Anyone a fan of them? Or maybe you own/owned one? Please share your experience.
Re: Quadcopter/Drones?
yes i want to make this copter stuff but still not started
Re: Quadcopter/Drones?
That's great. When you make one, please share the progress with us here.
Re: Quadcopter/Drones?
Yes, so I have purchased many, from the small $30 usd ones to the $500-1000 usd ones.
They are kind of fun, the more expensive ones are really worth it, because they are alot easier to use and fly, they have built in camera in the controller so you don't have to watch the drone manually as well can go long distances and record. These drones can auto hover which is an amazing feature compared to the cheaper ones.
With the smaller ones the battery doesnt last long, for the first couple of tries it'll be like 10-15 min but eventually they drain really fast and 1 charge might last 5 min. As well flying these things are really damn hard! you have to "sync" the drone to the controller so that it stabilzes.
Definitly though get a cheaper one first and practice because getting good with the drones is a skill of its on.
Re: Quadcopter/Drones?
Aren't FAA rules going to apply to them if not already in the US? I think that this would make it harder to operate one.
Re: Quadcopter/Drones?
FAA requires registration for any "unmanned aircraft" weighing more than 0.55 pounds must be registered prior to operation outdoors. No regulation for indoor use though.
Re: Quadcopter/Drones?
I've got two, custom made and DJI phantom 3 Pro.
The custom one is just X frame and parts put together with DJI flight controller, GPS and Futaba receiver, it was my first back in 2012.
FAA really screwed up the hobby industry though with dumb regulations. Everytime government meddles, its problems.
Commercial use is growing though so that should keep the drone industry humming along pretty nicely.
Re: Quadcopter/Drones?
I wouldn't say regulations lead to screw-ups, or problems all the time. I will agree that it should be balanced. We have to realize that some of the pretty advanced machines like you DJI has a high ceiling, and distance it can travel because of the GPS it has on-board. If it were to interfere with other bigger objects like Helicopter, or low flying/landing planes, that would be a problem. I think the regulations are meant to ensure that does not occur.
Re: Quadcopter/Drones?
I understand the need for laws and regulations but you can simply program the ceiling in the controller to 1000feet or 300feet and also based on GPS location, prevent it from flying close to the airports, air bases and airfields. DJI had that for most of the airports as far as I can remember.
Re: Quadcopter/Drones?
That would be cool. In the future, they might actually do that. I would hope that the restriction is not permanent, and outside urban areas, you can fly to a higher altitude (max ceiling for the device).
On a world scale though, I wonder if CAA (for example) would catch on and adopt the same measures. I was watching a documentary on Dubai airport, and the control tower had to call in the police copter several times because there was a drone within the airspace, and it caused the shut down of all flights until they could bring it down. That's a major issue!
Re: Quadcopter/Drones?
Yes good technology depends on who is using it, we purchase two of them for children age 13 an older. make good toys or even fly chasers from the dinner table 
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however Mr Teggy I would like to add at this point …since you left yourself wide open to ridicule with the opening of this thread titled "Quadcopter"
we should not allow them “Quadcopters” in GS and I would like to put that to a vote if you don’t mind since you are the **Administrator of GS…
**I am talking about your dizzying Avatar is very similar to a Quadcopter
http://www.paklinks.com/gs/avatars/teggy?dateline=1339907053
don’t you agree, I vote that it is time to change it to something more Administrator like!
Re: Quadcopter/Drones?
You have a few valid points. I will start looking for a more suitable avatar, pronto. 
Re: Quadcopter/Drones?
I bought the DJI Phantom 3 Advanced. But had trouble with it, so it was returned. I have not gotten around to buying another one yet, but I might at some point. The biggest gripe with DJI seems to be the need to update software/firmware, and how that can keep it from flying. I read so many people complain about that aspect of it, but once it's ready, it flies beautifully and delivers a good user experience.