JJRC tends to be one of the most successful drone manufacturers in toy/hobby grade market. Many of their previous models were outstanding in terms of flight time, control distance and camera compared to other drones in similar price range. Does that scenario repeat with their newest drone? We’ll find that out in our JJRC H31 review.
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On first look, you’ll notice it’s kind a different from most of other drones. Lower profile with large propellers promises a lot. I was more than excited to fly it for the first time. This drone is great example of non-Phantom-like design. I really noticed how many drone manufacturers are giving their best to make their drones looking similar to DJI Phantoms. I’m not saying I don’t like how Phantom looks, but I just don’t like how some manufacturers copied its design.
JJRC H31 Specifications:
Control distance : > 100 meters
Flight time : 6-8 minutes
Charge Time : 60 Minutes
Battery : 400 mAh
Weight : 76g
Dimensions : 29.00 x 29.00 x 9.00 cm
Show me the price !
BEFORE WE START WITH THE ACTUAL JJRC H31 REVIEW, HERE ARE FEW THINGS YOU GUYS SHOULD KNOW :
- This drone is advertised as “waterproof”, but I wouldn’t suggest you doing some extreme things like landing in the lake/sea/ocean. I’m not 100% sure it can withstand those conditions. I saw some youtube reviews where their drone wasn’t able to fly after getting wet so.. be careful 🙂
- This drone does not require FAA camera since it’s extremely lightweight
- This drone DOES NOT come with camera. Camera is bought separately (at least, this was case with mine).
Packaging
Package contains :
- 1 x JJRC H31
- 1 x Transmitter
- 1 x USB Charger
- 4 x Spare Props
- 2 x Landing Gear
- 1 x Screwdriver
- 1 x Pair of Sunglasses ( ? 🙂 )
- 1 x English + Chinese User Manual
Design and durability
As I mentioned before, I really like how this drone is designed. It reminds me a little bit of Tarantula X6, which is good because I really enjoyed X6. It’s made of some elastic plastic. That’s great because it should prevent some serious damage when crashing it. My only complaint about design goes to LED lights. They could be little more brighter in my opinion.
Controller
Flight performance
Flight time and control range
JJRC drones are well known for their above average flight time and control distance. Just check out some of their older models such a JJRC H25G or JJRC H26D. This drone has a range of > 100 meters. I can’t say exact number because there are some different information on the internet. Mine was tested on 100 meters and it didn’t lose signal. It’s hard to see it on that distance so I don’t see why you would go further anyway.
When we talk about flight time, 400mAh battery that’s included in the package should provide you with 6-8 minutes of flight time (advertised is 8-10 minutes). These are nice specs for a quad in this price range. I really don’t see how someone could expect more than this. It does not have audible warning when battery goes low. Instead, LED light in drones nose will start blinking. You should easily notice it because it will be flying with reduced power last 10-20 seconds. That should be enough time to land it safely.
Conclusion
This non-camera version of JJRC H31 will provide you with decent flight time and control distance compared to other drones of similar price. Be noticed that it’s made of some elastic plastic and it won’t break easily if you crash it. It does not have any advanced feature such a GPS position hold, return to home, follow me.. and trust me, you don’t need these features on drone like this one. So when we take everything in consideration, I have to say this is ideal drone for : first time flyers, beginners and casual flyers.
Other JJRC products
JJRC X1
This is first brushless drone made by JJRC company. It was very popular when it was announced because of its attractive price and good performances. I should mention it has a flight time of 12-15 minutes. This is achieved thanks to its 7.4V 1300mAh LiPo battery. Control distance is impressive too, there are owners who claims they flew it on a 400 meters distance, which is pretty amazing. Combination is powerful motors and good battery is almost always a win-win situation. This drone does not come with camera by default but it’s powerful enough to lift some sport camera, even GoPro!
You can read full JJRC X1 review here.
JJRC H12WH
This is cheap drone that offers nice FPV experience thank to its 2.0MP camera. This drone is very important for JJRC because it comes with some cool features such a : altitude hold and one key return. Altitude hold function is very popular these days, even on cheap models so this is not a big surprise. It was matter of time when JJRC will start implementing it in their drones.
Same as other JJRC models, H12WH comes with above average flight time and control distance compared to other drones in this price range. Flight time is somewhere around 8 minutes while flight distance is up to 300 meters!
You can read full JJRC H12WH review here.
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