Should You Buy a Nano Drone for Your Child?

Have you either thought about buying a drone for your kids?  I’ve  flown a few drones over the years.  Once you get a handle on how to control a drone, it can be quite fun.  Two things you can count on for sure.  First, you’ll crash a lot, and second, the battery charge never lasts long enough.

I recently tried out a drone that changed my mind about giving drones to kids.  Every drone I have used before has been tough to figure out how to maneuver.  But the JETJAT ULTRA nano drone by MOTO is different.  

It’s the easiest drone I’ve ever flown, it’s more intuitive than other drones…and comes with it’s own controller that attaches to your phone.

And here’s the funny thing…the JETJAT ULTRA controller is bigger than the nano drone!  At less than 2 square inches and an inch high, the JETJAT ULTRA nano drone is entirely too cute.

Yet, this nano drone is big on features, offering one-touch take-off and landing, auto-hover, 3 speed modes, a 6-axis Gyroscope for stable flight, and a built-in camera to record high quality video and take photos.  This nano drone is a selfie camera on steroids!

Take Video & Pictures on this Nano Drone

This is the first drone we’ve tested with a video camera.  I expected it to take video and pictures, but I didn’t expect it to be easier to fly, as you can see from its viewpoint where it’s going.  This makes so much more sense when trying to control it.  Plus, it’s so a lot of fun when you can see things from a bird’s eye point of view!

When you set up the JETJAT ULTRA nano drone, you connect directly through it through a personal WiFi network, built into the nano drone.  So if you take your nano drone outside or to the park, you don’t need to worry about WiFi.  

I remember in the old days, you connected the drone to your home WiFi.  It worked great, even outside, until I flew a little too far away from my WiFi and my drone flew away and there was no way I could control it.  After the battery died, I watched it fall down and then I went searching for it…in my neighbor’s backyard!

Although this could still happen with the  JETJAT ULTRA if you’re further away than 80 feet.  Bbe aware also that as tiny as the JETJA ULTA is, it could very well fly away if it’s windy outside!

The JETJAT ULTRA was made for drone enthusiasts of all ages.  It features three speeds – 30% (Easy), 60% (Medium), to 100% (Fast) – so as kids or adults master how to fly it, they can fly it faster.  For younger kids, we recommend keep it at 30%, especially when flying in your home!  Plus, the video is clearer at this speed.

Make sure you have available storage on your phone if you want to save your videos and pics.  Kids will love flying this nano drone over the house, the backyard, around the street, and at the park.  Just teach them drone safety about staying away from people and flying over neighbor’s houses.

Kids love tricks and the JETJAT ULTRA nano drone is up for the challenge.  With just one touch, you can initiate flips and rolls while the JETJAT ULTRA nano drone is hovering, kids will love it!

Features:

• Super small at less than 2 square inches!
• Battery lasts for around a 5 minute flight time
• Takes about 25 minutes to charge
• 4 channel control
• Auto-hover
• One-touch take-off and landing
• 6-axis Gyroscope stabilization
• Built-in accelerator
• 3D tumbling stunts possible
• 640 x 480 camera, records videos and takes pictures via the app
• Has 4 rotors
• Works with Android and Apple smartphones
• Can soar up to 80 ft. and still be controllable
• Comes with 4 extra propellers

Pros:

• Easy to learn how to fly
• Can take drops to the floor/ground well without breaking video camera or drone
• Is super fun to fly
• Works inside or outside
• Fits inside the controller so you can’t lose it when stored
• Built to easily to flips and tricks
• Comes with its own 2.4 GHz WiFi, connecting directly to your phone – so you can take it to a park or anywhere outside
• No worries about photo storage on the nano drone, all pics and videos go straight to your phone

Cons:

• Instructions don’t tell you how long to charge
• No battery indicator on app to tell you how long it will last
• Charge only lasts about 5 minutes, longer would be better, but it’s so small, there’s only so much room for a big battery
• It’s a little pricey but it does have a camera!

The JETJAT ULTRA nano drone sells for $118.73 plus free shipping from Amazon.

Do I need to Register with the (FAA)?

As of the end of 2015, all “unmanned aircraft systems” (drone) over eight ounces need to be registered (and a small fee paid) with the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA).  The American people love loopholes, so manufacturers began creating nano drones which by no coincidence, weigh under 8 ounces.

The JETJAT ULTRA weighs a mere quarter of ounce!  Incredible, huh?  And remember, it has a rechargeable battery, a camera, and a processor!  As a result of its weight, at this time, it does not need to be registered with the FAA, as per their weight guidelines.

Learn more about recreational unmanned aircraft rules at KnowBeforeYouFly.org.

A Mom’s Perspective

Drones aren’t going a way.  Fortune estimates that sales of drone hover around $800 million to $1 billion.  It’s a big business. 

Flying a drone with a camera amps up the experience tenfold.  It’s like you’re eyes are up there with the camera and it makes navigation more intuitive.  Taking pictures from above your roof is pretty fun…you just need to ensure you don’t get your drone too high and lose it up there!

Because of its size, it’s best to keep a careful eye on your drone and ensure it doesn’t get too high.  If your child wants to take it outside, make sure you go out with him/her – two eyes are better than one in keeping tack of it.

My kids and I have used the drone inside a lot using its slow speed.  I never told them it could go faster – in my mind it spells disaster…inside or outside the house.  But for adults, the faster speeds are pretty fun!

If you haven’t purchased a drone yet, the JETJAT ULTRA Nano drone may just be the WOW! present of the year this Christmas.

* I was given a MOTA JETJAT nano drone in exchange for my honest opinion.  All opinions are my own.