Hi everyone, My dad will be 65 this year and we want to get him a drone or quad. He is a pilot, but never got to fly professionally for personal reasons, so he built and flew lots of scale model planes and has lots and lots of hours on flight simulator XD. He is very knowledgeable on aeronautics. He lives at the beach, and I know he would love to take pictures and video of mom while she kayaks near the dolphins and whales, about 600 ft from the shore, at about 30 ft height. I want to get him a non-professional, but still-do-the-trick machine. Can you help me with some suggestions? Thank you so much, I know this would make him very happy.
Flying over water he is very likely to someday lose his machine to neptune. If he gets a decent machine, make certain he puts some floats on the landing skids, etc. To really do the trick with video you need a gimbal equipped quad - that means a Phantom 2 Vision+ or Yuneec Q500 in the under $1500 price range. Note that DJI is having a 15% off sale on tues and wed this month (this is for their more expensive models) https://www.droneflyers.com/2015/02/dji-phantom-products-15-off-midweek-sales/ If he wants to start out on a lower budget, I'd probably say to buy a plain Phantom 1 and hang a lower cost GoPro, Mobius or other camera from it...for mostly still photos because the video will have lots of vibrations in it. http://amzn.to/1A2DT0O (Phantom 1 on Amazon - about $450)
Thank you very much for your reply. My budget is around $1,000, maybe i can wait a little to get one of the better models. I was wondering if the marine strong wind would even allow them to fly. Also, if the water made some interference with the equipment, if that makes sense. Is there a way he can get it back if it falls on water? Will it still work?
They can fly in some wind - perhaps up to about 12 MPH or a little more. Flying over water is always risky - there are very few models which are made to do this! Other models will be ruined if they go into the water even once. These are very expensive - but that's what you need... http://www.quadh2o.com/
WOW, that is exactly what i was looking for! It IS expensive though, but it's good to know that there is a model that can bear with the weather and that won't get lost after the first flights. Maybe sometime in the future! Thank you for your replies
Your Dad likes to build, so here is a frame kit that would get him started, http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__58473__X_UAV_Lotus_Quad_Copter_with_Water_landing_Capability_450mm_.html X-UAV introduces the Lotus, a foam structured quad copter with built in propeller guards, water landing floats and a 360 deg clear camera dome. The foam structure with integrated frame makes this quad very durable and light. The landing gear also acts as floats, allowing the quad the ability to safely fly over and land on water. The large water tight center bay can easily house all the critical electronics and battery, keeping them nice and dry. The other great feature about the foam construction is the built in propeller guards making this one of the safest frames for certain applications. And it would not be a X-uav without a 360deg bottom mounted optical Dome for your camera. Features: • lightweight foam structure • water floats and water tight center bay • Built in prop guards • Durability and safety • 360 clear bottom dome for camera Specs: Wheelbase: 450 Size: 740x740x160mm Weight: 515g Required: 4 x 2212~4006 class motors and matched ESC’s 4 x 8~9 inch propellers Flight controller 5ch Radio Battery Probably less than $500.00 USD would get everything needed to make / build one of these.
That's awesome! He used to build radio controlled planes from scratch when i was very young, so i think he'd like it. What's a good camera to use here? What would you recommend?
I like GoPros, but they may be too heavy for that UAV........WebMan knows the good "key chain" cameras that are light, he will have some good suggestions.
