For the last few years wifi controlled copters have been the latest rage for hobby enthusiasts and beginners alike, for those who want to experience flying wifi based products such as Ar.drone 2.0 are a good start.
however the dirty little secret about wireless networking is that for video transmission it is very unreliable in wind, high density areas and fog and over a very short distance (45 - 50 metres.)
this makes it very difficult for someone who want's to fly longer ranges.
range boosting greatly improves the experience of flying but for many new users it becomes an additional cost with having to select a WiFi range extender to amplify range.
I will admit using wifi range boosting has become a major boon to flying and has captivated me but is it all it is cracked up to be?
The major issue with incorporating equipment is the question of, is it portable?
in the case of using a wifi extender, actually no, it is difficult to find a good solid portable battery these days for under 300$ in essence getting into the costs you are unfortunately going to wind up with close to two thousand dollars in costs to get the drone in the air and flying with less restriction then the stock iPad wireless signal can provide.
once you add in the cost of an Ipad, the drone the wireless network extender and the power supply
the extra antenna equipment.
all in all by the time you are finished with the costs you get half the range of a dji phantom for nearly twice the price. for the flying experience, if you like parrot's AR drone for the versatility of being able to "hack in parts" it's worth it! But let's face it though, it's flimsy, it gets thrown around in the wind because the clunky foam body's lack aerodynamic thought, the rotors are not a direct drive shaft but rather a counter rotating gear train which means more parts to replace in a crash and last but not least the tilt control and some of the later updates have been counter intuitive and costly, there is something to be said about the 2.3 update. If you are looking to get into a more robust piece of equipment then I would highly recommend doing research into what your personal needs are for a multi rotor copter.
okay so lets recap the pros and cons!
Pros
good beginner craft
wide range of wireless boosters work with it.
great toy overall for the hobby flyer who has alot of money to throw at a toy.
safe inner hull for protecting your furniture and your child's little fingers.
easy to replace costs
does come with a warranty for mechanical faults (this is also a con as computer faults with ground radar can cause the drone to act erratically)
great fun to fly
Cons
cost overall.
flimsy and easily breakable.
to fix the drone you need to purchase their tool to do it or go through a difficult customer service desk.
not stable in high winds.
not a good pro flier.
redundant tilt control setting that is actually more of a determent then a benefit and makes it difficult if not impossible to fly in that setting. (and with hundreds of hours of flying under my belt I know how the drone flies.)
batteries give you seven minutes of flight time.
everything is proprietary to the AR drone 2.0.
I will admit I love my little AR drone, But If I could go back and exchange it for a dji phantom I would in a heartbeat!.
This is Anya the foxy fox Xpilot logging off for today!
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