Hello and welcome to another exciting and insightful post about drones and the intricacies of getting one.
Today we will touch on a topic that people rarely talk about but determines a lot in terms of what drone you get: The budget required to buy a drone.
It is no secret drones can be expensive devices, especially if you do not know how to buy one or for what purpose.
The truth is that buying a drone should not be complicated, yet the lack of information about the topic is what makes this almost hard.
But fear not, let us relax and talk about all the juicy details of setting up a budget to get cheap drones. We promise to be transparent here and let no stone unturned on the key aspects to consider when creating a budget for your drone.
Think of Budget & Not Price of Drone
Do you see what we have been doing since the start of the post? We have said nothing about the price tag of the drone. Instead, we are broadly referring to this. We will show you why it is convenient for you to do the same.
First, paying the price tag of a drone only gets you the drone itself, yet depending on what type of drone you get, other accessories and fees may need to get considered.
Let us assume you are a beginner and in the look for a drone under 200 dollars, which is a typical price in the drones for beginners market.
A drone in this price category may not be the most efficient in terms of flight and charge time for the battery, and for this reason, you may want to get extra batteries, which are also extra in cost.
Also, if you have honed your piloting skills enough and feel ready to control one of the Mavics or Phantoms, then, even more, you will want to get extra batteries and other accessories to protect your drone and keep it in optimal conditions.
There are other aspects we will mention in this post, but the point we are trying to make here is that to have decent flight experience, it is best if you think in terms of budget and not just the price tag of the drone.
Let us touch on the most important things you need to consider in your budget when getting a drone.
The Drone – Biggest Part of Your Budget
Of course that the most significant part in the budget to get a drone is the price tag of such drone. These days it is becoming common among drone enthusiasts to get a drone under a certain price (200 dollars is one of the most looked for categories).
And this only proves our point when we say that more and more people are switching to believe that putting together a budget to get a drone is a great idea.
If you are an expert pilot, you may not need much advice to get your next drone, but with beginners, this may be different. In case, you need a word or two; we could say that getting cheap drones, for now, is perfectly safe and OK to be sure you will not be wasting your money in the first or second crash.
Also, be sure to look for the best drones in the price category you choose and make an educated purchase. If you are interested, here is a great analysis we did about the best drones under 200 dollars in the market right now. Even if you do not pick one of the options we suggest, we still think you will learn enough to select the best drone for you.
Drone Spare Parts – You Will Need Them
OK, you did your homework and found, researched, and picked the best drone for you. The price tag is just right, so you will not feel buyers remorse if anything goes wrong and you have been saving for the last few weeks to get your drone.
Perfect, but you are not finished yet. There are more things we need to talk about before we can wrap this great journey. Let us touch base on the spare parts and why they are essential.
Again, if you are an expert pilot, you would probably not need to read this, but just in case you do not feel that sure yet about your piloting skills, we want to tell you that spare parts are an essential aspect of flying and keep flying your drone.
Chances are you will crash dozens of times before you can make a decent flight and do not get us started on takeoffs and landings because that is when you will accident the most.
For now just bear with us and know in your heart that even when we wish you all the best in your training experience, there is nothing we can humanly do to avoid you crashing your drone several times, before you feel confident enough to fly and have real control over your gadget.
We guess the point we are trying to make is pretty apparent, right? You will need spare parts because without these you are doomed to stop flying your drone. Eventually, it will happen.
Now, an interesting question is: When should you buy these spare parts? Most people think it is OK to wait until you need these and then buy them, however, there is a caveat here we want you to consider.
If you are entirely sure you want this drone strictly for as long as it lasts, then we would say buying spare parts when they are required (if they are needed, remember you want this drone for a non-serious relationship) is OK.
If you are looking for something else with drones, then getting spare parts right when you buy your drone is a must.
WHAT DO WE MEAN?
Over the years we have flying drones and other RC aviation gadgets we have heard the same story over and over again: There are no spare parts available for our drone.
Let Us Explain
The globe is the way it is, and sometimes some people want to make a fast buck. We have seen sellers off and online that place a product in the market with the sole intention to make sales, but not to build a brand, a business, or a relationship with customers.
These companies have only a limited amount of drones, and as soon as they sell them all, the business disappears.
We do not have to say that not only the intentions but also the quality of these devices are in doubt, and, most of the times (sorry guys, we love our readers and have to warn them about these practices), you can spot these turbulent deals.
If you search for spare parts for the drones (because you think ahead of time and expect the inevitable), there are none, at least not specific to the brand and model you want (there could be similar spare parts that are compatible, yet this is not the ideal scenario).
It makes total sense when you think of it because these people only have a certain amount of money to invest in manufacturing and distributing these drones.
Thus, it makes sense to invest in the drones and not on the spare parts, since most of the times, spare parts cost a small fraction of the drone’s price tag.
Suppliers ask for a higher purchasing volume of spare parts than drones, since the revenue for them is also low, and that is why most of these businesses prefer only to sell whole drones.
We cannot assure this is always the case, and you should not consider this as a rule of thumb, but as we said, this is what happens most of the times we have heard this comment online.
Again, it is among those things you start to notice after years of doing something and paying attention to it, so take it as what it is, a piece of advice from a fellow pilot.
Besides, if you cannot find spare parts and you want to keep flying drones, you will still need to buy another model to continue enjoying and honing your piloting skills, so take it as a cost-saving approach as well.
Drone Batteries (Extras Are Essentials)
Ok, so we spoke about this a little in the budget and not the price tag section. However, we still wanted to dedicate a few words to this.
The reason why you want to get extra batteries for your drone, and right when you buy it, is because (and especially for drones for beginners) the flight and charge times of the batteries are very different in length.
For instance, there are drones which will fly 1 minute for every 10 minutes spent charging the battery. It means that if the drone flies for 10 minutes, you may need to wait for 100 more to recharge the battery fully, and this is not the worst case.
However, if you have extra batteries charged, then the wait time is shortened, and the experience is entirely different.
Also, batteries are relatively cheap for most drones, and you can find many packages with several of these and a balance charger so you can charge them at the same time, so be sure to include extra batteries in your budget as well.
Important Note: Batteries for drones need to be handled with extreme care and you want to follow all safety recommendations from the manufacturer to keep these healthy and functional. A damaged battery could explode or ignite while charging; never leave a charging battery unattended, and it is strongly recommended to charge and store these in LiPo bags which are fire resistant and specially made to prevent issues.
Drones Registration (Do You Need It?)
It is also an important thing since it has to do with the law.
Depending on where you live (and specifically where you want to fly the drone), your country may or may not regulate drones and its uses. In the case of the United States (America), drones use is regulated and the agency in charge of doing this is the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration).
Laws tend to change with time, and that is why we recommend you to check the official site the FAA has put in place to know everything you need about drones registration, however, at the moment of this writing, all drones need to be registered, and that has a cost.
Again, at the moment of this writing, that cost is pretty symbolic, but be sure to check the page above to learn everything you need to know and the fees that need to be paid to operate your drone.
We know this sounds like a lot, yet the reality is that the fact that drones are regulated helps us all, since these amazing and fantastic gadgets can also get used for illegal or unethical activities.
Drones Accessories (Is it Necessary?)
You might not believe this, but you will find thousands of accessories you could buy with and for your drone. It includes things such as landing pads, decorative skins to customize your drone, carrying cases, antennas to increase flight range, and even insurance.
All of these things people buy for their drones because they improve your flight experience not just as a flier but also as a hobbyist and a drone owner.
The truth is that for a beginner, you may be just fine if you consider only the first 4 points we discussed here, but hey, we promised to leave no stone unturned, and there you have it.
Conclusion
Our advice here is to spend some time researching the model you want and look for all those extras you will need to make this a great experience.
Once you choose a model set your final number for a budget and make sure to touch base on every single thing we mentioned here.
As always, we are here if you need us and look forward to reading your comments and questions.
Last but not least, if you can share this post with your fellow fliers that would be great for us, as that is how all of us use the power of the internet to spread great information about the things we love and enjoy.
Till the next time and happy flying!