Quadcopter: whether to buy a traveler?

This article will not be a description of the technical characteristics, there will be no tips on how to customize white balance and making color correction video. It will be my experience using a flying toy so that each of you understand – she needs you or not.

Why?

I love to fly and always when I travel, I try to find the opportunity to fly by helicopter or plane. It is usually expensive (if it is, of course, not public transport as on the spotlights). Yes, I was crazy about flights over waterfalls in Iguazu, as from flights on the barrier reef in Australia. But I do not want to remember the cost, it’s pain 🙂

So, for me, the quadrocopter is an opportunity to climb the sky anywhere in the world. Self Pilot.

What quadrocopter choose?

My accident

I will say right away that they are inevitable. The first happened in Kyrgyzstan, where I launched Dron at Lake Issyk-Kul. Along the route stood one tree within a radius of 10 km, here I planted a quadrocopter for him 🙂 It was stuck in the branches, one screw broke down. Easy to get rid, but apparently I did not sleep and decided to listen to my friend, which offered me to include him and see what will happen with three screws. With physics, I always had everything badly, it was clear that the quadrocopter turned over the uneven force and began to spin on the ground in the agony, shifting all the remaining three screws. It’s good that I had a spare kit.

The second accident occurred at the Belogorsk Monastery in his native Perm region. Surprisingly, as I launched it in -30, I did it, sitting in the car, so as not to fribe my hands. Planned it next to a car on a small platform, but missed for 2 centimeters, the screws of the ride already. At the same time, I could not turn off the battery for a long time, I had to unkind him in the snow. Mentally, I already said goodbye to him, he published witness sounds when turned on, water flowed out of it. But he loves life with me, wants to live. Stood the night on the warm floor and again as new.

I didn’t have more accidents with my quadrocopter, I was rarely piloting, but quite clearly 🙂 In Iceland, there was a problem with the drone of my friend, as we lost it? (Okay, how I lost it?). I launched it with a high cliff down to the sea, there was a complex landscape, the signal was lost. When the signal is lost, it must rise to the specified height in the settings (by default it is only 30 meters) and return home. But my height was minus 70 meters, he rose 30 meters up and crashed about the cliff (apparently). It is believed that we put 100 meters in the settings – he would survive.

And how many moments were when you already thought that everything was missing, but you miraculously saved his life. For example, he began to land enough over her Christmas trees and pines in the National Park Yosemite, as I managed to plant him in a kilometer from myself between the trees and branches – I will not be able to do, I just lowered the camera down and sat down as if in the steering wheel of a combat helicopter, which Film my task – survive. Definitely without these emotions to travel – much more boring 🙂

pros

1. You can make beautiful frames, just raising it up. Familiar places will open in a new way. Instagram after purchase – it became even more interesting 🙂
2. Good quality video.
3. Stabilization, even with noticeable wind, Fantom struggles, the camera does not swing.
4. Ease of control.
5. Pile of emotions from flight. Boys even in 30 remain boys. This is a super toy. Nobody takes a feeling of flight.
6.Height and range. Easily rises a couple of kilometers up and in a not sophisticated landscape to a kilometer in the distance

Minuses

1. Legal minus. In Uzbekistan, it does not import it, you can also put on espionage. In many national parks, ban and enormous fines for flights. Not to mention the major cities where the consequences can be the most sad. In Russia, introduced registration.
2. Transportation. You can’t handle it in the luggage, you have to carry it in hand baggage. If you are flying a lourogenant, it is inconvenient to fit into one manual sting everything: photographic equipment, drone, documents. With two backpacks are also not very convenient to travel.
3. Excessive attention. Be prepared that people will run to you and interested in quadcopter. This distracts, and in Russia it is also annoying, people in our province are strange in the province 🙂 at the airport can carry out additional inspection (it was more than once, in Oslo and in Moscow).
4. Weather dependence. Once I dragged it 22 kilometers in the mountains to make a photo in Troll. But the wind was such a power that hardly did not demolish people in the abyss. Launch during rain and minus temperature is also not recommended. There are quadcopters that fight the wind, but also the cost of them is already up to. We used in Iceland inspan, and this is already a completely different level.
5. Price. For complete happiness requires additional accessories. One battery is enough for 24 minutes flights, the second will cost approximately 9-10 thousand rubles. Ideally have their three, as well as buy additional screws, car charging, reliable Case for transportation. As a result, the cost of drone will increase by another 30 thousand rubles.
6. Fragility. Even if you fly like God, is not a fact that the day will come. When it won’t:) Quite often drones beat in the first flight.

I did not affect technical topics, whether you need 4k or quite FullHD, you can read on specialized sites. For myself I decided exactly that the quadrocopter I need, I regret that there was no opportunity and accessibility of it earlier. I would take it with me to Greenland, at Ayalsk or in the DPRK.

I am curious to look at a novelty from Gopro, but I will only change in my will inspire (or on Phantom 5?), but definitely not this year.