Impending Christmas drone disaster

[westy666]

Is it just me who';s more than a little bit concerned about the impact on the drone community this Christmas ?

I only got into drones about 6 months ago and did my due diligence and learnt what was what, especially the safety side of things from things like this forum and Pianless360 etc, before I even got my quad in the air.

But it seems to me that now drones\quads are at a price point and availability where they are going to be a popular choice this Christmas as presents.

I can just see lots of inexperienced punters unboxing their new toy, charging it up, and just heading out to the back garden or into the road outside their houses and causing major problems.

It just seems to me the conditions are ripe for a major issue that the press would jump upon.

[apollo7]

Westie,
i think you have raised a very good point here, will be plenty of kids getting them for Xmas plus a few "big kids" i.e adult males with kids intelligence lol and yes they will be straight out to the roadside or back garden to show of the new toy, things like Syma x5 and x8`s doing the big flyaway, maybe even a few phantoms where they dont read about compass set up and think "just hit RTH"
i wonder if Admin can put a banner on the home page advising people to think before they fly

[Powernumpty]

For at last the two Xmas I have thought the same but have been wrong.
I guess it has to happen sooner or later.

[Andy7]

It';s a perennial problem, and getting worse I';m afraid.
Happily, it';s all a bit Darwinian with most falling prey to trees and owners giving up after the first crash.

[westy666]

I wasn';t involved in the drone scene last Christmas but was tempted. It just feels to me that this year it';s moved far more mainstream, cost of entry level kit has plummeted and is just seems way more easily accessible this year.

Hope I';m wrong.

[guest325]

Could be a problem but the quality and performance of even the Toy grade stuff is considerably higher now so may be less of a problem than you might think.

[iRobot]

Some of the larger stuff could cause a few problems,,, cough  cough,,,,DJI....
I do think the toy grade quads are so small and light, the only danger is to the trees, when the ';dads'; get hold of the controls,,,, ';lets have a go son, I';ll show you how to do it';,,, straight into the closest large tree.
Press have recently reported that quadcopters are the no. 1 in the gift list this year.
RC fligh has become massive over the last few years and always gets hyped up how dangerous it is, and that';s not the case.
I got into rc planes over 25years ago, and non of my friends or family where interested in the hobby, and I always thought it was a shame and couldn';t understand why the hobby wasn';t more popular? Stuff is so cheap nowadays it';s accessible  to anyone.

[apollo7]

The small ones will make the bulk of the sales so an out of control x5 or similar is not really going to do a lot of harm unless a prop hits some one in the eye

[Bajadre]

Am hoping for no disasters  got my nephew a hubsan for xmas so gonna take him out xmas day over the field for a fly great excuse to make time to fly on xmas day too 

I bet 50% of quads bought for xmas will be lost by boxing day 
I know a few people who had quads for xmas last year only a few stuck with it most got bored of crashing and gave up 

[iRobot]

Imagine the peak at the power stations on Xmas day, when a few million people all plug there Lipos in to charge up for a flying session in the garden 

The sky will be just full of crazed drones!  ::)

[LuMan]

I';m looking forward to it... I know, full well, that there are a load of new drones set to hit the skies in the town where I live. It';s the talk of the playground, apparently.

Now, all I need to do is find a nice place where I can hide, then run and grab the odd flyaway, unplug it, nip it home and butcher the hapless multi for parts!

Do this enough times and by Boxing Day I might have a couple of Frankendrones!!

[Gav]

I find the quads in the gadget type shops, are cringe inducing (see photo).  Most are utter crap and the semi decent ones are well over priced. Check out the hubsan x4 in the photo £299 AND it';s in the sale. I am the grumpy git saying you can get that from HK for 200 notes or less, that';s a rip off and the ones I';ve built myself from scratch are better anyway.  I might walk the dog on boxing day morning and look for spares in the trees lol[emoji12]

[nate80]

It';s a bit of a concern.  As Powernumpty says, it';s been the case for the past 2-3 years and there';s not been any headline news about drones crashing at Christmas yet, but it';s likely just a matter of time until something news worthy occurs I guess.  Unfortunately there';s very little the enthusiast community can do about it apart from fly safe ourselves.

We all know the rags love a ';good story'; and generally exist to stir up a bit of controversy.  I can see the Mirror';s Christmas front page now...


DRONE FLIES WITHIN INCHES OF ANTLERS, SAYS SANTA

Christmas was almost cancelled last night after a drone had a near-miss with St. Nick';s Sleigh, a journalist has learned. Father Christmas alegedly spotted a remote controlled drone flying within close proximity of both Dasher and Dancer whilst in British airspace as he prepared to make his seasonal deliveries to the children of the United Kingdom.  It is understood that the drone passed within mere inches of Prancer and Vixen, startling Comet and Cupid and causing Donner and Blitzen to briefly loose the ability of flight, leading to Santa Claus narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with the Snowman, the Loch Ness Monster, that sparkly vampire from Twilight and the Flower Fairies.

Whilst the exact drone has not been confirmed Father Christmas believed it to be a white DJI Phantom, a model that he refuses to carry due to the frequent media reports of safety concerns plus the large number of Fly Away';s the Elv';s experienced during Northpole based GPS aided Return-to-Home testing.  "I';m completely sure it was one of them white Phantom thingy';s you keep reading about in the papers," Kris Kringle reportedly said before adding, "although it was quite hard to see as I was flying through a blooming blizzard at the time."  The UK Airprox Board (UKAB) report that the incident probably took place somewhere between 75,000 and  1,000,000 feet and that the incident was in the most serious category of risk to Christmas present delivery.  The drone operator has not been traced.

[Fletch]

My parents already spoke to me about a guy I know wanting a drone, and gave him my nimber ... One that can follow him on his bike ...


This is not going to end well!

[Bajadre]

I';m looking forward to it... I know, full well, that there are a load of new drones set to hit the skies in the town where I live. It';s the talk of the playground, apparently.

Now, all I need to do is find a nice place where I can hide, then run and grab the odd flyaway, unplug it, nip it home and butcher the hapless multi for parts!

Do this enough times and by Boxing Day I might have a couple of Frankendrones!!

lol should do a forum comp first one to find the first flyaway after xmas 

[apollo7]

I find the quads in the gadget type shops, are cringe inducing (see photo).  Most are utter crap and the semi decent ones are well over priced. Check out the hubsan x4 in the photo £299 AND it';s in the sale. I am the grumpy git saying you can get that from HK for 200 notes or less, that';s a rip off and the ones I';ve built myself from scratch are better anyway.  I might walk the dog on boxing day morning and look for spares in the trees lol[emoji12]

Oh yes, boxing day drone round up time, i bet i can find some up my patch as a lot of kids hang around when we are flying, asking to "have a go"

[flycatchers]

I remember when I was flying my 3 month old Phantom 1 on Boxing Day 2013- everyone who went by said "Christmas present!" 

[Jazzz]

I ain';t fixing no kids drone .after Christmas it';s a pain in the Arse fixing my own ..Bar Hum Bug....
And having to work out how thease plastic fantastic quads work with no instructions is another pain in the area known as Arse ...Bar Hum Bug ...
Let';s hope it';s snowing on Christmas Day first crash the quad will.........
Hopefully short out and burst in to flames...Bar Hum Bug...

[Budgie RC]

Ive had a few people asking me about them at work and what to get, First thing i do is remind them of the rules, If their response is ';It';s only a toy why do i need to bother with rules'; i give them no further input on the matter and no recommendations other than try a small CX10 or something inside first.

I suppose with all the crashed multis as christmas will be like an early easter egg hunt.

[Slayer23]

Wonder if any of the irresponsible parents who buy their 8 year old a fpv setup are going to take the blame when the neighbours cat is butchered by their kids props
how many sub 14 year olds are going to be given an item of impending maiming and death by a parent who does not have the basic ability to read the 2 main warnings on the box

1 THIS IS NOT A TOY!
Oh yes it is written on near enough every toy grade quad out there

2 NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 14
Yes that means that if your child is 10 it is not a suitable gift would you give them a power saw no well why give them 4 spinning blades to play with


BAH HUMBUG
mind you the free spares idea I like

[guest325]

I';ve had a few people who know I';m into multirotors ask me advice on what sort to buy their 8-10 year olds; when I tell them that there';s not one I could recommend they ask why, so I point out that they are not recommended for that age group. I have got abuse from my response but generally get asked why; then I point out the fact that they have high speed spinning propellers that could easily destroy someones eye(s) it suddenly clicks!!!

[Slayer23]

Mind you there are several little sods round here who could do with loosing a finger or 2 but they are so light fingered they would probably have stolen them in the first place.

All quads supplied to parents of under 8';s should come with a parent signed piece of paper that states I hereby give little Johnny permission to carry out delicate eye surgery upon anyone sitting within the living room as he spins 8" surgical sharp blades up to 15,000 rpm.

Oh but what a wonderful party game would be like death race 2000 uncle mic in his wheelchair good shot son that';s 20k in points another 50k and we go get that big meter span October you want ooo you just took the back of grans knees out least you cut straighter than her last doctor another 20k in points .


Damn the meds are talking
Neil