When you order the Ruko U11 drone, you should check that the package comes with the drone itself, 2 1200mAh batteries, a transmitter, charging cable, screwdriver, 4 spare blades, a user manual and a carry case.
If you are looking for a good quality aerial camera for selfies, travel footage and other, get the U11. It is designed for just that and it will not cost you too much. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced drone user, this aircraft comes with good features and functions, considering the price.
At the same time, you should be aware of a couple of issues that you are likely to encounter with this quadcopter. First, this is a very lightweight drone, so it feels a bit fragile.
Of course, this is to be expected partly from the small weight of less than 300g. Therefore, no matter what the manufacturer promises, avoid taking it out in any kind of wind. It can fly away and never return or worse, it will crash into things in your backyard because it will be hard to trim it.
Although it appears to be isolated, some people have also reported that the drone seemed to have a mind of its own and the motors would behave erratically.
Basically, while these are issues that you can live with, it is good to be aware of what might … or might not happen.
It is not all doom and gloom though because this aircraft has some good features, as you will see in the upcoming section.
Ruko U11 Features & Technical Details
The high quality aerial footage and the good flight performance is backed by good features. What are the most outstanding things about the U11?
Design and Build Quality
By design, this is a foldable quadcopter. That is quite helpful especially when traveling with it. When unfolded, it measures 9.3 by 7.7 by 2.4 inches. When it is folded, the size reduces considerably to 6 by 6.5 by 2.3 inches. Not much, but still folds into a smaller and more compact size. Besides, it folds with everything intact so you don’t have to unscrew the blades or anything.
The takeoff weight of the quadcopter is 270g. You will need to register it with the FAA before you can fly it in the US.
For improved performance, this drone comes with brushed motors. They are not as powerful as brushless motors which have an obvious advantage, but they are still good enough.
While the material making the fuselage feels sturdy it s a bit lightweight. Therefore, be careful not to crash the aircraft too many times because that can make the interior electronic parts more vulnerable.
Battery and Flight Time
This drone comes with two modular batteries of 1200mAh capacity. One battery is inside the aircraft while the second one is in the bag. The advertised time for each battery is 20 minutes, and so two batteries are going to give you 40 minutes. Even if you do not really get to 20 minutes for each, that is a good promise.
Modular batteries are safe to handle and they charge outside the drone. You can use one while the second one charges.
The charging time for one battery is 150 minutes, which is not too bad. It is recommended that you use the provided cable only.
Camera
This is a high quality 4K UHD camera and this is true 4K resolution. You will get excellent photo and video footage. You can also adjust the camera vertically by 90°. You can find the best angle to capture the moments without sacrificing quality.
The photo resolution is 3840 by 2160P and the video resolution is 2048 by 1152P. The quality is quite good especially in the daylight.
Since the drone supports SD card usage, when you have one in the slot, the footage that you take is automatically saved in the card. If you do not have one, it will be saved in your phone storage.
You will also enjoy high quality FPV with this quadcopter. You will have to use your smartphone for that and the maximum FPV range is 300 meters.
Remote Controller
The remote controller is simplistic in design and light in weight. While the keys for all functions are available on the transmitter, it does not appear cluttered at all.
You can fly this quadcopter using the remote controller or the app. While it has a foldable smartphone holder, you can choose to just fly it with the remote controller.
The remote controller range is 300 meters, same as the FPV range.
Flight Functions
You will experience immense joy when using a drone equipped with many flight functions. This one has a good number of them. They are as follows:
Auto Return, One key return
These are the best fail-safe features that any small aircraft can have. When the signal is disconnected or the battery gets low, the aircraft turns and comes back home, the place where it was launched from or where the transmitter is.
If you press the auto-return key, the drone turns and comes back home immediately. Because of the short flight range of 300 meters, it is not possible to lose your Ruko U11 drone.
Optical Flow Positioning
The Ruko U11 quadcopter has an optical flow sensor. This makes things such as GPS hold and altitude hold possible and easy. It can lock to a certain height and keep the drone at that height during the entire flight time.
Hovering precision is also assured, which is important when you want to take pictures and video of a landmark without any distortion.
Follow Me Mode
Set the drone on follow me mode, keep your hands free and get it to follow you wherever you go. Using facial recognition, it follows you, keeping up with your changes in speed and still maintaining a respectable distance.
Tap Fly
Open the app and the map interface. You can then tap out a route that you would like the drone to follow. When you launch it, it will fly along that route.
Orbit Mode
If you get to an important landmark and you would like the Ruko drone to fly all around it and take footage from all sides, you need to set it in orbit mode. It will fly in circles and capture good footage from all sides.
One key takeoff and landing
One key takeoff and landing helps a newbie get the Ruko quadcopter in the air easily, without trying to figure out anything. The quadcopter takes off and hovers at a height.
Short Summary of Feedback from Existing Owners
While the manufacturer says the Ruko U11 should fly straight even in the wind, it is better to only fly it in calm weather. No need to take chances. I almost lost mine to a breeze, flew and would not respond to commands. Martin S.
Simple, easy to use and the camera quality is quite something. I would recommend this one for both beginners and advanced users. Matt D.
The two batteries with 20 minutes of flight time each are a nice touch for this quadcopter. 40 minutes is enough time for all the fun that you want. Gee B.
My son and I have been using this drone to capture our dirt biking experiences. We will use the clips on our YouTube channel. Lucky J.
I returned my Ruko U11 after it failed to respond to commands. I was sent a replacement and now, it works just fine. Amal K.
Ruko U11 Pros
- Has SD card slot
- Easy to set up and fly even for beginners
- Two batteries with long flight time
- Comes with a case for storage and traveling
- Fail-safe functions
- The camera takes high quality footage
- Camera angle is adjustable vertically for better view
- Flight range is OK if you like to keep your quad within your sight
Ruko U11 Cons
- Brushless motors would have been much better
Who Should Buy The Ruko U11 Drone?
This drone comes highly recommended for beginners as well as advanced users. It has many functions and the camera takes noteworthy footage.
With a stable hover mode, you can take videos and photos without distortion especially if there is no wind. For a beginner drone, the price can feel a bit steep, but with bonuses such as 2 batteries, carry bag, spare blades and so on, this is a good buy that will give you good value for the money.
It can also make a perfect gift for a person that you truly cherish.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Before you fly your Ruko U11, you need to do a few things to make sure that you get the full benefits First, get an SD card. That way, your footage is stored automatically in the card, which you can then remove and transfer to your computer for editing, or to share with friends and family on social media.
Secondly, always fly your quadcopters in large open spaces without trees, houses, people or animals. Small quads do not come with obstacle avoidance systems so they easily crash into things. At top speed, your Ruko U11 will be totally written off.
Thirdly, for the best footage, use the camera during the day, most preferably when there is no wind.
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