Currently the Hubsan X4 is my Favorite Quad, I own four Quads, the first (Terracopter) I received as a Christmas gift from my daughter, the second (not a Hubsan X4 but similar in size and quality, I purchase while I was traveling for a month in Ukraine, the third was a U816A and the fourth is a Nano QX. Actually, have not flown the Nano QX yet, still waiting for the fancy $200 Transmitter that was recommended for it.
Hover mode (in ground effect) is the best way to teach yourself how to fly this X4. To explain this training method, "Ground Effects Hover" mode: Get it flying just above a smooth floor or carpet, between 1 and 4 inches up. You will find it will tend to stay at this level without touching the throttle (up-down) control. The reason is that the propellers moving the air are compressing the air against a hard surface (the floor) and are more efficient in that area. To leave the ground effect area, you will need to add more power by at least 2-4%, the ground effect area is from zero inches to about 4 inches, but for training you want to be above the ground at least 1.5 inches so the small up-down oscillations do not cause your to touch the surface. Over carpet you will need slightly more space than over smooth concrete or a hardwood floor. The beauty of this training method is that you can now concentrate on just the right control stick, it will take some time to get it trimmed to do this but it is the best way to teach your wife or young kids, my goal is to teach my almost 4 year old twin boys how to fly, it will likely take me a month or more of careful explaining and controlling the throttle stick myself until they get the tilt right, left, forward, back understood. The YAW (rotation) control needs to be trimmed also (the right left on the throttle stick) but it is very stable in this quad. I ordered two more of these Hubsan X4 quads today, totally hooked on this chopper. Remember to order some extra batteries and let the batteries cool for at least 20 minutes before recharging them. Also, super important to stop flying slightly sooner, do not run the batteries to the last second (I stop flying within five seconds after the four LED lights begin blinking, the batteries will last much longer. The motors will last longer if you give them at least five minutes rest time to cool for every 7 minutes of flying time. One more thing, I created a paper window target to fly through to test my flying skills, if the props hit the paper almost zero damage and great sound effects. I used a big single sheet of newspaper with a 12 inch square hole and re-enforced it with scotch tape. I used a pencil to weight the bottom and thumbtacks to stick one edge to the ceiling. Soft targets like this will improve your flying skills with little damage likely. By the way, I am 61 years old and have owned 3 other normal RC helicopters plus several crashed RC airplanes in the past. Now I am back to being a kid again, super fun, don't wait, for $50 dollars, lots of entertainment.
Updated on January 2, 2016 : I now have three of the Syma X11 and three of the Hubsan X4. I thought I would need spare parts and batteries and that it would be cheaper to buy three complete models of each. With blade guards attached on both the X11 and the X4 they are about equal in durability and flight time (5-7 mins, depends on how aggressive you fly). The X11 does easier, tighter flips, the X4 is better at vertical acceleration to high altitudes. Nearly impossible to do a flip inside with the X4 but with the X11 it is easy to do a flip indoors. The X4 is more of a sports car flyer and the X11 is more of a Cadillac gentle flyer. The X4 can fly is higher winds because it has a more aggressive angle of attack and better power, the transmitter is also better on the X4 with more custom settings for the controls. The X11 is easier to learn how to fly out of the box but the X4 is more for a serious mini-quad racer. The X4 sounds like a group of angry bees. The X11 is a nicer sound when it is flying. The reason is the X11 props are bigger and slower, using a gear reduction drive, and the X4 props and directly mounted on the motor shaft, so they are spinning much faster. Hope that helps.
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Nano QX vs Inductrix vs Hubsan X4
I own all 3 of these popular quadcopters so I thought I would give a comparison.In short:All can be good choices, but for different purposesThe Hubsan X4 offers a lot for its low price and can fight winds better than the other twoThe Blade Inductrix is the most stable indoors and easiest to fly overallThe Blade Nano QX is my overall favorite with the most opportunity for growth,Similarities:All of these popular quads have excellent aftermarket support. This includes parts, upgrades, and community knowledge. All are very stable in the air (but with different flight properties, as explained below).Transmitter:Both the Inductrix and Nano QX have a better transmitter upgrade path than the X4 in that they use DSMX. This makes using higher-end transmitters turn-key. With the Hubsan, you can use some high-end transmitters (e.g. Walkera, Taranis) but with additional cost and tinkering involved.LED Lighting:LED lighting assists with orientation and low-light flying. The Inductrix is best with a translucent body and very visible lights from every angle. The X4 is good too with 4 bright lights that are usually visible. The Nano QX had the worst lighting and basically expects you to look at the propeller colors.Note that I have posted a review for each of these models separately.Here are more details on the X4:The X4 is built tough with a neat little "crash protection" mechanism in the legs. These will snap open on impact and absorb crash energy, allowing you to simply snap them back later. The blades are not protected out-of-the box but you can get a guard of you want, in some cases one is included. Note that a crash does not usually mean a broken blade and the quad handles a bit better without the guard - just take it easy at first…Flight times are 6-8 minutes with the included 240 mAh battery under room-temperature conditions, less in cold weather or when flown aggressively.The Husban X4 has two flight rates. The out-of-the box "normal" rate is a bit boring due to shallow roll and pitch. These slow rates also make it harder to counter wind/drift and generally get the quad out of trouble. The "expert" rate is very fast indeed with very steep pitches - you have to be careful when getting to know the quad. The great thing is, however, that you can customize both modes to your liking. You can change pitches and yaw rates on the bundled controller, really "making the quad your own"The X4 is "dense" at 34 grams (with battery) and is quite a "drifter" meaning that it tends to maintain it's momentum and expects you to apply reverse inputs if stopping is the goal. It also seems to lazily drift around randomly, more so than the other two. Vertical stability is solid.The heavier weight of the X4 make it the easiest to fly in a light outdoor breeze.The large range of input rates can make the X4 an exciting quad to fly in "stability" mode. It does not feature "acro" mode though, which ultimately limits what you can do with it (e.g. for learning how to fly racing quads). I recommend the Nano QX for those who want to take their flight training further.
