What Makes a Drone Kid-Friendly?
Drones, or more properly “quadcopters”, are 4-rotor flying machines known for their variety of uses, extreme maneuvering capability, and fun to fly.
There are many thousands of drones out there to choose from, but most of them are neither kid-safe nor easy to fly. To help you narrow down your options, we’ve created a list of must-haves and handy features for any drone that will be handled by children:
- Blade protectors: Also known as rotor guards or crash protection cages, these will partially or completely surround the spinning rotors, preventing the blades from breaking during crashes with solid surfaces, and more importantly keeping fingers out of harm’s way.
- Gyroscope: Built-in gyroscopes are included with almost every drone, but it’s a good idea to check anyway. This is usually a software-based program running on the drone that keeps it stable and makes the flight level and smooth.
- Auto takeoff and landing: While not strictly required, these are nice features to have, as takeoff and landing are the most difficult parts of flying.
- Altitude hold: Another “bonus” feature, altitude hold will keep the drone at a steady height so that the pilot can focus more on flying around and less on ground collision avoidance.
In our experience, headless mode isn’t all that helpful, but for many users it is a good way to learn how to fly, eliminating the need to keep track of the “front” of the drone. Lastly, app control is really handy for novice flyers, as it generally allows for simple, steady flight without much skill, and for many has a gentler learning curve than a dedicated controller.
Below are 5 drones that stood out to us as being good options for kid-friendly flight in a variety of situations, based on the above.
Syma X5SW-V3 Explorer 2
Likely one of the most popular beginner drones of all time, the Syma X5 line does not disappoint. This drone is fairly large — which is best for outdoor flight — but with that size comes added stability, more wind resistance, and many other helpful features.
Main features:
- Camera: FPV camera, with streaming over Wi-Fi (0.3 megapixels)
- Blade protectors: Yes
- Gyroscope: 6-axis
- Auto takeoff and landing: No
- Altitude hold: No
- Headless mode: Yes
- Supports app control: Yes
- Control range: 50 meters
- Battery: 500 mAh, approximately 10 minutes of flight time
- Miscellaneous: 360-degree one-button flips, charges over USB
Holy Stone F181C Chaser
Another brand well-known for good beginner quadcopters, Holy Stone has a large collection of kid-friendly drones to choose from. The F181C Chaser is one of their larger, more expensive models, but comes packed with epic features for flyers of any skill level, especially beginners.
Main features:
- Camera: 720p camera (no FPV)
- Blade protectors: Yes
- Gyroscope: 6-axis
- Auto takeoff and landing: Yes
- Altitude hold: Yes
- Headless mode: Yes
- Supports app control: No
- Control range: 50-100 meters
- Battery: 750 mAh, approximately 7-10 minutes of flight time
- Miscellaneous: Return to home, 4 speed modes, charges over USB
Drocon DC-65 Mini Drone
Although smaller and good for indoor flight, mini drones tend to be harder to fly outdoors than large drones. However, the Drocon DC-65 aims to change that, adding in some handy features that you wouldn’t expect from a drone of its size.
Main features:
- Camera: None
- Blade protectors: Yes
- Gyroscope: 6-axis
- Auto takeoff and landing: Yes
- Altitude hold: Yes
- Headless mode: Yes
- Supports app control: No
- Control range: Unknown
- Battery: Approximately 6-8 minutes of flight time
- Miscellaneous: Foldable (fits into a storage compartment on the controller), return to home, 360-degree one-key flips, rotation feature (allows the drone to orbit a fixed point), 3 speed modes, charges from remote or over USB
Snaptain H823H Mini Drone
Another mini drone, the H823H has many of the same features as the previous DC-65. However, what makes it unique is the built-in blade guards that completely surround the rotors, making it nearly impossible to get small fingers or other objects in the way of harm.
Main features:
- Camera: None
- Blade protectors: Yes
- Gyroscope: 6-axis
- Auto takeoff and landing: Yes
- Altitude hold: Yes
- Headless mode: Yes
- Supports app control: No
- Control range: Unknown
- Battery: Approximately 6 minutes of flight time
- Miscellaneous: Return to home, 360-degree one-key flips, 3 speed modes, charges over USB
Force1 UFO 3000 Drone
This UFO 3000 is mid-sized and will work both indoors and outdoors with equal ease. Featuring brilliantly illuminated built-in LED blade guards, this drone has plenty of fun features to keep you interested.
Main features:
- Camera: None
- Blade protectors: Yes (with cool LED lights!)
- Gyroscope: 6-axis
- Auto takeoff and landing: Yes
- Altitude hold: Yes
- Headless mode: Yes
- Supports app control: No
- Control range: Unknown
- Battery: Approximately 7-9 minutes of flight time, includes extra battery
- Miscellaneous: 360-degree one-key flips, 2 speed modes, charges over USB
Feature image source: Jack Brown / Drone Lab
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