advanced or experienced pilot, I encourage you to look back on your own journey and reflect on what made you the modeler you are today.

As a community, it is important that we have admiration for all modelers—beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Careful introspection can help you to strengthen your respect for your fellow hobbyists.

Thank you for reading, and I wish you all nothing but clear skies and safe flights.