Fun with Drones

Drones are easily accessible nowadays and a lot of fun to play with.

Personally I have a DJI Mavic Air 2, but looking to maybe get into some FPV drones soon.

If you’re just doing this for fun like I started out you should read up on the regulations though. You’ll need to register your drone and adhere to where you can and can’t fly the drone (more info at faa.gov). It sounds daunting but luckily software is making this pretty easy. I use Airmap to plan my flights and, if needed, get FAA approval for controlled airspace.

There are other apps that let you do this and the DJI Fly app I use to fly my drone with also alerts you if you’re entering controlled airspace. Living in the air capital of the world (Wichita, KS), with numerous air fields around town almost all airspace is fairly tightly regulated. You can still fly, but may encounter altitude restrictions. Living near the airport I’m limited to 100’ altitude, but still plenty to get some great shots.

Long story short, I was fairly intimidated in the beginning and nervous about violating controlled airspace to the point that I studied the regulation to the point I decided to take the Part 107 test and got my commercial drone license. This is absolutely not needed if you’re just doing this recreationally, but if you’re planning to use your drone to make some money you’ll need the Part 107 license to become a commercial operator.

Here are a couple videos from my early days.

DJI Asteroid effect:

DJI follow mode to follow a car: