Small indoor FPV drones are a ton of fun. Horizon Hobby started the craze with the Inductrix, which has taken off with the Tiny Whoop movement. The new Torrent 110 is a serious upgrade over the Inductrix as well as our favorite inexpensive micro FPV quad, the Eachine E010C. Horizon Hobby wanted to build an FPV drone that could be flown by a beginner, but still be versatile enough to be fun for an advanced pilot.
New to Flying FPV?
If you are new to FPV racing or you just want to learn more check out FPV 101. It covers what you’ll need to know about FPV or first person view flying. Click here to read more about FPV.
How Does the Torrent Compare?
The Torrent 110 is going to be a bigger drone at the top of the micro class. How does it compare to other drones? Typically numbers in a drone’s name refer to the diagonal size in millimeters measuring from motor to motor. So the Torrent is 110 mm from motor to motor measured diagonally. Compare that to the smaller Inductrix or larger Vortex.
The best comparison to the Blade Torrent is probably the DYS Elf. The Elf is also a ducted brushless FPV drone. It is smaller, sports a higher resolution camera (800TVL vs 600TVL) but a less powerful transmitter (25mW vs 150mW). The Elf is more inexpensive ($165 vs $199) and even comes with a transmitter.
What Makes the Torrent Special?
The Torrent 110 FPV is a brushless drone, making it one of the smallest brushless quads available. Its motors are both more powerful and more efficient than the standard brushed motors of the Inductrix or E010. The Torrent’s 1104 motors are rated at 7600Kv. These little motors are well-suited for racing and acro flight modes. Like all brushless motors, they need an electronic speed controller (ESC). These motors run through a compact 4-in-1 BLHeli ESC.
The Torrent comes on a 2 mm carbon fiber chassis and can be powered by either 2S or 3S batteries. A 2S battery is a two-cell battery and will give the drone more power than a 1S battery that would be found on drones like the Inductrix, E010 or Hubsan. You are doubling the voltage moving from a 1S to a 2S. A 3S battery adds another cell for even more power, or triple that of a 1S battery. Horizon Hobby recommends the 2S for indoor flight and the 3S for outdoor flying.
The Torrent 110 adds an adjustable angle camera to help you capture the right angle while flying. This is a huge bonus for pilots of all skill levels. The powerful 150 mW transmitter sends video from the 600 TVL (total vertical lines) camera, which has a nice wide 120° field of view. A 600 TVL camera looks much better than 480p and the quality gets close to HD 720p resolution.
The drone is built on an F3 flight controller that you can customize on Betaflight. So if you are into tuning or tinkering you’ll be right at home with this drone.
Blade Torrent Specs:
Flight Time: 3-4 minutes
Height: 40mm
Length:100mm
Width: 100mm
Weight: 120g
Motors: Brushless 1104-7400Kv
Camera: 600 TVL 120° FOV (adjustable angle)
Transmitter: 150mW
Battery: 450mAh 3S/800mAh 2S
When compared to the Inductrix, the Torrent is larger and more powerful. Brushless motors beat out brushed motors every time. The frame is much sturdier and has an overall better design. The three-blade propeller is a much more efficient and powerful prop then the four-blade design on the Inductrix. It seems that Horizon Hobby listened to hobbyists and FPV pilots when building this machine.
The Verdict
The overall design of the Torrent looks clean. Horizon Hobby has raised the bar for small FPV ducted drones with this little machine. Not only have they built a solid brushless micro FPV drone, they even allow you to customize the colors. We were disappointed that they weren’t able to get a better flight time out of the Torrent, but overall this is a good brushless FPV quad. The Blade Torrent will be available in late April so make sure you have your Spektrum remote ready.
| Read More About the Torrent |
Not sure what is the best drone for you???
No worries, Half Chrome Drones has you covered. Maybe you want an aerial photography drone, or maybe you want a fun toy. Want FPV? We’ve developed an advanced system to match you to the right drone. We call it our Half Chrome Drone Cipher™, go check it out. We also are constantly updating our Best Drones Now page to help you stay current.
Maybe you want us to do the work for you???
We’ve flown, crashed and taken pictures with a ton of drones. You want to know which one we think is best? Sure. Are you on a budget? Of course. We have three great articles breaking down the best drones in your budget. Check them out.
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