Article from the Mundo Drone archive, published 14 March 2020 and updated 2 July 2020. Text merged on 28 October 2026 from all its 2020 versions; specifications, availability and regulations may have changed since.
This is Parrot's proposal for an initiation race drone. The truth is that on paper it is quite well thought out but... Will it be what you promise?
Catalogar al Parrot Mambo is not easy because, depending on the accessories, it can be an initiation drone or a race drone. Or a drone for kids. In any case, as Drone initiation is fantastic, and now it is easier than ever to get one.
Analysis and characteristics of Parrot Mambo
The Mambo is a Parrot toy drone. There are many good things to say about this drone, but one of the best features it has is the camera looking down.
You can use the camera to see what's underneath you, but most importantly, the Mambo uses it to see the ground and stabilize. This means that the Mambo will maintain its position (inside and outside) just like higher-tier camera drones. To process the video for stabilization, the Mambo has a powerful built-in processor.
Speaking of processing things, did you know that Mambo is totally programmable? If you or your children want to learn how to program, the Mambo is completely programmable using Parrot SDK, Apple's Swift programming language or Tynker. You can make the Mambo do things like take off, fly in one direction, turn around and then land without touching the controls. This drone is the direct competition of DJI Tello in that sense, but it offers other characteristics that the Tello does not have.
All Mambos have a special mount that you can use to add additional accessories. The newest accessory is the FPV camera. When combined with the included FPV glasses, the Mambo FPV allows you to fly the drone in a completely new way compared to other toy drones. You can see what the drone sees and fly like you're inside the drone cabin. Come on, an FPV flight like a race drone.
The Mambo FPV is a great drone. It comes with everything it takes (other than a smartphone) to start doing FPV. Although Parrot announces Mambo as an FPV race drone, it is not a real FPV race drone like our FPV Racing section. It is more of a fantastic FPV toy made for beginners and children.
There are several Mambo models:
Parrot Mambo Fly
Parrot Mambo has been a very popular entry level drone since the introduction of the first model of the Mambo series. This was a great enough drone, it belonged to the entry-level range and it was a good choice for novices in the world of drones. You could perfect your flying skills with a model like this and perhaps step up to other products later. The Fly model was also suitable for children.
Parrot Mambo Mission
Then came the Mambo Mission which introduced and popularized the use of tweezers that can catch objects and cannons that shoot balls. The model was equipped with more sophisticated features and, as expected, moved up a step in range. But the latest on the Parrot Mambo line is the Mambo FPV. This model is more in tune with the common expectations of media users: high definition shooting, FPV camera, ability to share live transmissions on platforms such as Youtube, Facebook, etc. Later, the FPV model has gained more popularity compared to its brothers and consequently, we will also focus on this model in our current review.
Parrot Mambo FPV
The first thing a buyer of Mambo FPV should take into account is that, unlike the Mambo Fly, this is not a children's toy. In other words, if you plan to give your child a quadcopter on your tenth birthday, you should choose the Fly model and not the FPV.
We mention this separately, since all these models come with the name Parrot Mambo, sometimes it is easy to get confused. In fact, in the FPV Model Instructions Manual, the first element on the "Warning" page categorically states that this is "NOT A PLAY" and that children under 14 years of age should not be able to operate this machine.
Well, let's skip all the cool things Mambo FPV has to offer you.
The drone is quite small but with a nice white chassis made of plastic. There are two green LED lights placed on the front of the chassis and these give the machine a somewhat frightening appearance. Rotor tips and blades are also made of plastic. However, despite everything, the drone is quite resistant and durable, although we still recommend that you use the support protectors at least the first times you're flying the machine.
The controller looks and feels like a simplified Xbox controller, with two multi-directional levers that control rotation, elevation, and movement. There are a couple of buttons that activate special acrobatic movements (you may want to avoid performing with the glasses on, unless you have a plastic bag in your hand) and a button to take off and land.
Parrot Cockpit 2 glasses, for their part, are like a rudimentary Gear VR glasses. You hold your smartphone in front and the lenses inside turn the footage on your phone screen into an immersive image.
The glasses are foldable, which makes it easily transportable; Parrot's team who designed it did so thinking of being able to lock it in a backpack, although since the glasses are exposed, we would worry that they are scratched or dirty.
The FPV camera itself (like the drone in which it sits) is small and made of white plastic. It easily mounts on top of the Mambo, and stays still, even if some turbulent landings are made.
Loading the Mambo is easy thanks to a micro USB port on the back, and there is an LED indicator that lights up in red to indicate that it is charging, and becomes green when the drone is fully charged.
A complete charge takes approximately 45 minutes through the USB port of a computer and 30 minutes from a wall socket. A full load will give you about eight minutes of flight time with the camera connected, or 10 minutes without it.
Regarding its performance, the Parrot Mambo is a pleasure to use, and you can move from being a novice to making a really satisfying flight in a matter of minutes. All this is thanks to the software under the chassis.
As a leader in drone technology, Parrot has devoted many years to working both in hardware and software for high-end models that has clearly filtered down to its entry-level models.
There are three different flight modes. In Easy mode, the drone stabilizes horizontally and vertically, with all machine learning-assisted movements to prevent you from losing control. In Drift mode, horizontal stabilization is disabled, giving you greater control over the Mambo FPV, while in Racing mode the autopilot is completely off, allowing you to have total control.
The flight is intuitive, fast and customizable, and you can set the maximum height, counting the turns and different flight modes, all from the application. There is even a feature that allows you to start a flight simply by throwing the Mambo into the air, which is really fun to do.
The Mambo can be controlled using the Parrot FreeFlight smartphone app or the driver included in the box. Both are easy to use, but the range over which you can control the drone is significantly improved when using the Flightpad controller. The signal range is 60 meters with the controller, compared to 40 meters with the phone.
Connecting the drone is a bit complicated: this involves establishing a Buetooth connection between the Flightpad and the drone, and a Wi-Fi connection between the drone and your phone. Making the Mambo connect for the first time with the Flightpad doesn't always work for the first time, with both devices blinking foolishly at each other for a significant period of time.
However, connecting to the phone is still complicated. Every time you want to connect, you must enter the Wi-Fi settings and select the Mambo, then return to the FreeFlight main app to start your flight. It's a roll.
As we have mentioned, although there are several models of Mambo, the real incentive of Mambo is to fly with FPV. As you can imagine, with a camera small enough to fit in this small drone, image quality won't win any Oscars; if you're looking for a drone to take stunning photos and videos in HD, this is not the right model. But it's not his purpose either. The race drones (although this as we have commented before would be a little to the limit of considering themselves as such) are only expected of them that their cameras give enough quality so that the pilot can see where he drives through some FPV glasses.
When you're in FPV mode, the smart phone attached to the glasses is an exciting experience. And when you get to the stage where you have enough confidence to drive between obstacles, it's wonderful, putting the camera in the drone's pilot's place.
That said, the FPV image tends to be a little nervous, with the image occasionally cut. You can calibrate the Wi-Fi channel and find the best connection when possible, but it never completely solves the problem.
There is also a little less than a second delay between the movement of the drone and the image that reaches the earpiece. If you reach the stage where you want to test speed through a home obstacle race, this delay could become a problem.
And the battery life turned out to be a problem for us: eight minutes didn't seem like enough time. In addition, with strong winds, the drone has to work harder to stay stable and in progress, and flight time is further reduced.
This is an interesting point, compared to other drones in the market, the Parrot Mambo FPV actually has a very competitive battery life, but we often find ourselves getting to the stage where we feel comfortable flying the Mambo when the battery becomes critically low. That is why it is strongly recommended (in this and in most drones in general) to have a set of replacement batteries.
In conclusion, we can say that the Mambo FPV is a drone that likes it. It's incredibly easy to fly with it and robust enough to receive some other roll, both essential requirements for a beginner drone, especially if used by children.
With its FPV functionality, the Parrot Mambo has acquired a feature that takes it from the "new drone" to a valuable incorporation into the world of drones. At first it may look like a sophisticated toy (of course, it is not a toy), although compared with other electronic gadgets it is actually very sensible.
While it may seem quite simple, as soon as you start flying the Parrot Mambo, you will feel you made the right choice. I wish the battery life was better, but that's a common problem of many drones.
We consider this an excellent way to get started in the world of drone racing without buying a dedicated device that is not good for much more; if you take the Mambo home and check that drone racing is not for you, you can remove the camera and you still have a fun drone.
Specifications
Stabilisation sensors :
- Inertial measurement unit to assess speed, inclination and contact with obstacles (three-axle celerometer and 3-axle gyro)
- Ultrasound sensor
- Pressure sensor
- Camera sensor
Energy :
- LiPo 660 mAh battery
- 8 min autonomy with attached accessory or bumper
- 10 min autonomy without accessory or bumper
- 30 min charging time with a 2.1 A charger
Aeronautical design :
- Flight control and stabilization software
- Weight-to-speed ratio optimized
Speed measurement :
- 60 FPS vertical camera
Camera :
- Recording and streaming in HD 720 p 30 IPS
- FOV 120°
PARROT COCKPITGLASSES 2
- Wide visibility with 96o field of view
- Compatible with iOS/Android phones from 4.5 to 6
PARROT FLYPAD :
- Power :200 mAh Lipo battery, 6 h range, 2 h load with charger 2.5 A
- Connection : Up to 100 meters, automatic connection, transmission: 100 meters with Parrot Flypad
- Dimensions : 16,5 x 9,7 x 6,6 cm (maximum size of compatible smartphones: 160 x 78 x 9,8 mm)
- Weight : 295 g with smartphone support
Parrot USB connection
- Patented system for connecting remote accessories to the drone
Scope
- 100 ft/ 30 m with a smartphone
- 100 m with Parrot Flypad
Weight :
- Weight: 2,22 oz / 63g (without bumpers or accessories)
- Weight with camera: 73 g
Dimensions :
- 18 x 18 cm with bumper
Pros and cons of this Drone
- Quality of construction, good quality plastics
- Accessories like the FPV camera make it a very funny drone and with possibilities
- The operation of automatic stabilization systems works fairly well
- Flight time is said to be up to 9 minutes, but often no longer than 5-6 minutes.
- The firing speed of the gun accessory in the Mission model is very slow
Conclusions
This model is similar in many facets to the DJI Tello, especially as it has to do with the quality of the construction materials, however this drone goes further with the accessories of the different versions, especially the FPV. It is a perfect drone for children and adults to start in the world of drones in general and, if they want, in that of race drones in particular. It delivers on every front.