A little tiny one that is only around 2" and another 6" toy that I irritate folks around the office with.

They both are not gyro stabilized and challenging to fly, but since I spent 20 years flying rc helicopters, it's not a problem.

I can knock another quad out of the air with ease with either one of them since I can change directions instantly without a gyro interfering.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
One of my best friends insists people that fly these things for a hobby hate them being referred-to as "drones." He asserted the proper term is "quad copter," and that "drone" is only suitable for those devices the military uses. (He's got some quad copters and a couple dozen fixed wing aircraft.)

Anyhoo....

Every time I get to thinking "That'd be cool!" I stop to think "but what would you actually do with it after flying it around the neighbourhood a couple times?" and the answer comes up it being just another Neat Idea that sits around collecting dust.

They are cool, though

That used to be the case especially in the early days because a low percentage of drones even had cameras so quad copter was more appropriate. Once the vast majority of them started to come with cameras everyone kind of accepted the term drone and just gave up on quadcopter.

I have a few small ones but can’t recall the brands. I need to go look them up.

Well I had a brand new in the box Snaptain S5C drone my sister gave me For my Birthday. The first 4 battery charges were used to learn how to fly it without leaving my 75x75 fenced in back yard, only taking it up about 10-20 feet... I decided it was time to take it up to video my house and property. Inserted a microSD card and decided to take it up to about 100-150 feet since my property is 3.5 acres.

Up it went and as I was about to turn on the video from the remote I noticed it started yawing a little. Tried to correct - no response...tried again. No response. Tried to kill the power to the unit knowing it would drop back onto my property...no response....at that point my wife and I watched as my two day old drone just few away - never to be seen again. I have spent three plus hours looking for it. With the wooded areas and neighborhoods in my home area - no luck....So what type of drone do I have today - NADA/ZIP/ZILCH......But I still have one extra battery, remote, and extra blades in case it decides to fly back home.... Have not had the heart to tell my sister....Mark

My first was a DJI Phantom 3, sold it after a couple years for a Mavic Pro.

Both paid for themselves doing real estate photography.

Occasionally I fly for fun, but mostly it is just another camera for my side gig.

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:
My first was a DJI Phantom 3, sold it after a couple years for a Mavic Pro.

Both paid for themselves doing real estate photography.

Occasionally I fly for fun, but mostly it is just another camera for my side gig.

How was the Part 107 test and what did you do to study for it? I am thinking of getting my 107 in the next year.

Wasn’t too bad. Several free online study options. Mostly common sense, knowledge of “the rules”.

Only difficult part was having to be able to decipher aeronautical charts and weather reports.

Mavic Pro.

After they came up with their NFZ BS, I swore I'd never buy another dji product again. I've had 3 jobs that I showed up onsite to photograph and dji decided I shouldn't be allowed to fly there. Once was because there was no internet connection and it couldn't decide if it was updated enough to fly or not. Every time, dji's no fly zone has been wrong. It takes days to get that fixed.

I finally discovered litchi, and it bypasses dji's software. It's made my suas usable again. I'm a pilot, and I know 127 inside and out, along with state and federal flight rules. I know when, where, and how I can legally fly my suas/drone. DJI has been wrong every time, but kept me from getting the photos I needed. Litchi has been a lifesaver. I'll still probably never buy another dji product again.

I've had my eye on this, but they still have kinks to get figured out:

http://commercial.yuneec.com/comm-en-h520-overview