Remotely Piloted Hobbyist Aircraft Recommendations?

[Zeen]

Anyone get a drone from Santa? Drones were big at the CES show, and it's got me wanting one. I actually came up with a legitimate use I can sell the wife on: scaring away the geese that crap all over the lawn. That used to be the dog's job, but he tore his knee, so we can't have him barrelling down the hill at top speed. It should be as big as possible, and sturdy. Noisy is probably a good thing for once. It would need to have a control range of at least 200' feet. The cheaper the better, but hopefully under $200. Any advice?
_________________
The consequences of your decisions should not be confused with fate.

[KTPhil]

I'd just hook up a button for the sprinklers to scare them off (assuming you have sprinklers. They make a motion sensor to trigger them when deer are approaching; maybe that might work? Maybe a noisemaker device would also work (google "Bird-X").

Some kids hovered their drone over my private backyard and I called the cops and HOA board to tell them to warn residents this is illegal, and to imply I'd take it down with my 10-gauge if they did it again. I haven't seen it since.

Be a good neighbor!

[Zeen]

[mark tucker]

gut a big muffler and listen to the drone........or remove it totaly. as for the bikini klad females........good thing I live at the beach.

[60ragtop]

12 gauge aughta do a nice job on the drone
_________________
Rick
Certified Mechanic by the State of Michigan in 1977
ASA certified in 1987
Certified Hunter Wheel Alignment Master Technician 1986

[gt1953]

In the event you purchase a drone do not cheap out. Get one with audio that way you could holler at the geese. 200 won't get much of a drone esp. if the breeze blows.
_________________
Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold})

[windfish]

$200 will easily buy a decent beginners quadcopter.
Wont touch the mid-level and nowhere near the professional grade, but a geese chaser can be had for around $100.

I haven't looked in a while, there's a whole bunch out there now...

For a cheapie the Syma X8C looks fun ($87 on Amazon), even has a small camera so you can record the geese's reactions.
200 meter range, large enough it should do alright outside, mostly good reviews.

The vast majority of the quadcopters available are going to be RTF (Ready To Fly), but if you run across one that says ARF (Almost Ready to Fly) skip it. RTF includes everything you need to fly it, ARF usually lacks controller and batteries + charger. Which you can get separately, but if you want simple 's not it.


btw, I don't really like the word 'drone' when referring to hobbyist-level aircraft.
Technically it's correct and a fair number of companies are using it to refer to their products, but eh.
This is a drone.

[sb001]

[Zeen]

[KTPhil]

Harassing wildlife may have criminal consequences...

[Zeen]

[hitest]

[gulfvet]

[Jacks]

[Air-Cooled Head]

[Jon Schmid]

[krs.br79]

This is a great one.

http://www.banggood.com/Eachine-H8-Mini-Headless-M...75808.html

Kept my interest enough to warrant the price.