tacocat

Except waaaaaaaaaaaaaay cheaper.
[/quote]
And at the end of the day, you can drive your drone home. Wait...

Roflcopter

I suppose that would qualify.

WhrDLMI

Except waaaaaaaaaaaaaay cheaper.
[/quote]
And at the end of the day, you can drive your drone home. Wait...
[/quote]
Even if it is in pieces?

e3opian

It just looks like something fun to do. I have a cheap camera drone and it got tiring quick. I spend more time retrieving it from the grass than flying. It's my understanding that spending a little bit more money buys you a LOT more stability.

WhrDLMI

I am having a hard time finding drone racing clubs in my area and I think I figured out why...

https://www.faa.gov/uas/where_to_fly/no_drone_zone/

Should have occurred to me before. My house is outside of that circle so I can fly in my back yard. I also found a club that meets up in Williamsport, Maryland - about a 45 minute drive for me. I'd like it to be more local but I don't think that is going to happen.

speed_bump

Check you current HVAC system so you get the right capacitor, I have three heat pumps, two of the three are the same and the third is for my pool which is why I have a couple of spares instead of just one. It is the most common failure in the units that I am aware of so having the spare that I bought for a reasonable price saves me the cost of a service visit as well as over paying for the one on the guys truck.

Hard start kits used to be on all the units a long time ago, I now have one permanently on my pool heat pump because just regular capacitors wouldn't do it for some reason. They have to be the right one for your unit but once again cost about $10 and if for some reason it goes out at the beginning of a holiday weekend (everytime I have an HVAC issue) I can get and keep my unit running without a service call at emergency rates.

You don't want to know how many spare parts I have for the pool one/ I think my wife can rebuild it blindfolded

WhrDLMI

Semi decent interactive no-fly zone map.

http://www.dji.com/fly-safe/category-mc?www=v1

It is put together by DJI - the biggest drone manufacture. These are the folks that make the Phantom.

From what I gather, the 250 class drones are well under the size/weight restrictions from the FAA but they are still kinda dangerous - it is pretty much a flying blender - so they need to be flown with care. Not to mention all the hate you are going to get if you do something stupid in a high-profile way.

My guess is that all of that combined has pretty much killed the drone club in the greater DC area. Most of what I am finding is way out in the sticks where there is little to no restriction and significantly lower population. Kinda makes sense, when you think about it.

e3opian

Only the inner 15 miles of DCA is completely restricted. There isn't much open land available inside that ring anyway. I also think this rule sucks because it has no elevation stipulation. Flying under n feet should be perfectly acceptable anywhere that it can be done safely. (Trees, power lines, personal property.)

e3opian

These restrictions are excessive. Model rocketry is still permitted with less restriction and those are not even piloted. Once the igniter is pressed anything can happen.

WhrDLMI

I am still trying to figure that part out. I have read in several places now that it is better to learn with the little guys and then move up to a proper racing rig. Drones need software to stay in the air, right? There are a billion little corrections in rotor speed made every second that no human can do. The software is designed to keep the drone flat and level and relatively easy to fly. Well... When you race, you don't necessarily want to be flat and level all the time so the software is tweaked. This means that some of those billion corrections now need to be made by you. The theory behind getting the little guy first is that you learn how to fly with the software doing the hard work then upgrade and learn to fly with the training wheels off.

My plan is to get one that is programmable so I can put training wheels, if you will, on a racing rig then slowly alter those parameters until you can do tricks comfortably.

I think this is possible but, like I said, I am still trying to figure this stuff out.