I mean, sure, you might not get to blow things up in RL like the US military
does with their unmanned aircraft, but if simply flying things around for the
fun of it sounds good to you, you may just want to look into picking up a
consumer drone, a product category that has enjoyed a huge surge in popularity
recently. But what exactly is a drone?
How exactly do drones work? And what do you need to know before taking off?
We'll start by fixing your terminology. Although the words are often used
interchangeably, most of the drones that you see on the market are actually just
quadcopters. And as that name suggests, that means that they have four spinning
rotors arranged in a square or diamond pattern. Now, quadcopters work by
varying how fast each individual rotor is spinning. So, if all the blades are
spinning at the same speed, then it'll either go straight up or down or just
hang in the air in one spot. But when some of the blades are told by an
onboard controller to rotate faster than others, it can cause the drone or quad
to dive, bank, strafe, or even do stunts, like flips. But while most
drones function fairly similarly due to the actual physics of the usual
four-rotor arrangement, they certainly aren't all created equal. And you can
get anything from tiny low-powered quads
for beginners for under $50 to heavyduty
drones with powerful batteries and crystal clearar cameras that will run
you over $1,000 and could probably take over Luxembourg if you had enough of
them. But let's say that that's not your goal. Or I mean, who knows, maybe it is.
How do you shop for a drone? What exactly should you be looking for? That
all depends on what capabilities you require, your flying and technical
skills, and of course, your budget. There are plenty of readyto-fly or RTF
drones that come fully assembled and include a handheld remote transmitter.
Just charge up the battery and you're pretty much ready to rock. Cheaper
models will typically not fly as long on a single charge thanks to their low
capacity batteries, with some lasting as little as 5 minutes or so, and usually
feature very lowquality cameras, if they have one at all. As you go up the price
ladder, you'll find drones that can fly around half an hour on just a single
charge with cameras that can capture greatl looking stabilized HD video.
Other features might include longer range, the ability to mount your own
camera, with GoPros being a popular choice, but some even accepting popular
DSLR cameras, the ability to live stream video directly to a smartphone or tablet
for firsterson control, or even the
ability to use the aforementioned tablet or other device to control the drone's
flight. But pre-builts aren't for everyone. And if you're a tinkerer, the
drone hobbyist community might be what you are after. There are a number of
build-it-yourself drone kits available in many different price ranges, as well
as individual parts that you can buy, such as high-capacity batteries,
advanced remote transmitters, and even autopilots that turn a quadcopter into
an actual bonafide self-piloting drone.
Also, as you become more and more experienced, you may even want to try
out different flight controllers. These are the PCBs that control the rotors,
kind of like a drone's motherboard, that respond differently to control inputs.
um with some sort of more specialized for smooth flying and thus capturing
prettier videos, while others might be a bit more challenging to fly, but will
allow you to pull off much more impressive maneuvers. So, if you're
interested in going the DIY route, there's a lot of information available
on selecting parts for your particular skill level and needs. But before you
jump into it, remember that just like anything else that's fun, there are some
rules you have to follow. Both the American and Canadian governments have
outlined regulations for flying drones for fun as they are technically
aircraft. These include, but are not limited to, not flying too close to
airports, getting the proper certifications if your drone is over a
certain weight or size limit or if you're flying for commercial gain,
keeping your drone within sight, not flying near an actual plane for what we
hope are obvious reasons. And this should go without saying, not using your
drone to spy on your attractive neighbor or to harass that troll who told you to
fight me IRL. Besides, if drone owners
start misbehaving too much, how will the drone industry ever get to the point
where we get things like quadcopter pizza delivery? Would be
awesome. Drone pizza. Speaking of drone
pizza, linda.com. linda.com is one of our favorite partners around here
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today. You can even use linda.com on iPhone and Android. So, that's pretty
much it. You guys like this video if you liked it, dislike it if you thought it was just bonkers. And as always, leave a
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