SKRC Q16 quadcopter review

After many “high-end” quadcopter reviews, it was time to test something more affordable, the SKRC Q16. This model was announced about 4 weeks ago by an unknown Chinese manufacturer (at least for me) called “ShengKai”.

Basically, the design of the SKRC Q16 reminds me of the Syma X5C, which was my first quadcopter. Lately, I have read many negative comments regarding the build quality and the reliability of these cheap RC toys. Frankly, if you look carefully to these toys, you have to admit that you receive pretty much technology for their price. For example, this SKRC Q16 costs about $39 with free shipping, and you get a decent-sized quad with lots of features. Of course, these low prices lead to a lack of quality tests and poor reliability. Anyway, first-time pilots will inevitably crash a few times their first quadcopters till they familiarize themselves with the basic flight movements, so it is smarter to sacrifice a $50 quad than a $1000 professional model.

When I purchased my first quad, a similar model to this SKRC Q16 in size and design but with much fewer features, cost about $100. The technology in this area has evolved very much over the past years. Features like headless mode, APP control, and FPV are now present even on cheap entry-level models.

SKRC Q16 features and specs

• Dual control mode (by APP and physical RC);
• Dual speed rates (“Fast/high” and “Slow/low”);
• WiFi FPV camera;
• Adjustable lens angle;
• Headless flight mode;
• One key return to home (RTH);
• 360° rollover function;
• About 10-15 minutes of play time (I doubt it…);
• Up to 200-meter control range.

SKRC Q16 quadcopter review

Before I get into details, I should thank GearBest for offering this product in order to make an honest review. Suppose you have read my last review of the REDCON Phoenix 210. In that case, you already know that I reveal not only the positive but also the negative things without allowing me to be influenced in any way by the sponsors.

I received the package in about 20 days after we agreed on the review. Unfortunately, because the box is made from thin cardboard and the “careful” handling of the postal workers, one of the control sticks was broken.

SKRC Q16 review – First impressions

Besides the quadcopter and its transmitter with phone holder, the package includes 1 set of spare propellers (CW and CCW), 1 set of propeller protectors, 4 pieces of landing gears, USB battery charger, a screwdriver, and a user manual.

The build quality of the quad is not exceptional but good enough considering its price range. Excepting the landing gears, the design of the SKRC Q16 is very similar with the one Syma X5C has. As you can see in the image below, in order to allow a higher ground clearance, the Q16 quad is equipped with taller individual landing legs instead of “bridge” type landing gears. While the manufacturer preinstalls the propellers, you have to mount the blade protectors and landing gears by yourself before the first flight.

To protect the main gears from excessive dust, strands of hair or grass are enclosed in the main frame. I always check if the propellers spin freely because the brushed motors can easily burn out prematurely if they are slowed down by these unwanted impurities.

The aircraft is powered by a 500 mAh Li-Po battery with a micro Losi connector, which allows an advertised 15 minutes of flight autonomy. I know, it looks very optimistic :).  The low battery voltage alarm will warn you when it’s time to land and re-charge your battery, which can be done with the included charger through any USB socket. If you need more flight time, you can look for higher capacity batteries (you can find, for a couple of bucks, 650 mAh ones).

Under each arm, there are two LED lights that will help you in orientation, especially during night flights—red ones in the front and green ones in the rear.

SKRC Q16 review – Transmitter

Basically, the remote controller looks just like the one Syma has. The only difference is that the dummy buttons on the side of the status LCD are reversed.

I just read in a review made by a fellow that the adopted radio protocol is Bayangtoys compatible, and the SKRC Q16 can bind with the Bayangtoys X8 transmitter.

On the top of the transmitter, there is a fake antenna, which serves to mount the phone holder instead of boosting the radio signal.

You can switch between “Fast” and “Low” speed rates through the left shoulder button according to your flight skills. Like in the case of other models, the “3D flip” mode can be activated using the right shoulder button.

The control range is pretty good for such a toy-grade transmitter. In my opinion, the 150-200 meters range it should be far enough, so I will probably skip over any kind of range hack.

In the features and specs, I wrote that the SKRC Q16 has dual control mode, but actually, you can control this quad in 3 ways:

• psychical remote controller;
• through WiFi UFO APP with virtual sticks;
• gyro mode by tilting your smartphone.

SKRC Q16 review – Camera

The 0.5 MP Wi-Fi camera weighs about 10 g. The tilt angle of the lens is slightly adjustable to obtain the desired field of view. On the left side of the camera, there is located the external WiFi antenna which allows pretty good FPV range. In the back of the camera is a fake micro SD slot, so don’t try to insert any memory card there. The captured photos and videos are stored on your smartphone memory.

To connect your smartphone to the Wi-Fi camera for first-person view flights, you must install the WiFi UFO App (available for both Android and iOS devices).

As I expected, the camera’s image quality is not brilliant at all. Even in daylight, the captured videos are sometimes blurry. Anyway, I don’t think that someone can imagine this quad is capable of recording award winning aerial videos.

Both videos and photos have the same resolution (720 x 576 pixels). The videos are saved from the live video feed with an average of 15 fps. Two minutes of captured video occupied about 10 MB on my smartphone’s internal memory, which shows a very low bit-rate.

SKRC Q16 review – Test flight

Being very lightweight (about 100 g) and small, the ShengKai Q16 suits indoor and outdoor flights. Firstly, I test it indoors in a 5 x 5 meter room. Although the SKRC Q16 has gears, it was surprisingly quiet, except for a weird noise… one of the propellers touched the blade guard and I fixed it quickly :)

Indoors, at a slow speed rate, are very stable and easy to hover; even newbies would manage to control them.

The next day, I went out with three charged batteries (I had two ones from my old Syma X5sC-1), determined to test this quad well. One battery lasted only 1 minute, it looks like the Li-Po batteries degrade even without using them. The original battery lasted about 8 minutes till the LEDs started to flash, warning that it is time to land.

Generally, the quadcopter performed very well. It is a nice stable flier with good range. At a “High” speed rate, it has more power and can resist the wind better. It can be controlled in 3 ways (virtual sticks, gyro, and RC), but I recommend that first-time pilots practice with the physical transmitter.

I skipped over the headless mode, but I was curious how it performs the auto return to home feature (RTH). It proved to be mainly useless; occasionally, it didn’t even find the right direction, not to mention the takeoff point.

If you fly too far (out of control range) or the transmitter is switched OFF, the motors of the SKRC Q16 are almost instantly stopped, which is good because flyaways can’t occur.

Unboxing and maiden flight video

Pricing and availability

Those who are interested in beginning their journey in the world of quadcopters with this remote-controlled toy should know that it can be ordered from GB and other retailers. BTW, you can opt between the white and black versions.