Drone Suggestion for 13 yr old?

[308]

I know some of you are drone enthusiasts here. We would like to get one for our 13 yr old grandson. He is intelligent and responsible so we don't have a problem getting him a decent one.

We saw some cheap drone kits that come with a camera and I'm sure he'd like that. Maybe an option for linking with an iPhone too.

Anyway...ideas would be greatly appreciated.

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[uscsoldier]

What's your price range

 

[308]

Good question. Maybe =/>$500?

 

[uscsoldier]

For that price range I'd go with a parrot

Amazon.com : Parrot Bebop 2 FPV - White : Camera & Photo

But I'd highly suggest you wait until you can spend more and get a Mavic

Drone World

 

[308]

For that price range I'd go with a parrot

Amazon.com : Parrot Bebop 2 FPV - White : Camera & Photo

But I'd highly suggest you wait until you can spend more and get a Mavic

Drone World

Thats awesome...we were just looking at that one

 

[308]

Thats awesome...we were just looking at that one

I think he can save up and buy that Mavic for himself.

 

[308]

For that price range I'd go with a parrot
Amazon.com : Parrot Bebop 2 FPV - White : Camera & Photo

I always get disappointed when I go straight to the 1-Star reviews....

 

[No_Regerts]

I think he can save up and buy that Mavic for himself.

I am in the "shootem down!" club, but I am starting to cave now that my buddy has a Mavic and let me fly it. You couldn't wipe the grin off my face with a dirty diaper!

 

[Goosebrown]

I'd go with a reaper. The kids love hellfires.

 

[308]

I'd go with a reaper. The kids love hellfires.

The hellfires will make a mess of the golf course over in Sunriver, so maybe an Isitsu Scan Eagle would be the more gooder choice

 

[teflon6string]

Does he fly already?

Although many birds fly themselves now with RTB, follow, waypoints, virtual fences, auto-land, etc., etc., etc., there's no substitute for eye-thumb coordination when the SHTF - especially when prices soar right past $1000.

Would it make sense to start him with one of those little $39 things to become proficient while both of you research the must-have features and ratings for the one you really want? Or maybe two of them to have skill contests and races.

I fly everything, and even the most pipsqueak little toy quads are a blast.

 

[Goosebrown]

The hellfires will make a mess of the golf course over in Sunriver, so maybe an Isitsu Scan Eagle would be the more gooder choice

Helicopter parent. Trying to shield your kids... and the neighbors...

 

[308]

Does he fly already?

Although many birds fly themselves now with RTB, follow, waypoints, virtual fences, auto-land, etc., etc., etc., there's no substitute for eye-thumb coordination when the SHTF - especially when prices soar right past $1000.

Would it make sense to start him with one of those little $39 things to become proficient while both of you research the must-have features and ratings for the one you really want? Or two of them to have skill contests and races.

I fly everything, and even the most pipsqueak little toy quads are a blast.

Thanks for asking. He has had a couple if the little drones and is proficient. Battery life is irritating with the cheapos, and one of his reached about 100' vertical and drifted off into oblivion.

Mrs308 and I were thinking of upgrading him without breaking the bank. The idea was to get something that functions well and doesn't take off and disappear because there are too many things to go wrong. The Parrot BeBop2 is pretty trick, but the 1-star reviews worry me a bit. I'm sure the 1K Mavic would be perfect, but I'm not really willing to dump that kind of $$ on a gift. If the boy wants to evolve to that level, he should do it on his own. We just want to get something reliable he can practice his skills on and not have to worry about if @#$$ up and taking off into the forest never to be seen again.

 

[uscsoldier]

You can find 1star reviews on everything if you look

 

[billdeserthills]

I always thought it would be fun to shoot one down, but I obviously can't afford to

 

[billdeserthills]

I always get disappointed when I go straight to the 1-Star reviews....

OMG and there are pages of one -star reviews too
& many recent reviews on this very item--not a confidence booster

 

[uscsoldier]

Personally I'm a DJI fanboy, but I've played with a bebop and they aren't to bad. Most people don't follow the directions and have issues. Drones are a in a extremely fast evolving state right now, new and better stuff coming out almost every day. There is a learning curve and some people just don't get it. Part of the reason DJI is leading the pack is they are extremely user friendly

 

[billdeserthills]

Personally I'm a DJI fanboy, but I've played with a bebop and they aren't to bad. Most people don't follow the directions and have issues. Drones are a in a extremely fast evolving state right now, new and better stuff coming out almost every day. There is a learning curve and some people just don't get it. Part of the reason DJI is leading the pack is they are extremely user friendly

several (or more) of those recent (this year) one star ratings say their bebop just 'flew away', that doesn't sound good

 

[uscsoldier]

several (or more) of those recent (this year) one star ratings say their bebop just 'flew away', that doesn't sound good

Again people not following directions, I've seen 2 myself. One was a person who didn't charge their controller prior to flying. The second was a person flying near high voltage power lines

 

[billdeserthills]

Again people not following directions, I've seen 2 myself. One was a person who didn't charge their controller prior to flying. The second was a person flying near high voltage power lines

Just doesn't sound like the reason(s) I wanna hear for why I'm now out $500