This gets a 1000/10 on the fun scale.
I have never used the Invader fold that comes with the kit; I've always used POWERUP 4.0 with my original fold that I've been developing for years (see images; I'm a nerd.) Best place to fly for me has been an empty hotel ballroom, or an empty parking lot. (An empty ballpark or gymnasium might be good too.) My longest flight time is 7 minutes and 7 seconds, and it ended because the battery died. The flight time graph in the POWERUP app goes up to 8 minutes. Flight time probably depends on how draggy or efficient your fold is, and how you fly it (lots of climbs and tightly banked turns use a lot of thrust).
The flight controls on the phone are very easy, but might seem awkward at first. There are presets for which model you have. There are also three "Custom Plane" presets, which worked for me perfectly for me without any adjustments. To fly, you hold your thumb down and that unlocks the plane's thrusters, and you slide up for more thrust, and slide down for less. Your thrust application changes your altitude. When you tilt your phone side to side, that is how your steer. (There is another control setting where you use two thumbs, but I don't use that one...) There is an "auto pilot" system that tries to make corrections and aids in your flight (for example, if the nose goes too high, it will cut the thrusters so that the plane doesn't stall). This can help your flight, but I find it can also cause odd oscillations to occur. You can try to dial in and tune your flight characteristics in the app (which is VERY COOL), but I honestly think it's way easier to adjust your fold for better flight before editing the characteristics in the software... If you want less "auto pilot" intervention, you can turn on "Acro Mode" which, I think, turns a lot of that computer stuff off. I only fly in Acro Mode, and my plane flies amazingly.
As for frustrations... You CAN get really frustrated, especially when you're testing a design and you only have 8 minutes of flight to test. It takes about 15-20 minutes to fully charge. I usually use that time to fold another spare wing, or to try a new fold. Just keep in mind that you can easily wait 20 minutes for a charge and then waste the entire charge crashing every 15 seconds...
Spare parts and accessories are easy to find, and they're pretty cheap. I have the landing gear installed, which, at first, I thought was silly and made the plane look silly, but my folds last longer because the landings are much softer now (even though not perfect). I never take off from the ground though; I always throw it, as there isn't much control when it's on the ground.
A couple notes for success... Understand which ways the propellers rotate and which one goes on which side. There is a distinct left and right one; they are not the same! If you use tractor mode (where POWERUP 4.0 is installed with propellers in front) you'll have to swap the left and right propellers to reverse the direction of thrust. POWERUP says tractor mode hasn't been tested. I still think it's a challenge, but be careful when trying to fly in this configuration. I feel I get MUCH better flight control with "Acro Mode" on. Lastly, never fly with your phone in "Low Power Mode" as I've found there to be way more Bluetooth dropouts (it's generally a very stable connection though).
Have fun!!!
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