The RUKO F11 mini drone is a good option for anyone who is looking to get into the drone hobby. It comes with nice features and best of all; it will give you a good footing in drone photography because it takes crisp clear footage.
This drone has a powerful flight performance thanks to the brushless motors. It is also light in weight and since it is foldable, it packs so easily for traveling. Considering the affordable price that you will pay for this quadcopter, it is good.
There are some downsides to the RUKO F11 mini drone. For instance, there have been complaints that it cannot fly beyond 200 meters, but the user manual says it can do a distance of 500 meters. Most users say it cannot go beyond 260 meters without losing connectivity with the remote controller.
Also, please note that you must use an SD card to store your footage since this drone does not transfer the media to your smartphone.
Despite these problems, this drone is still excellent for a beginner, as you will see in the features below:
RUKO F11 Mini features and specifications
The F11 mini drone comes with many features for a beginner quadcopter. Some of the most outstanding ones are as follows:
Brushless motors
Brushless motors make less noise than brushed ones. They do not overheat and they give a more powerful and longer flight performance. With brushless motors, even the batteries last longer.
4K UHD Camera
This drone has a high quality camera. It is built with a 4K UHD camera that can capture photos in 4K resolution and videos in 2.7K resolution. For the purpose of quality, this camera comes with shock absorbers, so if the drone vibrates, it absorbs the shaking and prevents distortion.
This camera has a wide angle of view at 120 degrees, which is going to give you a perfect first person view experience.
The vertical angle of the camera is also adjustable by 90 degrees. Also, you will not need to bring the drone home to adjust the angle, since you can do that from the remote controller.
On both sides of the camera, you will notice a type of a cage. This is designed for the protection of the camera, in case the drone crash lands.
Intelligent batteries and long flight time
The package comes with two batteries, and each can give you a flight time of 30 minutes, give or take a little.
These are smart batteries, so you will see the remaining voltage on the app and on the remote controller. That way, you will know when to bring the aircraft home.
The batteries have overcharge protection so they cannot sustain any damage even if you forget to remove the charging cable. The batteries are also easy to remove and insert in the aircraft.
Great build quality and lightweight design
This drone is sturdily built. It is made with high quality ABS plastic. If it crashes, it is not going to rip apart easily.
This is a foldable aircraft, so it is going to pack easily when you are traveling. With a takeoff weight of 249g, you will not need to register it with the FAA. It comes ready for indoor flights, right out of the box.
The drone has a crash-resistant design, with a cage on both sides of the camera.
Rechargeable remote controller
The remote controller has a built-in rechargeable battery. One full charge is going to last you through the two batteries of the drone. You get a longer flight time and you don’t need to keep buying replacement batteries.
This is a 5GHz remote controller, which means the drone can fly long distances without losing connectivity and without too high latency.
It has some good functions too. For instance, pressing the left side joystick inward gets the drone to emergency-land.
The remote controller is lightweight, so you can hold it easily through the two batteries. It also comes with a foldable smartphone holder so that you can enjoy using the app and your first person view experience.
Flight functions
This drone is packed with many flight functions. You can unlock more fun by using them. Here are a few of them:
Flight route
You can plan your flight route by opening the map interface on the app. You can tap a few places on the app and then connect them with a line. When you launch the drone, it is going to follow that flight route.
Intelligent return to home
When the battery runs low or the signal is lost, the drone will come back home (where the remote controller is). This is a fail-safe feature, so it is hard to lose this aircraft. If you see there is low remaining battery voltage on the remote controller, you can press the return to home button and it will come back.
Please note that when you are bringing the aircraft back home, it flies backwards (reversing). All this time, it is going to be capturing awesome moments.
Optical flow positioning
Flying this aircraft indoors is very simple. The optical flow positioning function enhances the hovering ability of the drone when there is no GPS connectivity. Stable hovering enables you to capture awesome footage.
Follow and circle modes
In follow mode, the drone will lock onto you and follow you at a set distance, taking footage from a good angle. Circle mode enables you to take good footage by getting the drone to fly around a landmark or monument.
Testimonials from owners of the RUKO F11 Mini Drone
This aircraft will not fly the 500 meters it is supposed to fly. I have been trying but it can only do 245 meters. Apart from that, everything else works as advertised. James Gitau, Texas.
I am surprised that this drone does not save media in the smartphone storage. It will only save them on an SD card. Luckily, it supports SD card sizes of up to 128GB. Make sure you buy one before you start using it. Alex Knight, Florida.
This drone gives great value for money. It can fly fast and the two batteries are awesome. I have tried many low price drones but this one beats them all. Allan Schweitzer, Wyoming.
Make sure you fly the aircraft in an open space because it can run really fast. Also, it will need the free space when you are bringing it back home. Tanya Baker, Wisconsin.
Pros
- Two batteries give 60 minutes of flight time
- Simple to fly for beginners yet exciting enough for advanced users
- Has different flight modes, including sport mode
- Rechargeable remote controller battery is a nice touch
- It flies powerfully
- Has a decent beginner camera
Cons
- The flight distance is way shorter than what is advertised
- You must use an SD card to store your footage
Who should buy the RUKO F11 Mini Drone?
This drone is so good it is not necessarily just built for beginners. Even experienced drone pilots are going to have a great time flying it.
It comes with cool features and the camera is awesome. If you want to prepare for a bigger drone with a more advanced camera, this one will give you a great education. If you do not have the budget for the DJI Mavic Mini, this is a good alternative, especially on the price.
Beginners too will have a great time with this aircraft and most will not even want to upgrade. The drone can take a fall nicely, without falling apart. This makes it a good buy for beginners because in the early stages in the hobby, crashes are sure to happen.
Conclusion and recommendation
The RUKO F11 mini drone has outstanding features and it gives a powerful flight performance. But when you get it, read the user manual first and download its app so that you can unlock all of its flight functions.
Whenever you fly a drone, always make sure it is in a large and open space, unless it has obstacle detection systems. It can spook animals, so fly it in empty places.
Don’t fly the F11 mini drone in the wind, in the rain or during the night. If you take good care of it, it can last a long time.
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