China has launched a swarm of 119 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), breaking its previous record of a swarm of 67 drones, according to the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC).
Interesting article. I've been thinking of a drone purchase for a while - the DJI ones look good, but I have been thinking of building one from scratch - anyone tried building drones/planes?
>>25941 That is specifically one of the pitfalls I'd like to avoid - too many drones use shitty Wifi networks for communication. I would like to do the whole thing with a proper radio control setup - thats still quite hackable but not in as many interesting and varied ways as Wifi.
I'd recommend starting out with an Almost-Ready-To-Fly or Ready-To-Fly product from Eachine. If you're starting out you will crash a lot, so it's worth starting out on something cheap and small. The Eachine E010 looks like a toy, but it's a really good trainer quad for indoor or backyard flying. It can be easily upgraded to FPV at a later date.
When you're ready to upgrade to a full-size 250 quad, you'll need quite a lot of stuff. It's all fairly cheap individually, but it does add up. This video covers what you'll need and how to use it:
You'll also want a big packet of spare propellers, a spare motor and speed controller and a couple of extra batteries. If you've got a lot of money to spend and you're serious about the hobby, I'd suggest going with the FRSky Taranis radio and the Aomway Commander FPV goggles.
There are some fairly strict legal restrictions on drone operation. You really need to be aware of the rules, because the Civil Aviation Authority have handed out some massive fines to people who were flying like twats.
If there's no camera at all on your quadcopter or plane, it's just a radio controlled model and can be flown anywhere that is reasonably deemed to be safe. If you stick a camera on, then your model becomes a "small unmanned surveillance aircraft" and the rules get a lot stricter. You can't fly within 50 metres of any person, vehicle or structure that is not entirely under your control, within 150 metres of any "congested area", or more than 400 metres above ground level. If you fly with FPV goggles, you must have a competent observer with you, monitoring the flying area to prevent collisions.
You should also be aware of the airspace restrictions in your local area; flying directly through an airport's approach path or an RAF training area is a really good way of ending up in court. The National Air Traffic Control Service have created an app for drone operators with an interactive airspace map.
