We Bought a Drone!

In the first two blogs we explored some very important topics concerning why you might buy a drone, why would you ever want to get a drone sUAV license, and potential problems you might encounter if you take your drone to Mexico.

Well here we are a week or so later and we have actually purchased our first drone!! As of this writing, it is on a FEDEX truck somewhere in Illinois heading to Tulsa.

So how did we go about deciding which drone to buy?

It is very tempting to make your first drone purchase a very, very inexpensive one - let’s say less than
$150 or so. I went down this path for a while and read the reviews and watched all the videos. The
consensus seemed to be that you were getting what you paid for, and many reviewers had the sad
experience of losing control of their drone on either the first or second flight, and then crashing and burning, with the obvious result that they were both pissed off and felt that they had wasted their money. So how did this happen?

I think a lot of it goes into the technology of the drone itself. My research indicated that the better
manufacturers of drones built into their machines the software and firmware that would do brilliant
things like returning to its home base (where the flight originated) when it sensed that its battery power was running low. They also had obstacle avoidance technology built in, which would keep someone like me from planting my first drone into an oak tree somewhere. This type of technology simply is not often (at least as of this writing) built into the cheaper drones, with the end result that a lot of them fell out of the sky due to lack of power or else they crashed into a tree whenever a strong wind came along.

I therefore decided to lean forward a bit and pay for some better technology while not, at the same
time, breaking the bank.

There are several really good drone manufacturers out there, among them are DJI, Yuneec, Parrot and
UDI. This is only a partial listing, and if you are reading this you can certainly do your own research and see what you think of the choices for yourself.

My priorities in making this purchase included:

• Advanced technology –  To keep me from doing something stupid (if that’s possible!)
• Cost – Although I could have sprung for a $2000 aircraft, I really did not want to do that until I felt capable of safely flying one.
• Size – I wanted my first drone to be compact so that I could easily transport it if need be in a backpack or carry on. I was also concerned about how some drones reacted in windier conditions, and I thought that a compact design would be best for a novice like myself.
• Camera – Our drone is basically going to be used for aerial photography, and although I eventually want a drone with a great camera, I mainly wanted my first drone to be a “practice” bird that would allow me to learn and improve on the craft.

So what drone did we buy?

We bought a red DJI Spark!!

This is a very small drone from DJI and will literally fit into the palm of your hand. Yet, it has built-in all of the signature technology that allows for safe flying, such as was mentioned earlier. You can read about all its features here.

We bought the so-called “fly more” package, which includes a controller and some other extras that
we figured would make our new drone much more user-friendly and basically just more fun to fly.

This drone has recently been reduced in price, so it is a really good buy right now. And fortunately, I received a 10% off coupon through the mail, so we truly lucked out on this purchase.

So as we await our drone’s arrival, I will return to studying for the sUAV test, which I intend on taking in the very near future!!

In the meantime, stay tuned for our unboxing and initial flight blog and video!!

Why buy a Drone for Traveling?

One of the funniest comedy sketches ever, in my opinion, takes place in the Marx Brothers film “Cocoanuts,” in which the term "viaduct" gets confused with “Why a Duck?”

Some of you are probably asking a similar type of question about why I want to buy a drone for our travels.  

Why a Drone?

Here are several reasons I want to buy a drone:

• Taking spectacular aerial photography
• Engaging in commercial endeavors, including real estate and industrial surveillance 
• Learning a great hobby for someone who never got around to being able to get a private pilot’s license

I have been researching this topic or some time now. Of course, asking the right questions is the first step in research. Here are mine: 

• How do you learn to fly a drone? 
• How difficult is it? 
• What does it take to become an FAA licensed drone pilot, and is it necessary and worth it?
• What type of drone should we buy? 
• Is it best to start off with a cheaper drone to learn with, or should we jump in immediately and buy the drone of our dreams? 
• Some drones are fold-able and can easily fit into a backpack, while others are designed more for transporting in their own hard case. Which is best for my situation? (In fairness, I need to point out that I am still exploring which drone to buy, but I am leaning toward a DJI drone, which I will talk about later in this blog.) 
• Since we are planning on travelling to Mexico, as well as other places, can we fly our drone in these countries legally, and if so, what are the restrictions, if any?  

The following article is up-to-date and gives plenty of good advice if you are planning on taking a drone to Mexico. Click here to read this very good article (Taking Your Drone To Mexico ? What To Know Before You Go). I also recommend signing up for their newsletter, which I did.

You can find tons of information all over the internet about this topic.  Most of it is free, but if you plan on becoming an FAA licensed pilot, you will be spending some money on training materials and paying $150 to take the test.  Basically, if you are intending on flying small toy drones and those that weigh less than half a pound you will be exempt from registration and licensing requirements.  

Since I intend on doing more serious photography, I will be getting licensed as soon as possible.  Having been through the outline of the test and some of the materials, I can assure you that it is excellent information and well worth the time and effort to study.

One other thing I have found out in my research is that the more expensive drones, such as those manufactured by DJI, have more sophisticated software and hardware, and because of that they are, in my view, more idiot-proof than simpler and cheaper models.  

For example, some cheap models will not do anything when they are running out of battery power and may simply fall out of the air without warning, even over water or power lines or in trees.  Not a good idea.  

But even if we decide to buy a DJI, which package do we need and where should we buy it?  What accessories do we need? The picture below is an example of a DJI package you can buy on Amazon. You can click it to see what it includes. They offer many more combinations as well at many price points.

As we continue our research, we will decide what drone will be best for us. Then we will start actually flying!

We will be posting more information, pictures and videos as we continue this process. Stay tuned for our next drone blog.