Syma X8C
Introduction The Syma X8C is a great entry level, full size, outdoor quadcopter for beginners to learn or for experienced pilots to practice new maneuvers that they might not want to attempt with a more expensive quad. The X8C currently comes in several variations – the original X8C Venture, which features a 2 megapixel wide-angel camera – the X8G, which comes with a 5 megapixel GoPro style camera...
Air Hogs Millennium Falcon
Introduction The Air Hogs Millennium Falcon is intended for all ages, and is the perfect training quadcopter for your kids, as well as the realization of your childhood dreams that you can take to work. I’ve let a 3-year-old girl and an eleven-year-old boy fly it and they both had no trouble flying it, and had no problems with crashing. I also let a few thirty-something adults fly it and they also...
Yuneec Typhoon Q500
Introduction Yuneec came out of the blue to a lot of people when they released their Q500 (or Typhoon) series in 2014. In fact the Yuneec Electric Aviation company has been around since 1999 and was responsible for some of the first all-electric full-scale light aircraft to enter into production. They are no stranger to drones and other remote control aircraft, either, as they also manufacture the...
Walkera Runner 250
Introduction The Walkera Runner was a very popular racing drone that came out in 2014. This year, Walkera released the Walkera Runner 250 Advance, which is the next generation of racing drone featuring GPS. The Walkera Runner Advance has some cool design ideas including a frame that protects the main components from crashed, bright LED “head lights”, blinking LEDs that indicate which direction y...
Syma X5C
Introduction I own a ton of quadcopters. A Phantom…a Solo…a Hubsan…a Helipal…a Blade…you get the point. But here is my dirty little secret. My favorite quad to fly for fun is a $50 model from Syma called the X5C-1. This little quadcopter is agile, responsive, durable and dirt cheap! The Syma X5C and X5C-1 are basically the same copter. I believe that 1 button on...
Phantom 2
Introduction The Phantom 2 Vision+ was the first ready-to-fly drone sporting a built-in, 3 axis stabilised HD camera with wifi video downlink. Based on the Phantom 2 hardware that was first released in October 2013 as the Phantom 2 Vision, the Vision+ saw the introduction by DJI of the integrated camera/gimbal concept that has continued into the Phantom 3 line. Using a rechargeable range extender...
Inspire 1
Introduction Following the wildly successful Phantom Quadcopter series, DJI has taken its first shot at the professional photographer/cinematographer market with the Inspire 1. Its sleek shape and impressive stats will initially attract your attention, but it’s the flying characteristics that will truly wow you. Before you read on, I humbly ask that if you are new to flying, please do some researc...
Hubsan X4
Who are the target users of the Hubsan X4 FPV Quadcopter? The Hubsan X4 H107D FPV Quadcopter is a Micro-Sized Quadcopter that can be safely used by beginners to learn drone-flying skills before advancing to flying First Person View (FPV). It is also a great tool for experienced Drone Flyers who want to develop their FPV skills before moving on to larger and more powerful FPV Racers or FPV Aerial P...
Helipal Storm
Introduction The HeliPal Storm is a true 250 racer. I got into drone racing almost one year ago and the Storm was the first racer that I bought. Today, I am even more into racing and have 3 racers…my Storm, a Walkera Runner Advance, and a home made racer that I built with parts I ordered online. And guess what…the Storm is still my favorite! There are many reasons for this, which I’ll cover in...
Cheerson CX-10
Introduction The Cheerson CX-10 is small. It’s even smaller than you think. The term “nano quad” was made to describe this tiny flying machine. Easily fitting in the palm of your hand (with room to spare) this little toy drone provides a surprisingly stable flying experience once you’ve mastered it, and is actually an ideal little toy with which to learn the principles of manual quadcopter control...
Blade Nano QX FPV
Introduction When it comes to small, indoor quadcopters, Blade Helis has been on a roll lately! In 2013 they released the Blade Nano QX which has become the foundation for two other small copters that are gaining popularity. One is the Nano QX 3D, which allows you to practice the challenging world of acrobatic flight. The other is the Nano QX FPV, which is a great way to learn FPV or “first per...
Blade Inductrix
Introduction The Blade Inductrix came out this past summer and caught my attention because it is different looking than any of the other nano (small) sized quadcopters that I had seen before. The most obvious difference is the ducts that surround the propellers. I’m not sure if they actually produce more thrust, but the do look cool, seem to make the copter quieter, and protect the blades from d...