Is tickingheart still waiting to purchase??!!! Why wonder what drone to use as a " trainer??" Use your Solo!! But do yourself a favor, and DON'T attach the gimbal until you feel comfortable with your skill-set. At this point, the gimbal has become more "scarce" than the Solo. You can find Solo for about $200- maybe even less if you're lucky- but the gimbal is gonna cost you!!
What drone is the best to start with and train on for solo to avoid wrecks? (act as training wheels)
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Take your Solo to a large open field and enjoy yourself- try to purchase an additional battery or two- this will give you about 45 minutes of entertainment! Practice. And ask the guys on this forum questions. These guys really go outta their way to assist each other. Mavic? Nope
Phantom- Nope.
Phantom- Nope.
Why don't you account for Mavic? This drone is pretty cool. I currently own it, bought it several months ago from www.aeromotus.com and I can say that I'm completely satisfied with its functionality. After the release of the smallest DJI drone Spark, I wanted to order this one too, but I refused and I don;t regret. Mavic is an excellent flying machine, which has a cool camera and long battery life, 27 minutes. As far as I know cheaper options fly less. Of course, I don't try to insist, this is only your choice. I just wanted to share my personal experience!
As nice as the Mavic is, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to use a $1000 drone as a trainer for a $300 one.
Don't forget you'll need a gopro hero4 black($200-400). But as a newbie solo owner, i find the solo very easy to fly, with gps. i've even tried out the orbit and follow me functions. i even bought a second one, bought broken(for spare parts), but was able to fix it.
now, i can only imagine ebay would have plenty of spare parts for a while, so it makes a great trainer, since parts are plentiful. it does suck with the gimbal prices though, that's the only caveat.
you'll lack company support, but that's what makes this forum so great!
now, i can only imagine ebay would have plenty of spare parts for a while, so it makes a great trainer, since parts are plentiful. it does suck with the gimbal prices though, that's the only caveat.
you'll lack company support, but that's what makes this forum so great!
bit off topic but fly one (spark) and you might, regret it that is.
on topic - the OP sent me and I 'm assuming others PM's asking questions about the Solo and gopro. My advice was if you don't already have a GoPro or a Solo for that matter and are looking for a platform to capture footage there may be better long term options on the market. I'm jazzed about my Solo that is due to arrive next week because I am part of the open source community in a general sense and was surprised in a good way there is such an active community supporting this drone.
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Thank you for all the good advice. I am still considering the solo, it may be just after investing so much time in learning about it and appreciating what it offers it's hard to change your mind but it still looks like the best (affordable) option for a go pro. I have become more open to weighing out the pros and cons of other types of drones through searching and the gimbal situation and worries about support has been a big factor in that, since I wasn't sure I could help my family member with any repairs the drone may need. :/ This forum able tinkerers is a good thing for that. I came to prefer the direct talk option verses a comment thread as there were some rough tones here that made me uncomfortable in the public interactions towards each other but all in all your services to help each other is a good thing and it seems very needed and helpful. I'm glad for it and for the craft itself, hope us all happy flying.
When I first got into drone flying I bought a Smya X5 and then moved up to the X8 when I got better.
X5 pros: small and quiet enough to fly indoors. Parts cheap and easy to find. (Amazon, eBay)
Cons: too light to fly outdoors if windy. Calm days are fine.
X8 pros: about the same size as Solo. Much more powerful than X5 so flying is more like Solo. Can handle more wind than X5. Parts cheap and easy to find. (Amazon, eBay)
Cons: too large and noisy to fly indoors unless you don't mind the noise. Indoors too small to practice much more than take-off and landing.
There are several variations of each model. Get the cheapest one if you decide to buy.
Hope that helps
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If your wanting a descent cheap drone for a practice unit, I purchased a PROMARK P70 VR. It was available at Walmart for around $100.00. it was very helpful but I also practice with a Simulator as well and have flown RC aircraft for years.
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Thanks Maddog, You're always helpful to everyone, much appreciated.When I first got into drone flying I bought a Smya X5 and then moved up to the X8 when I got better.
X5 pros: small and quiet enough to fly indoors. Parts cheap and easy to find. (Amazon, eBay)
Cons: too light to fly outdoors if windy. Calm days are fine.
X8 pros: about the same size as Solo. Much more powerful than X5 so flying is more like Solo. Can handle more wind than X5. Parts cheap and easy to find. (Amazon, eBay)
Cons: too large and noisy to fly indoors unless you don't mind the noise. Indoors too small to practice much more than take-off and landing.
There are several variations of each model. Get the cheapest one if you decide to buy.
Hope that helps
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My two cents, I actually did train on cheap foam drones. Started off small and worked my way up. Honestly, it's a good place to start, the basic controls are the same and more importantly, you'll learn positional awareness. You'll also learn how to avoid obstacles, counter wind effects and see how buffer affects your drone. At least if you crash your practice drone, it's not going to cause any serious damage to anyone or anything (and you can fly it indoors, so you can practice on rainy days too). I love my solo, I love what I can do with it and I really enjoy the knowledge and tips that I'm picking up here, however I am glad that I didn't start off flying on the solo. Don't get me wrong, the solo is very easy to fly, but the more you practice, the better you'll be and trust me, you don't want your first crash to be with the solo. My first drone was a $50 walmart special, not even a camera on the thing and I'm glad I had it. The downside of cheap foam drones though is that you can't fly them outdoors (wind would take em).
Great points! I wanted to add that by using a cheap trainer you are more likely to push your limits which will make you more proficient.
If you get a good cheapie, you can still fly them outdoors. I flew my Estes Proto-x SLT outdoors because I have full rate control, and when cranked up to 100% rates, it can haul ass and fight some reasonable wind.
I highly recommend the Dromia Kodo and Ominus as well. The Ominus was by far my favorite drone and I really evolved as a pilot using it, and it also gave me a great platform for my first hardware mods as well as my first platform for AV/AP. If you get advanced enough, you have rate mode so you can really learn how to fly unassisted.
Both of these can be had for less than $80 between the two with easy access to spares. Go nuts!
Estes Proto-X SLT
Dromida Ominus
I highly recommend the Dromia Kodo and Ominus as well. The Ominus was by far my favorite drone and I really evolved as a pilot using it, and it also gave me a great platform for my first hardware mods as well as my first platform for AV/AP. If you get advanced enough, you have rate mode so you can really learn how to fly unassisted.
Both of these can be had for less than $80 between the two with easy access to spares. Go nuts!
Estes Proto-X SLT
Dromida Ominus
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It's soundin' more and more to me a good idea to have somethin' for crashin' first. I will still be be keepin' my eye out for higher end drone(s) for my siblings. I had some things come up that interrupted my searchin' but it worked out alright as I've had the chance to learn more. I know one thing, this forum is a very helpful place and from what I've gathered the best resource for any help when tinkerin' with repairs, buyin' parts and seekin' advice verses the company. Good for you all, bein' so helpful and ingenuitive, I know where to come back to for advice while searchin' out the best drones and I know I'll be recommendin' the forum to others as well.
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Good tips, makes me feel less like a cheap skate and more like a plausibly smart thing to do.
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That's a good point, a person does hold back if afraid of destroyin' a thing. Comfortably is important
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Thanks for the recommend, guess those are your channels, cool, good for you. Good sellin' point watchin' the drone crash into the mailbox and then asphalt and bounce back both times.
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Do the propellers always show up in the videos? Is that a thing that gets better with practice or just is part of the design (also wondered about the quality of camera, not lookin; pro but it is more about the camera than racing in what I'm lookin' for.)
Have you tried the "bug" and have any thoughts on it? Also the Syma? I've been readin' some on these.
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