I love messing around with the copters.
The way from the old Parrots and Chinese brushed toys to the current fleet that’still expanding was both long and interesting.
Most of the time I enjoy piloting either a DJI Mini 2 or a heavily modded Phantom of the first generation (latter being easy to repair and modify, powerful and dumb enough to get the job done), other copters being either fun projects (like a 180 class Deformation Insect FPV racer) or research platforms (think of a 450 class payload carrier with an onboard Raspberry co-pilot computer used to make airborne whatever Phantom wouldn’t lift).
I do admire copters as this hobby combines flight, amateur computing and DIY projects that otherwise you’d never attempt.
- Rigging an old GoPro to an ancient soviet night vision device to fly this setup?
- Learning the hard way that the airflow and wind patterns vary at different heights?
- Attempting to explain to your friends why you do need a pickup truck to haul the support equipment and a ground station for a tiny radio controlled model?
All of this can be related to by people who’ve been to this hobby at some point.
Current fleet members as of 2022 as well as their status:
- DJI Phantom 1
- DJI Phantom 1
- SJRC F11 – second ESC board failure, currenty evaluating the probable upgrade path
- Tarot 690 Hexa
- Deformation Insect 180 fpv racer
- DJI F450
- TBS Reptile 500 Clone – destroyed in a crash early 2021, currently in a very low priority
- Volantex Ranger V757 Ranger G2 -currently active, only plane in the collection
- Xiro Xplorer Mini – Missing in action since 2018
- DJI Mini 2
