FUN ! :- Syma X12

FUN ! This one word describes the Syma X12 from GearBest.

Disclaimer – GearBest sent me , free of charge, two of the Syma X12 quad-copters for review. However, within the first day of opening of opening the package, and test-flying these at work, I ordered and paid for a further 10 ! Everyone who saw it fly, wanted one ! (if you want your own Syma X12, and you will, we have a discount code at the bottom of this article).

Every time we fly them, we have onlookers. During the day , staff will come into the workshop asking if they can see one fly, as word has spread around the building.

The Syma X12 uses a 2.4 GHz control system, which looks almost identical to the controller from an X-box 360 , so any gamer is instantly familiar with it.

The controls are set us as standard Mode 2 (throttle/yaw on the left stick, roll/pitch on the right) . the directional buttons are used to trim the accelerometers for level flight. The left hand “bumper” button selects between slow and fast flying, the right hand “bumper” button allows the Syma X12 to do a controller flip in any direction. Being 2.4 GHz, several of these can fly at once, as during power up you bind the quad-copter to its transmitter.

The “spring” tension on the YAW control can make it a bit hard to not increase or decrease the throttle while YAWing, this could be reduced slightly

To “bind” the Syma X12 to its transmitter, is as simple as the following, and in fact has to be done at the start of each flight. First you switch on the Syma X12, the 4 LED’s on top will flash very fast for about 10 seconds, then slow down (I assume it is calibrating the gyros), once this has happened, turn on the transmitter, push the throttle all the way up, the transmitter will beep, push the throttle all the way down, the transmitter will beep again, and the 4 LED’s on the Syma X12 will stop flashing, and stay on – that’s it, its bound to the transmitter and ready to fly

Internally it uses a 6 axis controller (3 axis accelerometer 3 axis gyro) , works very well, during use the accelerometers do drift slightly, but this is easily corrected with the trim buttons.

This quadcopter is TINY – easily fits in the palm of your hand, charges in about 40 minutes from any USB outlet, and flying time is around 8 minutes. Bright green and red LED lights on top, and a white LED light at the front makes visibility easy despite its size, and the LED’s flash slowly when the battery is almost depleted in flight.

The Syma X12 fly’s well inside, but also handles a decent breeze outside ( you do need to have it in “fast” mode to fight the wind), my favourite trick when outside is to have the throttle off (propellers not spinning) then throw the Syma X12 tumbling high up into the air, give it some throttle and watch it come out of the tumble into a level hover. If you want to impress your friends, hold in the right “bumper” button, and push the right stick in any direction, the Syma X12 will do a perfect flip in that direction (hint – be at least 1meter in the air, and give it some extra throttle after the flip to help recover).

The SYMA X12 controls just like a 450 sized in attitude/stabilised mode, and is a perfect way to practise your skills, with no danger of breakages . We have several flights on the test models, with some very beginner pilots (as in ZERO flying experience), they have crashed into chairs, the floor, other people and themselves, as well as skidding across the ceiling several times – we have yet to replace a propeller (you get 4 spares in the box, as you will break them eventually). The body has held up well, no signs of cracking. Use a couple of chairs and practice figure-8 flying to get those nose-in skills up.

My recommendation – don’t buy one of these, buy two ! have fun chasing them around the office, living room, or back yard.

Adam from GearBest has a special offer for our readers, if you enter the code “GBX12RX” you will get them for $17.98 each, and free shipping. These would also make a great stocking stuffer with Christmas just around the corner, and long winter nights for those of you in the northern hemisphere.