Does anybody here have a drone? I was thinking about buying one, but wanted to see if anybody else has one and enjoys it. I was looking at the DJI Phantom 4. Is it easy to control? I'm worried about crashing it. Did you get the permits you need to fly it?

I have 3x. I bought a Syma x8g to learn how to fly. I crashed it a handful of times... but not a big deal... only ran me 150 bucks. The higher end ones(like Phantoms) run you quite a bit more so the crash might hurt a bit more. As the parts/motors are much more expensive. I could replace all the motors in that x8g for the cost of 1 motor in one of my nicer quads.

Now they do come with abilities to help you like auto-takeoff or return to home or such but still need to be able to fly them I'd wager.

I use the Syma for about 2 months and then I've gotta two racers which are much harder to fly. I got a Walkera Runner and a Walkera F210. The F210 I put some bullnosed tri props on it and a more aggressive battery and I *LOVE* It. but I'd never let anyone other than myself or another experienced quad pilot fly it. It has no "helper" features.

On the permits, you are suppose to register with the FAA. You get an operator number(cost like 5 bucks for 3 years) and you have to put that number on every quad (or UAS) you fly. If you fly within 5 miles of a tower (like I do) you are also suppose to call the tower and register your flight times before you do it. Honestly I try to but I miss a time here or there.

Overall I love the hobby, but I'm also a big fan of telling people to start small before you go all in... you can even get a little mini quad for like 15-20 bucks to fly it inside and get used to it. You don' t have to register anything if you fly inside or your total payload is under 0.55 lbs.

Phantoms are stupid easy to fly. Hard to recommend jumping straight in and dropping $1k before getting some kind of experience. Most people will suggest buying something like a Syma X5C to practice and learn basic controls. It'll only set you back about $50.

I've registered. I think the whole thing is pretty dumb, but it's pretty painless. You'll probably never get busted for flying unregistered, but if you ever did somehow get caught, it carries fines up to $27,000. So yeah, just spend the $5 and do it.

Anyone else still droning? Bought a Phantom 3 Standard and loving this thing. Was really worried that without much (any) RC flying experience it would have a steep learning curve, but I had this thing flying circles around me in half an hour.

I was looking at the phantom 3 advanced, but hard to drop the coin with no experience except watching others and YouTube. I really want one though.

I have phantom 4 and love it. I had no experience but now I fly it all the time. I can make professional movies and pictures with use of the drone. I highly recommend it if you can afford it. It is expensive to get started though.

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I was looking at the phantom 3 advanced, but hard to drop the coin with no experience except watching others and YouTube. I really want one though.

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As said, phantoms are stupid easy to fly. Just read the instructions. I have gotten the 2's and 3's both, and had no prior experience. My only advice would be to take it easy for a month and don't get too cocky with the controls. Also, be aware of your surroundings if flying waypoints.

I thoroughly enjoy the hobby. You can approach the hobby in two differing ways.

1) cinematic / filming purposes - Preassembled and ready to fly quads designed for sustained flight for purposes primarily based around photography. These units are made easy to fly by specifying an altitude and flying by GPS position. Flying is made easier so the operator can pan a camera as well.

2) racing and acrobatics - Think fighter pilot flight. There are pre assembled units available for purchase but I would recommend building your own. Lots of kits and YouTube videos where people show how to do it. These quads do not use sensor added flight. This is how operators are able to do high speed turns, dives and aerobatic flips, rolls and such.



Either way, I would recommend getting a cheap mini quad to get used to flight. Hubson X4 on Amazon is a great quad to fly around the house. [url]Hubsan X4 (H107L) 4 Channel 2.4GHz RC Quadcopter, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IZC6C8E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_MiYUxbYSB106Y[/url]

Would highly recommend the autel X-star over the phantom......more functionality, and the phantom 4.....pary you don't break or fry something internally. 250 or so in parts if anything goes wrong with the FC or ESC's. If you're looking for one in Tx, Drone Zone in Beaumont is a friends of mine's shop.


That being said, I have a taort ironman 1000 with a DYS eagleeye gimbal I'm building for commercial ops, a titus 600 frame I'm building for a gopro gimbal.


Also have several racing frames in the 180-250 range.