Last Updated on September 9, 2024
Through our personal experience at children’s birthdays and at holidays, very few tech gifts under $50 can bring such excitement to young student than a quadcopter.
In general, children are more technologically savvy since the arrival of smart phones and tablets in the last decade. My mom would tell you that her granddaughter can control the 2 oz. craft better than she can.
If you are new to personal drones, check out what is a drone to get a quick 101 on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and quadcopters.
-Age 10 and Under-
-Ages 10 to 15-
-Age 16 and Over-
-Age Skill & Checklist-
-Piloting Checklist-
-Flight Regulations-
Drones for under 10 years of age
Youth groups everywhere tell the leaders that beginning at about age 10 or 11 children have developmental jump in skills. Fine motor skills improvement rapidly at this time and interests involving testing their skills increases.
We suggest that these drones will be exciting tech gifts for children developing their skills. Safety is paramount. Blade guards or ducts should be considered for children in this age group.
As always be safe! kids under 14 should fly drones under supervision of adults.
-Holy Stone Mini-
-Snaptain Mini-
-Syma Object Avoidance-
-Force 1 Mini-
-EACHINE E65HW-
-Blade Mini-
Holy Stone HS210 Mini Drone RC Nano Best Drone for Kids
- More Fun Than Others -- The drone can perform Toss to Launch, Circle Fly, 3D Flips...
- User-friendly -- The Altitude Hold function enables itself to hover at fixed height...
- 3 Batteries Extend Flight Time -- Flight time is up to 21 Minutes. Never be...
- Mini & Portable -- This drone brings players great fun everywhere for party, school,...
Model: Holy Stone HS210 Mini Drone RC Nano
Dimension: 3.15 x 3.15 x 1.18 inches
Weight: 14.1 oz
Price: $30 range
Who is suitable for: all age groups with adult supervision under age 14
Skill level: Beginner
Quick Spec:
- Charging time: 40-60 min
- Flight time: 7 min
- Headless Mode
- One Key start and Land
- Funny 3D Flip (4 directions)
Summary: A Holy Stone Drone is a great value and can provide hours of enjoyment for all ages. This model is well built and as you can see from the reviews is quite popular. The HS210 is small, lightweight and has build in features to make the flight of the drone very stable.
Dwi Dowellin Mini Drone for Kids Crash Proof
- A Great Gift for Kids: Full protective design, without worry about your kids get hurt...
- Easy To Play: 3 speed modes, you can adjust the speed to meet your operation...
- Lots of Fun: You can start the drone with one key take off button, and perform flips,...
- Won' t Lose Direction: In headless mode, you will not have to worry what direction...
Model: Dwi Dowellin Portable Mini Drone
Dimension: 2.75” x 2.75” x 0.98” inches
Weight: 150 grams
Price: $30 range
Who is suitable for: manufacturer suggests 14 and up.
Skill level: Beginner
Quick Spec:
- Altitude Hold
- Headless Mode
- Fully Enclosed Blades
- 3 Speed Mode
- One Key Return
- 3D flips and rotation
Summary: Dwi portable mini drone provides a safe drone that has 4 fully enclosed blades for safety. The Altitude hold provides a stable flight and allows for automatic hovering. Dwi Dowellin offers include ultra-bright integrated LED light that can be helpful in identifying the direction on the switch. We have this drone in the 10 and under range mostly for the enclosed blades. It should be noted that the manufacturer rates this for 14 and up. So while we feel it is ok for younger children our testing, If your child is using this drone and they are under 14, it is at your own risk as it is under the manufacturers recommended age of 14.
SYMA Mini Drone X100
Model: SYMA Mini Drone X100
Dimension: 5.7 x 5.7 x 3.54 inches
Weight: 15.2 oz.
Price: $37 range
Who is suitable for: 8 years and up
Skill level: Beginner
Quick Spec:
- Flight time: up to 14 minutes
- Camera: No
- Controller: Yes
- Recharge time: 90 minutes.
- This drone has passed safety measures and is safe for children
- Collision Detection
- Altitude Hold Technology
Summary: The Syma X100 is light weight and built to be safe around children. It is an excellent starter for a child under ten years of age. A Syma drone is build with safety in mind. It comes with a controller but no camera. It includes four replacement propellers. It is relatively safe to fly indoors small size. The built in collision detection saves running into furniture, other people, even pets. It also allows you to use the obstacle protection senses to guide the flight of the drone.
EACHINE E65HW RC Drone with 1080P with Camera for Kids
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Model: EACHINE E65HW RC Drone with 1080P Camera for Kids
Dimension: 16 * 16 * 4cm
Weight: 60g (without battery), 75g (with battery)
Price: $65 range
Who is suitable for: All Ages
Skill level: Beginner
The bright colors and simple design are appealing to children. This is safe for almost any age.
Top features and Quick Spec:
- Blade guards
- 1080P Camera
- Flight time = 6-8 minute flying time
- Recharge time 60 minute
- Range: 100m for Remote, 60m for FPV
Summary: The Eachine E65HW Drone with remote control is affordable, and your budding young pilot will love its bright colors and 360° flip rolling stunt. Parents would appreciate the excellent blade guards – to protect the blades in case of a crash and protect children’s fingers. The HD camera creates images all will enjoy. Note: you need four 1.5 AAA batteries for the remote control.
Force1 UFO3000 Mini Drones
- KID-FRIENDLY REMOTE DRONE: Introduce kids to the excitement of flight with this...
- TWO-SPEED LED DRONE: Tailored to suit the skill levels of beginners to experts, this...
- VERSATILE 360 AERIAL STUNTS: Elevate your flying game with thrilling 360 flips and...
- BEGINNER-FRIENDLY FEATURES: Packed with features like Altitude Hold for stable...
Model: Force1 UFO3000 Mini Drones
Dimension: 8.3 x 7 x 4.2 inches
Weight: 12.8oz
Price: $50 range
Who is suitable for: ages 7 to 14
Skill level: Beginner
Top features and Quick Spec:
- Flight time: 7-9 min. (Recharge 60 min)
- Blade guards to protect the blades in case of a crash.
- Blade guards have bright neon blue and green LED lights allow you to fly even in the dark of the night.
- One button 3D Stunts. Quite spectacular at night.
- High Speed flight is possible due to the light weight of the frame.
Summary: The UFO3000 is a beginner’s favorite. Easy to fly visually, with the low/high speed switch, beginner can quickly learn to control this mini drone. It has blade guards to protect the blades when it crashes and protect the kid’s fingers. Nice flight time of 7-9 minutes. Comes with two batteries. The extra battery means that you can enjoy flying this copter longer. Simply charge up both batteries, fly with one battery until it runs down, and then switch batteries.
Blade Inductrix Switch RC Micro Drone RTF 3-in-1 (Switchable Mini Drone, Hovercraft, Watercraft) with LED Lights
Model: Blade Inductrix RTF Ultra Micro Drone with Safe Technology
Dimension: 3.8 x 3.8 x 2.3 inches
Weight: 0.3 ounces
Price: $50 range
Who is suitable for: 10 year-old to up to 12 year-old
Skill level: Beginner or experienced pilot
Quick Spec:
- Durable rotor housings prevent damage
- Lightweight
- Fully assembled and RTF
- Four specially tuned EDF (Electric Ducted Fans) rotor systems
- Flight time = 6–8 minute flying time
Summary: The Blade Inductrix™ drone RTF is an ultra-micro drone that is lightweight and it comes fully assembled. This is a quiet drone compared to a conventional propeller-rotor models – thanks to the four specially tuned EDF rotor system (like a jet system vs a propeller system). You can fly this quad indoors and outdoors. It has a durable housing that prevents damage to your kid or your furniture. This is an easy-to-control quad – it uses a SAFE technology that enables self-leveling – a great feature for a beginner. The Blade Inductrix™ drone works with any 4+ channel transmitter with Spektrum™ DSMX; 2.4GHz technology (included). And, it has LED light. This is a fun, safe and durable unit for 10-12 year-olds.
Summary of Drones for Kids (under age 10):
Drones for 10-15 year-olds
Kids age 10 to 15 year-old are old enough to control copters, but they still try to push their limits. As gown-ups, we know not to fly so close to a tree, but they just seem to be compelled to try it. What tech gift to buy for that super kid?
- Keep the price down to a level where you won’t feel real bad when they crash it.
- Try to pick something fairly safe (light weight, or with blade guards or duct)
- Feature rich with lots of things to do
- Explain to your future pilot how to fly responsibly
-Holy Stone HS160 Folding Wide Angle-
-Holy Stone FPV 1080P-
-Syma X20 *new*-
-Syma X5C-1-
-Hubsan H111-
-GoolRC Scorpion-
Holy Stone HS160 Pro Foldable Drone 1080p HD Camera
Model: Holy Stone HS160 Pro Foldable Drone with 1080p Full HD WiFi Camera
Dimension: 222 x 169 x 38 mm (unfolded)
Weight: 124g/ 4.37oz
Price: $60 range
Who is suitable for: 14 year-old and up
Skill level: Beginners to intermediate
Top features and Quick Spec:
- Flight time = 10-12 minutes
- Recharge time = 110 minutes
- Control Range: 164 feet to 230 feet
- Image Return Distance: 131 feet
- Video/Photo Resolution: HD1920 x 1080P
- One button take off and landing
- You can set “Headless mode” to make it easier to pilot the HS160 when it is flying around obstacles.
- Comes with 2 batteries and a carrying case
Summary: This Holy Stone HS160 FPV drone with 1080P camera is excellent for a responsible teenager. This quad is designed to be easy to control for beginners, with enough features to keep you using it for months. It can be a fun and an exciting challenge to control this quad using the voice activation, hand gestures, and the trace flight feature. This model is similar to the F181W except it is a folding drone, making it more compact when you are not flying. It also doesn’t come with one button 360 flips. If that is a feature you are interested in you should go with the F181W model.
Holy Stone F181W 1080P WiFi FPV Drone
- 1080P 120° FOV HD Wifi Camera: Equipped with the newest adjustable 1080P 120°...
- FPV Real-Time Transmission: With the built-in WiFi module, you can see exactly what...
- Automatic Altitude Hold: Powerful air pressure altitude hold function allows you to...
- Easy Safe and Fun to Play for Beginners: Built-in the latest 6-axis flight control...
Model: Holy Stone F181W 1080P WiFi FPV Drone
Dimension: 12.6(L) X 3.3 (H) X 12.6 (W) Inches
Weight: 4.9 Ounces (FAA Registration NOT Required)
Price: $60
Who is suitable for: age 14 year-old and up
Skill level: Beginners
Quick Spec:
- Vdeo Recording Modes: 1920×1080P
- Charging time: about 60-90 Minutes.
- Transmitter Operation Range: about 50-100 meters
- Flight time: 8-10 Minutes
- Has a HD camera
- Outdoors
- Headless Mode
Summary: Holy Stone F181W 1080P WiFi FPV Drone is small, but not tiny. Since it comes with a camera, this will be a great tool for your teenager to learn piloting skills and shoot some videos.
The Holy Stone drone Intended to fly outside (if the breeze is light enough). It has features such as fly up/down, left/right, forward/back, fly leftward, and fly rightward. It can do 360 degree flip & roll in four directions.
Drone comes with voice activation that allows you to verbally give commands FLY/ LAND/ FOWARD/ BACKWARD/ LEFTWARD/ RIGHTWARD/ STOP to the drone. The F181W also allows for gesture control and fly paths to make navigation a snap!
Syma X20 Mini Pocket Drone Headless Mode
- X20 Mini Drone is the newest drone upgraded with multi features, this 6-Axis gyro...
- Headless Mode makes easier flight: Once the fuselage direction can not be recognized,...
- One Key Take off / Landing: one button press automatically taking off or landing,...
- Altitude Hold: Auto hovering is an altitude holding technology that lets the flying...
Model: Syma X20 Mini Pocket Drone Headless Mode
Dimensions:4.13 x 4.13 x 0.98 inches
Price : $33 range
Who is suitable for: 8 years and up
Skill level: Beginner
Quick Spec:
- One key 360° roll, continuous roll for perfect action
- Speed Adjustment: You can choose a speed
- LED for night flying
- 6-Axis gyro quad-rotorcraft flight
- no camera
- Control distance: 66 ft / 20 m
- Flight Time: About 5 minutes
The X20 Syma Drone is an affordable tech gift under $50 for 8 year olds and up. It is one of the very best drones to learn on. It is light weight enough so that you can practice indoors without doing a lot of damage. It has 4CH with 6 Axis and ready to fly. Controller range is about 20 meters. The drone is equipped with altitude hold mode & headless mode, you can set height and there is no need to adjust the position of aircraft before flying. Flight time of 5 minutes is short but drone recharges quickly. The one key take off and landing makes it simple to use for beginners. The one key 360 degree roll and LED allow for stunts to be performed at night.
SYMA X5C-1 Explorers 2.4G 4CH 6-Axis Gyro RC with HD Camera
- [6-Axis Gyro]:Built-in 6-axis gyro stabilization system makes the helicopter more...
- [Anti-Interference]:2.4 GHz technology adopted for anti-interference. Even more than...
- [360 degrees 3D eversion]: Professional cool and exquisite flight action. [Colorful...
- [With Extra 2 720mAh Batteries]: These extra batteries designed by Mysterystone,which...
Model: SYMA X5C-1 Explorers 2.4G 4CH 6-Axis Gyro RC with HD Camera
Dimension: 12.4 x 12.4 x 2.9 inches
Weight: 3.4 lbs.
Price: $60 range
Who is suitable for: age 10 and up
Skill level: Beginners
- Lift/Right, Forward/Backward, Up/Down, 360 Flip and Roll sideways fight
- Flight time about 8 min
- Recharge time: 1hr 40 min
- Has led lights
- No camera
Summary: The SYMA X5C-1 Explorers 2.4G 4CH is big enough that it can be taken outside to fly. It will be great fun for the entire family to fly outside at twilight. The blinking LED’s help to keep it in sight. After you have flown it a few times you will enjoy showing friends and family what it can do. It has moves such as lift/right, forward/backward, up/down, 360 flip and roll, sideways fight. The SYMA X5C-1 Explorers is also small enough that it can be flown in a large room indoors.
HUBSAN H111 Nano Q4 4-Channel 6 Axis Gyro Mini
- World's Smallest Quadcopter equipped with 6-axis flight control systems.
- Features : 2.4GHz transmitter ,3.7V rechargeable LiPO battery and USB charger .
- Mini drone can 360°flips &rolls and 4 Way Flipping (left, right, forward &...
- Lightweight airframe with nice durability and fashion design .
Model: HUBSAN H111 Nano Q4 4-Channel 6 Axis Gyro Mini
Dimension: 1.97 x 1.57 x 1.18 inches
Weight: .81 oz
Price: $20 range
Who is suitable for: age 14 and up
Skill level: Beginner
Quick Spec:
- 6 axis gyro stabilization
- Colorful flashing light, keep your aircraft flying at night conspicuous.
- Flight time: 5-6 minutes
- 360°flips & rolls
- No camera
Summary: The HUBSAN H111 Nano Q4 is tiny, but its colorful design is very attractive and fun. The flight times are short but the usb charger charges fairly quickly. As a starter drone this can be a fun option. It has 6 axis gyro stabilization and LED lights. This is an affordable first drone to demonstrate what it can do.
GoolRC T36 Mini RC
- · GESTURE REMOTE CONTROL: -First of all, unlike the other Remote Controller, it...
- · HEADLESS MODE: When you go forward in the beginning, your drone will go forward...
- · ONE-KEY RETURN: With built-in positioning system, the drone can auto locate the...
- · 3D FLIPS:This drone can perform the 360 degree flips roll with one key,it is very...
Model: GoolRC T36 Mini RC
Dimension: 3.3 x 3.3 x 1.4 inches
Weight: 21 g
Price: $20 range
Who is suitable for: children up to 15 year-old
Skill level: beginner or experienced pilot
Quick Spec:
- Headless mode
- One-key return
- 3D Flips
- Flight time = about 5 min
- No camera
Summary: The GoolRC T36 Mini RC is a light-weight, 6-axis Gyro suitable for children up to 15. This is an easy-to-operate drone. It has headless mode – you don’t have to adjust which way the quad faces before flying. It features a one-key return – you can take off and land with a push of button. With its low/high speed options, either a beginner or an experience pilot will enjoy flying this quad. The GoolRC T36 features 2.4GHz technology adopted for anti-interference. It has LED light to give you an option to fly at night. And, it can do a 3D 360 Flips!
Summary of best drones for kids 10-15 years old:
Best Drones for Kids Age 16 and up
Teenagers are a difficult age group when it comes to buying gifts. Sometimes teenagers seem to be ready to go off to college, at other times, well, let’s just say “Not so much.” Teenagers over 16 usually have a driver’s license and (in our family) a part time job. They can often buy small things for themselves. The kind of tech gift we want to give them is:
- Something they can’t afford to buy themselves.
- Something that will last and give them a lot of fun.
- Explain to your teenagers to fly responsibly
DJI Mavic Mini 2
Hubsan Zino 2 Plus
Parrot Anafi
DJI Mavic Air 2
DJI Mavic Mini 2 Combo
- PACK LIGHT, FLY FREE: at less than 249 g, it weighs about as much as an apple and...
- OCUSYNC 2.0 VIDEO TRANSMISSION: mini 2 supports up to 10km of hd video transmission...
- POWERFUL PERFORMANCE: with a max battery life of 31 minutes, dji mini 2 grants more...
- 4X ZOOM: there’s no need to get so close for your dream shot. 4x digital zoom makes...
Model: DJI Mavic Mini 2 Combo
Dimension: 5.5×3.2×2.2 in. (Folded)
Weight: 8.78 oz
Price: Around $500
Age: Teenager 16+
Skill level: Beginner to intermediate
Quick Spec:
- 29 mph (S-mode)
- 1/2.3″ CMOS
- DJI Fly App requires iOS v10 0 Android v6 0 or above
- 12MP aerial photos and 2.7K HD videos
- 3-Axis Gimbal
- Flight time = 30 min
- Downward Obstacle avoidance
- Maximum Altitude 3000m
Summary: Mavic Mini 2 is a DJI model with very few frills, but it does have is quality components. The 3-axis gimbal delivers smooth footage as your drone soars through the air up to 3000 meters. The kit comes with 3 batteries, a charging station, guardrails for the propellers, a controller, a carrying bag and a drone.
The drone is the lightest of the Mavic line and is a great drone for beginning aerial photography. You will be amazed at how beautiful and smooth the videos are as well as how easy it is with the DJI Fly application. The addition of the zoom feature is new feature on the mini 2 that gives you even more options for your aerial photography.
Hubsan Zino 2 Plus
- Equipped with 3-axis gimbal camera stabilizer that offers smooth and stable footage....
- Up to 9KM video transmission (no interference, no obstacle); Max flight time: 35...
- Time-lapse Photography&Panorama Mode - It has free and circle time-lapse photography...
- APP online update: can update the latest firmware via X-HUBSAN 2 APP directly. It...
Model: Hubsan Zino 2 Plus with 3-Axis Gimbal
Dimension: L30.4 * 25.2 * 9 cm
Weight: 710g
Price: $490 range
Age: 16 year-old and up
Skill level: Beginner to intermediate
Quick Spec:
- Positioning: GPS+GLONASS
- Charge Time: 180 minutes
- Flight time: 23 minutes
- Max flight Speed: 9m/s
- Line Fly Mode, Orbit Mode, Headless Mode, Waypoint support
- Removable Lens
- Failsafe for lost of power, control, or signla
Summary: Hubsan Zino 2 Plus is the most advanced Hubsan Drone, we break it down for you on our Hubsan Comparison Post. The removable lens allow you to buy different lenses for different effects. The GPS feature keeps the drone stable an allows for object tracking. The 23 minute flight time is one of the longest in the industry after the DJI series. If your looking for a feature rich drone to learn aerial photography for around $500 the Zino 2 Plus model is a great option.
Parrot – Drone Anafi Extended
- This drone with a camera equipped with f/2.4 wide angle ASPH lens, HDR, and up to 2.8...
- The ANAFI Parrot Drone can have up to 25 minutes of filmed flight time thanks to an...
- With its ultra-compact and lightweight carbon frame (320 g), this quadcopter drone...
- Equipped with a Parrot Skycontroller 3 folding remote control, the ANAFI Parrot Drone...
Model: Parrot – Drone Anafi Extended
Dimension: 10.9 x 4.92 x 8.66 inches
Weight: 1 lb
Price: $900 range
Who is suitable for? Age 16 year-old and up
Skill level: Intermediate
Quick Spec:
- 21 MEGAPIXELS
- 2.8X loss-free digital zoom
- Sony sensor and its wide-angle aspherical lens (f / 2.4)
- Flight Time: 25 minutes
- Folding Design
- 180° vertical swivel gondola
Summary: The Parrot Anafi model allows you to create professional looking photos and video. The Extended package features a compact carrying case, 2 additional smart batteries, 3 USB-C cables, a 16 GB micro SD card, 2 months access to the Adobe Creative Suite Cloud, and a spare remote control and propellers.
The one shortcoming we found with this drone is the lack of obstacle avoidance technology. The features, 21MP, Zoom, 180 swivel, long flight time, are great but for around $900 you would like to have obstacle avoidance capabilities to help protect your investment. That being said, the video and photo features of this drone are top notch.
DJI Mavic Air 2
- 【UP YOUR GAME】: The Mavic Air 2 camera drone takes power and portability to the...
- 【NEXT-LEVEL CONTENT】: Capture impressive 48MP photos with a 1/2-inch CMOS sensor...
- 【IMPROVED FLIGHT】: An impressive flight time of up to 34 minutes allows you to...
- 【INTELLIGENT TRACKING】: Mavic Air 2 features intuitive shooting functions that...
Model: DJI Mavic Air 2
Dimension: 7.4×3.8×3.3 in. (Folded)
Weight: 20.1 oz
Price: $999 range
Who is suitable for: 16 year-old plus
Skill level: Intermediate
Quick Spec:
- Obstacle Avoidance technology
- up to 42.5 mph (S-mode)
- 3 axis Gimbal
- Flight time: 34 min
- 1/2″ CMOS, 48MP
Summary: After comparing DJI Drone models, the DJI Mavic 2 Air allows you to see where you are flying, Video can be recorded at the same time to show your friends. The GPS provides a stable flight and the obstacle avoidance technology help you protect your investment avoiding costly crashes.
The fly more package includes the following: Mavic Air 2 Aircraft, Remote Controller, 3 Intelligent Flight Batteries, 6x Low-Noise Propellers (Pair), RC Cables (USB Type-C, Lightning, Standard Micro-USB), Control Stick, Gimbal Protector, Battery Charger, Battery Charging Hub, Battery to Power Bank Adapter, Shoulder Bag, ND Filters Set (ND16/64/256), Manuals, AC Power Cable, Type-C Cable.
Even though this drone has many advanced features, it is quite easy to use and will give you breath taking results from the start.
Ruko F11 Mini Drone
- 【LIGHTWEIGHT, NO FAA REGISTRATION】Weighs under 250g, 𝐃𝐎 𝐍𝐎𝐓...
- 【4K UHD CAMERA】Capture stunning 4096x3072p photos and smooth 2.7K/25fps videos....
- 【60 MIN FLIGHT TIME】Enjoy up to 60 mins of flight time with 2 intelligent flight...
- 【INTELLIGENT GPS FLIGHT】Using GPS features like Follow Me, Waypoint Flight, and...
Model: Ruko F11 Mini
Dimension: 11.8L x 8.5W x 2.1H inches (unfolded)
Weight: 245g.
Price: $300 range
Who is suitable for: 16 year-old plus
Skill level: Intermediate
Quick Spec:
- Resist level 4 winds
- camera guard protector is specially designed to protect the lens
- 2k@50fps or 2.7k@25fps resolution video to store on TF card
- Supports TF card (not included)
- One-touch take-off/descent, auto-return, GPS follow, orbital flight, route planning
Summary: Ruko Drones make several models that will fit our criteria for ages 16 and up. We chose the F11 Mini drone for this category because it is small, lightweight and doesn’t require registration with the FFA.
Since the F11 Mini comes with 2 batteries you are able to enjoy 60 minuts of flight time.
The features are useful and easy to implement, we would like to call out that this drone does not have an object avoidance feature. This is something you would find on some of the other popular models like the DJI mini. While this would be a great feature, for beginners the lower price point of the Ruko Mini makes it less of a sticking point.
Summary of Drones for Kids 16 and up:
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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DJI Mini 2 Fly More Combo – Ultralight... | $599.00 | View on Amazon | |
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HUBSAN Zino 2 Plus 4K Drone 60fps UHD Camera... | View on Amazon | ||
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Parrot PF728000 ANAFI Drone, Foldable... | $449.99 | View on Amazon | |
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DJI Mavic Air 2 Fly More Combo - Drone... | 8,694 Reviews | $983.00 | View on Amazon |
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Ruko F11MINI Drone with Camera 4K, Under... |
$280.99
$199.99 |
View on Amazon |
Age and Skills Checklist
- Age of the child – under the age of ten?
- Flying skills – any experience with flying a drone?
- Safety
– check for propeller guards. They help to protect little fingers, minimize damage to the drone and your furniture. (Nothing says “ouch!” like watching a drone fly into the flat screen TV and leave a spider web pattern on the screen.)
– The weight of the is important too. The less the it weighs, the less damage it can do. I have caught a drone in my hand and I know first-hand that the blades can really hurt. (At this weight, they won’t cut, but the amount of pain really surprised me.) If the weight is higher than about 2 to 4 oz., then the propeller can actually cut your hand or finger. So, remember to get one that weighs less than 4 oz. for children.
If the child has no experience, we suggest that you start with a $20 model and require the child to learn and demonstrate certain skills before buying the next level for them. For example:
- Be able to take off and land on a paper plate placed on the floor five feet away from the take off point.
- Be able to take off and hover for 10 – 30 seconds, then land gently right where you took off.
- Be able to take off and fly around the room in a circle, then gently land on a target. (No crashes, no accidental landings.)
Children in the 10-15 year-old range typically have better eye-hand coordination than younger children. It is still a good idea to start them on a less expensive indoor drone and then allow them to gradually move up to a more expensive and more powerful ones.
Next we want to discuss “you” and the environment where you will fly
- Cost – it depends on your tolerance of crashing dollars to the ground. Is it $30, $50, $100? Keep in mind that children will destroy stuff. (So do adults!) If you buy an expensive drone, will you feel bad about the damage and the cost of replacing it?
- Do you have an indoor space big enough to practice? A space of at least 3 meters by 4 meters or 10 feet by 12 feet is recommended for indoor practice.
- Outdoor space where the wind speed is less than 5 mph can be used for outdoor models. Don’t try to fly an indoor model outdoors.
Checklist for buying drones for kids
- Information about your kid’s age and skills.
- What type of drone do you want? Is the kid interested in using the camera on the drone? For example, interested in taking pictures of a game or activity or are they more interested in just making the drone “go fast”. My little “go fast” guy is not even slightly interested in the camera. So – no camera on his model. He wants speed!
When choosing a quadcopter for a child, consider the age of the kid, safety, and cost. In general, a kid under the age of ten would typically have less hand-eye coordination than a twelve year-old. Most beginners will crash the aircraft several times before they learn how to control a flying vehicle. We, The Drone Buying Advisor believe safety is paramount – the rotors can hurt little fingers and get tangled in their hair.
Mini Drones for Kids Piloting Checklist
-
- Pilot age recommendation. Control of a drone requires good reflexes, good eye-hand coordination. While they don’t require “fighter pilot level” skills, younger children just can’t control a drone.
- Skill level. Skill level is ranked as beginner, intermediate and advanced. A beginner is obviously someone will no prior experience or only a few weeks. Intermediate level is someone with a few weeks to several months. Advanced pilots not only have flown for several months, but have flown a variety of models.
- Weight of the drone. The weight of the drone is an important is a couple of ways. A drone with greater weight that is out of control can cause a lot of damage. Keep the weight down to less than 4 oz for children under 10. If you are flying outdoors, bring the weight up. How big is the area? For a field about 30 yards or 30 meters square, I suggest a weight of 2 to 4 lbs. If your kid is flying over and big open field you will want more weight and a bigger battery.
- Size (dimension) of the drone. Small drone for indoors, bigger drone for outdoors. You can say indoor drones are up to about 6 inches.
- Indoors or outdoors. Keep in mind the facilities available to your kids. If you buy an outdoor drone and there are no fields where they can fly it, it won’t get used.
- Flight time. On one battery? Are you getting multiple batteries? When one battery runs down, you have to stop and (if you have another battery) you can replace it. With multiple batteries you can have longer play time, but not longer flights.
- Charge time. Charge times vary. A short charge time might be about 3 times as long as the flight time. Longer charge times usually mean that the manufacturer has designed the battery charging circuits to have “cutouts” to prevent over charging. You get longer life for your batteries when the batteries are protected like this.
- Camera spec
- FPV/Gimbal/none
- HD 720P, 1080P, 4k
FPV (First Person View) gives you the experience of being “First Person” i.e. the pilot’s view on the monitor screen is from inside the aircraft looking out the front. FPV is very important in racing, but rather limiting when you are trying to take videos of an event or project. HD cameras can come in several ways. The 720P camera has a small, but high definition image. The 1080P cameras have a larger image (lets say medium sized image) also high definition. The 4k camera have a pretty big image and really professional grade definition.
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- Video memory chip
- Size
- Changeable
- Video memory chip
All sd chips are physically the same size. The size we are talking about here is the amount of data which can be stored on it. Typically chips are 4 mb. 8 mb, 16 mb, 32 mb, 64 mb, 1gb, 4 gb, 16 gb, 32 gb, 64 gb or 128 gb. If you have an sd chip in the mb range you will be able to record a few minutes of video. When you have gb, you can record for hours. If you can swap the chip out, you can replace it with a fresh empty chip and continue to record.
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- Controller Type
- Standard controller of smart device or either
- Controller Type
Drones can be usually be controlled by a hand held controller. A few can be controlled by a smart device. Usually using the smart device as a controller will cause a lag of a few micro seconds. In racing, any lag is a bad thing. There are all varieties of combinations. For example:
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- Hand held Controller only (supplied)
- Smart device (not supplied – use what you already have.) Connected via a local wifi.
- Use Both at the same time – Ground controller to control flight, smart device to control camera.
- Fight video monitoring.
- On controller/on smart device/VR/none
- If your drone has a camera, how will the pilot see the images? If there is no camera, then there is no need for a video monitor, There are three general ways to monitor flight.
- A monitor built into the ground controller.
- Using a smart device connected via wifi.
- Using Virtual Reality Headset with images projected on screens a couple of inches in front of the pilot’s eyes. This really makes it seem to the pilot that he/she is inside the model flying it.
- Range of controller. The ground controller’s range is not likely to be the same as the range video monitor. The controller range determines how far you can fly. If you fly any farther, you have no way to get the aircraft back.
- Range of video monitoring. Usually the video monitor is a little less than the ground controller’s range, but there is also an on board sd chip recording the camera images. If you exceed the range of the video monitor’s signal, you may be able recover images from the on board sd chip. It is a good idea to do some planning to avoid exceeding your ranges.
- Safety. Blade guards are especially important for younger children and heavier drones. With younger children, you want to protect the children and their fingers. With heavier units you want to protect your TV and windows.
- Tech support reputation. Everybody’s experiences with tech support are different, but sometimes the review are just awful. I try to stay away from suppliers who get a lot of awful reviews. The best that one can do is to look at the reviews to see what the supplier’s reputation looks like.
- Special features
- Foldable
- Waterproof
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Sometimes the special features are just so important that everything else is secondary. You need to evaluate why you want the drone. If you are buying it simply for a single special feature, then the decision is easy. Waterproof drones are very nice. If it crashes in a puddle, then you just take in inside, dry it off an you can fly it again. Regular drones can be ruined beyond repair by water.
Flight Regulations for Outdoor Drones
If you are flying toy drones inside the house you shouldn’t need to register your drone for flight. However for heavier drones flown outdoors, the FAA has rules regarding where one can fly quadcopters and other drones. Below is a quick summary, but it is highly recommended you go the the FAA site to learn the rules and determine if you need to register your drone.
Summary
- Please do not fly near accidents, police scenes or any area where emergency crews are working. Fly responsibly. Drones can interfere with emergency responder’s helicopters, so stay away.
- FAA has regulations about flying near any airports, too. Drones endanger airplanes.
- Do not fly near Federal office buildings, military bases or national parks.
Check out our drone reviews to choose a beginner drone that meets your needs. We also have a blog on drone tips to fly your first drone, including things not to do when flying a drone and drone etiquette. Well that’s our list of the best drones for kids, happy shopping and happy flying!