DJI Phantom 3 drone goes to war....

[Mario_SB]

The United States is helping West African troops fight ISIS-linked Boko Haram and they're using the DJI Phantom 3 for reconnoissance and surveillance missions.

Watch video:

U.S. helping West African troops fight ISIS-linked Boko Haram

 

[eBird]

Cool! However, now we can't say to people that "no, this isn't that kind of drone they use in war"

 

[Mario_SB]

Cool! However, now we can't say to people that "no, this isn't that kind of drone they use in war"

Haha... true! Phantom 3 is now the eyes in the sky to help coordinate artillery ordinance.

 

[Mark The Droner]

P3 starts at the 2:00 mark

 

[Dome]

18 minutes eyes ... but with antenna upgraded with amplifiers.... FPVLR kit...

 

[Keith Lampman]

Cool! However, now we can't say to people that "no, this isn't that kind of drone they use in war"

As hobbyists we prefer to call them Multi-rotors, Quads, etc.
The media calls them Drones; better for headlines apparently. Unfortunately, it is now a term that is well known to the general public.

 

[Reed L]

First the P3 and then comes Big Brother -

 

[Mario_SB]

As hobbyists we prefer to call them Multi-rotors, Quads, etc.
The media calls them Drones; better for headlines apparently. Unfortunately, it is now a term that is well known to the general public.

It looks like the term "drone" goes all the way back to World War II. Here's an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal on how the term "drone" came to be a reference for UAV's.

The Flight of 'Drone' From Bees to Planes

 

[RedHotPoker]

"We have come a long way, baby..."

RedHotPoker

 

[Mark The Droner]

Personally, I've been calling my craft a drone since day one. It's simple - one syllable.

"I've got a drone."

"I'll bring my drone."

"I'm gonna go fly my drone."

 

[Keith Lampman]

WOW........."A forum chuck full of Newbie's", that alone is more scary than Big Brother will ever be ! lol

 

[RedHotPoker]

But Janis Joplin could sure wail, eh? Hehehe

Oh oh, ohohyeah. . .

Big Brother and The Holding Company

RedHotPoker

 

[Mario_SB]

WOW........."A forum chuck full of Newbie's", that alone is more scary than Big Brother will ever be ! lol

Question. Why are you in a forum full of newbies?

 

[Mario_SB]

18 minutes eyes ... but with antenna upgraded with amplifiers.... FPVLR kit...

I'm sure the U.S. is supplying them with a butt-load of batteries. After all they are establishing Africa's first "Drone" base so I'm sure they'll have plenty of batteries charged up and ready. lol

 

[eBird]

As hobbyists we prefer to call them Multi-rotors, Quads, etc.
The media calls them Drones; better for headlines apparently. Unfortunately, it is now a term that is well known to the general public.

Yeah, I started off with saying that, too. As a long time R/C enthusiast I resisted the dreaded "drone" word and even made posts such as yours in the past. I also, of course, resisted buying such an device, as they take no skill to fly and are an affront to those like me that have been into
R/C aerial photography for over a decade.
But I'm over it and off my high horse. They do possess autonomous flight characteristics, so the term drone is appropriate. It's up to us to call 'em what they are, and change public perception.

 

[Mario_SB]

Yeah, I started off with saying that, too. As a long time R/C enthusiast I resisted the dreaded "drone" word and even made posts such as yours in the past. I also, of course, resisted buying such an device, as they take no skill to fly and are an affront to those like me that have been into
R/C aerial photography for over a decade.
But I'm over it and off my high horse. They do possess autonomous flight characteristics, so the term drone is appropriate. It's up to us to call 'em what they are, and change public perception.

Thanks for jumping off that high horse! Flying quads may be initially a "low skill" hobby but you can't take away the fact that they've introduced or advanced a lot of new technology in a short amount of time and that for the most part they are indeed a lot of fun to fly. As for others, it would be nice for them to consider that even though flying a quad may be of initial "low skill"; to the person who tries to understand how exactly an advanced quadcopter achieves flight, stability, momentum compensation and navigation, it is a portal to a much higher depth and understanding of some basic and advanced physics, mathematics and computer science.

 

[penguinmaster]

the difference is a drone is somewhat selfaware,they can hover and find their way back home.just a multirotorcopter will drop like a rock if you take your hands of the controles,and yes most drones fall under multirotorrocopters

 

[pe9999]

Thanks for jumping off that high horse! Flying quads may be initially a "low skill" hobby but you can't take away the fact that they've introduced or advanced a lot of new technology in a short amount of time and that for the most part they are indeed a lot of fun to fly. As for others, it would be nice for them to consider that even though flying a quad may be of initial "low skill"; to the person who tries to understand how exactly an advanced quadcopter achieves flight, stability, momentum compensation and navigation, it is a portal to a much higher depth and understanding of some basic and advanced physics, mathematics and computer science.

I wouldn't call it low skill. It takes skill to keep the quad in good flying conditions and knowledge to keep it safe. Quad by its fly by wire design is a disaster waiting machine. Bad thing will happenif no paying constant attention.

 

[Mario_SB]

I wouldn't call it low skill. It takes skill to keep the quad in good flying conditions and knowledge to keep it safe. Quad by its fly by wire design is a disaster waiting machine. Bad thing will happenif no paying constant attention.

I wouldn't call it skill per se but more like good common sense and that's what a lot of folks lack. Quadcopters with GPS assistance are "Ready and Easy to fly". Now if you decided that you wanted to fly it above or near some power lines or other important infrastructure that would call attention to you then you're lacking some serious common sense.

 

[pe9999]

I wouldn't call it skill per se but more like good common sense and that's what a lot of folks lack. Quadcopters with GPS assistance are "Ready and Easy to fly". Now if you decided that you wanted to fly it above or near some power lines or other important infrastructure that would call attention to you then you're lacking some serious common sense.

Have you tried building a quad from motors and ftame or reprogram the flight controller. If you do, you would agree those are not low skills. Regarding flying, have you tried flying a 250 racer in acro mode. if you don't have good hand-eye coordination and quick thinking, you can't handle a racer.Regarding P3, even it has GPS and very conservative flight controller, it still requires certain knowledge regarding weather and GPS KP conditions.