Kids and Quads, do they mix?

First Flight: CRASH "Oh No!"

  But, today is about you and your quad copter. What should I know before takeoff? Are there really rules to follow? Will I get in trouble if I don't follow them? What's the difference between this multi-rotor copter I have here, and what I've seen on TV that they call drones? Do I really have to register my little flying toy I got for fun with the government? We will address all these questions for you and more as we go on.

  My first piece of sage advice for you this morning may not be quite what you expected. You need to be very gentle with the controls and very patient with learning how they operate. Your first instinct may be, I've plugged it in, charged the battery, and it's now sitting on the kitchen table ready to fly into space! You're about to give it full throttle just like you would in any other kind of video game, right?

Guess What? You are only three seconds away from your first radio control crash!

  First your quad hit the kitchen ceiling and is now it's on the floor and the dog is trying to run away with it in his mouth. People are yelling, and the video your parents were taking with their phone is hilarious! In reality, your propellers might be broken, and your fun may be over for the day. Remember this in your brain as an important thing to do after a crash; Pull the throttle stick back to the starting position, and make it go back down to zero. If not, you may burn up the motors that are still trying to turn while it's stuck in the carpet. The flight battery can overheat that way, hurting your quad permanently. Good early thing to know! You crash = " Motor Off !"

  Just like when you were taking to your first flute or piano lesson you had to learn one note at a time, and where to put your fingers and how to care for the instrument. Your quad copter is no different today. You really have to take time to learn how to fly, just like you had to learn to slow down around the curves when you first got to play Mario Cart on your Nintendo video game. In this game you try not to crash!

  Even though I started in the flying hobby in 1962 and first did radio control in 1968, I still crash. Oh Yes I do! Sometimes I crash once a week! I blame the whole thing on gravity... and that Isaac Newton guy. Over time I've learned how and why things fly and work together, and I got pretty good at rebuilding what I brake. You will too.

Second official Flight : "A little better!"

  So here's what you really do provided your quadcopter is small enough for indoor flight. The "throttle", the stick on the left that makes it go fast or slow has to be brought up easy and slow. What you're looking for is getting the copter about two inches off the table, that's all. That's your first goal. The throttle stick will only go up 1/4 of the way... for now. You will notice right away that it wants to fly to the left or the right on its own, or it's trying to spin one way or the other. Throttle back down until its resting back on the table, and now use the "trim controls" to correct it. If it went to the left, "trim it" to the right. You may have to go back and dig the instructions out of the trash now, but those little trim controls they explain in the book are the key to level flight You're going to have to do this "two inch off the ground trim test" at least four more times before it starts to fly level all the time for you.

  Now, put on some warm clothes and take your copter outside provided there is a only a light breeze. You don't want your first flights to hit your dad's new flat screen TV or smack into your aunt Rose's mashed potatoes. You will find quickly that everything in the house is an obstacle that will be hit eventually including the ceiling fan that just isn't high enough for the trick you wanted to do.

  While your outside I know you still want to see how fast and how high you can fly, but first find a nice clear level spot and leave the dog inside for now! On this flight you may have to re-trim a little again, (yes again) a few times more just to get it off the ground, then you can gently give it more throttle about 1/2 to 3/4 power. Now then you're up in the air ! Now quickly, reduce your power to make it stand still about four feet off the ground. Otherwise it can keep flying "up up and away" literally!

  Your copter can fly higher and farther than you can see it. (Trust me!) And you don't want it landing in a tree or the roof or in the middle of a busy street. You own a real rootin tootin flyin' machine as my grandpa might say, and you're just getting started and your having fun. After a five minutes of flying your batteries will die, but keep charging and keep practicing! A trip to your local hobby shop may be able to provide you with extra batteries, depending on the size and type of copter you've gotten. If its charged by a USB cable to your computer, you'll just have to wait between flights before it charges again. I know you want to go fast, and learn fast, but remember you didn't learn to play your first song on your school instrument until second semester, and it was only, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"

You're smart, and you'll be flying in no time. Think about the cool school report you're going to write about all your experiences!

Third official Flight : "At The Park!"

  Now is the time to ask your grandparents about an old TV show called "The Flying Nun" Yes a sweet young lady would tip her large nuns' hat, and she could fly across town and save the day every single week on TV. Was this a true miracle?

  This is what I learned from that show when I was very young so memorize this next part to sound smart and use this in your report: She said " When lift plus thrust, is greater than load plus drag, well anything can fly!" Even a nun with a large hat evidently!

  Provided there is only a slight breeze and it's not snowing, it's time to take your quad to the park, a school playground or even a designated flying field in your area. Now here is where the rules we have in place really come in. Just like eating at home, your mom has rules for dinner so when you go out in public you don't embarrass the family name. When you're out in public flying, the rules really kick in here too!

First : This is easy: Don't fly out of site. If you can't see it, you can't control it. It may hurt someone. It seems like an easy rule, but it's a good one.

Second : Don't fly too high. 400 feet is the limit. You can't see it that high anyway so rule number one comes back into play. Flying above 400 feet is exactly like texting on your phone after bed time. It doesn't belong there high in the air, so just don't go there.

Third : Don't fly over people, cars, traffic or football games or anywhere you can hit something important. Your mom doesn't want to have to pay an insurance damage claim on something you knew not to hit anyway! If there are people in the area you are going to fly in, wait, or go somewhere else. Pretty simple.

Forth : Don't fly within five miles of an airport. That's where the big planes fly. No one wants to get into big time trouble

Fifth: Especially if your quad has a camera, don't fly over fireman or any emergency situation. It's like the rule in the house that says don't get in my way when I'm bringing in something heavy. Keep clear of all danger unless you are asked to help.

 All these rules apply to me too, and I'm an adult on most days! If we all obey some simple rules... then we don't wind up on TV being a bad example for our family, or for all the other kids and adults that want to have the same fun of doing this too.

So what's the difference?

  What you have on your table right now is really not a toy at all, but now you own a pretty cool quadcopter but there are responsibilities that go with it. Yours may have a camera on it. Some copters shoot like a water pistol does or drop soap bubbles for fun. Some models have a hook and a crane for picking things up. One has a parachute for soft landings! All of those multi-rotor copters are for your enjoyment and entertainment.

  Drones are actually very large important aircraft used by the military most with very high tech cameras and sometimes they do have weapons. The word "Drone" is misused over and over today. When you say the word drone people lump it all together like chocolate chips that goes with cookie dough, but saying your quad is a drone, is like saying you like eating broccoli cookies! It's just not right, they are two very different things and they should stay separate things! Actually for now, don't worry too much about what they call them, so long that you are operating yours safely with the rules we talked about, and you're telling your friends how much fun this is to own a fly your cool quadcopter.

Summing it up, Quadcopters are made to fly with friends. Drones are meant for enemies. I can tell you're the friendly type!

Do I have to register my new copter?

  There is much talk in high places in government on whether or not you will have to go online and register your copter, or go take a test and get a licence, or if your aircraft will need a special code number printed on it with your name. Will any of this really come true? At the time of this writing in December of 2015 the answer is... maybe If your aircraft weighs over eight ounces, or if a grown up wants to use the copter for a business, you just might. The people like me who belong to local clubs that are affiliated with a big national organization called the Academy of Model Aeronautics have representatives working for us everyday in Congress to come to a reasonable solution that works for everyone. You're safe to fly right now, as long as you're obeying the current rules we talked about above. If they do change, there will be plenty of time to comply with the new rules, and they should be easy to follow and for everyone to understand. So no worries.

FAA Registration is required of all aircraft meeting the weight requirements as of January 1st 2016

  Your goal from here on is to learn while having fun, while respecting other people. You may find this is part of what you want to do when you get older too. I'm lucky enough to have a job in radio control hobby that I've loved since I was just a kid like you! Where will your flying take you?

Look for our own quadcopter pilots when you visit   Buder Park   in St Louis Missouri that are members of the   St Louis AeroPilots   Come watch us fly our radio control planes and quadcopters, and ask us questions about our hobby. We are happy to help you!

We do have a .pdf file for you to download for flying your Drones and Quadcopters using FPV equipment that can now be downloaded here

First Person View Rules of Buder Park