![]() After multiple test flights at the Nine Ten Drones training facility in Fayetteville, NC we have averaged a max flight time of just over 21 minutes. Skydio is advertising up to 23 minutes of flight with a single S2 battery. The S2 battery design is revolutionary engineering at its finest. Really think about it, the drone is flying along with the battery “hanging” to the bottom by a magnet. Keeping in line with engineering a drone unlike any other Skydio introduced the S2 with a bottom mount battery that is magnetically secured in place. ![]() This limits the drones ability to integrate within various industries. You cannot add any external accessories or devices to the S2 because they will adversely affect the cameras used for autonomous navigation and situational awareness. I don’t know if this is technically within FAA regulation but if the FAA trusts the S2 with flight BVLOS then it may be okay with recreational “pocket piloting”. Once its flying with tracking initiated you can put the phone or tablet away. All that is needed is an Android or Apple device to get the S2 airborne. ![]() It’s worth mentioning that the drone alone is practically RTF. What makes this drone such a great fit for recreational use is the ability to capture phenomenal content when paired with a phone and absolutely zero drone flying experience. The S2 can also be packed into its rugged hard case, similar in size to the Mavic 2 and EVO II hard cases, with plenty of space for extra batteries and all accessories. ![]() For $999 you get a compact drone that can easily be packed up and carried on an airplane or stored in a backpack for a road trip. While the drone does not “fold up” it still maintains very a small footprint. The drone is sleek and weighs in at just 1.7 pounds. In total the drone has six (6) 4k navigation cameras, three mounted on the top and three mounted on the bottom totaling 45 megapixels constantly focused on visual sensing. The forward motors are mounted upside down to eliminate interference with the top mounted 4k navigation cameras. This upside down design feature is in contrast to other readily available commercial off the shelf drones which have all motors mounted on the top (excluding the newly released DJI M300). One of the first things you will notice about the S2 is that the forward motors are mounted upside down. However, I am deeply unimpressed by the drone’s inability to integrate into the commercial space for multiple reasons to include its limited camera, low flight time and borrowed remote controller. I’m amazed by the S2’s ability to navigate autonomously, avoid obstacles and track subjects unlike any other drone I ever seen or flown. For the past 10 months I’ve been operating the S2 with Nine Ten Drones in various environments with a range of clients in various industries. With a reservation for a first batch S2, I received my drone in March of 2020. Skydio began shipping their first batch of the Skydio 2 (aka “S2”) to customers in December of 2019 and throughout 2020 the S2 managed to gain more and more popularity not for what it was doing but for the things we continue to be told it will do “in the future”. Check out another Paul Rossi review of Autel’s EVO II here. The following Skydio 2 review is authored by Paul Rossi: Chief Operations Officer and Chief Pilot at Nine Ten Drones, a North Carolina-based drone services, training, and reseller company. With videos, images, and everything you need to know about Skydio 2 from battery to flight experience and support options, this is the review you’ll want to read before buying. This deep dive Skydio 2 review provides first person experience from pro pilot Paul Rossi.
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