Drone Pilot Age.

[teeroy]

I see a lot of members that choose to have their age shown are over the half century mark like myself,
a few are a ways beyond that even. I was curious as to the majority age group that are into or have recently got into flying quads. Seems like quite a few older folks are enjoying the technology.

The wealth of information provided here is astounding, photos and videos from members around the globe are inspiring.

Tip of the hat to all.

Poll is private for those that choose not to display age. Thanks to those that participate. Happy Flying!

Moderation team: Please turf this if it is inappropriate.

 

[Jubjub Bird]

I've also noted that among members who display their age, membership skews well into maturity. This in contrast to DJI's marketing images, which seem invariably to feature quite young people.

So I've wondered: Are younger people so much less likely to own drones, or are they simply less likely to participate in fora such as this? Some of both?

 

[Gagey52]

As soon as I saw this thread I had to participate. In my short time with the forum I also noticed that age thing about not putting your age down. I am looking forward to the results of the poll and encourage people to get involved

 

[Ryanmini]

I’m prob one of the youngest on here 27, but theres many people on here that are very knowledgable and is very helpful, I’m guessing a lot of young people don’t go onto forums, prob more of the attitude of if it breaks just take it to the shop as the young generation now just get businesses to repair there drones rather then try and fix the issue themselves which this forum has taught me how to fix my drone myself and learned a lot for the members here

 

[zocalo]

I was curious too. There's quite a lot of maturity expressed on the forum, so I was guessing it would tend towards middle aged and up, but rather surprised to see it's actually even more skewed to those of us with a bit of grey - at least so far, with only a couple of dozen votes. Probably not surprising, though. I know the mods run a pretty tight ship here, but there's a notable lack of childinsh sniping and also the kind of content style typical of posters that are millennials and younger isn't really present either.

Fine with me if it stays that way.

 

[Platinum 4 ever]

I see a lot of members that choose to have their age shown are over the half century mark like myself,
a few are a ways beyond that even. I was curious as to the majority age group that are into or have recently got into flying quads. Seems like quite a few older folks are enjoying the technology.

The wealth of information provided here is astounding, photos and videos from members around the globe are inspiring.

Tip of the hat to all.

Poll is private for those that choose not to display age. Thanks to those that participate. Happy Flying!

Moderation team: Please turf this if it is inappropriate.

Yeah I put my age on my profile.....skipping over is not going to turn back the clock [emoji937]. So what have I got to lose.......

 

[Jubjub Bird]

While I strongly support this poll, and am interested in its findings, may I suggest improvements in it?

To my mind, this poll's age divisions are much too large for optimal understanding. Could this poll be changed, or repeated, with perhaps 5-year age zones, or even single year zones, instead of 25-year zones?

Such more granular results would permit far more accurate findings.

--Jub

 

[old man mavic]

as i have said in previous threads on this very subject
age is just a number
one of the biggest needs of drone flying ,is having the time to go out to fly
i know that all hobbies require to have time set aside to do them ,but with our hobby there are a lot of outside factors to consider ,such as weather ,distance to travel ,and being able to fly at a particular destination
if you are still working, then this has the affect of limiting when you can have all the parts of the puzzle connected, so this hobby tends to be more suitable for retired people ,who have more control over the time they have, to go out and fly ,and often they have more disposable income to spend on the hobby as well

 

[JackL]

I noticed the average age displayed quickly as well and assumed it was mostly because younger people aren't going to be spending > $1000 on RC toys that are so easily lost.

 

[Tommy85]

JackL, Back in the 60's I use to fly Radio controlled airplanes. I've lost many in my time. Most times had to rent a real airplane to find it in bean or cornfields.
Now at age of 85, I love the drones as they hover if you lost your bearings for an instant.
Most times I use Litchi to program a flight over my farm to see the deers & other wild animals.
I use an MPP & love it.

 

[Dale D]

I see a lot of members that choose to have their age shown are over the half century mark like myself,
a few are a ways beyond that even. I was curious as to the majority age group that are into or have recently got into flying quads. Seems like quite a few older folks are enjoying the technology.

The wealth of information provided here is astounding, photos and videos from members around the globe are inspiring.

Tip of the hat to all.

Poll is private for those that choose not to display age. Thanks to those that participate. Happy Flying!

Moderation team: Please turf this if it is inappropriate.

I've had a drone since age 79 and am now 82. First was Mavic Air 1 (red) and now Mavic 2 Pro. Loving every minute of it.

 

[eaglesurfing]

After I retired I dusted off my cheap drone and then decided it is time for something better.
I agree that most will not spend their money on a drone.
They want bigger toys which takes up more time.

 

[itsneedtokno]

I'm 30 and looked at it as an investment, a tool, rather than a toy.

Most people my age definitely do not agree with that assessment.

Also, I've got a very high IQ, something that seems to be lacking in most of the younger generation. Not trying to toot my own horn, but when I tell "20-somethings" that I'm 5 points from Mensa and get met with a response such as, "what's Mensa?"... It doesn't bode well for our future.





Sorry, my rant is over now.

Back to the topic.

I, personally, enjoy the age demographic of this forum. There are younger people who can do all the crazy stuff the older folks want to see but don't want to risk... And the older (read: wiser, more experienced) folks can give insight and wisdom to the younger ones. It goes like this, 20 year old guy flies 5 miles away, gets a disconnect and "loses" his drone. Guy comes here to post logs, complaining that it was DJI fault (or maybe not), somebody like Meta4, Slup, Sar104, PhiliusFrogg, Budwalker or Boblui chime in and explain not only the WHY and HOW, but sometimes can even go as far as to export a JPEG of the XML file so the inexperienced (read: younger) pilot can possibly find his drone.

This place is great, the age demographic is great.

The kids can all go stick to Reddit, IG or FB... I'm fine with it ?

 

[Nearlypastit]

I’m 81 and only got my first drone in October. A Holy Stone (sorry, I’ll wash my mouth out) sent it back within 3 weeks (good old Amazon) and bought the Mavic Air 2. So pleased I did that, I’m really impressed with the drone and this forum. There’s so much to learn, I just hope I live long enough to be able to get out and about with it. This lockdown is not helping but, hopefully in the spring, I will be able to make full use of it.

 

[JackL]

JackL, Back in the 60's I use to fly Radio controlled airplanes. I've lost many in my time. Most times had to rent a real airplane to find it in bean or cornfields.
Now at age of 85, I love the drones as they hover if you lost your bearings for an instant.
Most times I use Litchi to program a flight over my farm to see the deers & other wild animals.
I use an MPP & love it.

When I was a kid in the 70's I had a Cox nitro fueled model airplane you controlled with strings and spun in a circle to fly. Of course I dreamed of actually flying it with RC but that stuff costed literally thousands of dollars and there was no way I would spend that for something I could lose so easily! It feels like the same dynamic is still in play today. $1000 for a phone is one thing but for a quad copter is really another.

I live next to the local AMA RC field and have salivated over jet turbine and big piston powered RC model aircraft for decades. I may even try to build one now that I have disposable income. It will hurt way less now if it crashes straight into the ground as it would have when I was in my 20's!!

 

[StantonZ]

[edit] I love the drones as they hover if you lost your bearings for an instant.

I think this is a key point...and a benefit of new technology (not sure quads were readily available a few years ago).

 

[Howard70]

This in contrast to DJI's marketing images, which seem invariably to feature quite young people.

What? You mean owning my Mavic Air 2 won’t make me look good in tight jeans and automatically increase my understanding of social media and current issues? Mark me up as another victim of false advertising!

For me I think it’s a combination of JackL’s and Old Man Mavic’s proposals - time and funds. I also live in a sparsely populated rural setting with close access to vast regions of largely unvisited public lands where I can fly a drone without impinging on the solitude or privacy desires of others.

Howard

 

[teeroy]

While I strongly support this poll, and am interested in its findings, may I suggest improvements in it?

To my mind, this poll's age divisions are much too large for optimal understanding. Could this poll be changed, or repeated, with perhaps 5-year age zones, or even single year zones, instead of 25-year zones?

Such more granular results would permit far more accurate findings.

--Jub

Your suggestions are welcomed, I wasn't sure how many answer options were available or even if this topic would have been well received by the membership.

I appreciate all the excellent responses so far.

 

[JackL]

Your suggestions are welcomed, I wasn't sure how many answer options were available or even if this topic would have been well received by the membership.

I appreciate all the excellent responses so far.

To be hip and relevant like the people that tweet for Wendy's, I'd probably go with Boomer, Gen X, Gen Y, Millennial and Zoomer for the next one.

 

[JackL]

Your suggestions are welcomed, I wasn't sure how many answer options were available or even if this topic would have been well received by the membership.

I appreciate all the excellent responses so far.

It is seriously ironic that I was actually talking about this very topic at dinner last night.

At some point I concluded scuba diving is very similar to droning as it requires money, travel and always pushing into the current if you want to be successful and really enjoy it.