Flybrix's basic kit is priced at US$189With their crisp 4K cameras and fancy autonomous flight modes, expensive prosumer drones are a pretty tempting path into the world of unmanned aircraft. But there are more than a few ways to get in on the action without shelling out thousands of dollars. Today, drones at lower price points offer a less risky way for novices to learn the ropes, while still including some bells and whistles to keep the fun coming once they're up and away, such as VR features and HD video. Here's our selection of the best drones available now for less than US$250 that offer a little something more than just the sheer thrill of flying. Drones that synch up to VR goggles and stream vision from the drone's camera are the backbone of the burgeoning drone racing scene, and are now featuring in mainstream models too. The Vidius VR drone is among the first to pack this into a pint-sized quadcopter, which pairs with a tablet or smartphone from 100 ft (30 m) away to present a live feed of the drone's eye view.

Sliding the device into the included VR goggles places the pilot right in the thick of the action, which should last for up to seven minutes per charge. You can read our full review here, and order through maker Aerix's site now for $75. Parrot's efforts in the drone space tend to focus on the fun, rather than the practical, and this is best demonstrated by its long line of minidrones. parrot ar drone 2 prisjaktFollowing models that can climb walls, leap onto surfaces and glide across water, the cannon-equipped Mambo seems designed purely for the purpose of pestering siblings.parrot ar drone light Mambo is a quadcopter that comes with a Nerf-like cannon that snaps on via a Lego-like panel on top. parrot ar drone without wifiFully loaded, it carries six balls that are said to be soft and safe to use, and it can empty the chamber in nine seconds. black ops 2 helicopter drone

What's more, it could even handle the cleanup, with a claw that can be fixed to its underside and grab onto objects weighing up to 4 g (0.15 oz). Buy the Mambo now on Amazon ($119) Back in September, startup Flybrix launched DIY drone kits designed to teach kids about engineering and robotics, and hoped to capture imaginations by bringing a childhood favorite into the mix. The kits come as loose sets of Lego bricks, and it is up to the budding engineer to assemble the pieces into some kind of magical flying machine, sounds just like any old Lego-building session, right? But with motors, propellors, battery and a flight board thrown in, users won't have to imagine their creation taking flight, they can actually fire it up to see how it fairs. The idea is that by seeing how their designs fly and crash, users can learn through trial and error how to build the ultimate aircraft. Available now, Flybrix come in a basic kit which relies on smartphone controls for $189, or a $249 kit that includes a dedicated controller.

The PowerUp 3.0 has been around for a couple of years now, and is not a drone per se, but still makes our list because it's a clever idea and offers something different in an increasingly crowded market. Oh, and it's cheap too. For $50, the PowerUp 3.0 kit can be affixed to your finest paper airplanes and give them some serious hang time. It uses a propellor, small tail rudder and throttle control to glide through the air at the user's behest, provided they've got a paired smartphone handy to control the thing.The kit can be purchased now through the company's website. We've tried out a few of Hubsan's diminutive quadcopters over the years and have found these responsive and solidly-built devices to be great learner drones. The FPV X4 Plus is the latest from the RC toy-maker and packs a capable camera into a pretty small package, with the ability to shoot 720/30fps HD video and stream vision to a 4.3-inch LCD screen built into the remote controller. We took the FPV X4 Plus for a test run earlier in the year and found that it stood up well to all of our crash landings.

This, combined with what is a relatively high-resolution camera for a drone of this size might make it a good way for beginners to get a feel for aerial cinematography. You can read our full review here. Buy now on Amazon ($117)If you do treat yourself or a loved one to a new drone this holiday season, be sure to check out our Drone School series for some help in getting off the ground and take a look at the video below to see some of our budget drones in action.Like most flyers, you’re probably frustrated by the short flight times of RC drones. Don’t worry – we’re frustrated too. The average flight time for a beginner quadcopter is only about seven minutes. Even expensive models can’t seem to break the 25-minute mark. Despite these limitations, there are a few things that you can do to extend drone battery life in your own quadcopter. In the following sections, we’re going to show you 10 tips, tricks, and strategies that can help keep you in the air longer. The average flight time for a beginner quadcopter today is about seven minutes.

Models like the Syma X5C and the UDI U818A are perfect examples. Obviously, there are a variety of factors that can negatively impact a drone’s flight time. These include things like wind, weight, flight style, and whether or not you’re recording. For example, when flying in heavier breezes, you’ll find that your average flight time will decrease significantly compared to flying in calmer conditions. Likewise, if you’re flying with added weight (like a camera or prop guards), or flying aggressively, then this too can decrease your drone battery life. Lithium Polymer (Li-Po) Batteries have become the universal power source for RC drones today. Why are they preferred over traditional batteries? Because they’re lightweight and have high discharge rates (can store/release a lot of energy). As you can imagine, they range dramatically in size: the world’s smallest quadcopter, the Cheerson CX-10, is powered by a relatively small 100mAh battery. Likewise, the much-larger Syma X8C is powered by a massive 2,000mAh battery.

Generally speaking, bigger batteries do correlate with higher drone battery life. Did you know that some drone cameras are detachable? If you want extra drone battery life, I’d highly recommend removing them. Although they may not look heavy, cameras can definitely put strain on a drone’s battery. It’s also important to note that the camera links directly to the drone’s battery. So, when you’re recording, you’re basically using up energy way faster than normal. Unfortunately, this tip only applies to quadcopters that have detachable cameras (it wouldn’t work on something like the Hubsan X4 H107C). Timing is very important for increasing drone battery life. For getting the best flight time possible, charge your drone’s battery right before you’re about to use it. “Freshly” charged batteries usually perform better than ones charged several days beforehand. Similarly, if you’re not going to fly your quadcopter anytime soon, don’t fully charge the battery.

Instead, charge it only 60% of the way and store it in a safe place. Then, when you’re ready to fly, finish charging it to maximum capacity. First and foremost, flying a drone in strong wind is dangerous. One mishap could send your quadcopter spiraling down into a home, or worse, a person. But even when dangers like these aren’t present, flying in strong wind is still really bad for your drone battery life. When you fly your quadcopter in strong wind, you’re basically forcing the motors to produce more thrust just to maintain a hover. If you can help it, try to fly on days when wind conditions are reasonably low, or even better, just fly indoors. Nearly all RC drones come with various “Flight Modes” that you can adjust based on how aggressively you want to fly. To fly more aggressively, simply increase transmitter sensitivity, and to fly more conservatively, just decrease transmitter sensitivity. As you can imagine, flight modes with a higher sensitivity will consume energy faster than flight modes with a lower sensitivity.

The good news is that changing flight modes is as easy as pushing a button on your transmitter (controller). This is an often overlooked tip for increasing drone battery life that you can begin using as early as today! Li-Po batteries are incredibly volatile. If you leave them charging for too long, it’s possible they can explode and cause a fire. Not only is overcharging potentially dangerous, but it’s also really bad for your drone battery life. Take note that in 2010, two crewman were killed onboard a UPS flight carrying a shipment of lithium batteries. The batteries spontaneously ignited, proving that, if you don’t properly handle lithium batteries, they can be extremely dangerous. Are you fed up with the short flight times of RC drones? If so, then just build your own! By building a quadcopter from scratch, you’ll ultimately have more control over your drone battery life. Don’t worry – it’s not as difficult as you might think. There’s a wealth of information available online that can walk you step-by-step through everything.

If you’re going to take the DIY approach, I’d recommend reading my article on how to build a drone. It should, at a minimum, teach the fundamentals and help you get started. Also be sure to check out the following resources: Check Out: Hobbyist Builds a Custom DIY Drone with a Flight Time of 97 Minutes! By far one of the most common ways that flyers are fighting back against short flight times is by purchasing extra batteries. This tip doesn’t necessarily increase drone battery life, but it does allow you to stay in the air longer. This tip only works on drones that have easily accessible batteries (X8C, X5SW, etc.). It wouldn’t, for example, work on the UDI U839. Generally, spare batteries are quite cheap (around $5 each), and can be purchased on sites like: The “Prop Guard” is the thing that wraps around your propellers to protect them. Unfortunately, they’re a double-edged sword: while prop guards offer great fortification, they can also weigh down your quadcopter and decrease drone battery life.

Still, I wouldn’t recommend removing them until you’re comfortable behind the controls. Potentially damaging your propellers just isn’t worth the extra minute or two of flight time. Our last drone battery life extension tip is this: don’t allow your battery to completely drain itself during flight. Each time that you do this, you slowly wear down the lifespan of the battery. It’s recommend that you fly your quadcopter with no less than 20% battery capacity. Once it dips to 20%, stop flying, give the battery a few minutes to cool down, and then charge it back up to maximum capacity. Disciplined battery practices like this can definitely go a long way towards helping you achieve longer flight times. Remember that these drone battery life extension tips can only do so much. It would be unrealistic to think that you can double your drone’s flight time from seven minutes to 14 minutes simply by applying what you learned above. With that said, these tips do work, and should help you squeeze every second you can out of your drone’s flight time, whatever that may be.