Buying Guide ~ Drones

Do Your Research

Before investing money in a drone, first ask yourself what is the main thing you would like your drone to do:

1. racing
2. videography or photography
3. learning to fly
4. or building

Asking yourself this question and doing your research about different types, warranties, customer service, and spare parts could save you time and money.

Below is the list of drones that were purchased for the Drone Program at Carol Morgan School.

Cheerson CX-10A

Cheerson CX-10 in Silver

The Cheerson drone is a simple little (and I mean little) that is great if you have never flown a drone before.  This little drone fits in the palm of your hand and comes with a 4 Channel controller.    A person is able to practice ascending, descending, moving forward, backward, left, right and final some 3D tumbling.  You can even throw this in the air to begin flying.  CONS:  These break easily so have spare props on hand, needle nose pliers to pull of the props to replace.  Also a good idea is to buy the cages that fit around the propellers to protect in case of crash landings.  PROS:  Cheap investment of about $18 with free shipping on Amazon.  Comes in lots of colors ~ pink, purple, blue, white, black, silver, and gold.

Total flying time is 6 minutes and about 45 minutes to fully recharge.  The controller needs 2AA batteries.

If you are successful and learn how to fly without crashing, but still don't want to spend the money, try the Cheerson CX-10WD.   This will do everything the CX-10 will do, but it comes with a First Person View controller so you can see where you are flying through the mounted camera.  This little WiFi HD camera can take real-time FPV by connecting it to a smart phone.  It will also take pictures and videos. 



GoPro Karma Hero5 Black

Features include folding arms, GoPro Hero 5, FPV, easy takeoff and landing.  This model comes with the battery, extra props and a backpack carrying case.

This drone will be used for our aerial shots of the school and incorporated into the regular curriculum.  As teachers and students become more comfortable with flying, we will use this drone in our curriculum.

DJI Mavric

Very similiar to the Karma, but this one folds up and fits in your pocket.  This one will be easier to carry around but still very functional when using with our classes.

YKS Drone Kits

I'll talk more about this one in a future blog post, but this is one of the better drone kits.