With so many drones out on the market, it can be hard to decide which is the best racing drone to buy, especially on a limited budget. There are a lot of factors to consider when picking out a drone, be it the speed and power of the drone, if it has a camera and supports FPV (First Person View), and its durability. We ranked the EMAX Hawk 5 Bind and Fly (BNF) as the overall best FPV racing drone you can buy for under $300 in 2018, and after you’ve reviewed the specs and performance, you’ll clearly see why. Even when the hobby of drone flying was just taking off, EMAX was offering high quality products for drone enthusiasts and beginner pilots and the Hawk 5 is no exception.
Heads up: This post contains some affiliate links that earn us a small commission if you purchase something through them, at no additional cost to you. We only recommend products that we have reviewed and think our readers will find useful.
EMAX Hawk 5 Specifications
| Product: |   |
|---|---|
| Model: | EMAX Hawk 5 |
| Frame Material: | Carbon Fiber |
| Frame Size: | 4mm Thick 210mm X-Frame |
| Stock Propellers: | Avan Flow 5 inch Propeller |
| Weight: | 295g |
| Camera: | Foxeer Arrow Micro v2 600TVL CCD |
| Motors: | EMAX LS2206 2300kv |
| ESC: | 30A x 4 DSHOT 600 ESC |
| Flight Controller: | Stackable Omnibus F4 |
EMAX Hawk 5 Pros:
- This Bind and Fly FPV Racing drone has great out of the box set up
- The EMAX Hawk 5 is light weight and powerful
- Since the Hawk 5 is one of the top FPV racing drones on the market, you can expect some awesome maneuverability
- Very high quality components and the package includes spares
EMAX Hawk 5 is truly a Bind and Fly
The Hawk 5 has excellent out of the box setup and tuning. Being a Bind and Fly model (BNF) that is assembled and configured by real experts in the industry means the only thing you will need is a remote control to bind the Hawk 5 to and you should be able to get it up in the air in no time.
Light weight and maneuverable
The Hawk 5 is also extremely light weight, which is great since it requires a lot less power to keep it flying smoothly. Just because it’s lighter doesn’t mean EMAX skimped on the power though, as the EMAX LS2206 2300Kv motor certainly provides more than enough juice to reach some decent speeds, while keeping it light enough to allow for tight maneuvering and even some freestyle flying if that’s more your style. While a higher kV motor would help it reach higher speeds, the LS2206 motor provides versatility that other bulkier motors don’t allow for. Based on our review of a variety of flight test and speed test videos, we can confirm the Hawk 5 can reach speeds of a little over 100MPH, thanks in part to its lightweight design and the LS2206 motor. The core design of the Hawk 5 being compact and built around a centralized sandwich style frame allows for a very low moment of inertia with the quadcopter propeller system. This results in tight and responsive maneuverability and keeps your control of the Hawk 5 smooth through the entire throttle range.
One of the best quality builds we’ve ever seen
The EMAX Hawk 5 is built from high quality components, and even comes with a few replacement parts in the box just in case. The Avan Flow 5 inch propellers are stellar quality. The FC (Flight Control) is stacked with the ESC and VTX in the EMAX F4 Magnum Stack. All three components are protected in the body of the carbon fiber frame, as opposed to some being on the arms. This means there is less of a chance that they will be damaged by tree branches or broken propellers in flight, or in crashes. The VTX board has 48 channels. You can switch to high power output for long range cruising, but also use lower range outputs to keep your drone in compliance for race rules.
Compared to other similar drone models, the Hawk 5 is clearly a superior product. Other drone models like the Diatone GT-M540 or the Eachine Wizard X220S either have their components exposed and not completely enclosed in the frame, or are built with frames which are not full carbon fiber. These other FPV Racing drones are more prone to damage, and will end up costing more in the long run since you’ll be constantly ordering replacement parts. The Hawk 5 keeps all of its more delicate components inside the frame, protecting them from harm.
The camera is the only real exception to this, but the camera is fairly inexpensive compared to the other pieces of hardware like the F4 Magnum stack which generally costs upwards of $100 USD. The Hawk 5 also comes with three different antenna types, which is a nice perk as most drones only come with one antenna. The battery pack is also mountable on multiple surfaces of the drone, allowing for flexibility on where you want the battery depending on what you are using it for. It also accepts a wide variety of battery types.
Buy on Amazon
EMAX Hawk 5 Cons:
- The Motors could be more powerful
- Mediocre camera protection
There aren’t many downsides to this FPV racing drone, and the few that it does have are pretty minor, and don’t do much to detract from the overall quality of the product. The first minor point is that even though the motors are functional and keep the drone light, having something with a little more kick to it like the RS2306 motors would have made for an absolute monster of a racing drone. This would have pushed the price up a fair amount though. The EMAX Hawk 5 is one of the fastest FPV racing drones we have reviewed. But, it gets beaten out by other more powerful 6S drones like the Diatone GTM540 on speed.
Lastly, the way the frame is set up leaves the camera open and exposed to damage in crashes. The camera issue is really the biggest mark against the Hawk 5, but otherwise it is a stellar drone for the price.
Overall Rating
Bottom Line
Overall the EMAX Hawk 5 Bind and Fly FPV racing drone is a high quality product, and well worth the price. It provides great maneuverability and is extremely light weight, making it more versatile than some of the heavier drones on the market that are built specifically for racing or pure speed at the cost of maneuverability. Whether you are looking for a racing drone, or something more suitable for freestyle flying, the Hawk 5 BNF Racing Drone will give you the performance you’re looking for.
Speed and Power
Thanks to the light weight motors and frame, the Hawk 5 can reach fairly high speeds without sacrificing maneuverability. The motors could be a little more powerful, but the light weight of the drone more than makes up for it and provides an excellent thrust-to-weight ratio.
Maneuverability
The EMAX Hawk 5 excels at maneuverability. It was designed with two things in mind, reaching high speeds in order to be a viable choice as a racing drone, and a lightweight design to allow tight maneuverability at those high speeds. The Hawk 5 has exceeded our expectations on both fronts. The ability to mount the battery on top or bottom of the frame also allows you to customize it to your preferences. Its still debatable as to which option provides more speed and maneuverability.
Value for Money
Overall the Hawk 5 is a great value product. The individual components are very high quality parts. The price of the EMAX Magnum F4, the motor and the camera combined total about $180 USD, almost the cost of the pre-built drone. Since the Hawk 5 not only comes pre-assembled, but also with additional parts, you are getting excellent value for your money.
Camera and Video Quality
The Foxeer Arrow Micro V2 600VTL CCD camera provides a crystal clear image with great dynamic range. This is a premium camera, and the image quality reflects that. Based on visual comparisons, compared to the Micro Sparrow and Micro Swift 2, the Foxeer Arrow Micro offers a clearer and more vibrant picture with better saturation, where as the color on the other two comes off as slightly muted. There is also less distortion due to the lens shape of the Foxeer Arrow Micro compared to the other two cameras, the distortion only becoming evident towards the edges of the camera’s field of view as you get close to objects. The Foxeer Arrow Micro V2 also provides a variety of color modes as well as custom user color settings to get the clearest picture based on the lighting and conditions you are using the drone. The Foxeer Arrow also produces slightly less stuttering and better image refresh rates than the Micro Swift.
Durability
The lowest scoring section for the EMAX Hawk 5, the overall durability is solid. The core components are well protected and housed in the central unit of the drone as opposed to on the exterior or on the underside of the wings. The propellers can be prone to damage, but that’s the case with almost all drones and is really to be expected. The main reason the durability scores so low comparatively to the other categories is the exposed camera. If the camera was a little more well protected, the Hawk 5 would be near perfect.
What do other reviews say?
Conclusion
If you’re looking for the best FPV racing drone, the EMAX Hawk 5 BNF is definitely worth grabbing. It can perform in a variety of different events, be it purely racing, freestyle, or racing a course where tight maneuverability is essential. With the EMAX Hawk 5 going for about $220 on Amazon, and costing no more than $300, it is a solid choice for any drone enthusiast.
AerialTechReview always recommends that you take your time before making a decision on purchasing a product like an FPV racing drone. Especially if you’re in the market looking for the Best FPV racing drone. If you’re still on the fence, or if you’d like to check out some of the competitors for this product check out our article on the Best FPV Racing Drones to buy under $300.
Come back sometime and check out some more of our product reviews and best-in-class lists.