Tag Archives: quadcopter

Halloween Flying Pumpkin Drone

We had with us the Flying Pumpkin Drone for this Halloween.  Using the two classic quadcopters, the Walkera X350 Pro and the DJI Phantom, we had a blast just flying this lighted up pumpkin around the estate.  It was a stormy day out.

On the bonus scene, you will find the neighborhood kids having a fun time with Trick-or-treating last year, great memories when you have a little one running around.  Here is a take from the flying pumpkin day… enjoy!

Fire Fighting Drone Walkera Zhun FE15

Happy 4th of July and we are not here to talk about a cannon for fireworks but a cannon for Fire Fighting, called the Zhun.  Walkera has began developing and testing with their local fire agency to secure a bid for a full scale deployment.  The Zhun has an ultra strong load capability and anti tremor design, folds up ready for a fire fighter’s deployment. The quadcopter carries a high magnification telescope and the high frame rate night vision camera. With high precision, it can launch the fire extinguisher projectile accurately in a complex fire weather environment.  I had the privilege to preview the testing and edited this video.

It is amazing the Zhun is able absorb the amount of force created from the cannon. The real-time target control points are displayed on the ground control points, which greatly improves the accuracy of shooting and improves the efficiency of rescue…

Hubsan X4 H502E GPS Drone

Looking for the perfect size quadcopter for this summer free youth RC training camp has narrowed down to this quiet 16.5 cm Hubsan X4 H502EGPS quadcopter. What caught our initial attention is the mini quadcopter with GPS, allowing the quadcopter to find it ways back. Other features of interest is it’s 720p camera and altitude hold.

The Hubsan H502e arrived in a small box with no instruction manual, but the usual short instructions on the packaging that reference a manual. The H502e is not even listed at Hubsan.com as such there is nothing to download.

User Segment
Beginners, Park Flyers, Ready To Fly, Off the shelves, Hubsan Collectors,  Instructional Training Quadcopter, Budget USD$107 MAP (Jun 2016)

XK X251 WhirlWind Drone

Keeping it simple may be the answer to XK Innovation’s success recently. XK X251 is a new mini quadcopter with powerful brushless motors, designed to be fast and swift. If you are looking for a swift little quadcopter, this may be it, the XK X251 WhirlWind.  Shortly after the initial release, a version 2 was introduced with some slight modifications to cater for beginners. See video about the updates.

First Impression,  this quadcopter is very fast and can take a nice punch (vertical take-off).  It is easy to fly if you have flown a quadcopter and have mastered your flight orientation.  The XK radios are well made as always, but the spinning dial that gets in the way of your palm is still there on the right.  The beeping spinning dial is not in the most practical position to reach while flying, but for this aircraft, it is only used to navigate the menu. The material of the aircraft is made of a mixed of carbon fiber structure with light-weight Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), a common thermoplastic polymer (also used by Lego), strong but will still destruct on direct impact on a high speed race.  It does not break easily out in the field, if it just falls out of the sky, as the total weight is only 205 grams.

Walkera Rodeo 150 Review

Introducing Walkera Rodeo 150, a unique and slick looking 15 cm size quadcopter, with a mix of  racing drone aerobatic features from the F3 flight controller, and the classic Devo 7 radio transmitter programmability.  The quadcopter was designed to weigh less than 0.55 pounds for hobbyist who rather not register with the FAA in the USA.  It is not a full fletch racer but a speedy mini quadcopter with brushless motors, a category of mini quadcopters gaining popularity recently.

First Impression, we love the Rodeo 150 design and the color scheme, a mini-me of the Walkera F210.  Kudos to the Walkera drafting engineers.  You can use an external receiver, which means you can use any programmable radio transmitter you may already have, making this a popular BNF quadcopter.  The material used is light-weight Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), a common thermoplastic polymer (also used by Lego).  It is impact resistance, but not strong enough to take a direct impact against a tree or slamming onto concrete.

Target Users
Keen Beginners, Park Flyers, Ready To Fly, Off the shelves, Collectors, Budget USD$229 MAP (May 2016)

FQ777-126c Spider Drone Hexacopter

Made by FQ777 (yes, that is the brand name), model Spider 126c is quite a unique radio control hexacopter.  Made to be portable, it is stored in a self-contained case / radio transmitter along with all the accessories in a compartment.  A nice showpiece if you are a collector and this hexcopter flies amazingly.

First impression, we like the radio transmitter travel case, it keeps the copter away from dust, stores a set of spare propellers, dual chargers and propeller guards.  At first glance you will also noticed there are too many buttons, the most buttons we have ever seen on a radio, unlabeled.

Target Users
Beginners, Park Flyers, Ready To Fly, Off the shelves, Collectors, Budget under USD $37 (2016)

FreeX MCFX-01 Drone

FreeX MCFX ! It seems like the FreeX is being revived, now the 4.0 edition, in a nut shell reading the specs, what caught my eyes are:

  • Lost signal: Automatic return or hover at last known position
  • Reduces speed as it approaches launch point during return home, when near 80m
  • Stock Range: 1 km
  • Onetouch4 configuration tool software
  • Channels: 7
  • 6 Axis Gyro
  • FREE quality 2-axis gimbal with pitch control
  • Estimated price: $200!

History
FreeX is not new in the market, the SkyView has been in the market since 2014, marketed and backed by several prominent labels such as OFM, Xaircraft, manufactured by Skyartec ; along the way, Firmware V4 was released. I am not sure what else is different, but read on for everyone’s updates in the coming weeks.

Hubsan X4 PRO H109S Parachute

Finally the Hubsan H109S X4 PRO quadcopter to be officially released, maybe? We originally filmed the micro Hubsan x4 H107D that reached 350,000 views youtube very quickly back in 2013, so today I am back to take the X4 Pro for a DroneMission flight, at the same time provide some feedback on the new and improved X4 Pro. Since 2014 Hubsan has been talking about the x4 Pro H109S; along the way there were pre-releases, testing, and more testing. Two drone years in the making, will it live up to the reputation? The challenge is in 2 years, a lot can and have changed and Hubsan found themselves in the midst of an evolving technology, outdating applications and a price war in this industry.

To differentiate this pro quadcopter from it’s competitors, Hubsan included a Parachute System; when bumped in a collision, the parachute will automatically deploy to prevent the X4 Pro from crashing. Unlike other systems, the Hubsan parachute can be removed or assembled freely and be reused many times. When the canister tilt past 80 degrees, the sensor unlock the lid, and the spring pops the parachute out…

GTeng T901F Quadcopter

GTeng T901F is an unusual symmetrically spider-looking 16.5 cm outdoor quadcopter with a camera broadcasting at 5.8G frequency images transmission to your radio transmitter receiving monitor to view your flying. At 5.8gHz that would mean you can use your personal FPV goggle or any compatible external video receiver. The radio transmitter itself uses 2.4GHz to extend the range for outdoor flying and is powered by a 3.7V 500mA LiPo battery. Yes, you read it right, you get two chargers and two 3.7V 500mA LiPo battery out of the box, the second battery is to power the flying spider. The T901F carries a 6 axis gyro to ensure the stability and performance, allowing you to toss the quadcopter in the air and regain instant leveling.

I can picture the GTeng T901F in a Sharper Image, nicely package, a mini quadcopter with copper trims around the body, ready to fly, out of the box. Everything is pre-assembled, weighing just 67 grams, legally within the limits before registration is required in the USA.

The 2 mega pixel camera captures and records video upto 300 meters (our tests under 70 meters) in real-time transmission while you view it from the radio. T901F comes with the popular headless mode, basic one key automatic return function without GPS and 360 degree flip functions…

Navgator X6 Xinlin X181

The Navgator X6 Xinlin X181 quadcopter was released recently and is hard not to get excited about this model aircraft. The Navgator X6 can fly, in fact very swift and aerobatic! Xinlin Shiye is not new in the radio control scene, Best Buy and Sears were among their major buyers, during the explosive 2015 drone sales.

To differentiate from other quadcopters, Xinlin Shiye included a radio transmitter with LCD. The highlights to this model, are the 5.8G FPV 2MP 720P camera and a 5 inch LCD video/DVR receiver screen that provides real-time video viewing and photo capturing.

I absolutely love how this Navgator x6 flies, compared to my other 20-25cm quadcopters. The motors and battery gets hot during a 7 minutes flights, but not a concern, powerful enough to flip and take some nice turns…