How Long Can Drones Fly? Here's All You Need To Know About Flight Times Of Drones

If there’s one thing we all hate, it’s a suddenly low battery. It doesn’t matter whether you have a drone or quadcopter - it’s the same frustration! Instantaneously, you've lost your footage, and let's face it: we don't get all those shots for nothing. There is nothing wrong with your flying skills. Getting up to that point of capturing something from the sky probably took some serious skill on your behalf...but then at the "perfect moment," you're left on a video-less cliffhanger!

With a high-quality consumer quadcopter drone that offers 30 minutes of flight time, it’s important to consider and understand factors that contribute to your total flying time. While there are several contributing factors such as how much the quadcopter weighs, how it’s equipped, and what kind of batteries it uses, for example, wind conditions can be one factor determined by how you use your drone. Drones that are flown in a heavy breeze for instance might only hover for less than half the advertised flight time. It’s important to live with the technical limitations of any given quadcopter in mind when flying it. Less expensive toy models will typically have published ranges between 5 and 15 minutes.

How Long Do Drones Fly On A Charge?

Flight Times for High-end Drones

DJI Phantom 4 Pro

Say hello to Phantom 4 Pro, an upgraded model of the ever-popular DJI quadcopter line with an extended flight time of up to 30 minutes on a single charge! It comes equipped with several new features including a dual compass module and five vision sensors. This drone will cost you around $1,180.

Yuneec Typhoon H

Yuneec Typhoon H will only cost you around $800 and its flight time is around 25 total minutes. It’s not the longest-lasting drone battery, but it is almost as much as what the Phantom drones can manage to fly for!

DJI Mavic 2 Pro

DJI’s Mavic 2 drone is your go-to long-lasting drone of choice. This impressive drone can fly up to 31 minutes, making it the longest-lasting drone battery on the market currently. The features that make this drone so great are complemented by many interesting features including 4K camera capturing capabilities, a 4K video streaming mechanism, HD photos at every interval, an obstacle avoidance system, maximum control range up to 8 miles and much more.

DJI Inspire 2

DJI Inspire 2 is a high-quality drone that has a maximum flight time of 27 minutes in optimal conditions. However, this can vary as it also includes broadcasts with 4.3 miles of effective transmission distance when using DJI Lightbridge technology. It features the latest DJI technology and comes at a price starting at $3000 depending on the retailer.

Autel Robotics EVO

EVO boasts a flight time of up to 30 minutes and can fly up to seven kilometres from the controller. It has a return-to-home feature and will tell you when it’s running low on battery and time to come back home so that you don't run the risk of injury or damage. The EVO drone is available for around $1,049.00.

Flight Times for Mid-level Drones

Yuneec Q500

This drone is a real battery powerhouse. Its 5400 mAh 3S 11.1V LiPo battery ensures more than a quality 25-minute flying experience.

Parrot Bebop 2

Parrot Bebop 2 comes with a 2700 mAH battery – enough to keep it flying for 25 minutes.

UPair Two

With an intelligent battery that works for up to 24 minutes for each charge and long-life Brushless motors, UPair Two will be able to keep you going for a while before needing a recharge. Let the day melt away as you immerse yourself in a breathtaking flight.

DJI Spark

DJI Spark has a top speed of 31 miles per hour up to 16 minutes flying time and up to 1,200 ft. line of sight (max control range) with very intermittent breaks/punch through clouds. This is accomplished using a 2-axis gimbal camera capable of capturing 12-megapixel photos and 1080 Full HD video. The product's battery takes approximately 80 minutes to charge with the dedicated charger that comes with Spark when purchased new.

Flight Times for Toy Drones

Snaptain A10 Mini Drone

The Snaptain A10 mini drone comes with a 380mAh battery for up to 7 minutes of flight time.

Cheerson CX-10 Mini

The Cheerson CX-10 is a mini drone designed for indoor flying. It can do flips up to 3 times and has a flight time of 4-8 minutes depending on its speed adjustments.

Holy Stone HS110D

The Holy Stone HS110D drone can fly twice as long as usual drones with only 2 batteries and they are enough to support a 20-minute flight which is safe due to their long battery life.

Ryze Tello

Ryze Tello features a built-in camera that takes 5MP photos and 720p HD videos at the touch of a button. The maximum flight time is around 13 minutes.

How Long Can Police Drones Fly?

Police are generally a lot like people in your neighbourhood. They use commercial drones as well, so they have a maximum flight time of around 25–30 minutes like everyone else. The most common type of drone that police use is the DJI Mavic Pro because it can be used for security and surveillance purposes and has been tested on multiple instances in which it proved to be very reliable when it comes down to recording quality real-time videos while also being easy to use. Police officers also use swarms of mini-drones to enter homes and buildings. Other drones that they use are Matrice 300 RTK and DJI Phantom 4 Pro.

Conclusion

Drone flight time depends on what you plan to use the drone for. Aerial photography is one of the best reasons why it's important to check out battery life before purchase. Thankfully, as technology advances, flight times are getting longer. We may even begin to see 45-minute flight times soon!