[stephengillie]

I got a small Inductrix Blade, but they are tricky to fly. I'm going to wait for auto-stability and auto-flight.

On the other hand, having a wireless camera that can fly anywhere has unique security and surveillance implications.

Edit: Editing this post changes its position: https://imgur.com/gallery/4nVD1

[nickthegreek]

I work at a makerspace and we teach drone classes to kids. We start with the Inductrix Blade (pretty unbreakable), upgrade its motors, solder on a camera to the power leads and use a cheap FPV headset to fly it around. We then hold nano drone races in our space about once a quarter for the kids.

The Inductrix is a great cheap way to get started with indoor flying that wont poke an eye out.

[ep103]

wait wait, you fly these things via a VR headset?

[fapjacks]

Haven't you seen the drone racing league shows on the sports network? I cut my cable many years ago, but every time I head to HQ for work, I get cable in the hotel, and there's always Shark Tank on one channel, and DRL ("Drone Racing League") on another. Check it out! They all fly with headsets. It's actually pretty intense and awesome.

[stephengillie]

The Inductrix Blade I have comes with an FPV camera built into the drone. It comes with a 6" FPV screen, and a big plastic clamp to hold the screen above the controller. This makes the controller assembly a little awkward, since the FPV display is heavier than the controller to which it mounts.

VR Headset might be a bit too much, but it's probably better than a small screen mounted awkwardly to a lightweight controller.

[joshmlewis]

Drone racing is more like F1 where everything is stripped down for performance. Learning how to fly in non-stabilized mode is so freeing. Albeit with the stock Inductrix controller you are at a disadvantage. Check out the FrSky QX7 which is $100 and get some flying time in a simulator.

[stephengillie]

The controller is a good point. This one only supports 1 of the 4 control styles, and I think another control style might suit me better. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll try that controller.

[LeifCarrotson]

DJI makes nice platforms for a wireless camera with auto-stability and auto-flight. A beginner can easily fly in high, gusty winds with minimal effort while taking smooth, high-resolution video. It's seriously impressive technology.

But it's like driving a tugboat instead of a jet ski. While it does have impressive speed and power, it's all expended in service of stability. If you want to do crazy stunts at speed, dancing nimbly around the sky, you want manual-control on a racing drone.