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Best RC Planes For Christmas 2018 (RC Plane Gift Guide)

Posted by Dronerator

Here at Dronethusiast, there’s no denying that we’re big fans of the classic quadcopter. But unmanned aerial vehicles take all kinds of shapes and sizes, one of which is the popular RC plane. For those interested in this type of drone, we’ve assembled the 5 best RC planes for Christmas 2018, as chosen by our …

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Fly for Cheap: The 3 Best Cheap Drones for Beginners

Posted by Dronerator
Are you ready to unleash your inner drone pilot and take to the skies? You don’t need to drop hundreds or thousands of dollars to get a well-made quadcopter hobby drone. Check out the 3 best cheap drones for beginners.
What was initially purely for military use is now a toy for kids and adults. Outside of the military, drones are utilized by industries and private entities for a variety of applications. But the place where drones have made their biggest debut is with hobbyists.

What’s a Drone?
Drones are unmanned, and pilots operate them via remote control. Drones are called, by the FAA, unmanned aerial vehicles or unmanned aircraft systems. They come from generations of model airplane builders and enthusiasts, with roots in some of the greatest technological innovations of the 20th and 21st century.
Some hobbyists buy drones for the sheer enjoyment and challenge of piloting. Some amateurs and professionals seek the perfect shot by capturing spectacular high-quality photographs and video from an aerial vantage point. Or, maybe you want the drone that can win any race.
There are as many ways to use cheap drones as there are drone hobbyists.
Cheap drones are, either built for endurance or for speed. Most cheap drones don’t have GPS or wind-stabilization, but many have a built-in camera.
Most hobby drones are quadcopters, meaning the vehicle has four propellers. But, hobby drones exist with up to eight propellers-called an octocopter.
The 3 Best Cheap Drones for Beginners
The cheaper the drone the less functionality it will have. Most often, that means that cheap drones have a shorter flight time than expensive drones with better batteries.
Drones with the longest flight time, either are equipped with solar panels or several big batteries.
1. Tello Quadcopter Drone by Ryze
The Tello Quadcopter Drone by Ryze is the best cheap drone for beginner quadcopter pilot training. Just toss it into the air and start performing stunts and HD photography. This drone flies for up to thirteen minutes and includes an introduction to drone coding.
Newbies can get accustomed to piloting the drone in slow mode, and increase their speed gradually, over three-speed settings. And, the Tello Quadcopter Drone features dual antennas, for enhanced stabilization in the air.
The Tello Quadcopter Drone by Ryze (co-manufactured by world leader in high-end drones DJI) is an affordable model for serious beginner pilots, priced under $100.
2. SYMA X5C Quadcopter
If you want to get some HD pictures from an aviary angle, the SYMA X5C Quadcopter is the best cheap drone for pictures. This drone features the ability to do flips in the air with the press of a button. And, it boasts strong gyro control to resist strong winds.
You can fly for up to seven consecutive minutes, with 100 minutes of recharge time in-between. The fly-time to charge-time ratio is high, but it is very affordable, under $40.
3. Force1 U818A Discovery Quadcopter
If you are looking for the next level up in drone quality, check out the Force1 U818A Discovery Quadcopter. This beginner drone is on the high end of cheap quadcopters, coming in just under $100.
The Force1 U818A Discovery Quadcopter features a 4Gb micro-SD storage card to store the 720p HD photos it takes. It features a 6-axis stabilizing system for wind resistance, and it orients itself to your heads direction.
But, best of all, the Force1 U818A Discovery Quadcopter features up to 18 minutes of flight time, making it the cheap drone with the best battery. For about twice the price you get twice the flight time.
Final Thoughts
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How Amazon’s Five-Year Drone Delivery Plan Failed

Posted by Dronerator

In December of 2013, Amazon CEO and wealthiest man alive Jeff Bezos gave a 60 Minutes interview in which he promised that the company would have drone delivery operations up and running within five years. “It will work,” Bezos promised at the time, “And it will happen, and it’s gonna be a lot of fun.” …

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Drone Footage Spots Shark Near Popular Beach

Posted by Dronerator

We’ve written before about the many surveillance companies that are hoping to use drones to track shark movements and spot sharks from the air before a rescue mission is necessary. But last week, a massive grey nurse shark was found not by a spotting company, but by a freelance photography drone owned and operated by …

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Best Beginner Drone [Top 5 Beginner Drones]

Posted by Dronerator

Looking for the best beginner drones? You’re in the right place. Lots of people want to get into the drone hobby but don’t know where to start. Thanks to the recent explosion of the consumer drone market, there’s thousands of options out there and each one claims to be the best choice for first-time fliers. …

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The Best Drones With Cameras Reviews

Posted by Dronerator

ewsDrones with cameras have revolutionized the field of aerial photography. Getting that perfect bird’s-eye-view perspective in a photo or video is a lot safer when it doesn’t involve risking life and limb in an airplane or helicopter. Drones have also made it possible to get shots that are impossible for traditional camera setups – tilting …

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The Best Drones to Give (or Get) This Christmas

Posted by Dronerator
So you’re trying to figure out which are the best drones to give your friends and family this Christmas.
This list is the right place for you.
We’ve compiled a quick rundown of the top drones on the market this holiday season – bound to make your drone-loving loved ones smile.

The Best Drones This Christmas
We’ve taken into account price, portability, image quality, autopilot functionality, and flight performance in compiling this list of the best drones out there.
DJI Mavic 2 Zoom
One of the best drones on the market, the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom boasts excellent portability and a superb camera. The shots you’ll get from it will be second to none, largely thanks to its awesome zoom feature.
The DJI Mavic 2 Zoom gives the user high-quality cinematic shots. Its optical zoom is very small, super stable and the drone has omnidirectional obstacle avoidance sensors making it truly stand out.

Its dimensions are 3.3in x 3.3in x 7.8in and it boasts a light weight of just 1.6lbs. It also folds up, making it easy to transport.
It operates at a range of 4 miles, with a 4K (or 1080p) footage camera. It can also be looped in with your smartphone – allowing you to pilot it and review your footage easily. The DJI Mavic 2 Zoom is my favourite drone of the year 2018 and you can purchase it here!
Inspire 2 with X7 Camera
If you’re more of a high-end filmmaker or photographer and have a larger budget to spend this Christmas, the DJI Inspire 2 is the one for you!
With its magnesium-aluminum shell and carbon fiber arms, this drone is not only of pro quality, but it also looks stunning too.
The resolution and clarity of the Zenmuse X7 will delight any drone captains out there looking to dazzle with their aerial cinematography. This drone is made to last and the footage recorded to impress!
It also comes with the world’s first DL-Mount, allowing the user to flick from one prime lens to another. There are four in this camera, allowing the user to take their photography to a whole new level. Literally.
You can purchase the DJI Inspire 2 and the X7 Camera here!
Parrot Anafi
This drone is more affordable and a little more straightforward. It’s often great for those who are new to drone flying and for people who look for a decent backup drone.

What stands out about the Parrot Anafi model is its amazing camera angles. It looks up as well as down. In 4K! This is quite a special feature given it is not technically the best of the best when it comes to drones on the market.
This, too, is controlled from your phone and is the same size as it, too. The control layout is excellent for a first-timer trying to familiarize themselves with drone piloting.
The built quality is unfortunately quite low but it’s still a fun drone to fly with amazing camera angles.
Ryze Tello
This is the ideal model if your child wants a drone for Christmas!
The Ryze Tello is excellent for those learning how to handle a drone, and its durability means it’s ideal for young pilots.
The Ryze Tello allows you the option to programme it and offers a function of taking simple aerial photos and videos of a basic quality, excellently-suited to a younger, non-pro market. The Ryze Tello is my clear recommendation for children and you can purchase it here!
DJI Spark
The DJI Spark drone is light and portable and is a smaller model. This makes it excellent for those traveling a lot with their device. It’s also ideal for absolute beginners.
It’s like a more affordable version of the Mavic Pro 2 Zoom, mentioned at the top of this list.

It’s a great model to use if, as a starter, you want to work with an established, great quality manufacturer, but are looking for something a little less expensive.
One of the Spark’s major differences is that it only records in 1080p, not 4K. But the 1080p looks good still. Also, it is fully stabilized (albeit not digitally) which makes it an amazing drone for beginners. It is definitely worth its price and will introduce a great hobby (or career)!
Time to Fly
So there you have it: the best drones out there for your friends and family (or for yourself) this Christmas.
For more posts like this head to our Drone Guide page and check out an array of topics – everything from accessories, to modes of flight, to drone insurance is there.
Be sure to check out my Support Me page, too.

The ISO Creates First International Drone Standard

Posted by Dronerator

The International Organization for Standardization, or ISO (the acronym doesn’t make sense to us either) is a non-profit international standards-setting group with 162 national members, including the entirety of what we tend to consider the “developed world.” When they set standards for an industry, those standards become law in everything but name. It was inevitable …

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