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Best Long Flight Drones
The battery life and flight times of drones is certainly one of the main frustrations with drone technology. If your drone can’t keep itself in the air, it doesn’t matter how fast the blistering is or how amazing the camera is.
For this reason, when evaluating your next drone, total flight time has to be one of the most important factors. If your only have a few minutes to record a video what good is a camera that can record 4k video. If your battery dies in just a few minutes what good is a 2000 meters radio range. The list conveys some of the best drones with the longest flight times in an ascending format.
We also took the price into consideration so you can find drones ranging from $40 to $3000.
We will start with couple of expensive drone models, that have very long flight time. Moving further down the list, we will list newer drones that were released in 2019 and they are all worthy to be in this list of the long flight drones.
| RANK | MODEL | PRICE | FLIGHT TIME | BEST FOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DJI Mavic 2 Pro | Check Price | 31 mins | Best Overall |
| 2 | DJI Phantom 4 Pro | Check Price | 30 mins | Best For Professionals |
| 3 | DJI Mini 2 | Check Price | 31 mins | Best Portability For Traveling |
| 4 | DJI Mavic Mini | Check Price | 30 mins | Best Under $500 |
| 5 | Hubsan Zino 2 | Check Price | 33 mins | Best DJI alternative Long Flight Time Drone |
| 6 | DJI Mavic Air 2 | Check Price | 34 mins | Newest model, longest flight time |
| 7 | Autel Evo 2 | Check Price | 40 mins | Absolute winner drone with longest flight time |
| 8 | Ruko F11 | Check Price | 30 mins | Best cheap long flight drone |
DJI Mavic Air 2
This is a brand new DJI drone that was released in April 2020. The drone saw huge improvements over its predecessors. This machine is a real beast with impressive flight time of 34 minutes, 48 MP photos and HDR capabilities. Air 2 is one of the drones with the longest flight time available to buy right now.
The Mavic Air 2 weighs 570g (1.3 pound) and feautres a 1/2-inch CMOS sensor capable of 12MP and 48MP photos (JPEG and RAW). When it comes to video, the Mavic Air 2 can shoot up to 4K 60fps at 120 Mpbs. Mavic Air 2 is also capable to shoot in the H.265 HVEC video codec to improve efficiency without any loss in quality.
It is a bit more expensive but also much more feature rich than the Mavic Mini as you can see in our comparison of Air 2 and Mini.
DJI also introduced some new smart camera features on the new Air 2, called Scene Recognition and Hyperlight.
- Scene Recognition is made for detecting sunsets, blue skies, grass, snow, and trees. It then optimizes images with these objects for a stunning final photo.
- Hyperlight is a feature that is drumming around mobile markets – it aims to increase the quality of night shots by taking multiple photos and merging them to reduce the amount of noise (graininess) that’s common in low-light images.
Hubsan Zino 2
- Maximum take-off altitude: 5000m
- The longest flight time: 33mins (windless)
- The longest hover time: 32mins (windless)
- Max. endurance mileage: 20km (50km/h windless cruising)
- Wind resistance: 5-level
- Max. Tiltable angle: 25 degrees (normal mode); 35 degrees (sports mode)
- Max. rotational speed: 150 degrees/s
- Working temperature: -10 Deg.C – 40 Deg.C
- Working frequency: 5.725 – 5.850 GHz
- Positioning: GPS + GLONASS
- Check its price on Amazon
The Zino 2 is another drone with long flight time that had a lot of teething issues. Some of them are solved in the meanwhile but Hubsan is known for a sloppy service (e.g. they published last month two totally different firmware versions for the Zino Pro with the same version number). Another issue is the heavy weight of the Zino 2. This could be a problem regarding upcoming law changes in Europe. On the other hand the Zino 2 comes with a higher 4K frame rate and better – means lower – compression with lesser compressing artefacts that most of its competitors from this price range.
Feature packed drone for below $500 – this is a real grab! Hubsan is further improving on its reputation of producing great, mid class, low-cost drones. When you see the specs, you would expect at least 2x the price of the one you can get this machine for. So, don’t hesitate too much and go snatch one from Amazon.
Xiaomi Fimi X8 SE
The X8 SE drone is marketed under the subsidiary brand FIMI. The Xiaomi FIMI X8 SE has a 4K camera and a three-axis gimbal and, thanks to its foldable design, resembles the DJI Mavic Pro or DJI Mavic 2 (Pro/Zoom).
Typical for Xiaomi is the low entry price of well under 500,- USD. With regard to the extensive equipment, the new 4K camera drone offers an extremely good price-performance ratio and can be seen as a serious alternative to the DJI camera drones from Mavic series.
Using the 4,500 mAh battery, the XIAOMI FIMI X8 SE should achieve a flight time of about 33 minutes. The manufacturer specifies the maximum flight speed at 64.8 kilometers per hour (18 meters per second).
The maximum flight altitude is – as with DJI-camera drones – limited on the software side to a maximum of 500 meters. The maximum flight distance of up to five kilometres is sufficiently dimensioned.
DJI Phantom 3 Professional
Amazon.com Product Specs
- Flight Time: 23 minutes
- Battery: 100V 4480mAh Li-Po 4S
- Charge Time: 60 minutes
- Dimensions: 457 x 330 x 203 mm (18 x 13 x 8 inches)
- Weight: 1280 grams (2.8 pounds)
- Wingspan: 590 mm (23.2 inches)
- Controller Frequency: 2.4GHZ
- Operating Range: 2000 meters (6562 feet)
- Camera: 12MP 4k camera
- Payload Capacity: 300 grams (0.66 pounds)
- Maximum Speed: 16 m/s (36 mph)
- Maximum Flying Altitude: 6000 meters (19685 feet)
- Recommended Manufacturer Age: 14 years and up
The Phantom 3 Professional is considered to be the most advanced consumer drone currently available on the market. It is powered by a powerful 100V 4480mAh Li-Po 4S battery and has an impressive flight time of about 25 minutes.
The DJI Phantom 3 Professional is RTF drone and you get additional battery for added flight time. The new 100W charger charges the battery for an hour per battery. You can operate your drone up to 2,000 meters away from you and it can fly up to 6,000 meters above sea level.
This drone is able is able to shoot very high quality photos and the Phantom 3 Professional’s 4K resolution is perfect for recording professional-level video. As far as color goes, the DJI Phantom 3 Professional is only available in white.
Parrot Bebop 2
Product Specs
- Dimensions: 382 x 328 x 89 mm (15 x 15 x 3.5 inches)
- Weight: 500 grams (1.1 pounds)
- Battery: 11.1V 2700mAh Lithium Ion
- Flight Time: 25 minutes
- Charging Time: 120 minutes
- Camera: 14MP 1080p camera
- Maximum Speed: 16m/s (36 mph)
- Operating Range: 300 meters (984 feet)
- Controller Frequency: 2.4GHz
The Parrot Bebop 2 is the upgraded version of the Parrot Bebop 1 and it excels in simplicity, durability, and a really enjoyable flying experience.
For first time drone buyers looking for an easy and fun to control drone with an amazing camera to capture incredible aerial footage the Bebop is the number one choice. Bebop 2 is a high performance drone that uses four brushless motors.
It is made of ABS plastic that is reinforced with glass fiber to ensure great resistance. At 14MP, the Bebop 2 comes with one of the highest-resolution cameras available. The camera has a fish-eye lens with a 170 degree Field of View and it is capable of shooting in 1080p.
The Parrot Bebop 2 includes a wide set of powerful and important features.
The Bebop 2 takes commands from your Smartphone or tablet instead of using a traditional joystick controller. Control is done via a free app available for both Android and iOS. This can be a bit limiting at first, but also pretty fun and approachable for newbies. The second-gen Bebop also features Follow Me, Automatic Landing, Altitude Hold, Position Hold, Return to Home and Flight Planning (paid application feature).
The drone is also equipped with a flashing LED lights on the rear to increase visibility in darker scenarios. The Bebop comes with a powerful 11.1V 2700mAh Lithium Ion battery that provides about 25 minutes of flight time. It has a maximum control range of 300 meters.
However, if you buy (separately) the Parrot’s Skycontroller this can be increased up to 2000 meters.
Ruko F11 – cheapest drone with longest flight time
Great drone that can fly up to 30 minutes, has a 4k camera and a 1.2km control range.
The drone features a 4K UHD camera that lets you to capture footage at high resolution. The camera can record 2.7K videos and stills at up to 8.3MP. It also has a 120-degree field of view, which enhances the extent of details in your footage. It lacks the smoothness and has a bit of a fish-eye effect. The stabilization is surprisingly good, although there’s still a bit of vibration going on.
The long flight time is powered by the 2500mAh intelligent batteries that it uses to give a pilot a whopping 30 minutes of flight time.
Two downsides are lack of obstacle detection sensors and gimbal stabilization.
Ruko F11 is easy to fly thanks to onboard GPS, and it possesses the typical safety/accessibility features like headless mode, one key takeoff and landing, altitude hold, and auto return to home.
DJI Phantom 3 Standard
Product Specs
- Flight Time: 25 minutes
- Battery: 15.2V 4480mAh Li-Po 4S
- Charge Time: 50 minutes
- Dimensions: 482 x 482 x 203 mm (19 x 19 x 8 inches)
- Weight: 1216 grams (2.7 pounds)
- Wingspan: 590 mm (23.2 inches)
- Controller Frequency: 5.8GHz
- Operating range: 1000 meters (3281 feet)
- Camera: 12MP 2.7k camera
- Maximum Speed: 16 m/s (36 mph)
- Maximum Flying Altitude: 6000 meters (19685 feet)
- Manufacturer recommended Age: 14 years and up
The Phantom 3 Standard is very easy to use and even beginners will be able to get flying and photographing quickly. The drone is equipped with a single battery; a big, heavy and powerful 15.2V 4480-mAh Li-Po battery, which provides around 25 minutes of flight time.
The battery is recharged using the included charger. It is important to note that the battery takes quite a long time to recharge: around 50 minutes.
You can also buy spare battery for this drone, but the problem is that this battery is pretty expensive. The built-in camera on the Phantom 3 Standard is able to record very high quality photos and videos. It also has an impressive range and it is one of the heavier drones on the market.
As far as color goes, the Phantom 3 Standard is only available in white.
3D Robotics Solo
Product Specs
- Flight time: 25 minutes
- Battery: 15V 5200mAh Li-Po
- Charge Time: 90 minutes
- Dimensions: 457 x 457 x 254 mm (18 x 18 x 10 inches)
- Weight: 1500 meters (3.3 pounds)
- Wingspan: 460 mm (18.1 inches)
- Controller Frequency: 2.4GHz
- Operating Range: 805 meters (2641 feet)
- Payload Capacity: 420 grams (0.9 pounds)
- Maximum Speed: 24.6 m/s (55 mph)
- Maximum Flying Altitude: 122 meters (400 feet)
- Manufacturer Recommended Age: 14 years and up
The 3D Robotics Solo is the world’s first smart drone and includes many world-first technologies.
The Solo is pretty fast compared to most drones and has a top speed of 55mph. The drone comes with a powerful 15V 5200mAh Li-Po battery and it boasts about 25-minute sky life. This means that this drone can fly for 17 minutes longer than the average drone. The Solo is not equipped with a camera.
However, it is compatible with GoPro and other action cameras that can easily attach to the drone’s main body via a compatible stabilization gimbal. Its stabilization gimbal supports 3 axes of rotation. This means that, when the drone rotates along its three axes, the camera will remain steady and focused.
The Solo is one of the heavier drones on the market and also above average in size. As far as color goes, the 3D Robotics Solo is only available in black.
Yuneec Q500+ Typhoon
Product Specs
- Flight Time: 25 minutes
- Battery: 11V 5400mAh Li-Po 3S
- Charge Time: 120 minutes
- Dimensions: 420 x 420 x 240 mm (16.5 x 16.5 x 9.4 inches)
- Weight: 1100 grams (2.4 pounds)
- Wingspan: 565 mm (22.2 inches)
- Controller Frequency: 2.4GHz
- Operating Range: 400 meters (1312 feet)
- Camera: 16MP 1080p camera
- Payload Capacity: 600 grams (1.3 pounds)
- Maximum Flying Altitude: 400 meters (1312 feet)
- Manufacturer Recommended Age: 14 years and up
The Yuneec Q500+ Typhoon is able to fly for about 25 minutes and this drone is perfect for those people who want to capture an intense collection of aerial stills. You can also buy a spare battery and get almost an hour of fun.
The drone is powered by a powerful 11V 5400mAh Li-Po 3S battery that takes about 120 minutes to charge completely. The Q500+ Typhoon has great number of features and admirable specifications and it feels like something a professional would use.
The design and build makes this quad perfect for video recording and aerial photography. As far as color goes, the Yuneec Q500+ Typhoon is only available in white.
DJI Phantom 4
Product Specs
- Flight Time: 28 minutes
- Battery: 15.2V 5350mAh Li-Po 4S
- Charge Time: 60 minutes
- Dimensions: 290 x 290 x 196 mm (11.4 x 11.4 x 7.7 inches)
- Weight: 1380 grams (3 pounds)
- Wingspan: 350 mm (13.8 inches)
- Controller Frequency: 2.4GHz
- Operating Range: 5000 meters (16404 feet)
- Camera: 12MP 4K camera
- Payload Capacity: 462 grams (1.02 pounds)
- Maximum Speed: 20 m/s (45 mph)
- Maximum Flying Altitude: 6000 meters (19685 feet)
- Manufacturer Recommended Age: 14 years and up
With elegant lines and sweeping curves the Phantom 4 is a beauty of a drone. Thanks to the integrated gimbal and camera you’ll get state-of-the-art aerodynamics and stability.
However, the most important thing for us is that this drone has an amazing flight time of about 28 minutes. The DJI Phantom 4 Battery is a 5350mAh, 15.2V Li-Po 4S battery and it is specifically built for the Phantom 4. With 12MP of resolution, this drone is able to shoot very high quality photos. Also, the Phantom 4’s 4K resolution is ideal for recording professional-level video.
There is a double tap feature on the controller screen that lets you fly immediately and flying has been made easy for everyone. The Phantom 4 has many amazing features, such as Obstacle Sensing System, Smart Return Home function and ActiveTrack.
This drone offers just the perfect level of comfort and you’ll love to fly it.
Blade Chroma
Product Specs
- Flight Time: 30 minutes
- Battery: 11V 5400mAh Li-Po 3S
- Charge Time: 120 minutes
- Dimensions: 241 x 399 x 399 mm (9.5 x 15.7 x 15.7 inches)
- Weight: 1300 grams (2.9 pounds)
- Wingspan: 400 mm (15.7 inches)
- Controller Frequency: 2.4GHz
- Operating Range: 400 meters (1312 feet)
- Camera: 16MP 1080p camera
- Maximum Speed: 17.9 m/s (40 mph)
- Manufacturer Recommended Age: 14 years and up
The Blade Chroma is another drone with long flight time and it is perfect for both beginners as well as professionals. Thanks to all the features provided this drone offers great value for money. The Blade Chroma is sleek in appearance and it has many technological features that are exclusive to this drone.
The Chroma is designed to fly for 30 grand minutes and it can facilitate 4K aerial photography. This flight time is amazing because since most drones of this size can only fly about 20 minutes on average. The drone packs a powerful 11.1V 3S 5400mAh Li-Po battery that is 4,750 mAh larger than the average battery.
A full recharge requires about 120 minutes. The Blade Chroma is equipped with one of the highest-resolution cameras available and it is also capable of shooting in 1080p. As far as color goes, this drone is only available in white.
Evo 2
The long awaited Evo 2 from Autel has jaw dropping specs which got many drone pilots very excited. Drone communities are buzzing and eagerly waiting for the new release. And you can’t blame them: 8k videos and 44 minutes of flight are unprecedented for this price range.
You can see some specs below the video and check this page for a pre-order from Autel .
Just take a look at some of the main specs and see it for yourself in this official introduction video:https://www.youtube.com/embed/XDiWQps-Rxc?feature=oembed
The three user-changeable gimbal modules for the Autel Evo 2 are:
- 586 gimbal: provides an 8K video camera that will take still photos of up to 48MP and records 8K video at 25 fps, 6K at 30 fps, or 4K at 30 or 60 fps with a bit rate of up to 120 Mbps.
- 383 gimbal: features an Ultra-HD camera with a 1-inch sensor for 6K video and still photos of up to 20MP. It will record video up to 5.5K at 60fps or 4K video at 120 fps and has an adjustable lens aperture from f/2.8 to f/11.
- Dual-sensor gimbal: provides an infrared camera that takes infrared images of 640 x 512 or 320 x 256 and records video at 720p at 30 fps in dual image mode. It has the same 8K video camera as described above.
Conclusion
There are a lot of features to be seen when buying a drone.
However, the primary aspect to be noticed and verified consists of the flight time of the drone. There are hundreds of designs out there and we hope that we were able to help you to find the best tech with the lengthiest of flight times.
