Parrot Bebop 2 FPV Review

Before the tiny DJI Mavic Pro there was the Parrot Bebop ($269.00 at Amazon) . It was only good for short flights, struggled when ascending to great heights, and its compact design was hampered by its giant Skycontroller remote. The Bebop 2 ($699.99 with remote and FPV goggles) is a much better aircraft. It flies longer and higher, and includes a remote that isn't absurdly huge. Parrot bills it as an option for long-distance flight, but it's a better performer at shorter distances and lower altitudes. If you're looking for a more serious aircraft in this size class, the pricey DJI Mavic Pro is the way to go. If you don't mind a bigger quadcopter and want to maximize performance on a budget, the DJI Phantom 3 Standard is our Editors' Choice. Design The Bebop 2 , available in red or white, is a small quadcopter. It measures 3.5 by 12.9 by 12.9 inches (HWD) and weighs 1.1 pound when ready to fly. Because of its weight, you do need to register with the FAA before flying outdoors, even...

The Parrot Bebop 2 FPV is an attractive, compact drone for backyard and rural pilots, but it has difficulty with long distance flight in areas with crowded Wi-Fi signals.

Compact; Includes remote and FPV goggles; 19-minute average flight time; Stable 1080p video; Supports midair flips and rolls; Adjustable geofence; Flight app works with Android and iOS

Very limited suburban operating range; Full-resolution images are fish-eye; Smartphone or tablet required for camera view; So-so video quality

Parrot Bebop 2 FPV review

When Parrot first launched the Bebop 2, it had managed to make its flagship quadcopter drone a little smaller, while making flight performance just a little sturdier. It also doubled the flight time, and attempted to improve the overall composition from the onboard 1080p HD camera. The Bebop 2 FPV is essentially the same drone, except for new accessories that help change how it feels to fly. FPV, or “first-person view,” refers to the included VR headset to see what the drone sees firsthand, but the accessory that makes a bigger impact is the SkyController 2 remote control. We took the Bebop 2 FPV for more than a few piloting sessions to get a grip on how this bundle flies. As far as the Bebop 2 drone itself, it wouldn’t be right to call this an “FPV version” because the design and mechanics inside are the same. It’s the reason why Parrot also sells the CockpitGlasses VR headset and SkyController 2 remote control separately as a bundle. If you already own a Bebop 2 drone, you can buy th...

Same design; SkyController 2 a big step up; Straightforward assembly and setup; Repairable, with spare parts options; Cheaper than competition;

FPV headset needs reduced latency; Camera is better, but still needs work; Susceptible to strong winds;