Hi,
Just bought my 1st drone aged 49! wanted to fly since I was about 7 so took my time. Based in Somerset starting off small with DJI Mini 4K
17 Likes
Hi @nightnicon and welcome to Grey Arrows 
Looking for recommendations of places to fly? Check out our interactive map on Drone Scene and please feel free to add locations of your own too 
Wondering whether you can fly a particular model of drone under particular circumstances? Check out Good 2 Go where youāll soon find the answer 
Have you seen our Members Map? You may find some members living near you.
Feel free to add yourself to the members map too!
Flying a drone is great fun but sometimes you feel the need to have a purpose for doing so and the Challenges category provides some great reasons for you to fly.
There are regular challenges which are open to all, that attract members of all abilities. Support, advice and constructive criticism is freely available; still photography, video and the techniques for editing both are involved in the challenges. Suggestions, for subjects or for complete challenges, are always welcome - take a look in the Challenges category for more information.
Weāre a well established club with many knowledgeable members so itās very likely that any issues you come across will have been discussed here before. Our discussion forum has very powerful search features which should help you find what you need but if you get stuck you can post a new question in the Questions & Answers category.
And finally, if you are new to drones and wondering what itās all about, have a look at Resources for a beginner.
Welcome once again!
4 Likes
Welcome to the group.
5 Likes
Hi from sunny Blackpool
4 Likes
Welcome 
@nightnicon
4 Likes
Hi Graham @nightnicon - welcome to GADC 
4 Likes
A mere whippersnapper here
4 Likes
49?, a mere pup!
Welcome anyway mate 
5 Likes
Itās good to welcome young uns to the hobby
6 Likes
Indeed, Iām still under 50 for another year and a few months. The joints are starting to say otherwise 
Welcome @nightnicon . It was said to me when I joined that the hobby is addictive. I started with a Mini 3 and have now supplemented that with an Avata 2 and Neo 
6 Likes
Welcome to GADC @nightnicon Graham.
I was 50 years young, when I purchased my first drone.
4 Likes
welcome and hello im in a similar boat - I got the mini 4k a few weeks ago- great little tool
4 Likes
I had a drone when I was young but in all honesty you could not call it a drone. It was a "take off, COME BACK WHERE ARE YOU GOING " drone. Like a joke with wings. I had better control over throwing a stone (and it went in the right direction and landed nearly where I wanted it to).
Because of the cheap versions that I have bought over the years drones became less appealing to me as I knew I would lose it the first time I took off. The went went to visit 0.5ās family and the son took off a drone (not known to me but now I know it was a D J I mini 2) and he sent it a distance left it and then brought it back. No stress on his face, nothing that would tell me he was thinking āthis is not going wellā. He brought it back and landed it propmptly and easily and in one piece. That made me look into it again. After a bit of looking into it we got a mini 2. Then a mini 3 pro, then another mini 3 proā¦ thenā¦ well the story goes on and here we are. Getting a drone was a great thing for us in many ways. It gave us a hobby that we both can do and once massive massive bonus is this group. There are some pretty amazing people in this group who have become life long friends. They know who they are. There are people in this group that I really trust, that I care for, that I am there for and that are there for me. Grey Arrows is a community, a family, that consists of a lot of great people. I just wish I had found it earlier. I am now very happy to be in such a kid caring group. There are many characters in the group. The big meets get more entertaining each time and we get to know more and more people. Each time we we go to a meet we make more friends and also get to see the friends who are just too far to pop over and say hi. Some meets are not easy to get to so to be able to spend a few days with some amazing people is great.
No regrets (well apart from the things that I buy that I REALLY do not need because of the āToday I treated myself to thisāā¦ Gives me an idea for a threadā¦
7 Likes
I started last year at the age of 72. Like Foley, intiitially with crap cheap drones to learn on before I spent money on something better (currently DJI Mini 4K). That was a mistake; I learned nothing because I couldnāt keep control over them for long enough to learn anything; I suppose I did learn basic stick movements.
Advice from people here suggested a DJI Mini, which had two MASSIVE advantages over the cheapcrap. Firstly, the controls were properly graduated as opposed to āfull throttle or nothingā, and secondly, GPS positioning meant that I could accurately predict where the drone was going and let if hover there if I wanted. First time I flew it, I went through the take-off procedure and left it for a few minutes, hovering about 6ā off the ground, not drifting, not going up or down, not going sideways or forwards or backwards, just sitting there steadily. 5 minutes later it was still in the same place; I knew then it was going to be ok!
On top of that, Occusync is much better RC signal than wi-fi, and the positioning & gimbals are awesome. Seriously, I can put the camera 400ā above the ground in a force 5 wind of up to 25mph, and it will hold the frame as if it was bolted to the centre of the Earth. Tripod in the sky, I can use the full zoom and still have a steady image! We tend in this day and age to take techonology for granted, but this is truly amazing and after a year of it Iām still truly amazed by it! When I start taking it for granted, nail the lid on, Iāve had enoughā¦
I reckon that, if allowed, I could fly it FPV BVLOS for about 5 miles, have about 10 minutes flying at the remote location, and return with a safe margin of battery; I have no doubt whatsoever that the drone and RC are up to it, and that the imagery transmisison is well capable of it.
But, at 49, youāre nobbut a lad, my lad!
5 Likes
Hi @nightnicon and welcome aboard the GADC community
2 Likes
Hi,
Just bought my first drone age 58. Thatās me thatās 58 - the DJI Neo is much younger.
4 Likes
4 Likes
Hi there @nightnicon and welocme to the GADC
3 Likes
Hi; Iām new here too! Iām a little older at 54, but it seems weāre some of the younger ones in here, esp. @TheJohnster in his early 70ās. In PC / Xbox gaming I get called Grandad all the time by guys in their late teens / early 20ās, but most of the guys I play alongside with, are the same age as me. Donāt for a minute think youāre too old; youāre never too old to enjoy yourself. Have fun in your new hobby; I certainly plan to!
2 Likes
Oh shit, Iām not the oldest here am I? Nah, canāt be, surely notā¦