Let me start off this post by saying I fly quads. I enjoy it, and I am decent at it. My club is open to quads and drones, even if some of the members see rotary wing flight as a fad or a "nuisance", something I am really working hard to change.
My club has put me in as the Drone Chair, because 1) I have an interest in quads, and 2) they seem to think I'm a "drone expert". LOL I am by NO means an "expert", I just happen to fly them and pretty much nobody else in the club has tried it yet - and I'm working on that by offering flight assistance/instruction, letting them fly my TinyWhoops, and taking people for "rides" under FPV goggles.
Well, last night was my first REAL foray into instruction, beyond the simple "ground school" of how they fly. I was invited to help out some club members with one of the Civil Air Patrol squadrons here in San Diego. Normally what they do is that they go out and teach the cadets how to fly RC planes, which is something they live for, with their aeronautical interests, and is great. We get out and buddy box with them, help them learn to fly, and let them "stir the sticks", so to speak.
Well, last night, I was invited along to offer the kids a chance to fly drones and experience FPV flight. It's amazing - some of them were REALLY good at flying the planes (we had several 3 channel Simple Cubs they were learning on, as well as a few FT Flyers), but they were...well, let's say "rough" at flying the drones.
That said, they had fun flying them, and when I pulled out my Inductrix Switch Air, they really found it easier to learn to fly, simply because they knew which direction the quad was flying, they could more easily see the angle when they turned it, and they were able to get the hang of it fairly quickly.
I also pulled out my little FPV TinyWhoop, and did some fun flying on the soccer field where we were teaching them to fly, giving them some rides and a chance to see what it was like, which also gave them the answers of, "How far away can you fly?" since the video kept cutting in and out the closer we got to the field lights (something I've experienced before, flying at a field - for some reason, the power going up to those bright halogen lights seems to muck up the FPV video the closer I get to the light poles; might be EM interference? Unfortunately, I don't know, I'm not wise to the physics of it, just that it happens, and it's repeatable for me LOL).
At any rate, these kids were ecstatic and had a blast getting to see what it was like and fly, and I gotta say, it was quite rewarding to be able to help them. These kids were grateful, they all had smiles on their faces, and they were enjoying themselves. And, as I told my wife afterwards, "Hon, it was great. For the first time in my life, I'm popular with the high school crowd!" LOL
My club has put me in as the Drone Chair, because 1) I have an interest in quads, and 2) they seem to think I'm a "drone expert". LOL I am by NO means an "expert", I just happen to fly them and pretty much nobody else in the club has tried it yet - and I'm working on that by offering flight assistance/instruction, letting them fly my TinyWhoops, and taking people for "rides" under FPV goggles.
Well, last night was my first REAL foray into instruction, beyond the simple "ground school" of how they fly. I was invited to help out some club members with one of the Civil Air Patrol squadrons here in San Diego. Normally what they do is that they go out and teach the cadets how to fly RC planes, which is something they live for, with their aeronautical interests, and is great. We get out and buddy box with them, help them learn to fly, and let them "stir the sticks", so to speak.
Well, last night, I was invited along to offer the kids a chance to fly drones and experience FPV flight. It's amazing - some of them were REALLY good at flying the planes (we had several 3 channel Simple Cubs they were learning on, as well as a few FT Flyers), but they were...well, let's say "rough" at flying the drones.
That said, they had fun flying them, and when I pulled out my Inductrix Switch Air, they really found it easier to learn to fly, simply because they knew which direction the quad was flying, they could more easily see the angle when they turned it, and they were able to get the hang of it fairly quickly.I also pulled out my little FPV TinyWhoop, and did some fun flying on the soccer field where we were teaching them to fly, giving them some rides and a chance to see what it was like, which also gave them the answers of, "How far away can you fly?" since the video kept cutting in and out the closer we got to the field lights (something I've experienced before, flying at a field - for some reason, the power going up to those bright halogen lights seems to muck up the FPV video the closer I get to the light poles; might be EM interference? Unfortunately, I don't know, I'm not wise to the physics of it, just that it happens, and it's repeatable for me LOL).
At any rate, these kids were ecstatic and had a blast getting to see what it was like and fly, and I gotta say, it was quite rewarding to be able to help them. These kids were grateful, they all had smiles on their faces, and they were enjoying themselves. And, as I told my wife afterwards, "Hon, it was great. For the first time in my life, I'm popular with the high school crowd!" LOL
