Popular Drones with the Longest Flight Times Consumer drones are here to stay and we love them. Taking photos and videos has never been so exciting or this much fun. The problem with popular drones is that they need batteries to power them. Unfortunately, the electricity provided by popular drones batteries empties way too fast. Charging your battery can sometimes take several hours. Below is a table illustrating flight and charging times of some of the quality drones out there. Most serious operators will have several batteries readilly available.
Make and Model DJI Phantom 4 Pro
Max Flight Time 30 minutes
Charging Time 210 minutes
DJI Mavic Pro DJI Phantom 3 Standard Yuneec Typhoon H Parrot Bebop 2 Hubsan H501S
27 minutes 25 minutes 25 minutes 24 minutes 20 minutes
60+ minutes 60+ minutes 50+ minutes 55+ minutes 150 minutes
Advisable Flying Conditions for Popular Drones It’s important to understand a little of the hype. Drone makers measure maximum flight times by ideal flight conditions. What this means is minimal payload during dry, windless days. In reality, most days will have some wind and you’ll most likely have an added payload. That’s unless the drone has a built-in camera and gimbal. Clip-on propeller guards can also increase the payload. The more wind there is, the faster the battery drains. Colder temperatures sap the power from drone batteries as well. And overly hot days put additional wear on both batteries and electronics. Understanding minimum and maximum battery times will help you prepare your flights better. Drone batteries are improving too, but even the best ones won’t go much more than 30 minutes. One alternative—and something I always recommend—is to carry spares, but they don’t come cheap.
Beware of Cheap Replacement Batteries Find out what batteries you can use with popular drones before you let a long flight time pull you toward the checkout. Brand-only batteries with proprietary connectors can often cost a lot more. If you intend to buy extra batteries (recommended), third-party options are often as good but without the high price tag. If you don’t mind either way that’s fine, but it’s useful to know these things. You may decide not to buy an additional battery with your drone, at least not yet. Even so, make sure you consider the cost in case you need a spare or replacement further down the road.
Drone Charging Times Battery recharging times can be as irritating as short flight times. Some take as long as 3hours to fully charge. Others may only take 50 minutes. I include all the charging times in these reviews. Somepopular drones come with their own charging station. If your drone doesn’t have one, make sure you choose with care. As with all electronics, not all charging stations are equal. As a general rule, a charger with a higher output (indicated in amps) will power batteries faster. A 6-amp charger—for example—can reduce the charge time by more than a half compared to a 2-amp.
Popular Drones With Flight Times Between 20 – 30 Minutes Heavier payloads mean shorter flight times. Every second is valuable if your projects are long and the equipment heavy. The popular drones in this section give you up to 30 minutes in the air. Obviously you want a quality camera. And yes, you demand popular drones that’s easy to handle. But you’re on a difficult mission if the UAV can’t stay in the air for long. These top three picks won’t let you down.
Popular Drones - DJI Phantom 4 PRO Quadcopter Drone
The Phantom 4 Pro from DJI boasts a 3-axis-stabilized gimbal camera with a 20MP, 1" CMOS sensor capable of shooting up to 4K/60fps video and well as photo bursts at up to 14 fps. The hull has been updated from the previous Phantom 4, now featuring magnesium alloy construction for increased rigidity and reduced weight. The Flight Autonomy system adds dual rear-vision sensors plus infrared sensing for a total of five directions of obstacle sensing and four directions of obstacle avoidance. DJI Phantom 4 Pro Quadcopter • • • • • • • • • •
Remote Controller for Phantom 4 Pro Quadcopter 4 x Propeller Pairs Flight Battery (Higher Capacity) Battery Charger AC Cable for Battery Charger Gimbal Clamp USB OTG Cable Micro-USB Cable 16GB microSD Card Carrying Case
Popular Drones - DJI Mavic Pro 4K Quadcopter Drone
This tiny drone packs features you once thought possible only on much larger platforms into a compact quadcopter that is snappy, agile, and captures high-resolution images. The drone features an advanced flight control system that draws on a host of sensors including a ground-facing camera, ultrasound, GPS, dual redundant IMUs, and more to keep track of where it is flying in 3D space and even avoid collisions. The Mavic works in tandem with DJI's GO mobile app for accessing settings, getting a telemetry readout, viewing a low-latency video feed, and even editing and sharing your footage. In addition traditional joystick style controls, you can fly with simple tap-based commands, and the Mavic can even recognize gestures for the perfect selfie. • • • • • • • • • • •
Remote Controller Intelligent Flight Battery for Mavic Quadcopter 3 x 8330 Quick Release Folding Propellers for Mavic Drone Gimbal Clamp Charger AC Power Cable for Charger 16GB microSD Card Micro-USB Cable RC Cable for Mavic Controller (Lightning) RC Cable for Mavic Controller (Reverse Micro-USB) 2 x RC Cable Slider
Popular Drones - DJI Phantom 3 Standard
Fly with absolute freedom and confidence, knowing your Phantom 3 Standard will return to you at the press of a button. Built-in GPS records your Phantom’s takeoff point and remembers it as you fly. Then at your command, or if the control signal is ever lost, your Phantom comes back to you instantly. Your Phantom 3 Standard stays stable and under your control at all times during flight. After takeoff, it automatically hovers in place, waiting for your command. It then effortlessly changes altitude or direction at the flick of a finger. When you want it to stop, it again pauses and hovers, waiting for your next instruction. Fly for up to 25 minutes on a single charge. The patented DJI Intelligent Flight Battery continuously tells you exactly how long you can continue flying, based on how far and at what altitude you are, and it alerts you when it's time to head back. This information is streamed live to the GO app on your mobile device. Recharging is quick and easy, and bright LED indicators tell you current status and power level. A protective plastic housing helps prevent damage and contains intelligent sensors that make your battery worry-free while extending the life of your battery. • •
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Easy to Fly: An intelligent flight system automatically keeps your Phantom 3 Standard in the air and under your control. Amazing Images: Take stunning 2.7K HD videos and 12 Megapixel photos with the integrated aerial camera. Stable Footage: DJI's advanced gimbal stabilization technology gives you movie-quality results no matter how you fly. Enjoy the View: A live video feed gives you a 720p HD real-time view of what your camera sees right on your mobile device. Peace of Mind: Fly up to 25 minutes on a single charge, and the Intelligent Flight Battery will automatically remind you when power is running low. Note: Switch on the remote controller, turn the gimbal dial to the far right, and toggle the S2 switch back and forth for at least three times. The remote controller will sound a beep if the SSID and password for the Wi-Fi video downlink have been reset to their default values successfully.
Popular Drones - Yuneec Typhoon H 4K Hexacopter Drone Pro Version
Yuneec Typhoon H Professional Hexacopter Flying Camera Drone with built in collision avoidance UK Stock Package includes: Typhoon H Pro, ST16, Wizard, RealSense™, IPS, Sonic Avoidance, CGO3+, Batteries x2, Backpack The Typhoon H is an advanced aerial photography and videography platform. Thanks to YUNEEC's spirit of innovation and pursuit of advanced technology the TYPHOON H is the smallest and smartest member of the TYPHOON family and the perfect choice for both skilled and novice pilots and photographers. Typhoon H provides up to 22 minutes of flight time while filming using its CGO3+ 4K, 360° rotation camera and comes as standard with the easy to use, intuitive, ST16 Personal Ground Station remote controller - with in-built 7-inch Android touchscreen for viewing superb FPV action. New ST16 Personal Ground Station and Controller The Typhoon H comes with the Yuneec ST16 personal ground station, the perfect controller and ground station to both fly and control all the settings of the platform, gimbal and camera via an intuitive easy to use interface. The ST16 is equipped with a 7“ Android, colour, touchscreen for easy interaction. The screen displays the downlinked video as well as flight information and telemetry data Camera settings like video resolution, white balance, light exposure (automatic or manual), ISO and shutter speed can be adjusted remotely from the ground. Photos can be taken while recording a video and the still images are available in RAW (DNG) and JPEG format. Fly Safer with Sonar Anti-Collision Features of the Typhoon H Professional 4K : • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Sonar Anti Collision Waypoints Orbit Point of Interest Open/Close Scene 5 Rotor Flight Safety Motor Redundancy Folding Arms with Quick Release Props Retractable Landing Gear 4K UHD 4K/30FPS , Full HD 1080p/120fps Secure 5.8Ghz WIFI Video Downlink HD Full HD 1080P 24/25/30/48/50/60/120FPS 3 Axis Anti Vibration Gimbal Controlled Accuracy 0.02degrees /s No Distortion Lens 12.4 Megapixel Still Images Watch Me/ Follow Me Features
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GPS Antenna Air Pressure Sensor Telemetry Data Display SD Card Complete with Video Tutorials Dynamic Return to Home Auto Landing
Even More Features of the Yuneec Typhoon H • • • • • • • • •
Complete Ready-To-Fly 4k Camera Drone Hexacopter 4K Ultra HD camera and 3 axis gimbal system Integrated 3-axis 360 degree precision gimbal camera Powered by Intel™ collision avoidance technology Six ultra powerful motors for unparalleled stability Packed with smart filming modes to get the perfect shot Full first person view and telemetry data displayed right on the controller Control the resolution, white balance and exposure all while in the air Up To 25 Minute Flight Time
Popular Drones - Parrot Bebop 2 1080p Quadcopter Drone
The Bebop 2 has a rear LED that blinks intermittently during flight to improve visibility. A new battery provides longer flight times, so you can enjoy more time soaring the skies. Increased power and speed, better wind resistance, sharper design and improved GPS will ensure you get more out of your flying experience. Improved camera angles and a new polarised camera will enhance your recordings when transitioning from low light to bright light. Overall the Bebop 2 has been tweaked to give you a great flying experience. Also available in red - A94UF . The Bebop 2 is an improvement on one of the easiest drones on the market to fly. Using the downloadable FreeFlight 3 app it is fully controllable up to 300m in the air, and you can record to the internal memory. You can transfer these recordings via the micro USB cable or WiFi. If you lose sight of your drone, you can press the return to home button and the drone will return to the starting position. When you press the return to home button on the app, your drone will fly back to the starting position using GPS, at a minimum height of 10m. It will continue to hover at 2m until you land it.
This function is perfect if you have lost sight of the drone and wish to retrieve it. This drone has a maximum speed of 16.6m/s which is the equivalent of 37mph. The now single 2700mAh LiPo battery gives you a maximum flight time of 25 minutes and will ensure you have enough time to have fun and get some great action shots • •
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One 2700mAh battery giving a flight time of 25 minutes so you can enjoy more flying Up to 2,000m transmission range with CAA/IAA permit. Without a permit, the legal range for a drone to fly is below 120m and always in the line of sight from the operator Check out The Drone Code or The IAA (ROI) for everything you need to be aware of when flying your drone Return to home function which brings your drone back to the starting position and hovers 2m above the ground Three axis digital stabilisation to keep your video footage nice and steady On-board 8GB memory 14 megapixel camera for good quality pictures and high definition video
Popular Drones - Hubsan H501S
Hubsan releases with the H501S a compact brushless machine including a 1080p camera & a dual GPS system to offer follow-me function. The Hubsan H501S is also including a full 5.8G FPV gear (TX & FPV screen) and around 20min of flight duration. This 300mm machine can represent the perfect compagnon for your sunday sport training session, montain tripping or any outdoors situations. I will review the international edition introduced around six months later the chinese first edition. The international is 100% GPS compatible. The Hubsan H501S represents an increased version of the H107D+ with nice curly shapes, entering into the 300mm caterory. The general look is great IMHO, especially with the golden painting parts. The pastic is flexible and can accept some small torsions, slight bendings so ideal to absorb the kinetic energy spread during a crash. The 1080p camera is installed of course front but with a small 5 degrees angle to the ground direction. A little originality: motor's layout is different from other models: the front left is CCW, the front right CW, the rear right is CCW and the last is CW. • • • • •
1 X H501S Aircraft Body 1 X H901A Remote Controller 1 X 7.4V 2700mAh LiPo battery 4 X Propeller A 4 X Propeller B
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1 X USB Battery Charger 1 X AC Adapter 1 X Balance Charger 1 X Prop Wrench 1 X Camera Filter 1 X H501S Instruction manual