Drones

[robin]

Looking to try my hand at flying a drone what is a good starter one to purchase ?

[Serk]

You looking for a toy class ($100 or under), mid class ($500ish) or more of a serious drone ($1000+) type?

[robin]

Toy or mid I think under the $500 mark Serk

[Serk]

Toy or mid I think under the $500 mark Serk

It's been a few years since I've shopped in the toy class, but back then the Syma X8G was a good one to learn on. No auto-stuff, no GPS, etc and takes constant concentration to fly.

It takes some work to shoot video with it, you don't see the video live, etc but with a little practice you can get decent footage with the X8G, this is a video I shot with mine a while back:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOJekLB0dDA

For the mid class, take a good hard look at the DJI Spark. The base model is $400, little more to get one with a remote control (You can fly it with your phone if you don't have a remote.)

For the upper end I love my DJI Mavic Pro. Around $900 to get in to one as a base model, it's incredible the capabilities of this thing...

Example of some footage from my Mavic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R428nUPGdrI

[Jess Tolbirt]

get one that will avoid objects..that way you wont fall into the swimming  pool

[gordonv]

I don't own one, but I would suggest, what is it you want it for?

How to fly one? Toy

Do you want pictures? Then I would think one that would stream back to a view screen (cell phone).

Picture stability? Noticed on Serk's first link, the picture was a little wavy. Then the 2nd from Inzane, was VERY stable.

I know they have them with auto return (out of range or low battery), gimbals that can swivel. I suppose the Sky-is-the-Limit on a Drone! 

I was always thinking of the little cheap toy one for $20 to fly inside the house to learn how to fly. I would like to get one for pictures. Liked the one that would follow you around and record.

[fudgie]

Got a nice $40 one last yr. Took it outside in Jan and it flew away after its first 5 min flight. Never found it. 

[Gavin_Sons]

Got a nice $40 one last yr. Took it outside in Jan and it flew away after its first 5 min flight. Never found it. 

sorry, but that was funny. Wish I could have seen your face when it happened.

[fudgie]

Got a nice $40 one last yr. Took it outside in Jan and it flew away after its first 5 min flight. Never found it. 

sorry, but that was funny. Wish I could have seen your face when it happened.

Shoulda heard the words I used! 

[gordonv]

Got a nice $40 one last yr. Took it outside in Jan and it flew away after its first 5 min flight. Never found it. 

sorry, but that was funny. Wish I could have seen your face when it happened.

Shoulda heard the words I used! 

1st thing to do with a new drone. Place your name and contact # on it, so if found, you might get it back.

[Serk]

Got a nice $40 one last yr. Took it outside in Jan and it flew away after its first 5 min flight. Never found it. 

sorry, but that was funny. Wish I could have seen your face when it happened.

Shoulda heard the words I used! 

You should see some of the rants I've seen on the drone groups I'm in from folks who lose $1000+ drones!

(BTW, you can get insurance on the expensive ones. I pay $60 a year for full coverage with no deductible... Makes me feel a lot better about having $1000 of gear flying 2 miles away from me!)

[CajunRider]

I played around with a drone for a while... what I found was¦
- They are good for small areas (no need for 3 to 5 acres of cleared land)
- They are forgiving on crashes (you typically won't be going fast when you lose track & crash)

However, if you have a clear area that's large enough... consider RC airplanes... I find them much more fun to fly.
- You will crash, it will cause damage, and you have to enjoy tinkering to fix it.
- Start with cheap planes... move up as comfort level & skill increase.
- Start with a GOOD remote... don't go cheap here. You get what you pay for (though now-a-days, the price gap isn't that big).

I just find that there's something about trying to mimic all the air show stunts you've seen time and time again, very entertaining. Plus, if you go with an ICE, it can be fun to hot-rod the engine for more power.

You can even get remotes that will run on your computer as a simulator... makes learning the basics cheaper since crashes don't cost money and you don't have to stop training to repair (just reset and go again).

Either way... RC can be a whole lot of fun and challenge... Enjoy whatever you end up getting!

[Gavin_Sons]

I grew up around re planes.  Dad was always building/flying/crashing/fixing those things. More fiximg than flying though   

[gordonv]

How about something like this?

Only 20 min fly time, but I have no idea of what others would do.

GPS follow and return to controller.

https://www.shopatshowcasecanada.com/products/apex-warhawk-drone?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Day12122417

[RudyF6]

My experience with toy quality:

Got a Sky Viper V2450 HD. Under $100. Includes built in camera with micro card slot and remote. Comes with an extra set of props too. App allows use of smart phone clipped to  the remote. Also sold with FPV goggles for the phone (Glad I didn't get those!)

Has auto-launch and hover, helpful to learn flight controls without worrying about maintaining altitude.

Supposed to take pics/video and FPV on the phone - sometimes works, but usually freezes up and shows only a still pic of the grass I took off from. I have no idea how you could fly it relying on FPV goggles.

Supposed to have a 300' range, but I start losing control around 100. Oddly enough, if I'm not trying to record, it seems more controllable.

Flight time is a major disappointment. I got it for Christmas (cold) and the included battery only lasted about 3 min, maybe 4 when warmer. Bought higher capacity batteries and charger (Amazon), they last 7-8 min at best.

All in all, it's pretty fun to fly when it's working right, and it's pretty tough too. I just wish the app/video worked better (and more often!). I've crashed it hard a couple of times with no damage. Got caught in a tree and I had to get a bit rough with a pole saw to get it down!  It looks great on paper with all its capabilities, but for its performance it should have cost even less than it did.