Which drone should I start with?
Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2015 10:16 pm
If you decide to get into drones, it is no different to deciding to get into flying manned helicopters or fixed wing aircraft. No surprise, the manned aircraft world starts in smaller craft and build pilots up to bigger craft. This is an important process to follow. I have seen some epic fails when people throw a big drone in the air like a DJI S900, without making their mistakes on smaller ones first.
My intro drone of choice is the Blade 200QX. You can buy this online or from most hobby shops for just a couple of hundred dollars. It has basic stability, but no GPS, so you actually have to fly it. You need a Spektrum Radio Controller, which does add to the cost, but this is a controller you can link to many future aircraft. Make sure it is Mode 2 (throttle on the left).
Once your thumbs are moving in all the right ways, invest another $80 dollars or so in the little 720P HD Camera you can get for it. You'll actually be amazed at what you can achieve with this low-cost, low-risk, simple setup. When you are flying competently, doing good work (good enough for a FB post) and getting bored with it, you are ready for a $1000 plus drone, like a DJI Phantom. And, make sure you are awesome with the Phantom before you step up to an Inspire 1, and make sure you are awesome with that before you roll out the S900... etc etc..
As a side-note, many start off on the Phantom or similar, and kid themselves they can fly. Where they find out it was really the Phantom that could fly is when something happens that demands rapid, accurate control inputs from the pilot, and they just don't have those skills... sux when you smash up your expensive drone, even more if it hits a person...
My intro drone of choice is the Blade 200QX. You can buy this online or from most hobby shops for just a couple of hundred dollars. It has basic stability, but no GPS, so you actually have to fly it. You need a Spektrum Radio Controller, which does add to the cost, but this is a controller you can link to many future aircraft. Make sure it is Mode 2 (throttle on the left).
Once your thumbs are moving in all the right ways, invest another $80 dollars or so in the little 720P HD Camera you can get for it. You'll actually be amazed at what you can achieve with this low-cost, low-risk, simple setup. When you are flying competently, doing good work (good enough for a FB post) and getting bored with it, you are ready for a $1000 plus drone, like a DJI Phantom. And, make sure you are awesome with the Phantom before you step up to an Inspire 1, and make sure you are awesome with that before you roll out the S900... etc etc..
As a side-note, many start off on the Phantom or similar, and kid themselves they can fly. Where they find out it was really the Phantom that could fly is when something happens that demands rapid, accurate control inputs from the pilot, and they just don't have those skills... sux when you smash up your expensive drone, even more if it hits a person...