Anybody fly drones? Are they fun?

[hardknox00001]

Just out of curiosity, anybody want to share what they fly and their experiences?  My brother in law got one for Christmas and it seemed pretty easy to fly.  Since then, I have watched some youtube videos of some of the scenery they capture via drone and that looks cool.

I have been eyeballing the DJI Standard 3 maybe to start but other recommendations in that price range or lower are welcome.

Is that about all you can do is fly around filming stuff or what else can you do with them?

[peejman]

Technically you don't fly a drone, it flies itself. A quadrotor on the other hand, can be fairly enjoyable to fly. I'd suggest you start out with one of the indoor only versions to get the hang of it. Dual rotor helicopters have the same controls as well.  If you get an outdoor one, you have to register with the FAA, which isn't a big deal.  

 

[Murgatroy]

I bought a cheap one for my daughter, like $25. We also had a cheap twin rotor helicopter.

 

I suggest getting a self leveling version. I am not sure the exact terminology, but it has a stabilization option that actually makes it flyable. Free flight is expert only, which is the only way to use the cheap ones. And then they skitter across the floor, or smack the ceiling fan and it gets old really quick.

 

I have been looking at grabbing a Syma X5 variant as it is cheap and has the stabilization controls. Then making the decision if it is flyable and fun of upgrading and registering with teh FAA for a large one with streaming video.

[Dustbuster]

I have DJI phantom 2 tons of fun not cheap but flies stable and shoots nice video...not a bad learning curve....


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[McGarrett]

I have never flown one but it looks like a fun hobby.

[Ronald_55]

We have one guy at work that has a personal one and he has one for our survey crew. They use your iPad, iPhone, or android phone as part of the controller. Seems really fun. They use the work one to do aerial shots of job sites and to get building pictures where you can't do it by hand. theose are much better than the $20 one my son has. It is fun, but has a very short battery and is not as stable.

Some of the nicer ones have a return to home feature, a follow me feature, and a hover unattended feature.

[R1100R]

I have a Syma X8C. It is DJI sized but way cheaper. Get the hang of it first. I have friends that let there DJI get out of range and it just flew away. That a lot of money to loose or wreck and can't find it. The X5 by the same company is a excellent learner.