Camera drones are a dime a dozen these days. DJI, Blade, Walkera, Cheerson, everybody has an entry in this playing field. There is a new segment of this hobby that’s recently been getting a lot of attention that requires a completely different kind of drone however, and that is the 250 class FPV (First Person View) racing drone. Until recently FPV racing was strictly the domain of the hardcore hobbiest. If you wanted to play on this field, you had to roll up your sleeves and build your own drone, tune it yourself, acquire your own FPV gear and equip it yourself. Needless to say this is all pretty daunting for the uninitiated, but there are a couple of new players in the game that are opening up the FPV racing arena to more casual users. The Walkera Runner 250, the Immersion Vortex, and the Storm Racing Drone are 3 popular entries that have opened up the doors to racers who don’t want to build from scratch. This is a first look at one of them, the Walkera Runner 250.
This review will be an overview of what your options are and what you get in the box. Part 2 will be a more comprehensive review of performance, ease of use, and how suitable it is for the market it’s being targeted at: Drone flyers who want to get into FPV racing without having to build from scratch.
Target Audience
This model is suited for flyers who have a decent amount of experience with smaller models and at the very least are comfortable flying in angle (self leveling) mode. While it can certainly carry a small (Mobius, RunCam) video camera, this is NOT a camera drone. These drones typically trade off flight time and ease of use for speed and performance. It does not have a GPS, thus will not hover in place without constant adjustment from the operator. In short, this is not for an absolute beginner. Despite their small size these drones are fast and powerful, and can be a handful to fly for somebody with little to no flight experience. This model is targeted toward somebody who has some flying experience under his belt, is interested in racing or proximity FPV, and is looking for something that’s ready to fly.
Runner Overview
The Runner 250 comes in several different configurations, all the way from a DIY build it yourself kit to a soup-to-nuts package that includes an OSD (on screen display) and FPV goggles. The model being reviewed here is the Basic 2 package, which includes the Runner, an installed FPV camera, and a Devention 7 radio pre-set up for the runner. The attached screenshot shows all of the different options available for the Runner. Some other configurations include an assemble it yourself kit for <$150 all the way up to a full FPV setup including goggles for about $750.
Packaging
The runner comes nicely packaged in a box with a handle, presumably to use as a carry case for the drone if you so choose. Everything was properly secured and protected with foam, and the Devo 7 even has foam protectors around the sticks. All in all the packaging was very well done, and it’s unlikely your Runner should arrive with any shipping damage.
Aesthetics
I have to admit I was impressed with the looks of the Runner. It’s a very lean and mean looking little quad, and the included front and back LEDs will be very helpful both for racing and for orientation in LOS (Line of Site) flying. The landing gear are well integrated and look sturdy. The arms appear to be thick and strong although the main frame itself seems to be a little thin and could be a weak point on crashes. Overall I was very pleased with the looks of the Runner, it’s a sharp looking little drone.
Included Radio
I was also impressed with the Devo 7 radio included in the package. While not a high end radio by any means, the Devo appears to be well made and solid. The sticks felt smooth to move and are height adjustable. The menu is back lit and easy to read, and it has a 15 model memory so you have plenty of room to grow. Overall this appears to be a very solid radio for this type of drone, and I’m honestly a little surprised to see a radio of this quality included at this price.
A Couple of Nits to Pick
While overall my initial impression of the Runner 250 was very good, there are a couple of things I’m concerned about. One thing that has me worried is the FPV camera is not protected at all and sticks out glaringly in front of the quad. It’s not going to take much of a hit to damage or destroy it, and I have a feeling runner pilots are going to be replacing this a lot.
Another thing I didn’t like is there really is no battery compartment, and the included strap is totally inadequate for holding the battery in place. Furthermore the battery sits right behind the camera and some of the electronics, and I can easily see the battery lurching forward in a crash and breaking something.
One more issue is the props. They’re proprietary, fairly expensive compared to other props of this size, and they only include one set. I recently bought a budget ARF (Almost Ready to Fly) quadcopter of a similar size to the Runner and it came with 32 extra props. Crashes are inevitable with this class of quad, and crashes break props so I don’t understand the decision to not even include one extra set of props in this package. Rest assured the first thing I’ll be doing is trying to fit some props from my inventory on the Runner.
Lastly, as I mentioned above the relative thinness of the main frame concerns me. One of the main features you look for in a racing class drone is durability, and if the frame breaks on every minor crash you’re going to be spending more time in the work shop than in the air.
Summary
Overall my initial impressions of the Runner 250 are positive so far. Don’t run out and buy it yet though, aesthetics aside the best packaging in the world won’t matter if it doesn’t fly well or breaks in a light to moderate crash. We’ll address flight performance and other important considerations such as durability and customizability in Part 2.
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