Quadcopters, anyone?

[YetiDave]

Is anyone else here into quadcopters? I accidentally got the bug from a tiny little quad earlier in the year and I just finished building my first real quad



It's the Emax Nighthawk 250 full carbon kit with some added bells and whistles. Propellers arrive tomorrow so it'll have its maiden flight then!

So, show off your toys if you have 'em

 

[ByMyBeard]

I imagine these things are pretty fun in the right circumstances.

I am, however, concerned about privacy issues with these things. Despite legal consequences, if I were to see one of these flying over my property without my permission, I'd do whatever I could to knock the thing out of the sky.

So, having said that, happy flying. Just make sure you aren't anywhere you shouldn't be.

 

[langod]

YetiDave -- very nice! That's cool. Can you give some more details on how difficult it is to build, how much it costs, etc? Did you already have the transmitter, or was it part of the kit?

I got a UDI 818 a few months ago. Fun little toy.

But sadly, because of a few clueless idiot pilots, many people have the privacy concerns echoed by ByMyBeard.
So, I tend to fly in my own yard, or at a some local fields when there aren't people around. Mine does have a camera, but most of the time, it doesn't even have the memory card in it.

I see this being a somewhat short-lived hobby as regulations and "what about the children" Fear-Uncertainty-and-Doubt based laws will be enacted.

 

[ByMyBeard]

But sadly, because of a few clueless idiot pilots, many people have the privacy concerns echoed by ByMyBeard.
So, I tend to fly in my own yard, or at a some local fields when there aren't people around. Mine does have a camera, but most of the time, it doesn't even have the memory card in it.

I see this being a somewhat short-lived hobby as regulations and "what about the children" Fear-Uncertainty-and-Doubt based laws will be enacted.

I meant no disrespect to people who do fly quadcopters for their own use. There certainly are no issues with flying one around your own yard. And I would think a public park/fly space (similar to model airplane fields) should be fine as well. But yes, just like a model airplane/car, I don't appreciate that there have been people flying these things on the personal property of others. It's a sore subject for me, and I probably should have left that to myself.

 

[jason10mm]

They were demoing these things at a con I was just at. Small, all-black if the lights are disabled, virtually silent, packing 720p camera.

I see this as the bane of second story windows everywhere! As well as privacy fenced pool/hot tubs. I think they are cool but wow, hope I never have a teenaged daughter and I will for damn sure make sure my son does not get unrestricted access to one.

That said, in a few years there is gonna be some sweet dogfighting toys using this tech.

 

[langod]

I meant no disrespect to people who do fly quadcopters for their own use. There certainly are no issues with flying one around your own yard. And I would think a public park/fly space (similar to model airplane fields) should be fine as well. But yes, just like a model airplane/car, I don't appreciate that there have been people flying these things on the personal property of others. It's a sore subject for me, and I probably should have left that to myself.

Sorry, Evan, I wasn't directing that comment AT you, just using your comment as an example of what many people's perceptions are. In fact, I agree with you.

People are right to be concerned given the capabilities of even a cheap quad like mine. (about $80) It's an issue because of the actions of a few dumbasses with quadcopters who have no respect for any one. Contrast that with the decades of responsible model aircraft hobbyists who don't have that same PR problem. (And if you think about it, model RC helicopters have been around for 40+ years and are just as good a platform for spying on someone, they're just less accessible to Joe Sixpack.)

I guess should have made that point more clearly.

 

[ByMyBeard]

No worries Jim. I just wanted to clarify my own response. Forum's are great, but sometimes intention behind written word is misplaced.

 

[Seraphim]

 

[mikewood]

I have one but need to get my FPV setup as flying a small 35mph quad in tight circles around a football field is not a lot of fun. I don't see what all the fus is about. The kids at the end of the street are more likely to hurt someone with an errant baseball than I am a quad and I genuinely don't want to peep at you. Flying like a bird? Yes, spying on people not so much.

 

[Lmarkow]

Remember this one?
~[VIDEO]https://youtu.be/SrzU-MMBGIM[/VIDEO

 

[MidnightMatador]

As a farmer and rancher, I use a survey drone for its only intended purpose --- surveying. I truly enjoy using the drone as it allows me to cover every square foot of land that my family owns, and I will never fly it onto another's property unless requested by a neighboring property owner! That being said, enjoy your quad! The 250 size seems to be pretty versatile when it comes to attachments, and from what I've read, they can be made extremely fast.

 

[dpm802]

I don't have one, but it looks like a lot of fun ... definitely on my Bucket List.

I'm not sure what I'd do with it or where I'd fly it. My yard is about 6,000 sq. ft. and I really don't care about getting a bird's eye view of it. Nor do I have any desire to peek at the my neighbors, since they all have pretty boring suburban houses, too. I'd be more interested in taking it to a big city and flying it through the streets, or maybe to Atlantic City and cruising above the Boardwalk with it. I could see taking it into Philadelphia and cruising around Independence Hall and other tourist attractions. Times Square on New Year's Eve would be a blast!

I'm not sure what regulations are currently enacted in those places, but I'd like to get my fun in before those laws come to be. And I'm sure that if there are no laws preventing drones, there will be soon.

 

[YetiDave]

I'd never use this for spying on anyone or anything like that. I've not even got a camera in it yet, but I do intend on getting an FPV set up and Go Pro eventually. It's too noisy to be discreet anyway, like mikewood's this thing should hit 30mph+ (I'd like to race with it eventually)

Regarding the build, it's actually very simple - connect a battery to a power distribution board, connect your speed controllers, connect motors to speed controllers, connect speed controllers to flight controller (they supply power to it) and then connect your receiver to the flight controller. Then it's just a case of getting it all mounted on the frame as neatly as possible.

The kit came with frame, motors, flight controller and speed controllers for £130. Radio and receiver were £40 and I spent a bit more on batteries, LED strips, wires, heat shrink etc. Not cheap but certainly more machine than you'll get at the same price level if you buy pre-built.

 

[YetiDave]

After all this talk of regulations though, I should probably find out what the law over here says about these things!

 

[langod]

I don't have one, but it looks like a lot of fun ... definitely on my Bucket List.

I'm not sure what I'd do with it or where I'd fly it. My yard is about 6,000 sq. ft. and I really don't care about getting a bird's eye view of it. Nor do I have any desire to peek at the my neighbors, since they all have pretty boring suburban houses, too. I'd be more interested in taking it to a big city and flying it through the streets, or maybe to Atlantic City and cruising above the Boardwalk with it. I could see taking it into Philadelphia and cruising around Independence Hall and other tourist attractions. Times Square on New Year's Eve would be a blast!

I'm not sure what regulations are currently enacted in those places, but I'd like to get my fun in before those laws come to be. And I'm sure that if there are no laws preventing drones, there will be soon.

There are some defined rules, and some other informal guidelines. Additionally local jurisdictions may have individual regulations. Flying in any of the places you mention would probably get you arrested -- unless you have gotten a permit to do so -- which would also probably require you to classify yourself as a Civil Operator.

From the FAA website:
Model Aircraft Operations


Model aircraft operations are for hobby or recreational purposes only.
The FAA has partnered with several industry associations to promote Know Before You Fly, a campaign to educate the public about using unmanned aircraft safely and responsibly. Individuals flying for hobby or recreation are strongly encouraged to follow safety guidelines, which include:
- Fly below 400 feet and remain clear of surrounding obstacles
- Keep the aircraft within visual line of sight at all times
- Remain well clear of and do not interfere with manned aircraft operations
- Don't fly within 5 miles of an airport unless you contact the airport and control tower before flying
- Don't fly near people or stadiums
- Don't fly an aircraft that weighs more than 55 lbs
- Don't be careless or reckless with your unmanned aircraft – you could be fined for endangering people or other aircraft

See the Website for more: https://www.faa.gov/uas/

 

[langod]

Also a good resource:
Academy of Model Aeronautics
http://www.modelaircraft.org/

 

[HolmerJ]

We've had a few incidents with these things where I live in California...I'm not a big fan. Right here in Huntington Beach there was a couple of jackasses operating one with a camera looking in people's windows. The homeowner came out with a towel flung the towel at the quad copter to tangle up the rotors and then preceded to stomp the crap out of it. Last I heard, the owner of the copter was taking legal action in court.

There was another incident with another one, also with a camera filming a teenage girl as she and a friend were sunbathing...The girls dad found out and blasted the thing out of the sky...literally with a 12 gauge.

The worst incident so far though was during one of our fires. Several of these things were buzzing around in the airspace and for 20 min the fire department had to stop airdrops. The fire was so bad it jumped the freeway and destroyed several cars on the freeway, which has never happened...it's a miracle someone wasn't killed.

 

[langod]

.... Several of these things were buzzing around in the airspace and for 20 min the fire department had to stop airdrops. The fire was so bad it jumped the freeway and destroyed several cars on the freeway, which has never happened...it's a miracle someone wasn't killed.

Dammit! What a bunch morons. That really p's me off. Idiots like those are the ones that give a bad reputation to responsible drone flyers and will cause poorly-thought-out, knee-jerk reaction anti-drone laws to be passed.

There's a big notice on the FAA site saying the no model aircraft of any kind can operate near the fire zones.

And also the cities where the Pope will be are "No Drone Zones"\

They are testing a smartphone app that will allow you to see drone flight restrictions for wherever you are or plan to be, using GPS.
http://www.faa.gov/uas/b4ufly/

 

[DaltonGang]

I say it should be target practice for any drone flying over your property.