The Q10 Mini is a simple drone that will help you get your kids started in the drone hobby. It is affordable, has a camera and has good build quality so that a single crash will not render it useless.
It is also a good quadcopter for adult beginners, but you will want to upgrade to something bigger after you have learned how to fly it.
But before you can decide whether it is the ideal aircraft for you, you need to see its features and flight modes in detail. We shall look at them later.
Before committing your money to buy the Q10 Mini as your beginner drone, you should also know what downsides to expect. For instance, after calibrating the drone, you will find that it does not rise vertically, but it will first move ahead by a few meters and then rise.
The camera quality is also too low, so you really can’t take proper footage with it. However, it will give you a nice feeling of what FPV should be like.
Q10 Mini Features and Technical Details
Today’s mini drones come packed with many features and the Q10 is not any different. Here are details about its size, design and durability.
Design and Build Quality
This is a foldable aircraft, which reduces its size so that you can travel with it easily. When it is unfolded, it measures 7.5 by 8.1 by 1.7 inches.
When you fold it, the size reduces to 2.5 by 3.2 by 1.7 inches. You can see that even when it is unfolded, it is small enough to hold by your hand.
If you marvel at the small folded size, weight until you see the weight. It weighs 65G only, so there is no FAA registration needed. At the same time, this drone is light enough to carry in your jacket pocket
The manufacturer has used ABS plastic material to make the fuselage of this aircraft. Therefore, it is tough and it does not crack easily. As a beginner drone, you expect it to have a few crashes now and then, so having high quality material helps.
The drone comes in black, glossy color. You will also notice the small orange stripes on the blades and the arms. They make the aircraft look really awesome.
This is a brushed motor drone, so you should expect it to be noisier than quadcopters with brushless motors.
The blades come in a split design. Thus, when you fold the quadcopter for storage, you do not need to remove them. You can fold the blades too so you do not need to unscrew them.
The blades stay protected by the propeller guards.
Camera Quality
This is a camera drone. It is integrated with a 720P HD camera. During the daytime, you will be able to capture decent shots. While this is a basic camera, it is better than none at all.
You can adjust the angle of the camera manually, which means landing the drone first, adjusting the angle of the camera and then launching it.
Using your smartphone and the drone’s app, you will enjoy an aerial view of what the drone can see as it flies.
The drone also supports gesture-shooting modes. For instance, if you show it the palm sign, the drone starts taking videos. If you show it the victory sign, it starts to capture photos.
You can use this drone to capture selfies of your family. Just ensure that you take them outdoors where the lighting is better.
The FPV distance is 30 meters.
Batteries and Flight Time
The Q10 Mini quadcopter comes with a pair of batteries. These batteries have a capacity of 550mAh. The benefit of having low capacity batteries is that they charge faster
Each battery can give you a flight time of 9 minutes, so you get 18 minutes overall. There will be no need to buy another battery.
By design, these modular batteries charge outside the drone. In fact, each battery comes with its own USB charging cable.
The charging time for one battery is about 70 minutes.
Remote Controller
The remote controller is perfect for a beginner. It has a simple user interface with the usual joysticks, one for the forward backward movement and the other one for trimming.
It also has a nice smartphone holder that can fit most modern smartphones. With a control range of 50 meters, so your small drone is always within your sight.
The Q10 remote controller has all the features and functions that you need to fly this mini blindly (without FPV). Of course, it helps that it will not get out of sight.
To use the transmitter, you need to buy the required batteries to power it.
Flight Functions
Small as it is, this mini quadcopter comes with some flight functions. These make it easy to fly for a beginner. They are as follows:
Gravity Sensor
When the drone is in flight, you can engage the gravity sensor mode and whichever direction you wave the phone, the drone will fly that way. This is a special fun feature.
Trajectory Flight
Also referred to as tap flight, just open the map interface and tap out a few routes that you would like the Q10 to follow when you launch it. This is a means to fly it in hands-free mode.
Headless Mode
With this mode engaged, your young one does not need to find out which direction the drone faces as it will always align itself according to the pilot’s position.
Altitude Hold Mode
This is a built-in altitude hold, so you do not have to engage it. The aircraft holds its vertical flight well so you just need to bother with its horizontal flight.
If you are flying it indoors, just make sure that the ceiling height is more than 5 feet high.
Gesture Shooting
With Gesture shooting mode, the drone turns around to face you. When you show the camera the palm sign or the victory sign, it starts to capture videos and photos respectively.
3D Flips
This is another fun feature. The Q10 can flip over sideways, headwards and backwards while it is in flight.
Short Summary of Feedback from Existing Owners
I must admit I was very skeptical about the Q10 Mini because of its diminutive size and height but after flying it, I have found it to be a powerful performer. Bill D.
I bought this aircraft for my son on his 11 birthday and he has been having a lot of fun with it. I was impressed by how fast he put it together. Even after crashing it two times, it is still unscathed. Carrey F.
I found the Q10 app a bit skittish but apart from that, this drone works really well, as advertised. Just make sure there is no wind at all because it is so light in weight. Gemma W.
I like to pop this small aircraft into my pocket when I am going out on the weekend. When I remove the propeller guards, it fits very well in my pocket. Hardy J.
If you need an affordable quadcopter for kids, look no further than this one. It lacks many bells and whistles that most quads come with, but it flies really well and does not fall apart easily. Robb W.
Q10 Mini Pros
- Built with high quality ABS material
- Easy to put together and fly even for a first-timer
- Two batteries for longer flying time
- It has one button for takeoff and landing
- You can share footage with friends and family using Q10 app
Q10 Mini Cons
- It does not come with a storage case
- So light in weight that it is hard to trim in the air
- App can be hard to figure out for a beginner
Who Should Buy The Q10 Mini Drone?
This is a good drone for kids as young as 7 years to start learning how to fly. It is also a good choice for an adult beginner with a low budget. If you are looking for a small and resilient quadcopter to learn how to fly, or one that you can pop into your pocket, get this one. Despite the minimal weight, it can perform nicely when there is no wind.
Conclusion and Recommendation
The first thing to do when you get the Q10 Mini is to read the user manual. It is pretty easy to follow, so you should have everything assembled and ready for flight in no time at all. Just buy the required AAA batteries for the remote controller and most importantly, fly it in an open space without any obstacles.
