Drone for 9 yr old

jlm29

My 9 y.o is looking for a drone for Christmas (I think so anyhow!). I’ve no idea where to start though. I was looking at them earlier in our local toy shop but I don’t want to buy something rubbish.
What features should I look out for? How much should I expect to pay, or are there good brands I should be seeking?
It obviously doesn’t need to be top-end, since he’s a child, but I don’t want to waste money on something that won’t work properly either. I’m not sure what my budget is yet because I don’t know what’s realistic
Any guidance gratefully accepted!

TychoCaine

Hmmm. Tricky one. Pretty much anything you see in a toy shop will break within a week. It's universally junk. There are good options out there in the ~€200 price range, but you'll find them in drone hobby shops, not toy shops. The DJI Tello (see https://store.dji.com/shop/tello-series) is a nice option. Buy the drone, prop guards and a controller for €160 all-in.

Technically a 9 year old isn't allowed pilot a drone on his own. As long as they're supervised they can operate a C0 (<250g "toy" class) class drone as long as they don't go further than 120m away. Unless you're willing to make this a parent/child hobby you're setting your child up to piss off a neighbour and have the guards calling to your door, (I speak from experience). If you want to get into the hobby, spring for the next model up, the DJI Mavic Mini. This has a lot of the features of the more high-end €1k+ drones, but comes in at €500. It's still under the critical 250g limit (just), so is legal for a < 16y to fly.

jlm29

Oh! I never stopped to think about the rules surrounding drones! We live in the middle of nowhere, our nearest neighbours aren’t too close. I’ll have to look into it more!

Gatling

Have a look at hubsan drones on line can be got for decent enough money ,not overly advanced and a step up from something bought in a toyshop ,and spare parts can be found pretty easily without having to pay specialist retailers to repair

ScrubsfanChris

Tello
More than enough for a 9yo

https://www.ryzerobotics.com/mobile/tello?from=store-product-page

axe2grind

Gatling wrote: »

Have a look at hubsan drones on line can be got for decent enough money ,not overly advanced and a step up from something bought in a toyshop ,and spare parts can be found pretty easily without having to pay specialist retailers to repair

I got Husban 502e couple days ago. about $70 delivered from Banggood. No experience of any other drones, but I consider this a fantastic bit of kit for the money. I got this one because it has gps connection with a return to home (take off position) function. I think for a beginner this is a very useful function and it has never landed more than 3m away from take off spot. Usually within 1.5m.

The manual states 14+, but my 8yo is operating it without much issue. It copes fairly well with some wind.

It came with a spare set of props. Get about 10mins flight per charge and recharges in about an hr. The main issue I have is the way it is turned on/off. battery connector needs to be joined and this is fiddly and tight to undo and the access flap for the battery feels it won't last last long. But i am confident it will last till the novelty wears off.

gaz wac

im also on the lookout, but my son is not looking for anything fancy, (camera/gps) just one for in the house but one that will actually follow commands up/down/hover so he can control it. any ideas? cheers

Toots

Jumping in on this because my 9 year old has also expressed interest in a drone (are they learning about them in school or something? :pac:) he has a couple of other bits picked out from Santa already, so the Tello would be pushing over the budget but I saw this on Amazon and was wondering would it be any good?

jlm29

Toots wrote: »

Jumping in on this because my 9 year old has also expressed interest in a drone (are they learning about them in school or something? :pac:) he has a couple of other bits picked out from Santa already, so the Tello would be pushing over the budget but I saw this on Amazon and was wondering would it be any good?

Drones are obviously on the curriculum
Mine had a look at the smyths catalogue on Monday and is now uncertain about the drone. I need him to commit to something!

Toots

if there’s another lockdown and the shops close, Santa will be delivering IOUs this Christmas!

akelly02

tellos all day long for kids, i have one myself (30!) and its great.

not expensive either

ScrubsfanChris

Toots wrote: »

Jumping in on this because my 9 year old has also expressed interest in a drone (are they learning about them in school or something? :pac:) he has a couple of other bits picked out from Santa already, so the Tello would be pushing over the budget but I saw this on Amazon and was wondering would it be any good?

If a Tello is pushing your budget then I wouldn't be buying anything. Its already cheap as it is.

You'll only be wasting time and money otherwise.

Toots

Well it’s more that I don’t like to go over €200 for each kid and he’s already gotten stuff picked (which I’ve bought) but I’d sooner go a bit over budget than buy something that’s not going to work.

With the Tello, should I buy it here or somewhere like Amazon? Is it shipped from China or Europe? I’m just concerned with restrictions that it might not get here on time.

godtabh

ScrubsfanChris wrote: »

Tello
More than enough for a 9yo

https://www.ryzerobotics.com/mobile/tello?from=store-product-page

Where is the best place to buy this?

TychoCaine

godtabh wrote: »

Where is the best place to buy this?

I'd buy it from the DJI online store. Model Heli Services in Clare are supposed to be the Irish stockists, but they don't list it on their website.

godtabh

What’s the difference between the standard version and the edu version

TychoCaine

godtabh wrote: »

What’s the difference between the standard version and the edu version

They both have programming APIs, so you can control them using software instead of a controller. The Edu version supports more languages and can participate in drone swarms. There're really only relevant in a tech educational setting. A 9 year-old won't notice any difference