Hi folks,
New to the forum here and was just looking around when I saw mention of the AR Drone. I've had mine for a couple of months now maybe. In fact I have since bought a few other quads and they are all good fun.
I used to fly fixed wing stuff about 22 years ago and wanted to get back into it thinking a heli maybe this time, but instead after a couple of weeks of late-night research Isettled on the AR V2.0. At first what caught my attention was the wifi control via my Samsung android phone. Added to that was the on-board video capability. I soon realized that I didn't much care for the phone applications control, and switched to the comfort I knew many years ago on the sticks and bought a Spektrum DX6i transmitter then added a DSM2 receiver. The receivers are available from a few sources now and greatly increase the overall fun capacity of the AR.
First I purchased the Quad-Mod 615 receiver that is made by a fellow over in the UK, and sold here in the states by one dealer. I flew with that for a few weeks then had some issues and sent the unit back to the UK for evaluation / repair. Knowing that it was going to take a while just in mail transport time alone, I found another similar receiver from a guy up in Canada (XR4-Drone). Long story short I have been flying on that unit and things are working great. Recently the UK receiver has returned and has also been upgraded to a "Quad-Mod Pro" with a rated range of 1,500 meters where the original was rated at 1,500 feet. Not sure what I will do with this unit, might possibly get another AR Drone one day or eventually build a FPV setup and use this receiver with that.
The Boca bearings upgrade are a good idea along with balancing the props/gears. I now have LED's on the way to use on the "indoor" hull for some night flying.
I have additionally been playing with the incredible little micro cameras that many have these days. They are known as the 808 spy cams. The two I have are 808-#20's and really do a nice job of 720p video. They also record sound and take still pics. They have probably been mentioned and reviewed in other areas of the forum here. Iused some soft 2-part silicone molding rubber for the vibration isolation mount.
It's an addiction indeed!
In addition to the AR, I have since picked up a Ladybird quad, V959 bubble machine quad, and just the other day I jumped in for the new Hubsan X4 H107 V2 micro quad.
I did re-join the AMA and also the local flying park, but actually do all of my flying in my back yard. If I want more sky area I step through our gate and have a huge baseball park right there as you can see in some of the video samples on the page
If you are interested in seeing some video from the AR and also some comparison video from the 808 camera vs the on-board AR stock camera, then have a look at the link below. There are 3 or 4 other videos there once you are on the page. If your connection is descent then try to watch the videos in at least 480 resolution using the small or medium window option in youtube.
http://youtu.be/m1RFbNzQjys
I look forward to seeing what others think of the AR and their flying experiences with it along with some sample videos.
R2F