RC helicopters

[ABNAK]

I am "gunned-out" for the time being. AR's and other stuff out the wazoo. Thinking of another [hopefully] less costly hobby to fulfill the kid in me. On Facebook I saw an ad for an RC Chinook and an RC Blackhawk. Kinda looked cool.

I have never owned or played with an RC aircraft. Couple of questions:

Is it hard to learn to fly these things?

How far away/high can they fly from the controller?

How long can they fly on a charge?

[OH58D]

I can't address an RC CH-47 or UH-60, but I have played around with DJI drones that belong to my son. The one I flew was the DJI Mavic 2 Pro. We used it to hunt down some cattle in an area not accessible by vehicle. I think we took the thing out almost two miles and it has a 30 minute flight time. His controller has the built in screen, with data readout of distance, altitude, battery power, etc. It also has a return to home feature. It was a fabulous tool for live viewing and recording from an aerial point of view. For chasing cattle in the ranching business, I can see frequent use in just locating parts of your herd on bigger operations than mine.

I think just the drone was around $1800 and the control unit was fairly pricey. I can tell you these things can become addicting. Even my old unit of the 160th has a specialized company dedicated to drone flight.

[ABNAK]

Yeah, I was thinking one with a camera would be even better. I called my brother after the OP and he has a drone. It is one that has the four mini-props and also has a camera. He said the choppers might look cool but without a camera they didn't have much practicality. His was about $1K (including the controller) and has an automatic return-to-base if it flies outside of the allowable range.

[TexHill]

I have the DJI Mavic Pro Platinum, and I can tell you that there is a huge difference between a RC helicopter and a drone. My drone has built in GPS, computer assisted controls, collision avoidance, and a 4K camera that can record 9 hours of video. The typical RC helicopter doesn't have these features.

I chose the Mavic Pro Platinum because of it's run time, (45 minute max, 20-30 minute avg.), range (4.5 miles, trees can affect range), and altitude, (16,000 ft, by law you are limited to 400 ft agl). I also have the DJI Goggles with mine which are really cool. They make it seem like you're flying in the drone.

Here's a short video that I made using my drone.

[ABNAK]

I have the DJI Mavic Pro Platinum, and I can tell you that there is a huge difference between a RC helicopter and a drone. My drone has built in GPS, computer assisted controls, collision avoidance, and a 4K camera that can record 9 hours of video. The typical RC helicopter doesn't have these features.

I chose the Mavic Pro Platinum because of it's run time, (45 minute max, 20-30 minute avg.), range (4.5 miles, trees can affect range), and altitude, (16,000 ft, by law you are limited to 400 ft agl). I also have the DJI Goggles with mine which are really cool. They make it seem like you're flying in the drone.

Here's a short video that I made using my drone.

What did that whole setup cost you? (including the goggles, which I think would be cool as hell)

[TexHill]

What did that whole setup cost you? (including the goggles, which I think would be cool as hell)

$1,800 for the entire package. I purchased the "Fly More Combo" which was $1,200. The goggles were $350. An extra battery for $90 - the combo came with three. I also bought the Care Refresh insurance and some other smaller accessories.