RukoU11MINI Drones with Camera for Adults 4K, 70 Min 2 Batteries, Under 249g, Camera Drone with GPS TOF 9800FT Long Range Auto return for beginner

This is a great mini-drone for beginners!Its small size doesn’t require an FCC drone transponder.The quick start instructions are clear and easy to use. I flew it in about 10 MPH winds with gusts to 16MPH base as measured by my local weather station. Despite the small size, the drone compensated for the wind very well and flew with a little, but very manageable drift, even for a beginner flyer.This is very easy to go from package to flight, main steps are to make sure you charge at least 1 or 2 of the drone batteries, and the controller.The remote connects to your phone through a small cable inside the phone bracket. The installed cable is USB-C, but there are other cables for micro-USB and Apple Lightning. The remote side is USB-C.Once connected to your phone, you authorize a data connection and for Apple at lease, access to your photos library to save photos directly. I didn’t use and it doesn’t require a micro SD card, but one can be put in the drone for direct storage.The stabilized camera is absolutely required for good shots and video. This does exceptionally well and easily compensated for drone movement caused by wind gusts. The 4K camera provides excellent photos.The remote flight controls are simple and easy to learn.The package includes spare prop blades, screws and a small screwdriver, three drone batteries with USB-C charging cables, and spare joystick knobs. The normal set is stored in the bottom of the remote when not used.This is an excellent package in a very nice carrying case which easily stores the drone, batteries, and all accessories.This is my 4th Ruko drone - their customer service and support is outstanding! They quickly respond to any concerns or questions, and all their drones work very well, similar to this one. You do have to download a new Ruko Drone app for this new drone series (U11). I didn’t hesitate to buy from them again when I was looking for a smaller drone.

Having owned and flown the Ruko F11PRO drone for awhile, I was interested in using and reviewing the newer, smaller model, the U11MINI. Overall, and just like my experience with the F11PRO, the U11MINI was exceptional – both in terms of ease of use and startup as well as flying experience. I actually like the U11MINI slightly more than the F11PRO for several reasons:1. Drone weight: The extreme lightness of the U11MINI (less than 10 oz) eliminates the need for any FAA registration. For a casual and occasional drone flyer like myself, this was a nice convenience;2. The remote control: There were several aspects of the U11MINI controller that won me over versus the F11PRO controller: 1) the U11MINI controller is easier to hold/handle. There are no hand “levers” to pull down; 2) the controller is much more “button intuitive” – there are less on it for one thing and what are there are easily marked and remembered; 3) a cardboard template overlay for the controller also helps during the learning process; 4) the actual mechanism to hold the smart phone is so much better, as it actually expands enough to grip the phone. I have an older iPhone and it’s not even the larger size and it never was able to be safely held in the F11PRO controller, not so with the U11MINI; 5) no more Wi-Fi needed for the phone to controller connection – this is a big positive step. The phone connects with a small data cable (several are provided based on your phone connection requirements). I liked this so much more than messing around with Wi-Fi. One caveat however: there are two – almost identical cable connection ports on the controller. For the longest time I couldn’t get the phone app to display drone information - turns out I had connected the cable to the wrong controller port – and nothing in the documentation ensures use of the right port. Just to take a note here to be cautious to connect correctly.3. Less steps in pre-launch preparation: With the new U11MINI, the connection between the remote controller and the drone happens upon power-up of each, albeit it takes about a minute for such. But coupled with easier and more intuitive lighting on the remote, it’s easy to tell when the connection has been made. The lighting displays also easily shows when GPS connection has been completed – as does the Ruko App. And the App indicates whether or not calibration is needed, prompting for such.4. Better camera: I think the 4K camera in the U11MINI either is – or looks – better than with the F11PRO camera. One aspect that continues however, is that you need to bring your own SD-CARD for any video/picture captures. For the price of an SD-CARD and to provide the full experience out of the box, I’d recommend including an SD-CARD in the purchase and just raise the price to cover such accordingly.5. More Precise Flying: While I haven’t done enough with flying using GPS waypoints or self-recognition or pre-planned flight maps, I can say that the U11MINI seems to be slightly more precise (and easier) in its’ flight control and abilities. I was able to launch it easily and safely in my backyard and control it with precision to avoid any obstacles.Overall, I give Ruko points for a MINI model that actually has improvements over the PRO series, and yet the PRO remains a stellar choice as well. At the price point of retail, I would offer up that the U11MINI is a great, safe, and feature-packed drone for beginners and pilots alike! It’s a lot of fun in a small package and really has no major shortcomings. Buy and Fly!

I have bought many Drones and have been ok with them close to the ground, but any time I try to go to any altitude is when it gets challenging. Not really sure which direction they are traveling and then the wind adds another layer of difficulty to flying. This one was no different as I used to close to the ground and got pretty comfortable and then decided to take it up and look around, it did happen to be on a somewhat windy day, but with all the other reviews of handling well in the wind, I thought I would give it a try. It did get away from me and wasn't sure if I was going forward or backwards, but the amazing camera view helped out with getting it back home. However I did push the home button and it didn't seem to want to come back, so I used the camera to navigate back to my house and then the home function worked as expected.I was filming my son practicing soccer from different angles and I decided to get to close to the goal to get a cool shot, well I got tangled up in the net and it did break one of the engines. I looked all over for a replacement and nothing available, so thought I would reach out to customer services about this and they ended up sending me a brand new drone. It was totally my fault it broke, but it was within about 3 weeks time when I had broken it.I would say the customer service was very easy to work with and stayed in constant communication about the shipping of the new drone.Next time I will shop around for one that can get replacement parts but for the price, I'm very happy with this one.I have attached a couple of pics I took while flying.