Drone

ANDY WILLMOTT WHAT does it take to become a drone pilot? These days it is becoming easier all the time. We now even have drones that don’t need a controller and respond to hand gestures (see DJI Spark review page 20). With all the stability and safety features now becoming standard, you can certainly take your time learning and avoid your shiny new prize possession ploughing into the dirt at high speeds. When I was a fledgling drone pilot things were different. Sure you had attitude mode which kept the thing relatively level in the air. But there was no GPS, ground sensing optical flow or vision obstacle avoidance sensors, so without having a good feel for the controls you would be all over the place and quite often replacing…

AIRSELFIE We are always wary about recommending selfie drones that are part of a kickstarter campaign, as many fail before their launch. However, we have had our eyes on this one, and it's now in production so it is definitely worth a look. It is literally the size of a phone, and has a neat self-charging unit that doubles as a phone cover. With safe internal turbofan propellers and stabilisers it would be a fun little gadget to take virtually anywhere… except outdoors that is. A gust of wind will likely take it far away. FEATURES WE LIKED • Slick, high tech Italian design • Ultra-lightweight and portable • Ultrasonic stability sensors ZEROTECH DOBBY Dobby fits in your pocket and includes features like GPS and Optical Flow/Sonic sensors with…

BLADE INDUCTRIX FPV+ Want to get into First-Person-View (FPV) flying indoors? We love the Blade Inductrix with its ducted rotors to avoid damage, stable indoor flight and now with an included FPV camera. The video signal is excellent for such a tiny little thing. Featuring altitude hold, intuitive flight modes and coloured in racing red, you will be buzzing around the house getting into all sorts of trouble. FEATURES WE LIKED • Miniature FPV fun • Included 4.3 inch monitor • RTF with video monitor on controller • Robust, damage resistant design HUBSAN X4 SERIES The Hubsan X4s have been around for a while and are still top sellers for their reliability and durability. There are different versions at different price points now, but they remain a truly affordable…

DJI MAVIC PRO DJI are the kings of camera drones, and the DJI Mavic Pro is your best option in this category. If you have the cash we guarantee you will not be disappointed. Due to its small size, being able to fold up and fit in a shoulder bag, its pure speed, incredible stability, industry-leading safety features, intuitive controls, spot-on subject tracking and exceptional video and still photography, this is by far our favourite all-rounder. FEATURES WE LIKED • Compact, folds to fit in a shoulder bag • Safe and easy to fly even for beginners • Can literally fly itself • Collision avoidance • Industry-leading motion tracking • Long flight times • Fast and agile, heaps of fun • Top speed of 65kph • Use DJI Goggles…

IMPULSERC HELIX ZX5 ImpulseRC have been at the forefront of FPV quadcopter design for a while now, and the Helix ZX series capitalises on a refined bloodline of no-compromise frame design. The featured electronics stack makes for one of the cleanest and most comprehensively featured builds around, and most certainly one of the sexiest. Trusted by top tier pilots the world over, including world beaters like Thomas Bitmatta, the Helix ZX5 is the go-to choice for anyone wanting to be as competitive as can be. Different retailers combine the Helix ZX series frame with their own selection of electronics and options, so purchasing from trusted sources with racing pedigree such as Birdman (nextfpv. com.au) can pay real dividends on the track. FEATURES WE LIKED • Seriously competitive package •…

BEING stuck in the world of commercial drone flying has its moments of enjoyment, but rarely do I get the opportunity to play with a small quad purely for fun. The Spark with its new gesture control certainly grabbed my attention so I was really looking forward to putting this little ‘smart’ drone through its paces. Drone tech has been moving forward at such a pace recently, it’s hard to keep up. The China-based drone company DJI have all but owned the prosumer and professional market for some time now, but only recently set their sights on the personal or ‘selfie’ drone market. The Spark has so many features and clever tech working behind the scenes it's baffling how they manage to make it all work so smoothly. 10 cool…