Misc. 4: Micro Quadcopters

This little quad is getting harder to find these days due to legal copy issues within (surprise surprise) China. But it usually runs for under $40 on eBay and AliExpress.  These are my first impressions of my new WLToys V252 micro quadcopter drone, and micro quadcopters in general.

WLToys V252 Micro Quadcopter

Don't let their little size fool you. Their motors are much more powerful than needed for their size. The end result is that this little quad rockets at the push of the throttle. It's an extremely fun, agile, and challenging quadcopter for intermediate and advanced flyers. If you're starting to get bored with your current quadcopter, then you need one of these to wake you up!

But the speed of these little quadcopters could easily get a beginner into trouble. Also the small size makes it hard to maintain orientation outside for those without some experience. It can quickly become a tiny dot on the horizon. Beginners would need to know how to maintain orientation on the quadcopter by its motion alone.

Imagine that you've flown too far away, and now your little quadcopter is just a dot in the sky in the distance.  A simple way to maintain orientation when you can't visibly note the propeller colors is to watch the movement of the quadcopter when you apply controls.  Push the pitch control forward to get some forward motion on the quadcopter.  If the quadcopter dot in the sky moves left, slowly apply left rudder to turn it towards you.  If the quadcopter moves right, slowly apply right rudder to turn it towards you. Once the horizontal motion slows, the quadcopter should be headed home, straight toward you. You can visually confirm this as it should also be climbing slightly from the horizon.