So, this is the second one of these that I've ordered; the first was for my nephew. After flying it a bit with him, I decided to give it a try on my own. This is probably the best quadcopter value out there, though I do say this based on other reviews and not my own experience with multiple makes and models. For about $40, you get a very capable quad-copter that you can fly left/right, forward/reverse, up/down, as well as rotate it 360 to keep the "front" of the copter oriented properly, so you're not pushing the controller left and having the unit bank right. It also has a "eversion" mode that basically flips the copter 360 degrees in a loop automatically. This function works left/right and forward/backward, and is very cool,primarily because it's so easy to execute the maneuver.
The unit has a Low and High setting, which trims the controls a bit on the Low setting, and makes for a very good indoor mode while the High setting is best for outdoors and stunt moves. There are trim controls for the throttle, rotation, left/right and forward/back. I've found that the trim does work, and is best adjusted when the copter is outside and has some height off the ground...essentially, you try to hover it and see how best to adjust the controls. Ideally, if you let off the controls, the unit should hover fairly well. The system has no "auto" hover mode that'll auto-adjust the trims to hover, so getting it dialed in is still a manual affair. The controls work well, and I've flown this for maybe an hours indoors and 30 minutes outside, and feel as if I have good control of the thing.
I've found this to be a very sturdy unit, having crashed it numerous times in just about every orientation. It does come with a set of spare rotors, which is nice, however even after using this in a parking lot, I've not yet broken anything. The body of the unit, which offers some protection to the electronics (which then have another plastic dome atop them), comes in several types...bumble bee, UFO, spaceship, etc. Ideally, you might be able to fly w/o it, shaving off some weight and possibly some air resistance, though the fairing does offer some protection and probably shouldn't be removed until you're past the beginner stages.
The battery lasts 8-10 minutes, depending upon how you're flying it. I've found they last more outdoors, probably because you're not making so many direction adjustments. You can get extra batteries and chargers, and I'd recommend it, as 10 minutes isn't enough...you're going to want more. The batteries charge off a USB cable, whether plugged into a computer or using a USB/wall adapter. Charge time is about an hour, give or take.
The directions are just OK, and you'll have to experiment to really get a feel for things. The most important thing to remember is when starting off, you want to try and be on as level a surface as possible, as each time you insert the battery, the thing will auto-level and find it's artificial horizon. If you start off on a slope, you may find the unit won't fly very well, or you'll need to make significant trim adjustments.
The process to start the unit is as follows:
1. Ensure battery for the copter is out, and the remote is off.
2. Insert the battery and immediately place the copter on a flat surface. You should see the slow blinking LED under the fairing
3. Turn the remote on.
4. Move the throttle/rotate lever (on the left of the remote) up once (you'll hear a beep) and then down once (you'll hear a beep).
5. The copter LED should then stop blinking and remain steady RED. You're ready to go...
6. If the copter doesn't start, turn the remote off, then on, and repeat the process w/ the throttle (you shouldn't need to remove the battery). I find I need to do this process twice each time the batter is replaced.
If you crash the copter, you just need to right it, and start flying again...it will automatically reset, and there's nothing you need to do with the remote or unit to get things going again. The only exception to this is if the batter flies out when the crash occurs...then start from step 1 above.
The two things I'd probably change about this unit are to have some LED lights that show the "front" of the copter; as it is, the rotors are white in the front and black in the back...this does help. Secondly, the batter insert/removal is somewhat clunky, but it does work. I'd like to see something a little easier to work with, as getting the batter in and out can be a little difficult sometimes.
So...this is a great copter, and the perfect unit for a child, or an adult (I'm 39) to start off with quad-coptering. Enjoy.
-J
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Customer Review: Very entertaining to fly this Quad-copter.
Jim
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Customer Review: Great price, great product, bad instructions.
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Reviews with images
Cheap and sturdy fun quad
This thing is monkey-fun so far (since yesterday). I had no problem getting it to link to the R.C. The instructions are not great but not totally bad. It's really sturdy and takes a crash well. The propellers don't snap even it you hit something hard in the house. It comes with an extra set, though. I had it outside and crashed it in the (soft grassy) field from quite a height and the battery popped out (which I thought would be hard to do since it is clipped in pretty tight and is also a bit hard to remove) but no damage to the aircraft. I haven't discovered the formula to make it hover perfectly in the house in no wind, it will drift a bit no matter what I do, no big deal. Outside it performed pretty well in a light wind but I can see how it would get blown away in anything but a mild breeze. The range of control is decent, it can get far enough away that it's hard to tell where it's going and then it fall down go boom. When it loses contact it just stops and drops, so I wouldn't recommend testing control distance from a great height... or over water! I can get the battery to charge up in 20 minutes with a 2.1A USB wall adapter charger and you get about ten minutes per charge. It gets hard to control when the battery is near being discharged and the power drops. The USB charger cord is really delicate (cheap) so I ordered another for a couple of bucks. I'll have to see what the longevity of the quad is. Time will tell. Get extra LiPo batteries for more flight time. Cheap and sturdy fun.--I already got it caught in an apple tree once. Stay away from trees!Update: I got it stuck in a neighbor's pine tree WAY up. No chance of reaching it so I shot at it with a BB rifle. Along with some wind it came down where I could reach it. I saved the prop assemblies so now I have spares, but the body and circuit board are dead. I bought another one and bound (binded?) it to my old transmitter and it works fine. What was interesting is that I couldn't get it to bind to the new transmitter after binding it to the old one. THE TRICK: You have to turn the transmitter on FIRST and then put the battery in the quad to get it to bind to another transmitter. Now I have a spare TX too! Yea! I have bought 5 of these for myself and others and had one dud. Buy from Amazon/Amazon fulfillment so it's not a hassle to return them if necessary. The failure/defect rate seems to be about 10% for any of these quads, whether cheap or expensive, but either kind can get stuck in a tree or fall in a pond or get carried away by a gust of wind! I'll stay with the cheap-os. See photo for a clever skid mod I saw on YouTube. I used black tape to secure the ends of the zip ties to the prop arms.
