Most long range drones, and by long range, we mean a range of 1000 meters and above, cost a lot of money. However, the JJRC X11 is very affordable, yet at the same time, it has a flight range of 1600 meters/1.6km. Just how awesome is that! However, JJRC makes good drones for low, mid-range and even high budgets. So it is no surprise to see such an incredible quadcopter under their name.
The goodness does not stop there. When you buy the drone, you can knock yourself out with 40 minutes of flight time, assuming you buy it with two batteries. On some online marketplaces, it is offered in options of one or two batteries, of course, at different prices.
JJRC X11 Features & Technical Details
The devil is in the details, so they say. That is why JJRC X11 takes care of even the smallest details to give the user an excellent flight experience. The features say it all. Here, we will break them down, one by one, just so you can see that this drone is worth the money that you will pay for it.
Design, build quality and durability
From the feel and the looks, this drone looks quite solid. It is not something that will collide with a tree, burst open and spill all of its guts there. It has been designed with a strong plastic casing, the kind that will bend rather than crack under pressure.
The X11 is a foldable drone. It is a gem for a person who likes to carry their drone with them whenever they are traveling, to capture excellent videos and photos of their adventures. When it is unfolded, it measures 18.1 by 16.6 by 2.8 inches and when it is folded, it measures 7.8 by 4.6 by 2.8 inches. You can see it is quite a reduction of the size. Thanks to the rectangular design of the body and the propeller arms, the drone is able to fold into a compact rectangular shape as the propeller arms align well to the body when folded.
As for the build quality, the X11 comes with brushless motors. Again, this comes as no surprise at all because to fly such a long distance and at an altitude of 150 meters, well, you would expect that ordinary brush motors would overheat. These ones are powerful. You can fly the drone for 20 minutes on one battery, change the battery and put it back on air almost immediately. The noise level is considerably lower for a drone of this size.
For a price exceeding $200, you want to be sure that what you buy will last a long time. The durability of the X11 is assured if you take good care of it. This includes things such as not flying it close to buildings and trees.
Note: The weight is 640g. You will have to register the drone with the FAA before you can fly it. It is easy and you do it online.
The drone camera
The X11 has a 2K nose camera. When buying a drone for adventure, you want one with a camera that will capture vivid detail and color in the photos and videos. Nothing does it better than a 2K aerial camera like this one.
Granted, there are many 4K drones such as the Yuneec Mantis Q, which we reviewed earlier. However, in most case, unless you are looking for a professional videography drone, we think that 4K is a bit of overkill. When the drone is flying and you want to adjust the camera a bit, you can do that on the transmitter. You can adjust the angle by 90 degrees, up or down. The field of view is large at 110 degrees.
Use your smartphone, preferably a newer version of iOS or android phone technology for FPV. The 5GHz FPV frequency together with the built-in stabilizing features of the drone give clear videos. The FPV transmission range is 500 meters.
The transmitter
It is comfortable and durable. However, you will note that it does not come with as many buttons as you would expect. This makes it look very stylish and less crowded. It also has a small screen where you will find battery information displayed. You cannot get a first person view from this small screen, so you still have to use your smartphone.
The joysticks are of high quality. It also has a retractable phone holder. Your phone will be secure as you get a good FPV experience. You may also control the drone through the app. The transmitter signal range is 1.6km.
The transmitter uses 2 AA batteries.
Battery, flight time and charging time
You get two batteries of 3400mAh capacity. Each can give you a flight time of 20 minutes. This gives you a total of 40 minutes of flight time, give or take a little. These are modular batteries, easy to remove and insert into the drone. If you like, you can buy a third battery and triple your flight time. After all, the charger can charge two batteries at the same time. The charging time for the battery is about 4 hours.
Flight functions
Optical flow positioning: The drone is able to do quick computations and integrate them into the flight enabling your drone to hover precisely and handsfree, leaving you free to capture videos and photos.
Stable altitude hold: With this function, you do not have to worry about the altitude flight of the drone. You just need to worry about flying the drone horizontally.
Mechanical gimbal: It has a single-axis gimbal integrated into the flight system. Its work is to stabilize the drone so that you can capture video and photo with minimal to zero distortion, even when the drone is flying in the wind.
Point of interest: Just designate a point of interest on the app and the drone will shoot video around that.
Draw a route: Make dots on the app, connect them and you will have a route for your drone to follow. Choose the routes with the best scenery so that you can get awesome footage of the same.
Automatic return home: Thanks to the GPS, this drone will immediately turn back to come home if it loses signal or if the battery runs low. This is a nice safety feature.
Follow me mode: With this function, the drone will follow you, or the person/object of interest capturing video all the time.
Headless mode: 1.6km is a long distance, so the drone is liable to vanish from your sight. During that time, you can keep it going in the right direction by engaging headless mode.
LED lights: The JJRC X11 has fantastic LED lights for flying at night
Short Summary of Feedback from Existing Owners
This is an advanced drone but I found it quite easy to fly. I love taking it to an open field near our country home in the weekend and fly it high and far. Skip L.
We fly this drone with my daughter every opportunity we get. With two batteries, it is a lot of flight time. We also capture great video footage for our use. Mary H.
This is a high quality product. I would recommend it for adults because it can do some fantastic things, such as hitting 40km/h of speed. Rig M.
I must laud the video footage that I have captured with this drone. The 2K camera does wonder especially in the daytime. Jayson G.
I am yet to attempt flying this drone at night. That is understandable because it is my first drone. As soon as I learn all the ropes, I am taking it out. Butch H.
You cannot exhaust all the functions that the X11 comes with. It is the best value for your money. Nikola W.
Pros of JJRC X11
- Has lights for night flights
- Battery time is really good, also sold with two batteries
- High quality camera
- Will alert you with a beep when signal is weak or when battery runs low
- Takes good footage even when the flight is not very stable
- Built to last a long time
- Foldable and has brushless motors
Cons of JJRC X11
- Does not come with an SD card, but there is a slot for one
Who Should Buy The JJRC X11?
The X11 drone is best for a person who knows his business with drones. It is not too costly, but it is too good a specimen to wreck if you are a beginner. However, with some learning, even a total newbie can be able to fly it very well. If you are into serious photography and videography and you do not want to spend too much on a high quality drone, get this one. It will give you excellent value for your money.
Conclusion and Recommendation
When you buy your JJRC X11 drone, you want to ensure that you get the best out of it. You can only achieve that by learning how it flies, all the functions and features that it comes with and how to use them. Start by looking at the user manual, and maybe watching a video about how to fly this drone for the first time. You may also buy an extra battery, not very necessary since it comes with two if you get it from Amazon, but it would triple your flight time.
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