In time for Christmas
Costco has the Wi-Fi Remote Control Parrot Quadricopter AR Drone 2.0 With Smartphone and Tablet Control (Includes Additional Rechargeable Battery) has a range of 1900 ft vertically or 1/2 mile from controller for $294.99. editors note:(They sold at sharper image in 2009 for just over 600 bucks)
While supplies last.

This product is for ages 14 and up. Download the free app to use your smartphone or tablet to control the quadricopter. This device also has a 720p HD camera for photos and real time video streaming

Dimensions: 22.4″L x 22.4″W x 5.39″H



Or if you love government:
The Seattle Police Department drone:
The AQ7B can record or relay video or stills at 7MPS
Has a range of about 1/4 mile and measures 26.5″L x 22.5″W x 5.39″H
Cost $49,000.00 and they bought two.

hey, that's Jim!

He's a good guy. SPD sent him to school to get his pilot's license to fly that thing.

I think I might wait for the second one to come down in price a little.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

I'm sure he's a good guy but SPD has no legitimate purpose to have him flying those things.

So if a bad guy had a hostage and there was a way to get an image of the scene using a drone, you'd be against that because they will also take pictures of you brushing your teeth in the morning?

And also, who shot the SPD drone with a BB gun? :)

I don't think he got his license, they just did ground school - enough to cover the FAA COA requirements.

Also I believe the two UASs were Draganflyer X6's, and they did pay top dollar.

I think you're right - he was GOING to go to pilot school but then the program got axed.

I'm for the use of them in limited purposes only but not general surveillance.

They had 5 or 6 specific situations in their draft SOP (no general surveillance):


One big use is documenting crime scenes with overhead pictures (a)... way cheaper to send a UAS up to take photos than pay helo fuel and pilot OT.

I don't understand the objections to them, if people are ok with the helicopters.... helos can stay airborne longer, have better imaging technology, directly manned by pilots so they can zoom in on the interesting stuff, FLIR cameras to image what you are doing on the back porch at night....

Why is a little helicopter (that makes plenty of noise btw) that can stay airborne 8 minutes and probably will crash into a tree in your yard a threat to your privacy? Slippery slope, skynet is next?

I think the biggest problem is nobody trusts SPD to follow their guidelines...

that the camera won't be used by some bored cops to peep into people's property for fun under the guise of official business...

that when you're cleaning your rifle in your backyard they won't take a picture of you while they are investigating a robbery 3 houses away..

If you have Verizon, and an employee discount you can get the Parrot for $225.

Well, I doubt they could shoot a woodcarver with it but I agree re SPD.



So you don't fear the pilots of Guardian 1 doing that?

Plus...doesn't SPD have more important issues? Crime in Belltown, Downtown, Pioneer Square...West Seattle and North Seattle had some burglary sprees this summer/fall...drunk drivers...community relations to repair. Once they can do their core responsibilities at a high level - without a front page scandal every few months - they might get a pass from me when it comes to the use of expensive drones.

As far as I'm concerned the whole program was a "Us too!" reaction to reports of real major cities using them. Piss poor reason to blow money and man hours...to say nothing of the loss of focus.

while they can do that, it is cost prohibitive for a helicopter pilot to go off course or engage in non-official business...

it's so much easier for somebody to claim they saw something in the next yard and go over to investigate it with a drone and look inside a window (at a lower angle than from above) than for a helicopter to check into small hunches...

Or use a camera on a pole (which they also have) to do the same thing.

If you distrust the police, for a pilot to take a 5 minute detour is not unheard of... there's no cost issue there. For them to go and launch without a good reason, yes someone would maybe notice.

The odds of a police department successfully using a drone to look inside a window from a low angle (either during a tactical situation or to take pictures of your wife's boobs) is very low. Cameras aren't that good - at least right now. And you'd definitely hear it unless you had headphones on or something. There's a lot of prop and motor noise from a drone large enough to swing a decent imaging system. Mine sounds a lot like a leaf blower, maybe a bit quieter.

Of course fear will trump facts any day of the week.

The big advantages of drones over helicopters: no pilots at risk, cheap and disposable, can fly in more confined spaces. In most other dimensions the helo will trump the drone (right now).

This deal at Costco is great - for the price. The DJI phantom is the hot Ready To Fly item right now. More $$$.
If you favor building your own: http://www.diydrones.com

The program was grounded. Its a non-issue if the SPD have or don't have "drones". They also didn't fly well in the rain...

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/ ... esxml.html