The ParroT hYDroFoiL Drone

A unique accessory for boating and watersports, the Parrot Hydrofoil can travel by both sea and air for aerial or aquatic image capture.

ThE PArroT hyDroFoIl is an ingenious new drone that operates both on the water and in the air. It boasts a clever hydrofoil hull with a detachable aerial drone that also acts as propulsion for the hull.

Once the engines are on, the upper part of the Hydrofoil positions perpendicularly to the nautical structure. Thanks to the four propellers of the Minidrone, it glides through the water and stays about 2 inches above the surface with amazing stability and agility. As the water resistance is reduced, it can reach the maximum speed of 5.4 knots (6 mph) and turn in a flash without capsizing. The Hydrofoils can be separated from their nautical structure in order to fly through the air and do complex aerial acrobatics, all the while capturing images and video.

Parrot Hydrofoils are piloted using Bluetooth Smart from the FreeFlight 3 App. Available on both iOS and Android, it’s a tried and tested piece of smartphone or tablet software that allows for easy control.

However, while one is initially impressed by this clever little drone, a closer look does turn up some major drawbacks.

Firstly, it only has seven minutes of playtime before you’ll have to plug it in for a fast charge of 25 minutes, which isn’t a great battery life. We can’t imagine how anyone would be able to catch ‘that perfect shot’ with a seven-minute window!

Secondly, the camera is a 480x640 Snapshot VGA, so it’s only capable of taking still imagery.

Verdict: While this gadget does have some great potential, given its limitations at this stage it’s still really just a toy! And an expensive one at that…