Ive been kicking around buying the phantom vision plus for some time then the inspire 1 came out. I'm a single prop RC heli pilot and private helicopter pilot but always wanted to play around with the quad copter aerial stuff but never did. Other than the obvious commercial uses which seem to have been smacked down by the faa, what other excuse to buy this should I rationalize up to buy one ?

Well, I would not recommend the Inspire as a starting point.  Unless there are funds available for a complete replacement. I will use my Inspire as a hobby only but I have flown every version of the Phantom since its conception. And believe me, I have replaced a couple in the early days of flying.  There is one at the bottom of the ocean near Friday Harbor, San Juan Islands, WA USA as a result of a careless mistake a couple years ago.

Agree with jerry. Phantom good starting point. I still have p2v+ and will not get rid of of it. For tighter spaces/more risk I will still use that machine. Inspire for the bigger less risky shots and video.

...I'm a single prop RC heli pilot and private helicopter pilot...

Single prop RC helicopter pilot?  YGBSM!  The Phantom is 100 times easier to fly than those little bastards.  You're better qualified to fly an Inspire 1 than most folks on this forum.

If you need a quick confidence boost, just buy or borrow a $70 Blade Nano QX BNF (assuming your controller is 4+ channel, DSMX compatible) and fly it around for a few minutes.  Even it is 10 times harder to fly than a Phantom, and the Inspire 1 with its Vision Positioning System promises to be significantly easier than the Phantom.

darmino Posted at 2015-1-1 04:30
If you can fly a single prop heli than a quad copter will be a breeze for you, even in manual mode.  ...

You are correct. I have not.  Sounds like the Inspire should be a breeze for him.

I started with a phantom 2 and now i am just waiting for my inspire 1 to ship.  i would start with the phantom and work up to the inspire unless you have the money just laying around and you want to spend it.

unless you have the money just laying around and you want to spend it

This was me. My wife would have a thing or two to say about that statement, but I NEEDED this drone.

I flew Phantom 2 for a few months...and will now be going to Inspire 1....
They are very easy to fly...and certainly if you are already flying RC Helis this will be piece of cake!

I failed to also mention I do own a Traxxas small quad that I find easy to control and it has no stabilization system.
I do love the Inspire 1 and all it offers. I am def leaning on buying one but I'm looking for a good rationalization to buy it.
I can use it for kids surfing and playing baseball. I live not far from the SoCal coast and the views from the quad would be sick.
What other uses are you guys using it for ?

I've ordered one. I'm a realtor in Edmonton, Alberta and an uber tech / RC freak so I am planning on incorporating aerials into my property videos