Hubsan H111 Q4 Mini 2.4G 4 CH RC Quadcopter

Mathew Wellington

Gear Best asked me if I could do a review on this little quad, that when released was the smallest in the world. Having recently reviewed the SYMA X12 I thought it would be fun to take this one for a blast.

This was first released in October 2013 , and wascwinner of awards at the London Toy Fair in 2014 and the Toy Award 2014 in the “Teenager and Family category” http://www.toyaward.de/en/2014/#c485 as the “Revel Control Nano Quad”.

Sold as the Hubsan H111 Q4 worldwide and as the “Estes Proto X Nano” in the USA (manufactured by Estes who brought the design off Hubsan).

First impression is how small the packaging was, and that’s because the transmitter it TINY ! most nano/mini quads of this genre come with an XBOX 360 sized controller or larger, but this controller is much smaller, and only requires 2 AAA batteries to run.

Next impression is the Product Manual…..for a change it well written ! Very clear instructions and pictures, written in clear English, and include a comprehensive fault finding guide.

One quick note for the well-seasoned nano quad pilot, when replacing the propellors on this one, they are the opposite rotation to almost every other quad out there, so double check you have it correct when replacing them (hint, front left prop spins counter-clock-wise). controllersm

The H111 is basically an integrated all-in-one circuit board that contains the 4 motors and lipo battery, with an “insect looking” plastic cover for protection.

Charging – Straight forward, use the included USB charger, plug into a USB socket, and the flying lead onto the H111. The red led will light up, and go out when the battery is fully charger (hint this is the opposite of the syma ones, that light up red when the battery is charged).

Flying – the H111 has 3 sensitivity settings, mild(30%), medium(60%) and fast response(100%), indicated by the power led on the controller, green = mild, blinking green is medium and blinking orange high. Mild is great for beginners and flying inside. Medium is great when you have some confidence, Fast is for when you have some space , or are outside in the wind (yes it handle wind quite well). It will also only perform flips/rolls in High mode. To change modes you depress the right thumb-stick.

To get into flip mode, depress the left stick, and you will hear the controller beep twice , depressing the stick again and the controller will beep once , indicating it has exited flip mode. While in flip mode, quickly moving the right control stick to the left then right will cause a flip to the right, the same for the other four directions.

inclose We had a lot of fun with this on at work, both flying around the lab and out in the workshop. The photos are of Alistair flying it, its so small its hard to get a decent flying shot.

The blue LED’s at the front and Red at the back do make it really easy to tell orientation.

The propellers on this are smaller than on the Syma x12 , which seems to result in better performance when hit by a wind gust, on the downside the throttle response is a bit more touchy and harder to hold a constant altitude, but I fell it’s a good trade-off.

Features

Dimensions: 45 mm x 45 mm
LED Lights for front and back flying guide and low light flying
4-Channel 2.4ghz Radio with digital trim
Integrated gyro for stable flying
100mAh 3.7v Lipo battery
Charge time approx. 30 minutes
Flight time approx. 5 minutes
Spare blades included
Weighs 11.5grams!
USB Charge cord
Coreless micro motors

Recommendations – you should get one or two of these great little machines in your collection, fun and safe to fly in the living room or office at work. Also great to teach your kids how to fly without worrying about them hitting the pets or furniture. Remember to use the coupon code for a discount HBQ4M from http://www.gearbest.com/rc-quadcopters/pp_142606.html