Written By:
Our posts contain affiliate links. Sometimes, not always, we may make $$ when you make a purchase through these links. No Ads. Ever. Learn More
Table of Contents_
To find the best fixed-wing drones, you’ll want to determine all of the features that are right for you. We’re assuming that since you’re here, you know what a drone is. In that case, we recommend that you favor drones built from lightweight yet durable material, such as carbon or EPP foam. Make sure you consider the flight time of the drone and the distance range it can travel. When buying a fixed-wing drone, always look for a high-performance motor and the ability to perform aerobatics. These are also some of the features to consider when looking for a highly-rated drone.
After analyzing over a hundred options at varying price points and with a range of features, we have determined that the Parrot Disco FPV Fixed-Wing Drone is the best drone available on the market today. Keep reading to find out more about it and our other top picks for the best drones on the market.
Award: TOP PICK
WHY WE LIKE IT: Between its partial carbon construction, full-HD camera, and precise flight controls, the Parrot Disco provides a truly fantastic flight experience that can take you far, especially considering you can get nearly an hour of flight time.
The Parrot fixed-wing drone is a high-performing aircraft that can not only reach speeds of 50 mph but also offers a fabulous, immersive FPV flying experience. The Disco is one of the few advanced fixed-wings that comes with VR flight goggles included in the kit to give you a truly first-person view of your flight. That view is captured by an excellent 1080P full HD wide-angle camera. You can capture video and photographs of your flight.
This drone’s automatic takeoff and landing feature makes it easy to ensure a smooth experience at each end, though you can turn those features off. You’ll get an outstanding 45-minute flight time or more on one charge and up to a 1.2-mile range. The drone’s aerodynamic build is crafted from a mix of carbon and polypropylene, which provides precise control when gliding, turning, diving, and climbing. This is a drone for pilots looking for maximum range, excellent drone piloting experience, and fast operating speeds, much like you’ll find with the best FPV racing drones.
Award: HONORABLE MENTION
WHY WE LIKE IT: The Parrot Swing has an attractive spacecraft X-wing design that enables pilots to take off vertically and execute sharp, responsive 180-degree turns for some exciting aerobatics.
The Parrot Swing’s unique X-wing design makes it one of the most adaptable fixed-wing drones available. Its X-shape allows users to toggle between two modes: quadcopter mode or plane mode, making it somewhat of a hybrid. Quadcopter mode follows the quadcopter design, which enables you to execute a vertical takeoff and hover in the air. The plane mode is where you allow the speed and maneuverability of a fixed-wing drone.
When operating in plane mode, the Parrot Swing can reach speeds up to around 20 mph. It also has a Boost Mode that adds acceleration when activated for that extra push when needed. This Parrot drone will give users a fantastic flight time of around an hour depending on use and can fly up to a range of 196 feet from the controller. Controls are precise and users can pilot the drone in accelerometer mode, which allows you to tilt your smartphone to direct the drone. For an even more immersive flying experience, the best VR drones take a virtual flight to the next level.
Award: BEST CUSTOM KIT
WHY WE LIKE IT: The Crazepony is a strong, high-quality flying machine that’s especially attractive for advanced drone pilots who like to customize and switch out parts or work with different types of cameras.
This carbon-fiber Crazepony fixed-wing plane impresses with the quality of its materials and its performance in the air. Right out of the box, the drone’s 35-inch wingspan is impressive and built to be extremely aerodynamic, including its two detachable wingtips. It’s still incredibly light at only 2.72 ounces, yet designed to be crash-resistant at the same time. Unsurprisingly, the drone can reach speeds of up to 50 mph.
In addition to its fabulous flight performance, one of the best aspects of the Crazepony is the fact that it is highly customizable. This makes it easy to customize the plane as you like and replace parts as needed. This includes choosing your preferred FPV camera, as it’s compatible with most major brand options, like GoPro, RunCam, and Foxeer. It’s definitely a must-have for anyone in search of the best drone for GoPro that can fly at top speed. Although, you’ll want to compare FPV vs GPS drones, just to see which one fares better.
Award: BEST FOR AEROBATICS
WHY WE LIKE IT: If flips and rolls are your goals, the E-flite will put on a show from its brilliant paint detail to outstanding, responsive control over the plane’s pitch, bank, and speed.
It’s hard to imitate the dynamic flight experience and precise controls of the E-flite 300. Its construction and replica appearance is based on actual high-performing acrobatic airplanes. This drone backs up its appearance with a high-power brushless motor system that allows users to scale heights with ease. While it is speedy, pilots will relish its sensitive responsiveness that allows the execution of advanced in-air maneuvers.
The E-flite 300 has a SAFE Technology feature that allows you to toggle between beginner, intermediate, and experienced flight modes. Beginner mode offers assisted leveling and increased stability during flight, making it one of the best drones for beginners with big ambitions. Experienced flight mode removes all pitch and bank limitations, which frees advanced pilots to invert the plane in flight and execute loops, rolls, stalls, and advanced turns.
Award: BEST BEGINNER KIT
WHY WE LIKE IT: The Top Race RC drone has the advanced features to be a serious flyer but offers fabulous assisted controls to get you flying right away no matter what level you’re at. The kit includes everything you need to fly right out the gate.
If you’re just getting into fixed-wing drones, this Top Race RC plane has fabulous assisted flying features that are good for training while still maintaining more advanced controls for later on. The kit includes all the equipment needed. Its 20-inch wingspan is a manageable size for starting out. Top Race also smartly designed its propeller system to minimize damage in the case of impact. Upon impact, the propeller will snap off of the propeller shaft to avoid causing damage to the motor and other parts of the plane.
It will be easy to avoid accidents, though, with the functionality to toggle between easy, medium, and hard flight modes. These modes indicate how much support the pilot receives from the drone’s built-in six-axis gyro stabilizer. When starting out, beginners have the benefit of several one-key controls, such as takeoff, landing, and even one-key aerobatics that will execute rolls and flips at the touch of a button. As you become accustomed to flying, you can toggle to more advanced flight modes. If you are also interested in using your drone for filming, check out our best follow-me drone buying guide for additional options.
Award: BEST ON A BUDGET
WHY WE LIKE IT: With this drone, Goolsky brings a fantastically fun flying experience with some great advanced features at an affordable price point. Plus, the jet design looks really cool and flies fast.
The Goolsky XK A100 offers a long list of features at a fantastic value. It’s designed as a replica of SU-27 fighter jets, including detailed aspects of the wing and rudder design that improve flight performance. It’s crafted from lightweight EPP foam material, which not only flies well but is fabulous at absorbing impact in the event of a crash.
This drone offers two takeoff methods. You can execute a traditional runway-style takeoff or propel it with a hand throw. From there, the responsive 2.4GHz controller allows for a wide range of control, including more advanced rudder control for executing flips and other more technical stunts. Its dual propellers make for a surprisingly fast and fun flight experience. It’s a nice step up from the best indoor drone options on the market.
We’re sorry, this product is temporarily out of stock
Award: BEST VERSATILITY
WHY WE LIKE IT: GoolRC is a versatile drone that has three adjustable propellers that allow users to switch between vertical and horizontal flight modes. Take off vertically and then fly forward horizontally at fast, fixed-wing speed adding up to superior versatility.
The GoolRC MO2 offers fantastic performance and versatility, starting with its multi-rotor design. Its three propellers allow the drone to take off vertically and horizontally. The plane can also hover in the air, which most fixed-wing drones cannot do. Two of the propellers are self-rotating for when you are switching between flight modes, which allows you to get the benefit of a multi-rotor drone in a fixed-wing.
Behind its three propellers are three powerful brushless motors that offer a dynamic flight experience. When operating horizontally, you have the option to toggle on a stunt mode that allows you to execute more precise flight maneuvers, such as somersaults, inverted flying, rolls, and stalls. It has a flight range of around 300 meters and up to 20 minutes flight time, depending on your use of vertical and horizontal modes. The kit includes a charger as well. If you’ll be traveling a lot, the best drones for traveling might also interest you.
Award: BEST COMPACT MODEL
WHY WE LIKE IT: The Wotryit XK is so easy to transport to your flying spot due to its compact size and lightweight. Still, it manages to pack features similar to much larger models, like a powerful brushless motor and advanced rudder controls.
The Wotryit XK proves that you don’t need a 40-inch wingspan to get top-notch performance from your fixed-wing aircraft. This compact model with a wingspan just under 17-inches features a powerful high-efficiency 1406 brushless motor for fast speed and powerful climbing. Built with lightweight EPS material it weighs in at under 3-ounces.
The speedy little design makes it fun to fly, easy to transport, and requires less space for takeoff and landing. It could be a candidate for one of the smallest drones to fly. The transmitter communicates a strong 2.4GHz signal that works in a 200-meter distance range. The rear of the plane has adjustable rudder controls for added maneuverability when executing aerial stunts, along with a 3D 6G stabilizer that is adjustable for added flight assistance. For more portable options, the best foldable drones might also tick some boxes for you.
Award: BEST FOR KIDS
WHY WE LIKE IT: The design of the KKmoon F949 — modeled after a real airplane — is immediately attractive to young fliers. It offers enough power for a fun, fast flight experience but not too much that it will get out of control.
Kids will enjoy the KKmoon F949 fixed-wing drone that’s modeled after an actual Cessna airplane. Everything about its build and design makes it an extremely kid-friendly plane. The chassis and wings are composed of lightweight EPP foam material that has the ideal flexibility to absorb impact. Its durable design will endure mishaps from young and beginner pilots.
Its light 58-gram weight makes it easy for children to carry the drone around, making it the best drone for kids on our list. Its tri-coreless motor system strikes the perfect balance of being powerful enough for a responsive flight experience and good handling without the risk of flying out of control. It has decent battery life that will give you about 25 minutes of flight time and is rechargeable in as fast as 40 minutes.
Award: BEST FOR GPS
WHY WE LIKE IT: The Hubsan Spy Hawk is a powerful drone that provides beautiful, real-time video paired with simultaneous GPS geo-tagging. It’s the perfect drone for recreational surveying and exploration while providing a truly immersive flight experience.
There is a lot to like about the Hubsan H301S Spy Hawk, from its sleek and purposeful build to its high-quality FPV camera. The plane has an impressive 40-inch wingspan composed of carbon fiber, with a light flight weight of just above 12-ounces. Its lithium battery gives you around 23 minutes of flight time and charges in only 80 minutes.
The drone’s transmitter provides real-time, precise GPS positioning to the controller, which makes it easy to follow flight paths and keep track of the drone’s location. It definitely could be considered the best fixed-wing drone for mapping out flight paths. It has a handy automatic return feature that guides the drone back to your location. The Hubsan Spy Hawk has a high-quality 1920x1080P ultra-wide camera that transmits audio and video with the option to record your flight. It’s a fun gift for anyone into the best spy gadgets.
Fixed-wing drones offer a very different flight experience than the more common quadcopter-style drones. A fixed-wing plane is much more aerodynamic and designed for power efficiency and high speeds. It’s best used to cover long distances at high speeds.
An important consideration when looking at long-range fixed-wing drones for sales is how they take off and land. These types of drones can’t take off or land vertically, so they can either be hand-launched into the air or operate similar to an airplane by executing a runway takeoff.
After takeoff, the main considerations are in the drone’s performance, both when it comes to speed and flight time. We only considered drones with a battery life of around 20 minutes or more. For speed, top drones can achieve speeds of up to 50 mph. That top speed was our gauge for measuring speed performance for advanced drones, while more entry-level models were closer to 25 mph.
