Posted on 12/02/2015 8:20:06 AM PST by Allen In Texas Hill Country
I'm kinda thinking about getting a drone to goof around with. I live in an adult community and talking with the board about it. I might have to walk out the gate first.
Anybody have any experience with make, models and cost? Yeah, I'd like to have a camera and be able to stay up for 15 minutes with a range of 2 or 3 hundred yards.
Is it possible to fly outside of visual contact and fly by the camera for a bit? Hmmm need a screen on the controls for that to happen. That'd be a bit more dollars :<((((
Just wunderin.
anyone ?
Texans love stuff like that. Better than clay pigeons.
Yes, but not legally.
A dude at work brought in a Phantom III and showed it off. It was unbelievable. The stability, range, control was all amazing. To start, he just flew it up about 200 feet and didn’t touch the controls at all on a day with a little wind. It didn’t move an inch. Just hovered exactly in place. Then, he flew it about a quarter of a mile away while watching it’s position on a GPS overlay of google maps. He put it right over a putting green and got amazing video.
Expensive, but I could see why it was worth it.
How much longer are you going to drone on about this...
;-)
It should be legal to shoot them down if they are over your property.
I heard someone on TV talking again about delivering packages by drone.
This can’t be a good idea. It’s possible, I guess, but I can see problems, like tall thick wooded areas for one thing. ( my yard)
A friend of mine bought one to check the roof of his apartment building ,the video was amazing
“like tall thick wooded areas for one thing. ( my yard)”
The drone only needs a space of a couple of feet square to land.
Yep, they don’t really take much skill to fly. At least not like the old RC planes and choppers.
The GPS one are amazing, if they lose contact with the pilot for any reason they return to where they took odd. First person ability too, put on headset and you see as if you were in the cockpit.
I understand that being so easy to fly now that they get boring real fast, no challenge. Precisely the reason they can make a perfect terrorism vehicle. They can carry a couple of pounds of plastic explosive and put it on top of your car, just outside your window, on your front porch and just anywhere there are no obstructions.
Sam’s has one for $100
I have a Phantom 3 Pro. I really enjoy flying it. Not a expert by any means. Of course, I have a lot of open area around where I live in Virginia to fly it. Just visited “home” in Louisiana, and videoed along Lake Pontchartrain. There are FCC guidelines, but I could easily go 2k ft up, and 2 miles out without losing fpv.
ex. https://youtu.be/0SdSnCRui5w (quality reduced for youtube)
Also heard good about the AEE AP10 model, but no experience with that one.
If you are just starting get low cost quadcopters first.
Go to youtube and watch A LOT of this guy’s videos.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC90A4JdsSoFm1Okfu0DHTuQ
I gave four “drones” quadcopters. Two have cameras, two don’t.
Here is my youngest son’s first flight. He was in my apartment complex parking lot. Took it to maybe 100 feet despite my warning. You can see how far you can see with it’s camera.
Now as far as First Person Video...it’s possible but really not easy nor fun. AND YOU DON’T WANT TO FLY IT OUT OF LINE OF SIGHT!!!!
Later you can move up from the quads like I have if you want but you really have to learn the basics first.
New to the low cost quads this year is a feature called altitude hold. Looks very promising.
BTW my son’s quad is a SYMA X5C.When I bought it the cost was around $70, now you can get one for less than $40.
I also have a great little quad...Cheerson X10 about 2 and a half inches across and one even smaller...about half that size! Both fly very well indoors.
“I live in an adult community... I’d like to have a camera and be able to stay up for 15 minutes...”
The things we can do with quotes and ellipses. I tell ya, they ought to be tightly controlled, if not outright illegal. :-)
A few companies operating drones for deliveries or mapping or filming makes a lot of sense. Government agencies operating drones for rescue, law enforcement, etc. also makes sense.
But loads of individuals launching drones just for fun, invading peoples' privacy, causing accidents, ruining a day in the wilderness, etc. seems like a lot more problem than it's worth.
If you're talking about drones flying over short distances like radio controlled airplanes, well then that's just good clean fun. But people operating drones that travel over huge distances probably should have to get some sort of license and have some good reason to do so.
A friend of mine bought into a Kickstarter campaign where they are building a drone that you can program to go to a particular GPS identified location, take a picture, and come back. Sounds fun and interesting, but also a potential tool for burglars casing future targets, peeping toms, paparazzi, etc.
You have to get a license to operate a Cessna. Why not require licensing for drones that are flown out of direct eyesight?
Find a local RC Club or Hobby Shop that have a variety of multicopters flying then go see them before you buy.
>> Government agencies operating drones for rescue, law enforcement, etc. also makes sense.
I see your points re: licensing and control of private drones, but any more, I think about the LAST thing I want are drones for the government, but not for we the people.
I simply don’t trust the bastards anymore.
That would be my roof.
That’s the funniest thing I have read all week!
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