Drone "Camp" ideas

[Airwolf1970]

Hello Drone Community.
I have been a remote pilot for almost 10 years now and I fly several times a week for my job (I work in real estate development)
I have been asked to lead a drone camp for middle school kids this coming summer. The school hosting the camps asked me if it was possible for a student to be able to purchase a small drone that they take home with them at the end of the camp week. Has anyone had any experience with a similar situation? I want them to get a drone that is easy to fly, possibly can take pictures as well, but is not a cheap piece of junk that will be a struggle to deal with all week.

I am looking at this model as a possible option:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1495082-REG/ryze_tech_cp_tl_00000041_01_tello_quadcopter_2019.html

and for non-camera I am looking at this one:

Snaptain SP350 Throw 'n Go Mini Quadcopter (Green)

Buy Snaptain SP350 Throw 'n Go Mini Quadcopter (Green) featuring Automatic Flying If Tossed into Air, Remote Controller Included, Perform Flips in Any Direction, Auto Hover & Circle Fly, 360° Guards around Each Rotor, Fly, Land & Call Back with 1 Button, Fly Easier with Headless Mode, Up to...

www.bhphotovideo.com

I will have my Mavic 3, Mavic2Pro, and Phantom 3ADV (non flying) at the camp as examples of drones and how they have evolved but again want something they can fly during the week and take home with them as part of the cost of their camp.
Anyone have any experience with the above linked drones? Better suggestions? Thanks!
Bill
Pittsboro, NC

 

[Bob in Savannah]

I think this is a great opportunity as well as a great program.
I wish ( and I'm sure I WILL) have some suggestions for you but I just wanted to acknowledge this effort as well as bumping the post. +1

 

[SethB]

We have 20 Tello in our college program - they are a great learn-to-fly drone. We built up the package to $200 pretty quick as below.

1. A batt goes maybe 12 minutes; we bought the Boost Combo version with 3 batts and a multi-charger. It’s a sequential charger. And three 10-port USB chargers (link), though that’s not the model we have. Seems to be gone.

2. We learn to fly in the school gym. Sometimes it’s hard to have more than 4 or 5 in the air at a time because of wifi conflicts. Maybe the school’s wifi is also limiting. Running multiples in a shared-use environment we also found that we had to put big labels on the drones with their ID so that we could reliably connect to the right drone.

3. We purchased the GameSir controller (link). I felt it was important that students start learning with sticks under their thumbs, not virtual sticks on a phone.

4. Believe it or not, not everyone has a smartphone. We purchased a few last-gen iPod Touch (since discontinued) to support those students.

5. The 720p camera does not tilt nor stabilize. Recordings are made on your phone only.

These points may all sound like a big whine, but really, this purchase worked out very well for us. Learn-to-fly could proceed along regardless of weather.

Then we take up the big birds, Mavic 2 Pro/Zoom and Inspire 2, and focus on videography.

 

[Cymruflyer]

I fly a Mavic 2 Pro but I have flown the little Tello which is a nice and fun little drone to fly. I also own the little throw and go that you show. There is a big difference in the two drones you show, and both will be fun for your attendees. The cheapest one is easy to fly and the battery is quick to charge, though does not last too long.

If price was not a deciding factor, I'd go for the Tello, but if people are on a budget, the cheapest one is very stable and fun to fly indoors. The cheapest one handles like a big drone and the response from the controller is very good. However, the Tello would be the more useful drone and I'm sure everyone would prefer that if price was not an issue.

Why not contact DJI and see if they can offer a special deal for a school project like this? All companies would love to have entry level people start off with their products because they would retain a good number as loyal customers in the years to come.

 

[maggior]

When I started out I flew a lot of different cheap drones. The best one which I still enjoy flying is this little guy. It's a DEERC D20:

https://www.amazon.com/DEERC-Altitude-Headless-Adjustment-Batteries/dp/B086VB89L8

It is the least twitchy of any of the cheap non GPS drones that I've flown. The controller feels good in the hands. The drone takes a beating and is serviceable. It has a camera but it is useless. This drone is best flown without using the phone app and just fly it line of sight. It has 3 speeds so you can grow with it.

I spent countless hours flying this around the trees in my front yard practicing line of sight flying. It's powerful enough to fly outside but small enough that it could be flown indoors also. It's a lot of fun.

The price varies but and can often be bought at a discount. Right now it is on Amazon for $44 and you can get a 5% discount.

Best of luck with the camp! My kids were exposed to drones during a summer camp program in our town and they loved it!! It sparked their interest in the hobby. They are older now and the interest waned, but it kicked off my interest. They had a ton of fun...the kids will love it.

 

[shawgod]

There is always the Tello drones that have been discussed here. Make sure to get the EDU version as these can be programmed. The regular version does not come with the pads and can't be programmed. The one I had in mind to give out to the kids is a Holy Stone Drone https://a.co/d/08MFpLu this drone is so easy to fly and works very well. You can do flips with this drone as well. It comes with 3 batteries so the kids can play with it for a long time.

 

[moldorf]

if you're going to be teaching these kids outside, those tiny drones simply can not withstand any wind. They will be crashing and blowing away constantly. Besides that, the batteries only last a few minutes and the transmission ranges are extremely limited

Tello's require a smartphone otherwise you have to add 40-50 dollars for a compatible controller. And teaching without a dedicated controller seems incomplete

speaking of crashing...while teaching kids how to fly, count on lots of crashes so I'd say it's important to have drones with prop-guards. The cheaper drones have cheaper propellers and propeller assemblies.

my personal opinion is if you're flying in a gym or somewhere like that, there are plenty of cheap drones with a RC and prop guards that will work. But I think kids will get bored with those in a hurry. And you better make sure they have plenty of batteries because flight times are very short

on the other hand, if you're teaching them outdoors and trying to simulate close to what droning is like, I don't think you can cheaply do it. There might be a $150-200 drone that will do the trick, like a low-budget Holy Stone. But I'd be inclined to say that's the lowest limit on cost

 

[GFields]

@Airwolf1970 You may also consider obtaining sponsors for the kids that might not be able to afford a drone.

 

[shawgod]

if you're going to be teaching these kids outside, those tiny drones simply can not withstand any wind. They will be crashing and blowing away constantly. Besides that, the batteries only last a few minutes and the transmission ranges are extremely limited

Tello's require a smartphone otherwise you have to add 40-50 dollars for a compatible controller. And teaching without a dedicated controller seems incomplete

speaking of crashing...while teaching kids how to fly, count on lots of crashes so I'd say it's important to have drones with prop-guards. The cheaper drones have cheaper propellers and propeller assemblies.

my personal opinion is if you're flying in a gym or somewhere like that, there are plenty of cheap drones with a RC and prop guards that will work. But I think kids will get bored with those in a hurry. And you better make sure they have plenty of batteries because flight times are very short

on the other hand, if you're teaching them outdoors and trying to simulate close to what droning is like, I don't think you can cheaply do it. There might be a $150-200 drone that will do the trick, like a low-budget Holy Stone. But I'd be inclined to say that's the lowest limit on cost

You are correct that inside drones would work like crap outside in any kind of wind. I have tried to fly the Tello outside with just a little wind and I had almost a fly away. There are some cheaper Holy Stones that might do better for around $100 that would be better suited to fly outdoors. If you are flying indoors I would still heavily consider the Tello EDU drone. These days a lot of kids already are carrying a smartphone already.

 

[Bob in Savannah]

I think learning to fly a drone is great and all but I would like to see the program involve photography in some way. I mean, that's the reason you're flying a drone to begin with, right? Its a flying camera. Yes, I know it's "fun" and all but if a school is offering a "drone class," I really think the flying aspect (and understanding FAA laws), is only half the class. Finding and capturing that shot and what to do with it is the other half. and the final goal, after all, I would assume.

Of course, this is just my opinion and I might have it all wrong with how others see it. Probably so. lol

note If you're strictly racing FPV drones with goggles then that's a whole different beast.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Sounds like it's a week long camp, so you will need a well thought out programme of exercises to run each day, with progressive drone ops as students improve on the sticks etc.
Bear in mind not knowing how many children are involved, you will get many fast learners, some slower at learning the coordination with controls, some flying very well and fast, others still taking it slow etc, so depending on this you might be struggling to keep up with the different levels of competence as the week goes on.
You might need help with this !

Consider the psychological differences between boys and girls too, most boys like 'things', while girls tend to have more emotional tendencies.
As a general rule, majority of boys might fly the pants off their drones, girls might want to take photos and be creative.
If it's an optional camp where those with an interest in the drone camp can choose this, and others might do a photography type camp, it'd be interesting to see what ratio you end up with !

You might want to consider a plan for spare drones, some will likely crash quite badly, and potentially be without a drone on day 1 or 2.
How will students / parents feel about going home drone-less after paying for one in camp cost ?
How will the budget cover for this, spread the cost of 10% spares across the whole cost then divide by participants ?
Or would the school cover them ?

The basic and more relative conundrum is . . .
Do you but small, mildly atti style, cheaper, prop ducted, basic FPV type drones with a basic controller, very much easier to crash, but much more resilient than most other consumer type drone (DJI, HolyStone, etc) ?
These can likely be flown immediately after a crash just fine.
Or, buy simple as cheap as possible GPS stabilised drones that are harder to crash, but will likely be unflyable after a decent hit ?

A week is a good amount of time, perhaps enough to go with Tello and allow the students to take on at least some basic photography, airborne composing etc, while having some decent stability.
Photography type tutorial could start on days 5, 6 or whatever, after they progress through a tick sheet type flying competence test as they go.

Remember to do some theory, the TRUST requirement, registration, drone rules side of things, this would be a good filler while batteries charge etc.

On that, without ample batteries, like several each, battery charging will be a big drain on time spent learning to fly, other activities might be needed, perhaps besides he theory, setting up safe pass through obstacles like large noodle hoops etc for them to have some fun later, and similar activities could be planned.

Good luck with the camp, it will take a lot of pre event planning by you, others that can assist, and the school, but if you can pull it off the kids that participate will have a blast.

 

[Airwolf1970]

I think learning to fly a drone is great and all but I would like to see the program involve photography in some way. I mean, that's the reason you're flying a drone to begin with, right? Its a flying camera. Yes, I know it's "fun" and all but if a school is offering a "drone class," I really think the flying aspect (and understanding FAA laws), is only half the class. Finding and capturing that shot and what to do with it is the other half. and the final goal, after all, I would assume.

Of course, this is just my opinion and I might have it all wrong with how others see it. Probably so. lol

note If you're strictly racing FPV drones with goggles then that's a whole different beast.

I actually have that worked into my class for the week. Frankly, It is more about using the drone to create a short movie that we will show their parents on the last day, so we will be in the computer lab using Mac's and iMovie to edit footage. I am going to talk to them about creating a storyboard, getting the shots they need, and then producing a video. It's what I do at my job. So really, it is a drone photography and videography camp. We will do some fun flying challenges but everyone's responses have been spot on with battery life, flying outdoors, etc. I feel like some of those can be mitigated by focusing on other aspects of photography and video while waiting for batteries to charge, etc. Thanks for your input. Wise words.

 

[Airwolf1970]

Thanks everyone. I didn't have notifications to this post on so I didn't realize how many commented on my post.
I think we are going to use the Tello. A downside is needing a smartphone, and the possible issues we will have with the app, etc, but hey, that's also a great use of time. Problem solving. It's just the reality of using technology. I am hoping to be able to fly quite a bit indoors, but I did choose the morning camp option (9-noon) in the hopes that the weather will be better. July in North Carolina can be super humid and afternoon storms that pop up are pretty common in the summer. Again, good use of time to learn how to de-haze photos and video. I am going to reach out to DJI and see if there is potential for some type of group discount, but all they offer now is the Robomaster TT, which gets more into the STEM side of drones, and I am not into programming at all. I will let you all know if something works out.

 

[Anthony Ivory]

When I started out I flew a lot of different cheap drones. The best one which I still enjoy flying is this little guy. It's a DEERC D20:

https://www.amazon.com/DEERC-Altitude-Headless-Adjustment-Batteries/dp/B086VB89L8

It is the least twitchy of any of the cheap non GPS drones that I've flown. The controller feels good in the hands. The drone takes a beating and is serviceable. It has a camera but it is useless. This drone is best flown without using the phone app and just fly it line of sight. It has 3 speeds so you can grow with it.

I spent countless hours flying this around the trees in my front yard practicing line of sight flying. It's powerful enough to fly outside but small enough that it could be flown indoors also. It's a lot of fun.

The price varies but and can often be bought at a discount. Right now it is on Amazon for $44 and you can get a 5% discount.

Best of luck with the camp! My kids were exposed to drones during a summer camp program in our town and they loved it!! It sparked their interest in the hobby. They are older now and the interest waned, but it kicked off my interest. They had a ton of fun...the kids will love it.

I like the price and that it comes in different colors.