What with everything that's been going on over the last couple of years; you may not have noticed all the civilian drones buzzing around at a steadily increasing rate. Last Christmas season they say over two million drones were bought as gifts. Sure, a few days later the number was dramatically smaller, due to crashes & accidents, but still, that's a lot of drones, or quadcopters as they are more correctly called.
Hardly a day goes by without a news story about drones, in addition to the news using them to film stories. Drones have become standard equipment for all types of video production and movie making. Just like the personal computer, drones are here to stay whether we like it or not. "Drones" have a bad rap going into any discussion due to the familiar military use of armed UAV's; but there are an almost limitless number of peaceful, civilian applications.
Oh they're out there alright, and in a mind-numbing array of
sizes and styles; everything from video capable nano drones you can hide in your hand, to the prosumer and professional
camera drones used by major news networks, agriculture, private security,
photographers, architecture, and engineering just to name a few applications.
Remote controlled aircraft have been around for quite a
while; I got my first at about 14 years old, and have kept the interest ever
since. Just in the last few years there
have been many improvements and advancements in the industry; resulting in
fairly sophisticated flying machines that come RTF, ready to fly right out of the box.
The advancements in such craft are such that anyone can learn how to fly
fairly quickly. Today's consumer drones
are way more robust and durable than their predecessors of even five years ago.
By far the biggest market segment is hobby drones which
range from the very small and relatively inexpensive Nano drones all the way up to Prosumer
drones costing hundreds of dollars.
After the Nano drones are the Mini-quadcopters
(and Hexacopters) which are more or
less palm sized. Then there are
mid-range drones which are much larger than minis, yet smaller & lighter
than the more expensive types.
Nano drones have small permanent LiPo (lithium polymer) batteries
which cannot be swapped out. Average
flight time is about five minutes tops, and recharging the battery takes 20 to
40 minutes depending on make & model. The software for small hobby drones is open source which means most of them are
using the same exact software regardless of company or brand. Almost all of these nano and mini drones are
made in China ,
and customer service can be hit or miss, which is why the smaller, cheaper
drones are considered by many as disposable.
As for the mini-drones they are basically a step up in size
and performance. Most all drones in this
class have replaceable batteries and the majority have cameras. There are also some models built specifically
for speed & stunts, and without a
camera adding weight, they fly longer and are more agile as a rule.
Unlike hobby helicopters of the past, today's drones are
rugged and durable little flyers that bounce back time and again from hard
impact crashes. They are fairly
sophisticated, featuring novice, normal &
advanced flight modes. In the advanced
mode you get some aggressive flight capabilities and acrobatic tricks such as
flips & rolls. Some of the smaller drones are now equipped with FPV but the thing is they rely on using a smart
phone as the controller; and regardless the app used, phones do not give you
the degree of control and response that you get from a transmitter
controller.
While it is generally true that learning to fly small drones
well builds skill sets that will help when flying larger drones; the reverse is
not so true. You want to start small and
work your way up to the bigger, more serious drones.
LiPo batteries need to cool down once drained, and should
not be recharged for 15 to 20 minutes after use. Not observing this cool down period will soon
fry the battery & possibly even the
circuit board. The Chinese who make
these by the thousands for sale on Amazon &
other sites use angel hair wires which being so thin can both melt from over
heating, and break upon repeated severe crash impact.... and accordingly if you
want your drone to continue working properly it's wise to not overheat the
motors & motherboard by using several
batteries in one flying session. Because
they generate heat; LiPo batteries should always be charged safely on a
non-conducting surface; and never left unattended as they can cause fires if basic
precautions are not followed. Many of
the serious users are using inexpensive asbestos battery bags for charging & storage; a wise precaution.
Invariably when humans get ahold of something new, before
long they'll find a way to have races, and drones are certainly no
exception. In fact, drone racing has
become so popular that starting this summer cable sports networks are covering
major drone races; so consult your local listings. Empty sports arenas and underground parking
structures have been favorite racing locations in the past few years; and as
drone popularity increases, more professional and challenging venues are being
designed for drone racing. They do a lot
of drone racing in Dubai
Most of the higher end prosumer
and professional drones are automatically prevented from operating in FAA
restricted airspace such as airports, etc.
There is a 500 foot altitude limit set by the FAA, but most higher end
drones can go much, much higher after switching off the restrictive
setting. California
and a few other states already have laws which prohibit the flying of drones in
places where privacy is expected and around schoolyards. The higher end drones usually have a feature
which establishes flight boundaries, which should keep good relations with the
neighbors. Good time to mention that there is a $25,000 dollar fine for flying an unregistered drone in public spaces; so be legal, be safe!
Click Image to Enlarge
Drones are being used for an ever widening field of
applications these days as people are seeing the advantages of having a bird's
eye view of things. There is an entire
classification of security drones as
that is a fast growing market in and of itself; including a set & forget autonomous patrol drone system with HD video.
Developers are using drones to monitor construction site progress,
Ranchers use them to monitor livestock and the "south 40". Drones are also put to work monitoring large
estates, vineyards, and farms. The
police use them, and so does the forestry service; for search & rescue, and fire watch.
"Drones
aren't going anywhere - in fact they're going everywhere"
~Good Kill~
A while back my brother and I were flying a drone on my
property, and before long the nearby trees were full of squawking blue jays; a
group protest to defend their air space from a strange and noisy intruder. Then last week we had our drones at a friends
ranch 30 miles away out in the country.
After we'd been flying and doing stunt flips & rolls for a while we
noticed a canyon hawk cruising above the drone.
He was definitely checking the drone out, as a few minutes later he
drifted by again, so we landed the drone.
About a minute later the canyon hawk cruised by just above roof level,
looking below him for the drone. When we
sent the Traxxas Aton drone aloft
again, the bird returned; and again was showing interest in the drone, so we
just kept avoiding it. Within just a few
minutes four more canyon hawks joined the first, and wherever the drone flew,
they were loitering above in a huge circle formation.
A good point to bring up responsible drone
operation. Various wildlife laws insist
upon us humans staying 500 feet from any endangered or protected birds or
animals. In my mind this applies even if
the bird or other animal comes close for a better look. Always do your aerial photography from a safe
distance. An interesting side note; in Germany
and Holland police are using
trained eagles and hawks to bring down drones operating outside the law.
What this means is they are going to malfunction now and
then; some models more than others, and when they malfunction, guess who is
held responsible for damages? A five
pound chainsaw flying at 50 mph is something you don't want to loose control of
in a crowded area. Just last week a
woman was hit in the head by a falling drone, so there is always that aspect to
consider. It's worth noting that one should avoid flying drones equipped with GPS near sunrise or sunset, as at those times the earth's electromagnetic field is in flux. Flying in the gloaming hour can cause your drone to behave in an erratic manner, go crazy, or just fly away at top speed.
Due diligence is the key to happy flying. Before you plunk your money down for a high
end drone in the $500.00 to $3,000.00 range be sure to do your homework first.
Do some in depth Google searches on the make & model of drone you're interested in; especially reviews
from other consumers like yourself.
Beware though, of the "hired
gun" reviewers who were compensated in some way for their "unbiased" review. Just recently Amazon has cracked down on such
endorsements by going after companies engaged in said practice. Also be cautious getting involved in any
drones being sold via one of the crowd funding offers. One should absolutely also investigate the customer support for the purchase you're
considering.
The flying gene is alive and well throughout human society, maybe
we all have a little bit of Icarus in
our blood, the way we sometimes wish we could fly like the birds do. For a while we may be satisfied with Flight Simulators on our computers; but
if the flying gene runs strong in your blood you'll eventually upgrade to
flying 3D in the real world and there has never been a better time than now to
do so.
Some universities and academies are even adding "Drone Classes" to their curriculum.
Once you see your videos taken from a few hundred feet in the air, you'll be hooked, and your brain will start identifying all the very cool things a drone can do for you. Someday in the not too distant future; drones will be as commonplace in the American home as computers are now. ~ "Land of the free - Home of the drone."
© 2016 full re-post with permission only
Other Voices
Recommended Viewing
"Rise of the Drones"
"Good Kill"
"Eye in the Sky"
"Eagle Eye"
It was a gift for my dad who is in love with little gadgets like this. It turned out to be quite the sturdy into drone for him. He and my nephew (His grandson) are having a great time flying it over the nearby lake and taking video.
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