Hey folks, name’s Vitaliy and I am that drone guy who made this site. On this page, I want to share exactly who I am, why I made this site and what it’s goal is, which in short is to help people get into this hobby, fly safe and have the kinds of amazing adventures with drones that they have bought me ever since I got into this.
Prelude (How I got into the hobby):
It was 2016. I had begun watching Casey Neistat’s drone videos (they were recommended to me by YouTube) and I was amazed at what these things were capable of. But I had no clue where to start or what drone to get. And so, for a chunk of the year, I sat back, did some research, watched other videos and just explored the hobby. And then, at some point, I decided to take the plunge and get my first drone.
The Gopro Karma. My first drone and a bad entry into the hobby:
Because I had no real clue on which drone to get, I figured a safe bet would be to get a drone from a mainstream company and out of all the names I saw, Gopro was the only one I recognized at the store and the only drone available in the Gopro market was the Karma. It looked cool at first glance and I figured if it’s made by Gopro, it has to be a safe bet, and so I purchased it.
It came with a nice backpack and I felt excited about what was to come. However, while you can read my full story with the Gopro Karma here, the short version of it is that this drone was never able to get in the air. Tons of software errors and lack of alignment between the 4 components of this drone could never be n sync, and so after a few days of trying to figure out what in the world was going on, I gave up and returned it.
Sadly, my first experience into the drone world was a bad one and while the thought of exiting it came to mind, I decided to give it another shot, but not before taking a good look at other models and review videos on them.
The next drone would prove to be the complete opposite experience (Mavic Pro):
I purchased the Mavic Pro drone shortly after my Karma experience and while at first glance it looked less qualified to be good, my flying experience with it was so different than anything I could have imagined. It was still in the air, the controls were easy to use. I had no software issues setting it up and my flying experience with was shocking.
All my presumptions about drones and how dangerous they were flew out the window when I flew this thing and saw how reliable it was and I loved it so much that it became my top drone at the time. In fact, I loved it so much, that I wanted to see what else the DJI company (that released it) had in stock, and that led me to buy the next drone on my list:
The Phantom 4 Pro:
This drone seemed to be the elite model at the time in the DJI lineup and it certainly proved to be right up there when I got it. It was a bit more expensive than my Mavic Pro and prior to getting it, I thought I’d keep one of them and return the other (the worse one). But because each had benefits over the other, I decided to keep them and without realizing it at the time, a collection had started to take place.
While I loved and still love the Phantom 4 Pro drone, especially it’s camera, I actually use it far less now due to it’s lack of portability. Later on however, I’d be adding to my collection:
The Spark drone (my third in the lineup):
Looking back at why I got the Spark, it wasn’t because it had anything special to it, but because I was so enamored with the hobby that I felt obligated to myself to get it and while my experience with it was OK, I rarely use this drone today.
It’s a fun drone to experiment with and is great for beginners, like the Mavic Mini for instance, but for someone who had the bar raised so high with the Mavic Pro and Phantom 4 Pro, this one just felt like a third wheel in my collection.
Next up, I got the Mavic Air 1:
Before I got the Mavic Air 1, I was careful not to let my obsession with the hobby dictate why I got it and the reason I ended up doing it was because this drone was supposed to be better than the Mavic Pro 1 and after I got it, I did enjoy it at first, but eventually, I used it about as much as my Spark, simply because it was so loud and I felt the camera on it wasn’t as good as on the Mavic Pro 1. I still have it today and probably will sell it to get a more advanced one, like the Mavic Air 2.
Mavic 2 Pro:
Do you remember what I said about the Mavic Pro 1 and the amazing feeling I had when I first flew it? Well that’s what happened all over again after I got myself the Mavic 2 Pro. While the Phantom, Spark and Mavic Air were either good experiences or neutral, the Mavic 2 Pro really renewed my passion for the hobby because of how amazingly it flew and functioned.
It was and still is the most comfortable drone I fly to this day and I’ve had it for 4 year (See my Mavic 2 Pro review here). It is thus far the most recommended drone I advise people get because of all the awesome capabilities it has.
Autel Evo 2 Pro:
The last drone on this list of models I own is the Autel, and it was my first non DJI drone after the Gopro Karma. I got it because I felt that it was the next level drone after the Mavic 2 Pro and if I was right, it would end up being my most recommended one. However, thus far, I have to say the experiences I have with it are pretty mixed in both good and bad ways (here is a full review of the Autel Evo 2 Pro).
One thing I will say is that out of the 6 drones I currently own, this drone’s camera is at the top of the list without any doubt. But until it’s creators fix it’s software issues and bugs, I cannot recommend it as much as I’d recommend the Mavic 2 Pro (See a vs battle between the Mavic 2 Pro and Autel Evo 2 Pro here).
How I use my drones:
The reason I even got drones in the first place was because I decided to change up my life a few years ago and start traveling more. And because of the extra ability to fly and film in ways I couldn’t before I had a drone, I am very happy with what I’ve been able to accomplish. I’ve had some seriously close calls with nearly all of my drones at one point or another, but I still love this hobby and have a lot of experience with it.
I started a nature blog here that talks about the places I’ve flown at and visited if you’re interested, but my main goal with this site is to help people:
- Get into the drone hobby.
- Find their perfect drone.
- Have a safe flying experience without worrying about the red tape that is in that world.
If you’re someone looking to get into this hobby or have questions, know that you’re more than welcome to ask me them on this site! Thanks for reading!