We’re living in a time where you can buy top tier front line equipment on a mcwagie salary and not even sweat it. You can even use top of the line training software used by all militaries worldwide off of a video game store front for a fraction of what Mario kart 8 can…. Imagine being able to buy cutting edge wartime technology and having it shipped to your house during GWOT and posting tips on /k/ about it 15 years ago during the Obama presidency
>nigga bought the knockoffCouldn't be me.
>>65269945You can even pilot a submarine with one of those controllers.The future is truly here.
>>65269945>top of the line training softwarewhat are you talking about?? the steam ones are recreational
real hobbyist hate kommando larpers for real because we are 1 big incident away of it being regulated to shit
theyre already trying to ban drones, get it while you can lads
>>65270099how do i get into them? i hear OH ITS $275 TO GET FLYING, then i start looking and theres another $400 in gear to buy.
>>65270168yes its an expensive richfag hobby. if you are flipping burguers forget about it
>>65269975>regulatedThey can't even regulate 30rd mags in b& states or 3d printed guns...
>>65269960What in the image is a knockoff?>>65270168The controller upper right corner is $30 shipped (I bought this at a hobby store, full disclosure I play magic the gathering and warhammer 40k, I used store credit from weekly tournament attendance and winnings to pay for it) I got 2 Samsung 18650 cells from a local smoke shop (vape batteries) to put into it. Uncrashed simulator was $11.99…. So theoretically if you could replicate what I did, you could put hours into uncrashed for as little as $45 + tax The white controller is better than the black controller for simulators for 2 reasons 1: the white controller can charge itself and allow you to play at the same time You can play on your work breaks or during your lunch on a work computer it just looks like an Xbox controller 2: it’s more discrete the black one goes beeep boop booop welcome to edge tx when you power it on and has a very large bright screen Those are ag01 gimbals and make noise when using not as quiet as the plastic gimbals on the white controller When you have more money you can buy a beta fpv air65 Ii and practice flying Visual line of a sight a skill you should learn inside your house Then on the next pay check you can buy a $50 fpv drone monitor. You can also use this to scan and steal the video feed for other analog drknes in your area so if you’re in a war time scenario you can see what your enemy pilot is seeing too so it’s not a waste (as long as they’re on analog and 5.8ghz and not running like rapid fire or something) That’s about $200 split across 6 weeks so that’s $200 total out of 3 paychecks If you want I can get this even cheaper
>>65270186Bullshit, you can collect cans and get simulator time… or even ask for spare change at the gas station
>>65270194I was just pissed about being lied to about it all. If its $400-500 to buy in thats not bad. I've spent that much on a single Continental tire for my classic W126 Mercedes.
>>65270196Like every hobby people only talk about the main cost and ignore all the peripheral gear.That said once you have a controller, headset, charger & batteries the drones themselves are pretty cheap.Just try to get analogue googles that have HDMI in for external VRX so you don't need a new headset to go digital.
>>65270196A top tier set of binoc goggles depending on what system you want to use is 500-700 bucks. It can be another 500-600 for a drone and batteries and charger that won't explode your batteries over time. This cost can lower overall if you start getting multiple drones that take the same batteries. The radio controller is often the cheapest big piece of a UAS kit. If you want the absolute cheapest setup you can start flying analog 65mm tiny whoops for 300ish bucks with a box analog headset and a radiomaster pocket.
For people to have an enjoyable time with a difficult hobby they need not shit planes, gear, batteries, etc.It's more like $700 all up to get started. $200 controller, $100 charger, $100 worth of batteries so you can fly for more than 15 minutes, $300 plane.Small and cheap intro gear/kits/planes are either horrible to fly in general or really tricky for a beginner.>>65269971I was just being an asshole because they released the mk3 6 weeks after i bought a mk2.Truthfully, because you'd be surprised how useful the extra functions on the "real thing" are, even for what it can do with 4 channels.Now if youll excuse me i was cutting way too hard since last week, ate almost 4 pounds of food yesterday and need to shit my guts out before work.
>>65269945>top tier front line equipmentYeah.
>>65270361Id argue beginners should start with 65s/75s. They handle crashes well and top out at 30ish mph on a good day in mkst cases for basic ones. The cheap amazon toy drone kits though are largely crap and often are just low tier digital or cameraless
>>65270194$200 into drone hobby, still doesn't own a drone
Lots of bad advice in here IMO>Cost400-500 if you want to get set up in a way that means you won't immediately have to repurchase ancillary gear when you start flying "real drones". Maybe a bit less if you hold off on getting a hota charger and start with a 1s drone(recommended).>Starting with anything other than a controller you will fly withBad idea, the difference in sensitivity and the grip you'll use with the thing VS actually flying will be massive. Do not do this unless you already have a gaming controller and are just looking to fuck about. One of the biggest noob traps out there>SimulatorsVery good, definitely do this. DO NOT confuse what you can do in a sim with what you can do IRL. There is a massive difference and sims are way easier than actual flying.>Get a ""real drone""Huge noob trap. Starting with anything other than a 65 or 75mm tinywhoop is a stupid idea which I personally did. Have fun needing to replace shit almost every crash(you'll do this a lot if you want to get any sort of competent). Get a whoop, you practically have to try to crash the thing and can fly indoors when you can to make a trip/event of thingsIf you want to fly analog then get a proper controller(radiomaster pocket is fine), get a simulator, get decent, prepare to eat shit and get a tinywhoop, cheapo 1s charger and eachine goggles. Then get flying and get a big boy drone and hota charger when you're decent.>Not covered due to brevity: understanding necessary support programs like betaflight, learning proper battery care, learning soldering and getting proper equipment for that, learning drone repair/care, not eating lead paint chips, etc
>>65270777All good advice. I will say unless you get a top tier headset you will probably want to buy another so I got a box headset with a removable screen as my first headset and now have it as my observer's screen while I wear 04X pros.
>>65270393I started with an BetaFPV Air75 and highly recommend it, the only downside is when you eventually break something on the AIO board you need a whole new board.That said I never broke it with a crash and it took my dogs irrational hatred to flight to kill it.
>>65269945Not really in the present day. Component prices are up big time. I could build a cheap fixed wing for dirt cheap and multirotors were likewise. I could get a frame for $20, get a pack of cheap motors for $15, a 4-in-1 ESC for $8 and a receiver for $10. I could do likewise for fixed wing. (And this is only going back 7-8 years ago too). Prefab is even worse, a model that would cost ~$150 in 2018 now costs $750.>>65269975We are past that tipping point for about a decade unfortunately.Thank Bill Nelson for proposing to repeal FAR Part 336 (including Section 101 Part E, which is what most hobbyists operate under) which passed and got replaced with FAR Part 349 (which was bipartisan by the way). Things like registry, TRUST, FRIA zones, and worst of all RID and age bans effectively have killed the hobby.Our lobbying group (the AMA) makes the NRA look like a hive of worker bees by comparison. All they do is represent the club payment model while killing off the ability to fly in parks, parking lots after hours and backyards.I stopped caring about it all, if I am arrested and fined (which is big $$$), then fine, I can try to make a mockery of them, it will be a harder fight than the AMA has ever took on (and yet lost).>t. 19 years into the hobby and currently own maybe 30 aircraftRant over.
>>65270991>Fixed wingFixed wing has always been niche and demand dropped like a rock when fpv quads came around. Not everyone is a boomer trying to larp as a jet fighter pilot.
>>65269975Good news is the average person here doesnt know shit about drones. Ive seen people try to be authorities on drones for military use and theyre piloting a DJI kit without a headset...
>>65270998>Fixed wing has always been nicheNo, but it is still pretty large, even as a niche. Wings are still popular, plus there are planks, lower speed FPV models, traditional aircraft, pan/tilt platforms, etc. And before quadcopters took off 2012-2014 fixed wing was the main part of the hobby (I still see more fixed wing than quadcopters when I am at the park too).>Not everyone is a boomer trying to larp as a jet fighter pilot.Ducted fans are retarded trash, fuck them. Only boomers like their flying Flowbees.
>>65270375Shouldn't that image be more... Compressed?
>>65271043EDF should theoretically be superior for efficiency but most all I see off the shelf are high speed/jet-a-likes for the scale wannabes.Proper ducting of a prop is well known in the fan tech spaces, i.e. noctua pc fans. But to be fair it is more of just a speed regime and noise optimization effect.Anyways not that anon just my 2cent
>>65269945>you canbut you won't>h-here, i bought it all!alright, enjoy your funkopops
>>65271140Skill issue
>>65271075There are efficient EDFs just boomers dislike them because they sound less like a Dyson and more like a Hoover.ST Models had a Salto glider with a retractable EDF and with constant power it could get 15-20 minute flight times. Dynam's Cessna 550 Citation can get 10 minute flight times too. Most 3 blade and 5 blade units are fine on efficiency, but the people buying them want 9, 10, sometimes 12+ blade units directly driving high revving inrunners which are bad for efficiency. Combine that with the boomer "balance it nose heavy" mantra and you have a Miata with the handling of a school bus.Either way, if I wanted to LARP as a jet pilot, I would just build something from cardboard and old realtor signs and make it either a pusher prop or (better yet) a prop in slot, but that isn't my style. That is how we did it back then, and I don't see anything wrong with it now. N00bs are just filtered because no retractable undercarriage (or any undercarriage), no flaps (can't be assed to make flaperons or spoilerons), no lights and it being a DIY.On second thought, I am tempted to make one of maybe a F-20 or a Mirage F.1. Thoughts?
>>65270998nonsensical brother war, it's fpvs and bomber quadcopters grinding down vehicles and infantry at the frontline but it's fixed wings that mowed down aa, puccian gas industry and struck deep into muscovite heart
>>65270824That’s actually all bad advice, it looks like it was last updated in 2023 or 2024 Radiomaster pocket is an obsolete radio in 2026 with zero future proofing and is about 4x more expensive than their more recent and much better built models that came out recently
>>65272635>Radiomaster pocket is an obsolete radio in 2026 with zero future proofingWhy to you think ERLS is dead? What do you think replaces it?
>>65272635The Radiomaster Pocket is 80 dollars what are you talking about?
>>65272921I have no idea what he means, Radiomaster Pockets and ELRS are being used today in Ukraine
where you gettin the bombs tho?
>>65273071Yep, any ELRS radio that lets you upgrade the firmware is going to be fine for the next 10+ years and likely much longer.
>>65273084The same place they're getting all claims of it being the "next big thing" for the prepared citizen/threeper/Minuteman-- their ass. In no way are these toys with hobby-tier components going to war. Shit's loud, has limited range, and the vast majority of skilled operators have neither "excitables packages" nor proper optics suites for them. Even if they can move and shoot with a squad properly (doubtful), a figure utilizing proper cover in a field or crowd will be damn-near indistinguishable from its surroundings. And when you point this out to them, all they can say is "muh AI, muh 3D printing" like that solves everything.
>>65273200True, the real utility of civilian drones is having thermals or the ability to check out an area without the risk of getting shot. Even just flying the drone to see if you get reactive fire is better recon than doing it yourself. Its the next step up from affordable wearable nods/thermals that gives you an advantage over people that dont have them. You also can put a spike on a racing drone and take out other drones. If you need to take out armored vehicles you should have a benefactor who can hook you up with military explosives.
