They fly... What's not to love!?
But of course it's so much more than that. So this is my story of how I came into this hobby and why I plan on staying here.
Like many others, when I was still only very young, I received toy RC helicopters and planes for my birthdays. Obviously I was never any good at them, they'd not last me too long until they were stuck at the top of a tree or smashed into approximately 492038 pieces. But that wasn't the point, they were fun! And I loved them.
Then I got older, despite my insistence that I would still love to receive toys for my birthday (we all know we would), my presents became more and more centred around £10 notes and clothes. Then when I had all but forgotten my desire to play with things that fly, a new invention managed to spark my interests again. On the TV every now and then, and on the internet, I'd come across videos of people flying these new crazy inventions, quadcopters (or as they soon became known, drones). They seemed to gain ground really fast, before long I remember watching this video(below) about drone swarms and how they could communicate with each other.
I thought these machines were incredible... but still out of reach. In my head, only top electrical engineers and computer scientists could use them. But then things started to change. I remember hearing about photographers using drones to get that perfect shot, hearing about the launch of the DJI Phantom (which, love it or hate it, we can all admit increased drone awareness exponentially) and seeing quadcopters featured in a TED talk (below).
Suddenly these were no longer the things of legend. They became real. I had to get one. I remember Googling DJIs Phantom with such enthusiasm!
I don't remember what the exact price was, but to me, it may as well have been £1 million. I'm a student, there was no way I was going to get one of these. Yet again I found myself admiring these machines from afar.
Then, years had passed again. Drones were really gathering momentum now. I remember learning Amazon wanted to deliver parcels by drone and all the legal battles this would cause. I remember first hearing about privacy issues and all of those controversial topics drones threw up (to be covered in a later post). And once again, my interests were ignited. It was at this moment I, like so many others, stumbled upon Flite Test (For those of you who don't know, YouTube Flite Test and thank me later). Flite Test became my go-to option for procrastination. It became my go-to option before bed. Basically it became my most watched channel on YouTube, by a long way. It was obvious to everyone that I loved the idea of these flying machines and thankfully, due to the lower prices of quads these days, the accessibility of them, and probably also due to my own constant pestering, my girlfriend bought me a Hubsan X4 for my birthday last year.
Now obviously a Hubsan X4 is not a normal quad. For those who don't know, it's a micro-quad, mainly used indoors and too small to lift anything other than its own self. But considering you've made it this far through the post, I'm sure you can all appreciate that even something like that was amazing for me. I loved, and still do love, my Hubsan X4 and I couldn't recommend it more for someone just starting out in the hobby (but more on that in a later post also). Within weeks of my birthday, and through obsessive watching of Flite Test, RCModelReviews and of course Charpu. I was ready to start ordering parts to build my own 250 race quad. Thanks to the infamously snail like shipping from Banggood (as well as other issues I will also cover in a future post) it took me a few months, but I got there. I built my first quad. It was a ZMR250 (V2) frame, DYS motors, generic Chinese props and basically every other cheap component I could find (other than my FPV system which, for some reason, I decided to go all out for).
Just like that, I had my own drone. I didn't care that it was cheap and I didn't care that I couldn't fly like Charpu. I finally had one of these machines and I loved it.
My ZMR has gone through a lot, as you'll see on TheDroneSite YouTube channel soon enough. I've had it free fall from a huge height, I've had it cartwheel through thick wet mud and I've lost it in brambles many times. But every single time I get it back, I can clean it up, replace the props and it will fly again, every time.
So that's why I got into this hobby and why I love it so much. It has been something I've wanted to do for a long time now. And I've done it. I'm here.
I still have a lot to learn but thankfully, the community is great. You can see on forums, on YouTube and in person, people who love drones love people who love drones! Even at big competitions, the top competitors are top friends! Thankfully, or the Rotor Riot YouTube channel wouldn't exist.
And with that, I will end this post with a video from Chad Nowak (FinalGlideAus). Not only is Chad's flying almost therapeutic to watch, but the words in the description are very meaningful and deserve a read by everyone who wants to fly in this hobby. Unfortunately, I've not yet got to fly with another pilot in the real world, but the comoradery between pilots online is something I have experienced many times. So give this video a watch, read the description (follow my blog, cough) and always remember to value that community spirit every time you fly. It's exactly what makes it so great.
Happy flying!
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