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...

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...

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...

Introduction The Blade 200 QX has been around since early 2014, which in quadcopter time, is a really long time.  It is the little brother of the Blade 350 QX and I originally picked it up to serve as my “sport” quad.  It has no GPS and is therefore a bit more challenging to fly.  When Blade first started to market it, they touted it as a small, stable camera platform.  While it can certainly lift...

Introduction 2015 has been an amazing year for drone enthusiasts.  We saw the launch of DJI’s Phantom 3.  FPV racing has taken off as a serious sport.  And 3D Robotics released Solo, what it calls “the smart drone”.  While the launch of Solo came with a great deal of fanfare, it also came with controversy.  The drone, which was released in June, was hard to find in stock at stores and the gimbal, ...