Yep, definitely start out with a cheapie nano/micro drone to get you used to the flight mechanics. I always struggle to use the tiny little joysticks on the controllers for these sorts of drones, so if you get the same problem you can try modifying them (not the best photo, but you get the idea).
Splashed out a tenner on one of these... https://www.gearbest.com/rc-quadcopters/pp_941588.html?wid=21 At first it looks gimmicky, but look under the hood and the motors attach to the flight board via plugs. So the entire ensemble can easily be transferred to a new flight frame, maybe even upgrade the motors as well. It also has a speaker that plays christmas tunes. That'll be the first thing to go! I do wonder if that could power an FPV camera though? Opens the route to a plug and play camera rather than be soldered into place! Should be easy to attach to the canopy with a modified lego brick!
It's losing the lego santa figure as well as the small speaker. Might even weigh less overall with a small camera. Might get something like this... https://www.banggood.com/Eachine-TX...MI2d2H1JbE2AIVjrDtCh3ViAItEAQYAiABEgJECfD_BwE Glue that to a thin strip of lego then it'd easily mount the canopy of that drone. Only need a little crimping work to attach a plug to the wires that were being used by the speakers!
Nice find, now I want to fly in-doors. It's been a while I last took my Spark out flying. Is this any good for £9? For cheap laughs and practice non-assisted flying https://www.gearbest.com/rc-quadcopters/pp_447880.html?wid=21
From what I've heard in reviews the Furibee F36 is better regarded. Gearbest do a package including three batteries... https://www.gearbest.com/rc-quadcopters/pp_1131446.html?wid=21
Seriously considering getting the upcoming Ryze & DJI unit: Tello. €109 for an 80-gram indoor flier with 13 minutes flight time! That's not too bad considering the Dromida Ominus was only slightly less. Works with VR headsets and whatnot and uses the DJI Go 4 app. https://store.dji.com/product/tello (no, that is not a monetised link).
Need to have a look at my chimney stack, so for a bit of cheap fun too; A knock off drone, TIANQU XS809W
Well the little beast I mentioned above arrived. Here's a video of it in action from a random reviewer... It's a very stable flyer! Really took me by surprise. Clocked the flight time at around 4 minutes 45 seconds before the lights start blinking indicating low power. This was purely hovering with no acrobatics! I just desoldered that irritating speaker which saved about 2 grams of weight from the drone once removed and added 40 seconds of flight time! Pretty decent battery bundled in the package at 260mAh 30c. Ordered some 400mAh 30c batteries, Racerstar 8520 motors and a custom frame... Along with a couple of options for an FPV camera. Hopefully it'll perform well once transplanted into that frame!
I picked up a hubsan x4 h501s last summer, does anyone have any recommendations for a backpack or some kind of carrying case ?
I'd recommend the JJRC H67 Flying Santa Claus, currently on sale from gearbest for under a tenner... https://www.gearbest.com/rc-quadcopters/pp_941587.html?wid=21 The drones circuit board is modular so motors can easily be changed. Has a decent capacity battery but a very irritating Christmas tune speaker! If you don't mind doing a little work this can easily be removed saving power and weight. Needless to say it's better flying without Santa attached! It's a very good flyer though and excellent for starters. Pro tip, only turn the controller on when the drone is on a level surface. This seems to calibrate controls to the drone better so it doesn't endlessly veer off course!
Sounds like a plan, thats on order, I'm pretty sure I have a lego starwars imperial guard somewhere so I could put him on instead!
Can attach anything lego to the canopy! Just remember that adding weight to the drone will decrease flight time and make it harder to do flips and turns. You'll need 3 AAA batteries for the controller BTW.
I'm thinking of selling up and putting money towards the Mavic Air. It looks like a very impressive little quad for the price (of course you really need the "fly more" pack to get any decent use out of it...). Maybe I'll change my mind once the weather is more conducive to flying regularly - it seems like the wind & rain hasn't stopped lately! That's a hell of an impressive system, but I really don't like the idea of having to rely on a phone as the controller - especially with a $2500 piece of kit! (I know the point is that it's supposed to be autonomous...) Nice work . I was hoping you were going to buzz through that little underpass below the road .
The Mavic Air is the drone I really wanted when deciding between Mavic Pro and Spark many months ago. Unlike Spark, I don't think you need flymore combo for the Air. You already get a lightweight carrying case for the drone itself, the drone comes with remote that is pocketable, just need to buy 1 more battery and props when needed.