The Blade 180 QX is on the pricey end but certainly one of the best quadcopters out there in terms of design and build, flight characteristics and flight time. If you are a beginner to intermediate level and love flying quadcopters, we highly, highly recommend the Blade 180 QX.
In this article, we’ll review the design, build, flight characteristics, camera and battery life of the Blade 180 QX HD quadcopter. We’ll end by quickly going over the pros and cons of picking this quadcopter so that you can make a good building decision.
Quick summary review (rating) of the Blade 180 QX HD
Design and Build
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We absolutely loved the way the Blade 180 QX HD is designed and the color scheme (orang and black). Obviously, the design awesomeness is subjective but we think that the Blade 180 QX HD certainly stands out when it comes to its design.
As for build quality and durability, the Blade 180 QX HD is one of the best (may even be better than the DBPower predator). You definitely have to be careful not to go around crashing it everytime you fly but compared to most other hobby grade quadcopters out there, the Blade 180 QX HD certainly comes on top when it comes to the quality of build. Added to the durability, the quad is also pretty light weight. Most light quadcopters are very cheap and break easily. Not this one, sir!
The best part is that the parts are easily replacable in case it damages. Horizon Hobby has a good reputation for customer service in comparison to most other brands.
Blade 180 QX HD Flight characteristics
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Perhaps this is the best thing about the Blade 180 QX HD. The flight characteristics on the Blade 180 QX HD is the best bar none. We certainly can’t say the same for most quadcopters in this price range.
It comes with the SAFE flight technology, giving it stability. This to us sounded like a marketing gimmick initially, but it does fly better than most others we’ve tried. It also comes wiht three different flight modes. The controller that comes with it is the Spektrum 5+ channel transmitter, which is one of the best transmitters you can get on the beginner level.
At higher flight modes, it can handle medium to low-high winds surprisingly well. The size also enables you to fly it both indoors and outdoors. Most quadcopters that are stable outside are highly unideal to fly indoors. The Blade 180 QX flies surprisingly well for its size! The following are the results of our test:
Flight time and battery
Expect about 10 minutes of flight time with the Blade 180 QX HD, on average. We have had times when it flew to about 15 minutes, but it was all slow cruising in almost negligible wind conditions. Unless you are a newbie practicing how to hover your quadcopter, you will be disappointed if you expect to fly the Blade 180 QX HD for hours.
However, this is the best you can get out of most hobby quadcopters. Nothing specifically bad or good about it. It is extremely decent for its’ price range.
Camera and FPV
The Blade 180 QX comes with a camera and instructions on how to install it, but it does not come with an FPV. However, there are TONS of videos out there that will help you out to adapt this quadcopter for FPV and a different camera. You need only do a google search. Unlike many quadcopters out there, the Blade 180 QX is a popular model and a happy side effect of this is that it is more likely to find people who have modded this quadcopter for different purposes.
Here is a video review with some suggestions:
Pros and Cons
Pros
Cons
