Thinking of buying a drone

mmcmdl said:
DJI mavic 2 is what the son has . I've seen it 400 ft. high and I've seen it in my Maple tree also . He's not home yet but maybe I can post some pics he's taken with it when he comes in . :encourage:
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Oh... that is the one with the Hasselblad camera!! New version of that one is out, v3. Top dollar for that one :oops:o_O
 
A few years ago my wife bought me a small drone for Christmas. It was more of a toy, smaller/cheaper than a DJI. It had a decent camera and I had a couple of days of fun with it. Being small it was tough to fly on windy days but fun nonetheless. The fun came to a sudden, tragic end. One morning I took the drone out to get a video of flying over my house. We have lots of tall trees so I was threading through them best I could. A half-minute into the flight some sort of raptor went at my drone and knocked it out of the sky. I think it is still up in a tall cedar but I can't be sure. I think my mistake was flying in some bird's air space without permission.
 
Reddinr said:
A few years ago my wife bought me a small drone for Christmas. It was more of a toy, smaller/cheaper than a DJI. It had a decent camera and I had a couple of days of fun with it. Being small it was tough to fly on windy days but fun nonetheless. The fun came to a sudden, tragic end. One morning I took the drone out to get a video of flying over my house. We have lots of tall trees so I was threading through them best I could. A half-minute into the flight some sort of raptor went at my drone and knocked it out of the sky. I think it is still up in a tall cedar but I can't be sure. I think my mistake was flying in some bird's air space without permission.
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I've had a few large raptors attack my sailplanes when I used to fly. We are talking 3+ meter wings on my gliders, not small. One plane had talon marks in it... Carbon fiber protects them to a large degree, but those talons are super sharp. Anyway they knocked me out of my thermal, and I had to dive to avoid more attacks.
 
wachuko said:
I thought I would use it a lot…poor thing just sits, stored in its case.
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A friend got one, we played intensively with it for a couple hours. I don't think he's used it since...that was two years ago.
This is how it would go for me, knowing me as I do.
 
I guess I could arm one if needed . We have hawks here that I've seen taking blue jays out of the sky fequently . :grin:
 
Years ago, I went with a Hubsan drone. It did not require a smart phone added to the controller. It did not demand periodic software updates, just as you are getting ready to fly. It does not geo-fence. You could just put a battery in it, and fly.

The hubsan reported in real time what it's lattitude/longitude speed over ground, altitude above the launch point, pitch, roll, battery-condition as well as HD video. It could perform follow (the remote) or Circle the remote, as well as return to home (the current location of the remote. It reliably could be flown a kilometer away and fly based upon video and telemetry data. For nearby flying (50 yards) it had a wrist-watch remote. This made it easy for you to do the "follow me" and shoot videos as you are doing an activity.

The downside was the camera was fixed in position. If I were doing land/property imaging, then a camera which could be aimed would be important.
 
JPMacG said:
You do not own the airspace above your place. Shooting at a drone will get you in trouble with the law.
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I believe that has changed. I want to say I remember some court cases that have come out that you do have a right to privacy above your domicile. Something like up to 50 or 80 feet above.
 
I own a mavic pro and would have to say it was the coolest toy I’ve bought as a adult. I grew up in the 80’s and had RC cars and boats. Never airplanes and helicopters were insane prices and hard to fly. You crash it and it’s cheaper to buy another than to fix. Saw it happen multiple times.
Now RC cars are stupid fast all wheel drive and the battery isn’t a tank and last along time. Just got my 9yr old one I love it more than him. Different story. I’ve had my mavic for four years and it’s super easy to fly. All the features like the follow mode will follow a target like a rider on a motorcross track. You set the parameters and it does the rest. Fourth of July send it up and get some of the best views you will ever see. Dji in my opinion is the best value for the hobbyist. Their are others out there but pull out you wallet. Happy flying!
 
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