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What was your reason for buying a Quadcopter (Drone)
1300 10 2016-12-1
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Normn8or
Second Officer
Flight distance : 1466611 ft
United States
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Ok I'll go first..... For starters I am 50 years old and on June 8th on my way home from work i was run off the road on my Motorcycle by a Drunk driver that Ran a red light. As of a week and a half ago i finally got the last of the non-permanent Screws taken out of my leg (I get to keep the rest of them plus the plates and two rods.) In my down time and there was and still is a lot of it i got into playing around with youtube and one day in my recommendations to what to watch next i started getting hit with Drone videos and the majestic shots and recordings they were getting which left me in awe. I soon found myself only watching Quadcopter vids when on youtube, took me 4 (Couldn't walk at all)  or so months and i finally bought the DJI Phantom 4 from Amazon (Sorry DJI) with my Bike Insurance. I figured i can't get around very well right now and won't be walking right for another probably a year so i figured i could go to certain places and have a look around like i had never thought i could before (Even before the accident) and from someone that has spent an entire summer and then some stuck on a couch Let's just say it lifted my spirits  Higher then i could have ever expected. I look forward to showing you all around my neck of the woods. I Live in a River town nestled right on the Mississippi just 19 miles from the confluence of the Missouri, the Illinois and the Mississippi Rivers. My area is rich in History and Historical sites that i look forward to bring to everyone to see. And if things go right with the drone and me This is what i look forward in doing with the drone and these are my reasons for for getting one. Hope folks will share their reasons in buying a drone. Below i leave you with my old freind that is if the picture file size is small enough......





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2016-12-1
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Hoomi
Second Officer
Flight distance : 231394 ft
United States
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I've always been fascinated with things that fly - kites, Frisbees, those silly little balsa wood gliders, paper airplanes, real airplanes (my only real aspiration when I joined the Air Force at 17 was I wanted to work on the airplanes), etc. I started with an inexpensive Nano quadcopter, moved up to the Blade Glimpse, and then took the plunge for the Phantom 3 Standard on the Black Friday sale last week.

I also enjoy photography, so getting something with a decent camera and stable flying characteristics has been tempting for a while.

I've been having fun so far.
2016-12-1
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Cetacean
Captain
Flight distance : 2528264 ft
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United States
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Hoomi Posted at 2016-12-1 15:57
I've always been fascinated with things that fly - kites, Frisbees, those silly little balsa wood gliders, paper airplanes, real airplanes (my only real aspiration when I joined the Air Force at 17 was I wanted to work on the airplanes), etc. I started with an inexpensive Nano quadcopter, moved up to the Blade Glimpse, and then took the plunge for the Phantom 3 Standard on the Black Friday sale last week.

I also enjoy photography, so getting something with a decent camera and stable flying characteristics has been tempting for a while.

Aloha Normn8or,

     Flying has always been a dream for me.  Since I was 9 years old I wanted to be a pilot but I was legally blind and not allowed to fly.  My younger brother, by many years, came of age when the FAA loosened up vision requirements for piloting, but by then I was long past a flying career.  I often thought of flying helicopters because I just love that strafing maneuver.  It did not hurt that I bought just about every flying game and pretty much every helicopter game available for computers.

     Then I experienced someone flying a Phantom 1 and was offered a chance to fly it, but I declined because I preferred to observe what all was involved.  That clicked with my history.

     Then, a friend of mine needed help when his company assigned him the responsibility of drone piloting with a Phantom 2 Vision Plus.  First thing I did was rig a preventer using a paper clip so the camera gimbal would not separate on hard landings.  That was a $600 replacement if the ribbon broke!  This was all tied up with Vortex Ring State and I looked into the problem on WikiPedia.  Soon I learned that the big boy fliers of manned helicopters were refusing to see that microcopters could experience Vortex Ring State.  

     I used to specialize in research and quickly amassed a number of videos demonstrating VRS in quadcopters.  When my edits on WikiPedia were deleted repeatedly by manned flight advocates, I challenged them in the back pages of WikiPedia.  They relented and we compromised on what videos would be used to demonstrate VRS in quadcopters and that is why quadcopters are now noted as experiencing VRS in Wikipedia.

     Well, soon after that, I came into a little money and I had to buy a P3P.  What I liked was the Live View.  I had dabbled in photography and videography but was never serious.  What I loved was flying in the Live View!  After getting my baby, my P3P, I really started getting into the whole enchilada and here we are today.

     I am now the proud father of a P3P, as noted, and a P4.  They are used for community service in a rural community on Oahu in Hawai'i.  We joke that it is the Kahalu'u Air Force!  They are such a blast to fly!  I plan to get a P4 Pro after the Christmas mess subsides.  

     I have to confess that I really appreciate the speed of development and the cutting edge technology that Frank Wang Tao puts into DJI products.  As a researcher, I also appreciate all aspects of the DJI operation and most of all the problems they suffer as a company.  Any company is made up of employees and employees often have to suffer for the company as the company team tries to achieve its goals.  

     DJI has a great team!

Aloha and Drone On!
2016-12-13
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Ob1415
lvl.1

United States
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Just got the itch and felt like it one day.  LOL!
2017-1-10
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Normn8or
Second Officer
Flight distance : 1466611 ft
United States
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Ob1415 Posted at 2017-1-10 12:03
Just got the itch and felt like it one day.  LOL!

It's always good to scratch.... Hahahhah. LOL
2017-1-10
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Jtahan
lvl.3
Flight distance : 481601 ft
United States
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im always the friend in the group snapping pictures or recording a video...and while they all yell at me not to record this or that, they love me for it years later when i pull it out of a dusty hard drive somewhere. I love recording memories, and if i can give my friends and family a view of their lives that they've never seen before, count me in! I've loved my bird since day one and this weekend marks the first trip/video ive ever made so im a proud Drone-Parent.
2017-1-10
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Jetpilot
lvl.1
Flight distance : 70748 ft
United States
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I have been flying airplanes since I was 16 years old (now 55) and during that time have always been in interested in anything flight.  In addition to airplanes I flew Hot air Balloons for many years and have some great photographs from balloons.  I have also been interested in photography since about 12 years old including developing my own photographs and eventually owning a photography studio for a few years.  

On the flying side, I started flying RC airplanes in the 90s, and around 2000 bought a remote control 30 foot long blimp that I used commercially for advertising and wanted to do photography, but at the time the technology wasn't quite there.  I took up flying RC helicopters and even bought a $2,500 gasser Heli and a $2,000 custom camera mount to use with it.  The biggest issues were that at the time the controllability of the helicopters was not for the faint of heart and required a VERY high skill level.  I never felt brave enough or confident enough in my skill level or equipment reliability to take a $2,500 heli, a $2,000 camera mount and a $2,000 camera, all weighing over 20 pounds, at risk so I eventually sold the equipment and pursued other interest.

When I started looking at the new DJI products I was hooked on the quality, the picture and video quality and the versatility.  I took the plunge and haven't looked back.

2017-1-10
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phatplat
New

United States
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Got a cheap one for Christmas and was hooked. Asked my father in law for advise on upgrading. He presents me with his V2+ that he doesn't fly anymore due to the trees where he lives. It was truly a wonderful gift and I LOVE it. In his words I got it because I am the only other nerd in the family.
2017-1-11
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Augustus Brian
Second Officer
Flight distance : 397592 ft
United States
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Normn8or:

Sorry to hear of your mishap. Glad things are improving. Drunk drivers and Distracted Driving Texters are two of my major peeves...

My dad was a pilot during WWII. When he returned, he'd wanted to become a commercial pilot, but was not allowed to, so he bought, hangared and flew various Cessnas and Pipers over the intervening years. He would take me up in those, allowing me to "Commandeer" the copilot's throttle on occasion. He once even allowed me to invite a girl I was dating. Flyovers beat sleepovers...

My grandfather was a newspaper photographer, and later a wildlife photographer. Under his tutelage, I learned how to develop, stop, fix, print and enlarge photos and slides. Bogens...

Early on, I built model cars and ships. Later, I delved into RC cars and submarines (one of which submerged in a lake and never resurfaced, to my life-long anguish).

In high school, I became the president of the photography club and taught others how to develop film.

In college, I became so obsessed with the flying abilities of Frisbees (yes, Frisbees do fly), that I used my budding engineering expertise to analyze and compare various flight characteristics, glide formulae, float and hover scenarios.

Then came a career in computers, programming and analysis.

A few years ago, I bought a Parrot as a birthday gift for my son. He enjoyed it, and on a visit 2 years ago, he let me fly it---about 5 minutes, tops. At that time, I said I'd dabble in it one day.

Last year, he asked what was holding me back--I had the free time, I love scenic photography, computers and video editing. I answered "nothing" but procrastination. He said I should go for it. Kids these days---so "damnanding".

So I researched quads, and settled on the Phantom 4. 80+ flights later, I'm a novice RC pilot, collecting airborne footage and stills for video editing. And having fun enjoying the combinations.

Keep Smiling,

Augustus

2017-1-11
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rjsimmons
lvl.1
United States
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Good stories, one and all.

I have been an aviation enthusiast since I was a kid.  My folks worked for Boeing, Northrop, Northrop-Grumman, Lockheed, and McDonnell Douglas and were instrumental in the development of the F/A-18 (initially built as the YF-17), the F-5 (all variants), and every commercial liner produced.  My step-father was a fast upward mover and needed some experience handling a large production line before moving any higher and with all of the Boeing lines filled, we had to move overseas.  Ending up in Iran, he lead all refurbishment efforts for the Shah's fleet and supervised the first 747 in their air force.  Tragically this ship received the attention of those loyal to Ayatollah Khomeini (living in exile in Paris at the time) and all aboard were killed.  

This lead me to a desire to join the military and I ended up serving 23+ years in my beloved Marine Corps, flying tactical electronic warfare.  During my tenure in the Corps I married and had 2 children, one of which rides competitive equestrian.  The photographers at the grounds were always limited to 2 dimensions and I got the bright idea to include a 3rd.  Drones seemed the natural conclusion to that and I am learning how to film from outside of the arena all the while following (in lead) of a horse and rider that tend to make radical turns at various gates.  The tough nut to crack on this is that I do not want to fly inside the arena as the potential to disrupt the horse and rider are too high and the interference would be catastrophic.  So the only option would be to program the course and have the camera lead follow based on that track.  Currently I am only operating under the DJI Go app but will eventually seek out Litchi to see if their follow function works.

Looking forward to learning and filming, flying and experiencing a new aspect of aviation.
2017-1-11
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KM5RG-Robert
Captain
Flight distance : 2075213 ft
United States
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I've been interested in photography since I was a teen (now 50's) and a few years ago (finally) got my first serious DSLR when I came into a little money. Quickly replaced that with a more serious DSLR (5D3) and started thinking about getting pictures from a little different angle. Research led to the P3A back in July. Now have the hots for the P4P (because of better camera) but thinking maybe hold off till the P5 next week or so.  :-)
Learning how to shoot video well is a whole different animal than shooting stills.   Probably have always wondered what it would be like to fly as well and this is likely the closest I will ever come to that.
2017-1-11
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