3D Robotics SOLO Drone Review Plus Sample Video Footage and Pictures

My experience this far with the SOLO drone by 3DR has been one of highs and lows. Luckily none of the lows have included flyaways or crashes, but unfortunately the highs were dampened by poor GPS connections, a delayed gimbal delivery date, and shorter than promised radio range in all but the perfect environment. Leaving the delayed gimbal aside (I'll take it as a sign that I need to work on my patience), there are still the two main issues which I and many others have experienced when flying the Solo.

A shot of a drive-in theater taken with the Solo.

The first is that almost every time I go to fly my Solo it has trouble connecting to the satellites to get a GPS lock. Sometimes this means that I just have to wait 5-10 minutes (the Phantom 3 will GPS lock in less than a minute even in urban environments) but other times I have had to skip flying altogether out of fear of flying without a return to home point created and set. For a drone which 3DR
has marketed on the awesomeness of its "Smart Shots" (cable cam, auto dronie, orbit, and follow me) it is really disappointing that more than half the time they are rendered useless because the Solo can't connect to enough satellites. Now even though I am hoping that this can be fixed with a simple firmware update, many people online believe that it is a hardware issue, attributable to the lack of a GLONASS receiver or a raised GPS mast.

My SOLO trying to get a GPS lock.

This is the farthest away I have ever flown it (I am standing by
the small building on the left).

The second issue is the decreased radio range. 3DR promises streaming video and radio control of up to half a mile, and even though I assumed that just like a car’s mile per gallon rating it was a best case scenario, I didn't expect to only ever get half of what was promised. I live and fly in pretty rural areas without any obstructions to speak of and yet I have only ever been able to get 1500’ feet away before I lose radio connection (luckily it returns to home). I had to look up how much a half a mile was (2640’ FYI) because I was so sure I had my numbers wrong. Maybe you can get the range they promise flying from the top of a sand dune in the desert but in real world situations you won't achieve anything close to the range they promise unless you upgrade the controller's antennas. However, I'm pretty sure this modification voids the warranty so proceed at your own risk.
Now other than those two major problems, I have had a great experience with the Solo. Landing and taking off is a breeze, the app is smooth, it flies predictably and fast, and return to home is incredibly precise (if you can get a GPS lock that is). The Smart Shots work well, though they haven't really been of much use yet without the gimbal to smooth out the slightly more choppy GPS guided flight. I will hopefully update this review, once the gimbal has been released and 3DR releases another firmware update. I'm really hoping for the best, but this might just be the risk of buying a first gen product.