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+The wild west days of flying drones came to end earlier this year when the FAA began requiring that the pilots of, as the FAA so formally calls them, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, register with the FAA. If you want to use your UAS for anything remotely commercial you'll need to go a step further and pass a test.
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+The registration is not particularly onerous, though there is a processing fee. The whole registration process starts to feel a bit Kafkaesque when you get to the end and realize that you can "display" your registeration number by writing it on the battery and then tucking that inside the aircraft. WAT? 
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+It's also unclear how the regulations will be enforced, particularity given the range of newer models which can be nearly two miles from their operator. On the whole the FAA registration is like the sheriff showed up, laid down the law and then promptly rode off into the sunset never to be seen again.
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+Whether you agree or disagree with the FAA registration, it does put something of damper on flying a drone.
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+There is, however, a loophole in those FAA regulations -- weight. The FAA does not regulate drones that weigh less than .55 lbs. Cue the rise of the mini drone.
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+I first played around with a mini drone for a review last year in wired. The [JetJat Nano](http://www.wired.com/2015/12/review-mota-jetjat-nano/) is so small it fits inside it's own controller. It might seem like a toy -- and it is -- but it's also a lot of fun. And, as I mentioned in my review, it's a great way to practice flying without worry about crashing your $1500 baby.
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+Since I started playing with the Nano similar drones have started popping up everywhere you turn. And each new mini drone manages to feel a little less toy-like. Today's mini drones still lack the stabilization and advanced flight features of their larger, regulated brethren, but several of them are very nearly as capable on the two fronts that have the most appeal -- fun and photography.
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+Mota, the creators of the JetJat Nano, have since released the JetJat Ultra, which picks up where the Nano left off, adding hovering capabilities, a camera with live streaming and an app-based controller. The flight control system has also been significantly overhauled and is much better than the Nano. All this still managed to fit in a package very nearly the same as the Nano -- the Ultra weighs just 8 grams and manages to fly up to 130 feet away. That might not sound all that impressive next to DJI machine, but consider that the JetJat Ultra fits in the palm of your hand with room to spare.
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+The JetJat Ultra is the smallest of the mini drones I've tested, but it's also one of the most fun and it delivers passable quality video. It won't make HD movies and the quality is closely related to how well you fly, but it is possible to get usable footage.
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+Another contender for the small drone title is the Aerix Black Talon. It's considerably bigger -- about the size of four Ultras joined together -- but still well under the FAA weight limit at tk lbs. The Aerix is slightly more expensive, $140 to the Ultra's $130 (still only a pre-order), but for the extra money you get a much stabler flying experience and a 720p camera.
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+The larger size gets you more than just stability though; the Black Talon can also stay in the air for 25 minutes according to Aerix. In my testing it was more like 20 minutes and it depends a bit on how you fly, but either way that's quite a bit longer than the Ultra's 6 minutes. In fact it's long enough to blur the line between mini drone and full size. 
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+The Black Talon also has an interesting feature dubbed altitude hold, which eliminates the need for manually maintaining altitude. Get the craft where you want it, activate the altitude hold and you are free to focus on side to side, front and back, and rotational movement. It's a really nice feature for creating decent video as well since you can lock the altitude and fly forward for a nice smooth approaching shot. 
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+The Aerix skips the smart phone in favor of an included LCD monitor, but it's also compatible with the company's FPV goggles if you want have a more immersive flying experience. Unlike larger drones though I almost never used the display unless I was hovering. Because these drone are never as high (and therefore clear of obstructions) as you'd be with larger models, it's far easier (for me anyway) to fly by watching the aircraft than to try to fly in first-person point of view.
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+The Black Talon will save your live stream video to a micro SD card built in the side the body, but it was here that it shows its low price most painfully -- the cheap plastic body has its shortcomings. The SD card slot sits atop the main card and it's possible to accidentally insert the SD card into the actual body of the device if you miss the narrow slot. The card that shipped with mine disappeared forever into the body, though, in the Black Talon's favor, it has not thus far hampered performance in any way. Suffice to say, be careful inserting the SD card.
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+If none of the smaller models have grabbed your FAA-dodging fancy yet there is a slightly larger class of drone out there that still manages to fall under the FAA weight limit. RC Toy maker Swann has cranked out several drones like the company's Xtreem Gravity Pursuit model which is very nearly as large as the Phantom 4 but weighs just a fraction of DJI's model. Comparing the two would be ridiculous, the Phantom 4 could quite literally fly circles around the Gravity Pursuit, but the Gravity Pursuit is still plenty of fun and it can shoot 1080p video.
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+As with the rest of these lightweight drone there's no real gimbal or stabilization which means your video is as good as your flying. But you don't buy one of these drones because you want high quality imagery, you buy them because you like flying. These are first and foremost, RC quadcopters. Were it not so frequently used in a derogatory way I'd call them toys, because they are toys and they're a lot of fun for not much money. And or course the FAA man won't keep you down with that pesky registration thing. Viva la revolución.
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