I suspect I'm not the only one that has both a Phantom and a Blade, so I thought I'd throw this out to the group...
I just broke in my new Phantom 2 today. Other than flying it into a tree and breaking a prop, all went well. Just replaced the broken prop and my second flight went much better (at least I avoided hitting the tree!) Flying the 2 proved to be a very interesting experience, especially since I acquired a Blade about a month and a half ago and have been flying that machine before I got the Phantom. Some initial observations between the two quads...
1. The Blade is truly "fly out of the box". No adjustments, just charge up the battery, make sure you have GPS lock, check for "safe mode" and fly. It's really that easy. Assuming you don't make any boneheaded mistakes (like flying into objects) you'll be fine. Their gimbal mount for the Hero 3 looks pretty dinky, but it does work. I get about 11-13 minutes of flying with mine. And I make **** sure the WiFi on the Go Pro is turned off.
2. The Phantom is not "fly out of the box". There's some work and preparation to it. You mount props (which I like a lot better than the old system on the original Phantom), charge battery (I do think the new battery system is fantastic-and one push of a button to turn it on or off was badly needed), do your compass calibration and then take it slow and easy. Anyone who thinks the Phantom is "take it out and fly" will be badly disappointing (like I was with my original Phantom).
3. The Blade's "safe mode" is pretty forgiving, and I love their "return to home" function which is one switch function. You don't have to turn off the RC to get the function to work-as long as you're in "safe mode", you can initiate return to home whenever you want (I wish there was a way to do it with the Phantom without shutting off the RC). The Blade can get away from you quickly-I've had mine climb beyond my ability to see it and it was panic time until I turned on return to home. I had some anxious minutes (or were they seconds?) but it finally showed up!
4. I know that many Phantom fliers are using, or will use FPV soon. And, once I get more comfortable with my flying, I'll go that route as well. I do not know if/how folks are doing FPV with the Blade.
That's it for now..thanks for the space and letting me express my two cent's worth.
I just broke in my new Phantom 2 today. Other than flying it into a tree and breaking a prop, all went well. Just replaced the broken prop and my second flight went much better (at least I avoided hitting the tree!) Flying the 2 proved to be a very interesting experience, especially since I acquired a Blade about a month and a half ago and have been flying that machine before I got the Phantom. Some initial observations between the two quads...
1. The Blade is truly "fly out of the box". No adjustments, just charge up the battery, make sure you have GPS lock, check for "safe mode" and fly. It's really that easy. Assuming you don't make any boneheaded mistakes (like flying into objects) you'll be fine. Their gimbal mount for the Hero 3 looks pretty dinky, but it does work. I get about 11-13 minutes of flying with mine. And I make **** sure the WiFi on the Go Pro is turned off.
2. The Phantom is not "fly out of the box". There's some work and preparation to it. You mount props (which I like a lot better than the old system on the original Phantom), charge battery (I do think the new battery system is fantastic-and one push of a button to turn it on or off was badly needed), do your compass calibration and then take it slow and easy. Anyone who thinks the Phantom is "take it out and fly" will be badly disappointing (like I was with my original Phantom).
3. The Blade's "safe mode" is pretty forgiving, and I love their "return to home" function which is one switch function. You don't have to turn off the RC to get the function to work-as long as you're in "safe mode", you can initiate return to home whenever you want (I wish there was a way to do it with the Phantom without shutting off the RC). The Blade can get away from you quickly-I've had mine climb beyond my ability to see it and it was panic time until I turned on return to home. I had some anxious minutes (or were they seconds?) but it finally showed up!
4. I know that many Phantom fliers are using, or will use FPV soon. And, once I get more comfortable with my flying, I'll go that route as well. I do not know if/how folks are doing FPV with the Blade.
That's it for now..thanks for the space and letting me express my two cent's worth.
