Drones......anyone here using one/them?
 

Don't remember seeing a thread on Drones.....I'm thinking about getting one just for screwing around. At some point maybe I'll find a good use for it even. :)

Anyone here using one?

I found some on the local Craigslist - some under $100 even....

http://daytona.craigslist.org/tag/5721154468.html

Have been a bunch of threads....

I have a DJI Phantom that I play around with. $90 seems like a deal for the Craig's list UAV.

Just as an aside... I've seen Japanese guys with big honkin' quad copter setups at several places around the world. I wonder what they're up to?

I used "Drones" as a search word and all that came up was PARF threads...lol....

Feel free to post links to the threads if you can find them, Motion...thanks!

Thanks Patrick....will look into it.....

Kids have a drone I got them for Christmas. It was only $120 bucks, has a HD camera, seems solidly built for what it is. I got it at Target. The thing is fairly easy to fly and doesn't have to be registered with the FAA, I think the larger models do. It's kinda fun to fool around with. I'm constantly teasing the boys to land it on my head but they won't try. Get a cheap one and if you dig it buy a bigger one.

Hey Baz, that's a good idea for your business. Realtors use them to make a fly around video of properties.
I'm thinking you may be able to go back to old customers and get video of your design and installation after its grown in. Careful editing could relieve security concerns of those you are shooting video of.
In the long run, some before and after videos could be a helpful tool for future customers,
To be able to visualize the possibility.

Cheers Richard

My brother has a DJ III Phantom and it is a bada$$! Somewhere north of 1k, but totally cool. Has all sorts of features like auto hover, GPS return to a set location, auto land, etc.

Long awaited Karma has been announced:

https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/19/gopro-karma-drone-hands-on/

Seahawk can hook ya up

If the "drone" or technically referred to as a "sUAV" (small unmanned aerial vehicle) as per the FAA weighs more than 8.8 ounces or 250 grams and flown as a model aircraft, the pilot MUST register himself with the FAA before operating it in the NAS (National Airspace) which is defined as from ground level to 400 feet above ground level. The fines for flying unregistered can be stiff, to the tune of $28,500. Those that plan to fly a sUAV for commercial purposes (A Realtor filming a home as part of a sales advertisement for example) must pass an exam to receive licensure as per Part 107 of the FAA regulations. Unless you are a FAA licensed Private Pilot or better rating with a current medical and current check ride. Regardless, operation within a 3 mile radius of anything considered an airport (heliports included) is forbidden without an FAA waiver and some models, specifically the DJI brand, use geofencing technology with the onboard GPS so that if you are within 3 miles of an airport chances are it won't even allow flight.

I've flown fixed wing model aircraft as a hobby for 42 years. This new registration requirement for the hobbyist is absolute bull*****. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

Labor day at Naples city beach, a guy had a quad copter with camera hovering at about ten foot above the crowd. Needless to say, there were quite a few po'd beachgoers.

What's going on here? Looks like a girl with a broom jumping on a roof.

New game..."Kill the Drone"

It is Mike's Roof Girl from Texas! :D

The FAA figures there will be many MILLIONS of drones or UAVs in the air at any moment in the near future. The sky will be buzzing. There is a video of a UAV striking the wingtip of a Southwest Airlines coming in for a landing. They were WAY above 400 feet.

They are a neat toy for lots of people but the jerks will ruin the hobby for most. We have played with them here at my office. We were flying it around our office as a demo. We are back fence neighbors to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Invitation. Two cops showed up as we were loading the images into the computer. We showed them what we were doing and they reiterated we had done nothing illegal. They were just curious.

Flying an sUAV over people that aren't connected to the operation of the sUAV is strictly forbidden by the FAA. Only when the general public realizes this will sUAV operators be held accountable. With a stiff fine from the FAA. Or a beating. Or the destruction of equipment. Pick your poison.

All of that is theory. The FAA has no "Sky cops" or enforcement officers to rush to the scene and write tickets or take action. You might find a FAA employee at an airport looking at airplanes, but not at the beach looking for drones. The Feds for sure ride in commercial airplanes, but they don't do squat to Joe public.

Until the laws are re-written to allow regular copy to take action, and provide an incentive to the cops to mess with it, nothing will happen. No local cop is going to hassle with the paperwork to generate a fine that is all federal.

This is why I don't want flying cars. As soon as the idiot masses get access to it they ruin it for the rest of us. I've always loved flying - that's why I went into it as my original career choice. Even today I take a lot of comfort knowing that every time I go up in the air I am in the company of either professionals or people who have skin in the game and take it seriously. The minute the skies are opened to every doofus who can fog a mirror (the same way our roads are) I will no longer be able to enjoy it - it will be ruined permanently, much as the "driving experience" has been ruined for those of us who used to love it.

Sad but true.