GPS is a feature that most drones nowadays come with as a standard feature. Even though it is a standard feature, there are still drones out there without GPS. I did some research on some of these drones and here is what I found.
GPS is one of the most effective tools on a drone, which makes good drones without GPS difficult to find. Here are 5 of the best ones I found during my research:
| Drone Name: | Flight Time: | Video Quality: | Price: | Range: | Purchasing Link: | |
| 1. | Ryze Telllo | 13 min | 720p | $99 | 100 meters | VIEW |
| 2. | Syma Z1 | 13 min | 720p | $80 | 70 meters | VIEW |
| 3. | Eachine E58 | 8 min | 720p | $100 | 90 meters | VIEW |
| 4. | Eachine E32HW | 16 min | 720p | $80 | 80 meters | VIEW |
| 5. | Eachine Viswhoop | 8 min | 720p | $250 | 100 meters | VIEW |
01. Ryze Tello
The Ryze Tello is an amazing little drone capable of many things that the top drones in the world can do. It doesn’t matter if you are at the park or at home, you can use the Tello anywhere.
The Tello is meant as a starter drone for beginner pilots. It is powered by DJI tech it has a 13 min flight time and can cover a distance of 100 meters, which is plenty of time and space to get you up to speed with controlling a drone.
Cool Features:
- Throw and Go. This feature allows for you to throw the drone straight into the air to start flying it.
- 8D Flips. This is a cool feature that allows you to use the screen you are using to control the drone to swipe and perform cool stunts.
02. Syma Z1 Drone
This is a very small, light-weight, fold-able drone that is shaped like some sort of futuristic car. The drone has a basic range of 50 meters which is the standard WiFi range.
The range can be extended if you buy a cheap WiFi amplifier to boost the signal. This drone is very small and light-weight so as you would expect, it has some difficulty flying in strong winds and isn’t very stable.
Cool features:
- Cool LED lights on the front that make it look like it has glowing eyes! This also helps it fly at night.
- Great for taking selfies, lightweight, and affordable.
03. Eachine E58
This is a brilliant drone for its price. It is easily folded up so you are able to travel with it, small enough to fit into your pocket. With a 720p HD camera it insures that your camera footage will be pristine.
The camera can also rotate 90 degrees downward to allow you to take photos of the area directly below the drone.
The drone is also very agile, allowing the pilot to perform many aerial tricks in the air.
The propeller arms are also easily detachable which allows for easy replacement, which will be needed for beginner flyers as crashing is a certainty.
Cool features:
- It comes with two cameras. With 2.0MP 720P wide angle camera give wide range high definition of pictures and videos.
- 6-axis gyro which can have more stable flying and be easy to control.
04. Eachine E32HW Drone
This a nice cheap drone for beginner drone pilots, basically built as a starting point for any pilot.
With a 720p camera it’s able to take magnificent pictures and the 6-Axis Gyroscope allows for the drone to remain stable in the air even after the pilot practices their 3D flips.
The drone has a headless mode which means you don’t need to adjust it’s position before flying it.
Cool Features:
- A key 360° roll. Continuous roll for perfect action and wonderful performance.
- APP Control. This means you can control your drone using the app instead of the controller for convenience.
05. Eachine Viswhoop Drone
This is a brilliant drone that is able to do freestyle flying or you can mount a GoPro on to it and do some cinematic flying. This is a big deal considering the drone only weighs a couple of grams.
A lot of drone pilots tend to fit 360 cameras and GoPros on to the drone to be able to move swiftly and still be able to capture beautiful videos.
It is compatible with the DJI goggles as well which makes for some fun flying experiences. Even when carrying heavier weight the drone remains stable when flying.
Cool features:
- High efficiency 1204 brush-less motors.
- 130mm size carbon fiber frame.
- Smooth and powerful.
Do All Drones Have GPS?
GPS has really become a staple piece of technology that has been implemented into other machinery and tech in today’s time. Even so not all drones have this tech implemented.
Some drones are still plain analog, a lot of them are classed in the toy drone category and are usually a lot cheaper than other drones and are usually used by hobbyists and those who fly for recreational purposes.
Racing drones also fall into the category of drones without GPS. These drones are usually meant to showcase the skill of the pilot so they need to be as manual as possible.
Another reason racing drones may not have GPS is because they usually are really small and light in order shed weight. When you shed weight you will always have to sacrifice some featurers.
Importance of GPS in Drones
Back in the early days of drones didn’t come with GPS which would make them harder to fly. It required a certain level of skill to be able to operate a drone because you had to use a remote control without any assistance.
Fast forward to today and drones are one of the most popular hobby toys with thousands of people participating and buying them all over the world. One piece of technology that has been implemented into most drones since then has GPS.
The GPS system on a drone has a smart tracking system that allows for their position to be locked in the sky which is what is behind the hover feature in drones. If it happens to shift off course it can move back to its original location because of pinpointing this location with GPS.
The GPS system in drones allows them to have a variety of features that allow for them to be easier to fly as well as a lot safer. Some of the features that are the most useful are usually the ones you would not notice at first.
GPS technology is what is behind the “Return Home” function on most drones. This function allows for the drone to come back to the point it took off from, this is very useful when your controller battery dies or you lose signal because then it automatically returns to you instead of landing in a random location.
“Autonomous Flight” is also a very useful feature that is possible because of the feature of GPS in drones. Autonomous flight allows for a path to be set for the drone beforehand, the drone will then follow this course via GPS when it takes off allowing for the pilot to focus on other things, such as photography and possibly searching for something.
How To Fly a Drone Without GPS
It doesn’t matter if you have a drone with GPS or a drone that doesn’t have GPS, you need to know how to fly a drone that does not have GPS. Why?
Well, it’s simple really, Even drones that have GPS tend to find themselves in situations where they lose signal and need to be flown manually.
This might be because of:
- Flying under trees.
- Flying indoors.
- Flying under canopies/roofs.
- Near a commercial path where they might be a lot of interference.
All these things can cause your drone’s GPS to shut off which will force you to have to fly your drone manually and if you are inexperienced or do not know how to do this, you could crash and end up damaging your drone.
Check out this video to find out some helpful tips on flying your drone without GPS:
If you want to practice flying a drone without GPS for the first time I suggest you find a wide-open area that does not have any obstructions because you will need a lot of space to make sure you don’t immediately crash into things.
When you fly a drone without GPS for the first time you will notice that the drone might drift off to the left or to the right a bit, this is because of either the wind or it could mean that your drone is not calibrated properly.