First Drone
Technology

What to Look For When Buying Your First Drone

First Drone

So, you are thinking of buying your kid their first drone? It may not be as easy as simply browsing the web and finding the cheapest one. As you know, drones are not your average toy and come with a lot of responsibility for flying. There are several rules and regulations to abide by. There are also some common features that you should check out before deciding on your purchase. Drones have been around for a while now. To see how far they have come, check out the history of drones right here.

Main Features

 

Battery life

One of the biggest aspects of the Drone that you should pay attention to is the battery life. If you are looking at toy drones towards the cheaper end of the spectrum you can expect the battery to last about 5 to 8 minutes. However, if you have the money to spend and are looking for something more advanced like a DJI Phantom, those batteries can last up to 30 minutes at a time. Don’t be discouraged if the drone you like has a short battery life. Extra batteries are relatively inexpensive and are easy to swap out. So, you can limit your downtime by just investing in a few extra batteries. But you will want to make sure that you follow the manufacturer’s recommendation for resting times in between flights.

If the Drone does not get a proper rest, the motors can burn up quickly. These are also relatively inexpensive but you will not want to have to replace them unnecessarily.

Range

The next thing that you will want to look at is the range on the Drone. Most of the toy drones have a range of 50 to 100 meters. However, again if you want to go with something more expensive the range can go over a mile! Your kids probably don’t need a drone that can fly that far. But you may want one when they aren’t around. The range should deal with how the strong the signal is in the remote control to the Drone.

Other Features

As you spend more money on a drone, it should include more advanced flying features as well as higher quality parts. One feature that is pretty helpful for beginners or children is called a headless mode. This allows the Drone to fly in the same direction as a remote control regardless of which way the drone is facing. This helps shorten the learning curve in the beginning. Another helpful feature is a return to home button. This allows the Drone to lock in a GPS location from where the remote is when it takes off. If you start to get in trouble you can simply hit the button and the Drone will come right back to where it started.

Just try not to move from the starting point as it locks into a GPS location and not the actual controller.

Practice, Practice, Practice

As you read reviews on these drones you will notice that many of the happiest customers are the ones who took the time to really learn how to fly their drone. You should practice taking off and landing inside your house repeatedly until it starts to get boring. There are also several resources online like videos and manuals that will help you learn the ins-and-outs of your drone. Also, try not to push the limits on the range. If you go too far this is when the drones can lose the signal and will take off and fly away on their own.

It may seem like a lot to think about when buying a drone, however, the hours of fun that you have all be worth it. Have a look at the infographic below to learn about more features to look for and even some recommendations.

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