+Fr Robert Ballecer, SJ Can those little drones really fly as well as you showed on BYB? I 'm...

[G+_Steve C]

+Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ  Can those little drones really fly as well as you showed on BYB? I'm guessing the Parrot works the best but I've never seen a tiny one that could actually be controlled and made to go where you wanted it to instead of just darting off in a random direction on it's own.  Were they really flying and not hanging from a string or inserted with CGI?  I've tried several of the tiny ones before but they just take off and crash so fast they can't be stopped. I got a Hubson X4 that everyone said could fly so well but can't even keep it in my yard. I should have know something was up when the guy selling them at the mall couldn't control it either and kept hitting people and the walls.  Then I got an X5C that's supposed to fly so well that it can hover hands free even though it doesn't have any capability to hover, at least that's what the lying paid reviewers said on Youtube.  I can at least keep the X5C in my yard if I stay on the sticks all the time but that's just because it's heavier and slower than the others. The X5C is pretty tiring and not much fun but it wasn't a total loss since I was able to figure out how to take the camera off and get it to work on it's own.

[G+_Brian Horovitz]

It all comes down to practice practice practice when I first got my x5 I couldn't control it at all and would crash all the time now I can fly it indoors going from room to room and land it on shelves and tables and take back off.

[G+_Steve C]

About the Parrot Airborne Cargo MiniDrone, reviews on Amazon sure were mixed with half of them loving it and half hating it!  There are comments like This drone took off on me on its first flight ..., Absolute trash and waste of money, It will fly away and TERRIBLE DO NOT BUY!  I was thinking of getting one until I saw all the bad reviews since that would probably be my experience too.

[G+_Steve C]

Brian, the problem with the X5C and all the others is they just dart all over the place by themselves with no way to keep them under control.  I've tried flying it for many hours but there's no way I can counteract what it wants to do fast enough to keep it inside of an area smaller than about 20' square which certainly rules out even trying to fly it in the house.  They also have a slight delay in the remote control before any steering takes effect which is longer in the smaller ones that seems to be just over 1/2 a second but it can disappear clear out of sight in that time before it can be counteracted.

[G+_Taylor Graham]

I'm sure they were actually flying them on the show ha. The x5c is great.

Staying on the sticks is part of flying. If you want something that flies itself get something with a pixhawk or a phantom or something and have it fly gps routes.

[G+_Ellis Malave]

The X5C is a great quad and yes it does hold a hover but as any small inexpensive quad you will need to confirm that the trim settings are set and they only hold a hover for a short period like 3 secs before you have to adjust (remember the fun in Quadcopters is flying them and getting to know how to control them).

 

Sounds that you are looking for one that has GPS/Altitude hold and if that's the case you will be spending more than $300 easily and it becomes a hobby grade quad at that point and not a toy grade quad as you listed. I have a Blade 350 QX3 which works great and has all of the features that you are probably looking for (it's not cheap) and it's very similar to a DJI Phantom.

[G+_Travis Hershberger]

I'm in agreement with Ellis Malave.  To do what you're describing Steve C something with GPS, barometer, and accelerometer would be needed.  I just got a Hubsan X4F (the fpv one).  It flies real well for an inexpensive quad, I can move it around my living room area that is ~12x25.  I had gotten a lot of practice with others already, and the stick movements are tiny, tiny movements.

[G+_Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ]

Steve C yes, you can control them. You've SEEN us control them. You've WATCHED us control them... LIVE... on the stream... with precision.

[G+_Brian Horovitz]

Steve C? I'm not just talking hours I'm talking weeks and months of practice I've had my x5 for more then a year now

[G+_Brian Horovitz]

Steve C? also on the x5 put it on a completely level surface and push both sticks to the bottom right and wait for it to beep this resets the flight controller's self leveling and if it drifts use the trim controls to compensate

[G+_Ben Reese]

Can't believe we're having this discussion again ?

Has anyone actually seen videos shot with a drone attached to a guide wire?

[G+_Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ]

Wayne Hobbins? ... Ben is referring to the fact that we've had this EXACT conversation with Steve before... Just a few weeks ago.