Horizon Hobby Blade Inductrix Pro BNF - RCGroups Review

Horizon Hobby Blade Inductrix Pro BNF - RCGroups Review

Horizon Hobby Blade Inductrix Pro - RCGroups Review

A Stronger, More Powerful Inductrix FPV

Product:Blade Inductrix Pro
Price:$99.99
Frame material:Plastic
Motors:19000Kv brushed
ESC:4-in-1
Flight Controller Firmware:Betaflight
VTx Camera Combo:FX805 25mW
Flying weight:21g
Included Battery:200mAh 1s Lipo

In its very short production run, the Inductrix has gone from an indoor line-of-sight quad to a tuned micro-racer that's capable of freestyle aerobatics outdoors. The Inductrix Pro builds on the earlier version with an improved frame, Betaflight adjustability, 19,000Kv motors (the originals were 14,300Kv) and a new lightweight canopy. All of this makes the Inductrix Pro a great little micro quad that comes in under $120.

In this review, I'll let local Northeast Ohio racer Lonnie King hammer around the little Inductrix Pro at a park on beautiful Lake Erie.

What's Included - Fit and Finish

The Inductrix Pro comes with a 200mAh 1s LiPo and USB charger, an extra blue canopy, and a user manual packaged nicely in a clear plastic case that should definitely be retained for storage and transportation. To go from the box to the air, you'll need a 6+ channel Spektrum transmitter using DSMX/DSM2 protocol, as well as a pair of 5.8GHz goggles or a suitable monitor. In this review, I used my trusty DX9 and Fatshark Dominator V3's.

New to the Pro version of the Inductrix is a stronger plastic frame, upgraded motors from 14,300Kv to 19,000Kv, and a Betaflight configurable flight board; right out the box, I had no problems with the stock board settings.

The Inductrix Pro's 25mW camera/VTx combo utilizes a durable linear monopole antenna. To get the most out of this system, a linear antenna should be used on your receiver as well. I use a standard 5.8GHz monopole for house flying and a Bi-quad linear patch for outdoors.

Transmitter Setup

One of my favorite aspects of Horizon Hobby products is the detailed transmitter-setup instructions that come with most of their aircraft. Setup is as easy as following the instructions, which have always proven to be great starting points; the Inductrix Pro transmitter-setup instructions were of no exception. See the below photo taken from the manual for a quick and painless setup.

Flight Modes and Rate Selection

The Inductrix Pro is a great beginner platform, but one part of its allure is the ability to switch to acro mode for more advanced flight. Let's take a look at the different flight modes and rates for the Inductrix Pro. The switch positions are setup using the manual's guide.

Angle Mode

Angle Mode is what we've been used to with the original Inductrix: bank angles are limited to 60-degrees. This mode is the easiest to master the Inductrix Pro with if you're a beginner and it's great for flying around the house or in tight spaces at controlled speeds. Angle Mode is switch position 0 on your transmitter's 3-position switch.

Air Mode

Air Mode allows for some pretty intense aerial maneuvers, as there is no bank angle limits. If you're into 3d flying, freestyle, racing, Air Mode is likely for you. At low throttle settings, the flight board will still stabilize the Inductrix Pro, making for smooth freefalls without tumbling. Air Mode is switch position 1 on your transmitter's 3-position switch.

Acro Mode

Acro Mode takes Air Mode to the next level by removing the self-leveling at low throttle settings. Acro Mode is the ultimate mode for getting that locked-in feeling, where any changes in altitude and attitude are desired. Acro Mode is switch position 2 on your transmitter's 3-position switch.

Flight Report

The little Inductrix Pro has impressive punch for its size; the 19000kV motors are a welcome improvement over the slower-spinning 14,300kV cans. Almost all types of freestyle maneuvers can be accomplished in the hands of an experienced pilot, and my review pilot Lonnie King definitely put the Inductrix Pro through its paces. But even with the improved motors, there's still only so much it can do. One area where we pushed the limits of the 1s LiPo and motors was during recovery from a high-energy maneuver. As Lonnie flew fast over a playground swing set, he immediately rolled inverted to change directions and fly back through the obstacle. That's where the Inductrix Pro lost some altitude at full throttle as it tried to bleed off the energy and start back the other way.

Flying fast through and around obstacles is where the Inductrix Pro proved that it was a notch above its predecessor. It's quite nimble and had no problem scooting through some narrow openings. And when we didn't make it through, the beefed up frame shrugged off every hit; our only causality was a lost propeller in the grass.

Video transmitter performance was also pretty good, even with 25mW of power through a very small linear antenna. We used a linear patch on our Fatshark goggles to get the best signal possible, and that put the Inductrix Pro well over 150 feet away through trees and playground equipment before noticeable multipathing started to show up in the goggle feed.

Finally, flight times were noted as on-par with previous Inductrix models running a 200mAh LiPo. The setup sheet says to set the countdown timer on your Spektrum transmitter to 3 minutes, and that's what we were getting almost every flight.

Review Video

Blade Inductrix FPV Pro - RCGroups Review (4 min 4 sec)

Conclusion

The Inductrix FPV Pro from Blade is a next-level micro drone designed for racing and freestyle, or just exploring your home and teaching a new pilot how to fly. With it's updated motor, stronger frame, and reliable camera/VTx combo, the Inductrix Pro is definitely worth its current pricing at $99.99. My advice would be to purchase an extra set of propellers, as they are very small and can disappear in anything but the shortest grass - a lesson we learned the hard way during the video shoot!

A big thanks goes out to Horizon Hobby for supplying the Inductrix Pro for this review, and my friend and seasoned quad pilot Lonnie King for flying during the video portion.

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Last edited by RCG_Jason; Dec 16, 2022 at 10:19 AM..
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Nov 20, 2017, 11:29 PM
that's gonna leave a scar
KCinNC's Avatar
I just picked one up for 99 bucks. should do a bit better with all the HV batts out now ! gonna throw on a set of 3 blade props also.....yeah !
Dec 30, 2017, 07:30 PM
Registered User

looks familiair


https://www.banggood.com/KINGKONG-TI...r_warehouse=CN

True it does not feature the "horizon hype" but the 6 we race with at our club perform great.
Feb 24, 2019, 10:28 AM
You're killin' me Smalls
BrownEyedFool's Avatar
Has anyone had any success binding these to a MLP4DSM transmitter, the little PlayStation looking toy controllers?


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