Flight Test: Hubsan H122D

We finally got our hands on the new Hubsan H122D X4 Storm. It is an all-in-one FPV (first person view) racing quad that includes the drone, remote, monitor and goggles. This little quad really looks the part of an FPV racer, but how does the Hubsan H112 perform? Let’s take a look.

The new Hubsan H122D is a very intriguing product. Not too long ago Hubsan was one of the world leaders in beginner drones. Their X4 H107 models were very popular and a must-have drone for any new pilot. Then they came out with their best-selling model, the H107D. It was the same fun flyer but with a reliable FPV feed and a built-in screen on the remote. It seemed like a slam dunk, but it did have some important flaws.

The H122D is a Better Drone

Here is a list of all of the improvements Hubsan has made over the original FPV beginner drone, the Hubsan H107D:

• Wide field of view camera
• Tiltable camera
• The remote doesn’t chew through four AA batteries every 3-4 flights
• They got rid of automatic flipping in sport mode and added a flip button
• Plugs on the motors
• Bigger, meaner, carbon frame
• They gave it a beeper so it is a lot easier to find a lost drone

The Hubsan H122D Camera

First I have to say the camera on this quad records excellent video. It is one of the best quality 720p cameras I have ever tested. This may have been marketed as an FPV race drone, but the camera quality is excellent, especially if you are recording with an SD card on board the drone. If you want good footage of your flights this quad is an excellent option.

The biggest problem of the old Hubsan FPV quad was the narrow field of view and downward-looking camera. Hubsan remedied both of those issues by using a wider angle lens and an adjustable angle camera.

The H122D camera is a pretty good one. It has a pretty wide field of view, which is a major improvement from their original FPV quad. Interestingly the field of view is different if you record video directly onboard the quadcopter vs streaming live on the monitor or goggles. Strangely they opted to crop a slightly off-center image for FPV viewing. It is an odd way to go about it, especially after they took the time to include a quality sensor and good wide angle field of view.

The H122D FPV Drone

The H122D looks the part of an aggressive FPV flyer. The camera angle is tiltable and the camera is capable of recording 720p video onboard the drone. This, combined with the 5.8 GHz FPV feed, makes this an exciting offering from Hubsan. This is one of the better all-in-one camera VTX (video transmitter) ready-to-go packages we’ve tested.

The Hubsan H122D Design

The quad looks durable and the carbon fiber frame should hold up well in crashes. The internal components of the drone and the camera are protected by a canopy as well. Unfortunately, the motors are not brushless but are larger 10 mm motors.

These are powerful, high-capacity motors as this little quad is running on a 7.6v 2S battery. That extra power should help make this a fun flyer. That means this is a LiHV instead of a standard LiPo. That helps add a little boost of power. There aren’t many brushed drones that run on 2S batteries, but the ones that do, like the Flying Frog, are a lot of fun.

The H122D has multiple speed modes you can increase the fun as you grow as a pilot. It also will monitor battery levels and the remote will indicate when your battery life is coming to an end. You can keep the monitor on the remote or move it into the goggles for an immersive flight experience. The monitor will display important information like battery levels, stick inputs, recording modes and flight modes.

The H122D will give you a flight time of around 6 minutes and a range of close to 100 meters. You can either order the entire FPV package or save some money if you already have some FPV goggles.

Where the H122D X4 Storm Could Be Improved

This is a really good quadcopter, especially for the beginner wanting to get into FPV flight. Brushed motors really limit the power that this can generate and brushless motors would make this an even more exciting drone. That said, it would also increase the price point. The goggles are pretty large, especially for the relatively small screen. The bigger issue with the goggles is that you can’t access any of the buttons on the screen without removing the screen from the goggles.

Adding an acro mode would have been a nice touch and wouldn’t have added any extra cost to the drone. It has a beeper, but no way to manually make it sound unless you turn off the remote or lose connection. A simple switch would have been nice. While it isn’t heavy, I’m pretty certain Hubsan could have shaved off 10-30% of the total weight with some strategic engineering and that too would have helped with performance. Also how hard would it be to include a full instruction manual?

Our quad was very good, however, the early release H122D models were plagued with issues. Hot batteries and burnt out motors were pretty common. It seems Hubsan has addressed these issues with later releases.

Little Touches

Some people may not have noticed, but the motors are plugged, which is a nice touch for easy repairs. All of the lines are clean and wires are hidden and electronics are protected. I also like the inclusion of the beeper and the limited OSD (on-screen display telemetry data) that you’ll get on the monitor. The ability to record on board of the drone ensures higher quality video too.

Should You Get a Hubsan H122D?

The Hubsan H122D is most definitely an intriguing FPV option. It is an excellent all-in-one option for the beginner pilot. We do recommend this quadcopter for anyone looking for a fun FPV flyer. It fixes all of the previous design errors of previous models and we are excited to go fly it some more.

Order a Hubsan H122D from Banggood

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