The JJRC X9PS upgraded Heron drone is one of many quads under this brand name. It comes with many features and flight functions, which make it fun to fly. Below is a detailed review of the JJRC X9PS including the differences between the standard and upgraded version, pros and cons and more.
JJRC X9PS Features & Technical Details
This is a well-built drone. It is not foldable by design. Only the blades of the quad fold because they are in the split-design. The prop arms are rigid by design.
Design and build quality
The hull is made of ABS plastic. It contributes to the minimal weight of the quad because it weighs 249g. The weight of the battery is given as 72g and the wheelbase is 175mm only. It comes in black or white color options.
The motors are brushless, which is pretty much the standard for many JJRC drones nowadays. The benefits of brushless motors are so many but top among them include the low noise level, longer flying time and others.
Once you hold this drone in your hands, you will feel that it is sturdily built. It is not going to rip apart at the first drop or crash. However, you should take good care of it all the time.
Under the motors are nice LED lights that make flying this drone in low light a lot of fun. They can make the battery drain faster, but they are worth it.
Camera Quality
The reason why many people buy drones today is the camera, so that they can shoot footage from the air. That is why even toy-class drones like this one come with an excellent camera. The JJRC X9PS comes with a 4K camera.
However, this camera only captures 2.7K images and 1080P videos. We do not know why they say it is a 4K camera while it clearly does not take footage at that resolution. The image format is JPEG while the videos are in MP4. Overall, the footage quality is quite decent.
The camera is also stabilized with a 2-axis gimbal. It eliminates distortion from your footage even when the drone slants or vibrates a bit when in flight.
Since the quad is compatible with SD cards of up to 32GB, you do not need to store videos and photos in your mobile phone. Just get an SD card. Also, quads always capture footage at high resolution when they are storing it on the SD card than when they have to keep it in the mobile phone.
You can also enjoy good FPV time on your mobile phone. To enjoy first person view, you will have to download the EnjoyFly App from iTunes or Google Play. This will unlock many functions and it makes the drone lots of fun to fly.
Remote Controller
The remote controller looks quite simple in design, but it serves many functions. On the top left side, it has a wheel for adjusting the vertical angle of the camera. You can scroll the wheel to move the camera up and down vertically without having to bring it home. That way, you can capture images and videos from the best angle possible.
You also get mode switch on the remote controller. It enables you to choose how you want to fly the quad, usually switching between GPS flight and altitude hold. If you are a beginner, it is important that you fly it on GPS mode.
There is a return to home button. Press it to bring it back home if you are tired of flying it, or if the battery runs low. Of course, it has auto-return home, but you can by-pass it using this key.
There is also the camera button for taking photos or videos when using the remote controller for flight.
Finally, this controller has a built-in battery, which is rechargeable. A USB charging cable has been provided for just that.
The control range is about 1000 meters.
Battery and Flight Time
The JJRC X9PS quad uses 11.4V 1000mAh 3S Lipo battery. Of course, you will get the option of buying it with one, two or even three batteries for more flight time. The manufacturer says that the drone can give you about 21 minutes of flight time but that is not always the case. Most likely, it will be a few minutes shorter than that, but it is still enough to give you a good idea of what flying this drone truly feels like.
Flight Functions
As a toy-class drone, it is important to have many automated functions. Such make the quad easy to fly and a lot of fun too. Here are the most notable ones:
GPS and Optical Flow Positioning
This is a very important function for any beginner drone. It assists the flight of the drone and at the same time, it enables the fail-safe functions such as return to home to work. Could have been much better if it came with GPS/GLONASS systems, but it is what it is. It will lock onto the GPS on your mobile phone so that it can come back home when you want it to or when it runs out of battery power.
The optical flow positioning sensor is located on the bottom close to the camera. Its work is to enable the quad to hold a precise altitude, which is very helpful when you are taking selfies or regular footage.
Headless Mode
Do not worry about the alignment of the drone to your position. Just engage the headless mode so that when you move, the drone can realign itself to your new position.
One Key landing
Sometimes, some functions such as one key return or automatic return may fail to function. In that case, pressing the one key landing will land the drone right there where it is.
One key follow
This function might refuse to work when you are flying the remote controller to fly the quad. However, it works all the time when using the app. The drone will lock onto the person holding the mobile phone and follow them wherever they go.
Altitude Hold Mode
In this mode, get the drone to hold its vertical position all the time that it is in flight. That way, you can worry about taking footage and the forward, backward or sideways flight of the quad.
Point of Interest
Choose a landmark or other point of interest on the map, of course, on the app. When you launch the drone, it will fly around the point of interest taking footage from all angles.
Gesture Control Mode
When you engage this mode, show the drone your palm so that it can start taking a video of you. Also, you can show it the victory sign to start taking photographs and selfies. This is a hands-free mode of taking videos and photographs.
Low Battery RTH
When the drone reach to low battery status it will automatically return home.
These are just a few of the flight functions. There are others such as one key take off, one key return home and so on.
JJRC X9PS Pros
- Long real-time video transmission range of 1000 meters
- Long remote control range of 1200 meters
- Takes decent photos and videos
- Supports micro SD card to store your footage
- Offers GPS and altitude hold flight modes
- Easy to fly even for beginners
- Remote controller comes with a rechargeable built-in battery
JJRC X9PS Cons
- They say it is a 4K drone but it takes 2.7K photos and 1080P videos
Who Should Buy The JJRC X9PS Heron Drone?
The question should be: who shouldn’t? It has its flaws but it also checks many boxes that matter. Flight distance for both FPV and controller is good, although it is not advisable to fly the drone out of sight. It has altitude hold and GPS flight modes, so if you are up for a challenge, you can use the former while beginners can use the latter. The inclusion of a few fail-safe features makes it good for beginners. Lastly, the price is not too bad either.
Conclusion and Recommendation
While JJRC makes good quads for everyone, it is always good to take precaution with any unit that you buy. With this one, be careful about flying it too far when you are using the GPS mode. It has failed a couple of times and the drone can get lost. Always keep it in sight!
Read the user manual first, know what goes where, how to charge the battery and the remote controller and many more. Lastly, quads fly away in the wind and they vanish. Therefore, choose a calm day in which to fly your JJRC X9PS drone.
