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My First Drone. Where To Start?

You finally decided to buy your first drone in life. But what to start with? We prepared some useful information for you.

Why do you need a drone?

This is the very first question that you should ask yourself. Do you want to do aerial photography with a drone? Or to participate in drones’ competitions? Are you interested in tinkering with the device, improving its characteristics? Or are you looking for a new leisure for the whole family? Your answers will determine which drone is most expedient to purchase.

Here are the most common options:
  • Amateur shooting from the air. Here we mean not the commercial or non-commercial use of the finished material, but rather the quality requirements and the whole approach. If you want unusual photos or videos during events, but do not consider your copter as a replacement for a full-fledged photographer or cameraman, then you do not need to choose a large device capable of withstanding the weight of professional SLR cameras. For meetings with friends or traveling purposes, budget models with a camera or self-drones will be enough.
  • Professional shooting from the air. As a rule, those who choose this option already perfectly understand what they need. The main parameters for you are maximum shooting time and the ability to install a professional camera. The first is determined by the accumulators, and the second – by the size, endurance, engine power and a number of other factors. Any doubts? Specify your goals to the seller or read the manual, usually it brings some kind of understanding. Unmanned aerial photography is used in many areas – from the arts to real estate sales. So we will leave the choice of camera behind you and we hope that you clearly imagine the business you want to do.
  • Family leisure. If you buy your first ever UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) and it’s still not clear how much you and your family will take over this topic, we recommend that you choose a budget option. It will be insulting to buy an expensive drone and find out that your interest has been burnt in a couple of days. So do not hurry! The same applies to a copter as a gift to your children. Give to your child an opportunity to practice on simple drones, which you are not even going to repair (it would be cheaper to buy a new one) – it will be much better than scolding him for a broken expensive thing.
  • Participation in competitions. It is not difficult to guess which parameter will be the most important here. Of course, the speed! But you can select the dimensions and weight as medium. In case, of course, if the competition does not involve the transfer of objects or animals from place to place (anything can happen 🙂 ).
Where to purchase?

We do not recommend buying drones secondhand, unless of course it’s not about your closest friends or the option is so cheap that you are ready to take a chance. Remember that when you buy it in official stores you get such a damn nice thing, like a guarantee. Let’s be honest, the chance that the breakdown will be guaranteed is very small – most often copters suffer from their owners. But completely depriving yourself of such an opportunity will be very haphazard! You can choose a copter in the shops of robotics and drones or look for representatives of the manufacturer in your city. In any case, it’s better if it’s a new device with all the documents.

How to learn to fly a drone?

If you want to get lessons from professionals, then the Internet is for you to help – today many people offer training in piloting: from private lessons to whole courses. But in fact, it is possible to learn the skills of piloting completely independently. You just need to carefully follow all instructions and find the information in the Internet.
Yes, in this case, there won’t be a pro next to you who can help when different force majeures and the first setbacks happen. However, this you can solve by looking for experienced amateurs and joining them during the drones’ flights.

Where can you do aerial photography with UAV?
  • There should be no regime facilities and military facilities nearby.
  • You cannot fly over people (for beginners – categorically!).
  • You cannot fly over the territory of someone else’s private property.
  • Spacious parks in the suburbs, wild beaches without holidaymakers, your own site, a field – perfect for the first flights!

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