As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. This means that if a reader clicks on a link or an image of the product, we may receive a commission. There is no additional cost to you — it helps pay for hosting and server costs. And it does not affect the quality of the content, as we always recommend our readers the best sources.
To begin this Parrot mini drone Maclane review, we should state that the model is one of the most popular in the brand’s mini drone series that incorporates UAVs moving in water, on the ground, etc. They are basic yet all around made flying robots that children and even adults will adore and can be operated outside (a big no-no to the windy condition) or inside. Furthermore, as they come with the bumpers which secure their rotors, the drones should not hurt your house at times they collide with things.
One thing to note – in this article, we also refer to the term drones as UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), unmanned aircraft, flying machines, flying robots, or automation.
What is in the Box?
- Battery
- USB to Micro-USB Cable
- Two Robust, Removable Shields
- Set of Stickers
- Parrot Airborne Night Mini Drone Maclane (Blue)
Key Specifications
- Weight: 2.24 ounces
- Dimensions: About 6 inches x 6 inches x 1.5 inches
- Battery Life: Nine minutes
- Battery Size: lithium-polymer at 550 mAh (quadrotor drone)
- Rotors: Four (two blades for each rotor), the diameter of slightly more than 2.5 inches, replaceable
Parrot Mini Drone Maclane Pros, Cons & Quick Conclusion
| PROS |
|
| CONS |
|
| QUICK CONCLUSION | Purchase this flying robot for a straightforward, fun drone operating experience that asks for less time to learn. |
Key Features
1. The Design
First off, it is worth noting that the Parrot mini drone Maclane boasts of some somewhat brilliant LED lights on the machine’s front for late evening drone flying.
On the one hand, the robot is constructed out of plastic; on the other hand, it feels solid to the point that it is sufficiently able to take up just about any crash. The model additionally has plastic bumpers included which secure the drone rotors (and what it collides with) – you have the choice to take out those shields for open-air flying.
That is not all; as its name implies, this Parrot is less sizable, estimating more than seven inches x seven inches (its bumpers included) and the height is around 1.5 inches. When it does not come with those shields, it measures around six x six inches.
Primarily, what makes the product unit differ from the Airborne Cargo from the same brand is the thing that it is intended to do: The Parrot Cargo comes with a little space on its back to connect Lego blocks (excluded) or a smaller-than-normal figure (included); meanwhile, the Parrot Airborne Night mini drone Maclane highlights LED lights.
2. Flying
The Parrot mini drone Maclane review cannot be complete without talking about how this model flies. The unmanned aircraft vehicle is indeed anything but difficult to fly.
The Parrot FreeFlight app
To let it depart, you only need to press the departure button in the brand’s fantastic FreeFlight application (accessible in both iOS and Android), and the UAV will be smooth at lifting off and floating around three feet up. Its arrival is the equivalent; all you have to do is press the button, and it accomplishes the difficult task, dropping your drone until it tenderly lands.
As you will see, the application deals with the more significant part of the complexities of functioning a drone, making it stay level and making up for slight breezes by utilizing the gyroscope. The model is, thus, straightforward and amusing to fly.
It is impressive that many other less sizable quadrotor drones include a specific measure of sorting out some way to depart, drift and arrive at the ground (with certain accidents in the middle of). Still, the Parrot FreeFlight is good at doing all of them for you, and there are virtually no accidents included. Thanks to that, getting flying more rapidly will be undoubtedly more straightforward when compared to some other product units in the same category; however, it additionally implies that you may not get familiar with the lessons on the best way to depart and touch down manually.
What is more? The brand’s FreeFlight application likewise enables you to manage the level of aggressiveness you can operate the fly machine, defining limits when it comes to how quickly the UAV can travel and turn as well as the height level the UAV will be able to go.
Regarding the touch-screen using experience, it is indeed a mixture of wow and oops! On the one hand, it works to create the simpler drone flying experience for beginners; on the other hand, the user may not attain the possible best of control provided by the traditional joystick.
As you know, the virtual controls are not great at distinguishing, or overlooking little movements. When it comes to the traditional remote controller, the pilot has the choice to tenderly push its stick to make the drone address for a gentle wind, take pictures and at the same time take a delicate pass over things, etc. Meanwhile, regarding the touch screen, the controls will be direct to medium from none of the movement with nothing in the middle of; thus, making small movements is not possible.
Also, bear in mind that the Parrot mini drone Maclane goes through more restraints in comparison with a few other models; that is why they turn out more amazing for newbies. In case you change the settings for speed, the automation can become a more forceful flying robot with fair speed and quick turning. You may like that this Parrot has the trick mode as well; simply choose a trick – for example, backflip, which is followed by double tapping the screen – that is when the drone will play out the trick in a tiny space.
The speed
What is more to know? As per our most honest Parrot mini drone Maclane review, this model is not the racing UAV since they maximize at around five mph. With that being said, it is considered quick for a less sizable quadrotor drone, particularly one that you fly inside. While moving out the machine’s bumpers which ensure the rotors are safe and sound likewise improves the speed, doing so is more likely to put the flying robot and the things surrounding in danger.
The connectivity
Moreover, the Bluetooth connection of the robot with the controller utilizes reduced power when compared to the wifi connection and all that. Yet, you may not encounter any issue keeping up the connection from thirty to forty feet away.
The range
The brand guarantees a range of as far as 65 feet; however, we will not confide in that all the time. In case the connection gets lost, the robot will just float. Not similar to some more costly UAVs with GPS, this product unit will not attempt to get back in the event of the lost signal.
3. Photography
Low resolution
You can see a less sizable camera installed for the flying robot which will shoot from the top angle. Keep in mind that the UAV captures pictures (yet does not take the video) at a not high resolution (480 x 640). Shooting from the top angle is undoubtedly intriguing, yet because of the absence of the preview over the gadget controlling it, outlining the shot may be somewhat hard.
The pictures additionally become noisy in the not-adequate light. Also, to some degree frustratingly, the model’s bright LED lights will not point downward but forward; that is why you will have difficulty taking nice pictures around evening time.
Do you have the same thought as us regarding this? As far as we know, it appears to be a strange exclusion – the model would have seemed well and good to include an LED light that points descending and one more that points forward for taking pictures. That construction likewise implies getting the robot floating overhead when capturing images is necessary, which may be awkward to a few users.
4. The Battery Life
Up to nine minutes of flight
Honestly, we have spent hours researching and testing before coming up with this comprehensive Parrot mini drone Maclane review. As tested, the drone that a removable lithium-polymer battery at 550-mAh powers will provide you with around nine flight minutes. It is indeed pretty common for smaller-than-usual flying robots like that, yet that duration may not be long enough for people who need to work on flying. Bigger, more sophisticated UAVs tend to handle double the endurance, hence providing you with more opportunity to practice operating the drone and take photographs.
Low battery notification
Here, the drone user will receive a red notification once the level of the battery arrives at nine percent, and the flying robot will touch down automatically as soon as its battery level is four percent, any place it turns out to be at that point. That is why the device’s low-battery cautioning needs to become the sign that the time has come to locate a protected area to touch down before your robot lands all alone.
Removable batteries
It is also worth noting that you have the choice to charge the removable batteries using a charger that is optional and costs you some money or through a USB port. The batteries that are compatible with the entire mini drone series, are indeed pretty simple to swap: All you need to do is pull after lifting the latch.
Time for recharging
It tends to take a somewhat slow 80 minutes to charge through a standard USB port 2.0. When it comes to the USB 3.0, it is capable of providing substantially more juice and charging from that port takes around half an hour and five minutes. You can additionally buy a charger from the brand with the ability to output as much as 2.5 amperes; it can charge your robot in less than half an hour.
Control Modes
Here, three fantastic control modes are available: Joypad, Normal, as well as Ace.
1. Joypad mode
Speaking about the Joypad one, it tends to be the most common for people having operated other flying robots since there are virtual control sticks (two) with it. You may like that touch controls enable you to drag the dot a specific way like it were the handy control stick.
- The virtual left stick: It controls rotation aside from elevation
- The virtual right stick: It deals with right/ left and back/ forward motions.
Even better, in the mode, you likewise have the option to utilize the camera on the gadget; with that being said, it is, to some degree not orientating to leverage two joysticks and move the gadget to make the flying robot stay in shot.
2. Normal mode
In this mode,
- The control on the left deals with rotation and height
- The gadget’s position you are utilizing control the right/ left and back/ forward. Specifically, hit & hold the button on the right as well as tip the gadget forward, and the Parrot robot pushes ahead. Tip the gadget to the right, and the robot slides right, and so on. From the outset, doing so may be unfamiliar; however, you will become accustomed to it rapidly.
3. Ace mode
Here, the directional control = the right control. You will contact and move the right thumb to make your robot turn 180 degrees, etc. one or the other way.
Repairability
This product unit is not generally constructed to be fixed. In the event that you break a spar that keeps the engines set up, you will need to supplant the whole body. You have the choice to replace the machine’s rotors, however; you can basically move them out from the engines before installing the new rotor.
Honestly speaking, breaking the rotors (or some other piece of this robot) is challenging, regardless of various accidents and some weighty flying. When a rotor hit a tree limb, it disconnected, yet much to our surprise, the rotor stayed flawless, and we worked to set it back on the engine and find none of the negative impacts.
Generally, the Parrot robots are genuinely robust and will be able to take up various crashes and all that.
In A Nutshell
As per the Parrot mini drone Maclane review, it is enjoyable and straightforward to fly. The UAV flies nicely under the control of your phone and whatnot; also, the friendly touch-screen interface is excellent at making it straightforward for beginners to become familiar with the essentials. On top of that, it comes with LEDs lights that are sufficiently brilliant for late evening drone flying.
Notwithstanding, you may not wholly love the short battery life and the pretty powerless VGA camera. In addition, the batteries can set aside an extended time to charge. While the model is more costly when compared to some other scaled-down flying robots, people who wish to fly rapidly will be fond of what they seek out here.
