Numerous mini quadcopters are currently available so I decided to give one a try. As far as I could tell the feature set of all the mini quadcopters are very similar as are their prices.
I decided on the FODA Mini Quadcopter, for no particular reason other than it being very widely available. The FODA mini quadcopter is available in four colours – blue, yellow, green and white.
The box contains the tiny quadcopter, the remote control, an extra set of blades, a protection cover to protect the blades during flight, a charging cable and an instruction manual.
The quadcopter is tiny, measuring in at a length and width of just under 5cm and a height of just under 2cm.
Controlling the quadcopter is quite difficult as the controls (especially the blade speed control) is extremely sensitive. Additionally these mini quadcopters do not have the built-in auto stabilisation functionality as with larger quadcopters, so learning to fly it takes a fair amount of practise and the quadcopter is very sensitive to any air movement.
After spending about 30 minutes playing with the tiny quadcopter I finally got the hang of it and I can say the quadcopter is quite resilient as I crashed it a few times and it took no damage.
A close inspection of the quadcopter shows how truly amazing the little device really is, from the tiny motors to the fact that it contains a rechargeable battery is truly unbelievable.
I would recommend the FODA mini quadcopter for anyone interested in quadcopters who do not want to spend a great deal of money. These mini quadcopters are in no way a real reflection of the larger, and much more expensive quadcopters, but they do provide a basic and inexpensive sneak peek at the mechanisms and controls of these type of devices.
I found learning to fly the mini quadcopter challenging and fun, and for the price I recommend giving one a try.
Killer Robotics 
Hi i just bought this today, but i can’t seem to figure out how to charge it as the manual doesn’t make any sense to me. How did you do it ?
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Hi Ivan,
It comes with an included usb charge cable (mine is yellow), simply plug the small plug into the Quadcopter directly above its power switch and the usb plug into any usb charger (or a usb port on your computer). While the Quadcopter is charging no light on the quadcopter will be lit, when it is done charging a light on the quad copter will come on. This usually takes between 45 minutes and an hour.
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The most confusing thing is whether to switch the copter on or off when charging! If I switch it off (as it says to do in the manual) the red LED inside the cable charger plug is NOT on – the manual says it is not charging. If I switch the copter on, the red LED inside the yellow charging cable comes on, but at the same time, the four green and red LEDs on the copter also flash intermittently.
When charging, should the copter be switched off (and therefore no red LED light on the yellow plug) or should it be switched on (and therefore yellow plug and copter LEDs all on)?
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Hi James, mine charges while the quadcopter is off. I do have to wiggle the cable to get the charge indicator light to come on. My suggestion is to run it until the battery is completely dead and then leave it charging while turned off for an hour or so and then test if it charged, if not try charging it while turned on, if this also does not work I fear that something might have broken.
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I have the same problem. Is the Charge indicator light on the copter or the one on the usb cable?
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It is in the cable, no lights on the copter light up when charging.
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