pdmike
Extremely Popular Member
I have been flying a Syma 8XSW which I got for around $100.00. Whenever I take it out, the wind is a huge problem. I have to fight constantly to keep the wind from grabbing it and pushing it behind me. Once that happens, it is extremely difficult to get back. Most of the time, I just have to hope I can shut it down before the wind slams it into something solid or blows it out of sight and out of control.
There is always some degree of wind where I have to fly it. It is very light, but it only takes a light wind to make controlling this drone very difficult. I am well aware of the fact that controls reverse themselves once the drone is behind me. It doesn't matter - I can use the controls properly, but once the wind gets it, it's gone. The only way to fly it is to keep it always directly in front of me and facing directly into the oncoming wind. Taking it up more than 40 feet is asking for it. When I do that, the wind takes over. Not much fun.
So, on Thanksgiving, we went to our youngest son's house. He was out in his backyard patio with a Phantom quadcopter, trying to figure out how to get it started. He had borrowed it from his employer - a school district. Of course I told him to stop immediately - you can't take a drone up in a constricted area like that with umbrellas, tables, bushes and trees all around. If I had tried that with my drone, it would have been blown into something within seconds. You have to be out in a big, bare, flat field, right?
So he cranked that bad boy up and I watched as it went straight up to about four feet and just sat there, solid as a rock. Then it shot straight up in the air to a height of several hundred feet. I couldn't believe it. It was still directly over the takeoff spot, but now way, way up there. Then he flew it a long distance away - I had to go out in front of the house to see it, three blocks over. It was so far out I could hardly see it.
I think you know what I'm trying to say. The difference between a Phantom and my dinky little Syma is the difference between a 747 and a Cessna. I HAVE to get a Phantom, that's all there is to it. Did I mention the Return Home feature? He hit that button when the quad was God knows where out there and here it came .... landing a foot or so from the original takeoff spot.
The bad news? The Phantom he had (I think it was a 4) costs $1,500.00. It comes with all the bells and whistles (except goggles). I don't care. I'm doing it.
There is always some degree of wind where I have to fly it. It is very light, but it only takes a light wind to make controlling this drone very difficult. I am well aware of the fact that controls reverse themselves once the drone is behind me. It doesn't matter - I can use the controls properly, but once the wind gets it, it's gone. The only way to fly it is to keep it always directly in front of me and facing directly into the oncoming wind. Taking it up more than 40 feet is asking for it. When I do that, the wind takes over. Not much fun.
So, on Thanksgiving, we went to our youngest son's house. He was out in his backyard patio with a Phantom quadcopter, trying to figure out how to get it started. He had borrowed it from his employer - a school district. Of course I told him to stop immediately - you can't take a drone up in a constricted area like that with umbrellas, tables, bushes and trees all around. If I had tried that with my drone, it would have been blown into something within seconds. You have to be out in a big, bare, flat field, right?
So he cranked that bad boy up and I watched as it went straight up to about four feet and just sat there, solid as a rock. Then it shot straight up in the air to a height of several hundred feet. I couldn't believe it. It was still directly over the takeoff spot, but now way, way up there. Then he flew it a long distance away - I had to go out in front of the house to see it, three blocks over. It was so far out I could hardly see it.
I think you know what I'm trying to say. The difference between a Phantom and my dinky little Syma is the difference between a 747 and a Cessna. I HAVE to get a Phantom, that's all there is to it. Did I mention the Return Home feature? He hit that button when the quad was God knows where out there and here it came .... landing a foot or so from the original takeoff spot.
The bad news? The Phantom he had (I think it was a 4) costs $1,500.00. It comes with all the bells and whistles (except goggles). I don't care. I'm doing it.
