P3S for an 11 year old?

[buford]

You are less likely to get into VRS with a phantom than another quad. and yes you can loose a X5c, just check out the Syma X5C Facebook group. Lots of people loose them in trees or flat out loose them . They can get away from you very easy. As far as what I meant about the video games is that you have to be coordinated to play them, so yes it helps.

Less likely means you can if your unkucky, and it takes more than coordination to fly any drone. You should know that if you have a P3. And I know of no one who has flat out lost a syma, unless they were flying it over a lake.

 

[telescott]

Less likely means you can if your unkucky, and it takes more than coordination to fly any drone. You should know that if you have a P3. And I know of no one who has flat out lost a syma, unless they were flying it over a lake.

Not wanting to argue. Many have lost them, maybe you don't read the Syma group. I stated my opinion and like you, I have one. I respect yours, but I have a different take. I have had a Syma X5c-1, a XK X380 and a CX-20. I find the Phantom 3 to be very easy to use and learn, and if he worked with the young man I think he would be fine. Kids given a chance are intelligent and can pick things up quicker than a adult. That's my last word on the subject.

 

[buford]

Not wanting to argue. Many have lost them, maybe you don't read the Syma group. I stated my opinion and like you, I have one. I respect yours, but I have a different take. I have had a Syma X5c-1, a XK X380 and a CX-20. I find the Phantom 3 to be very easy to use and learn, and if he worked with the young man I think he would be fine. Kids given a chance are intelligent and can pick things up quicker than a adult. That's my last word on the subject.

And flying all those syma's had nothing to do with stepping into a phantom? I don't want to argue either, but this guy is trying to teach this kid something. The kid is 11, and never flown a drone. I believe he should start out on a syma, and work his way up to a phantom. That's the common sense way IMO.

 

[fordruid]

DO IT!!!!
You know this young mans level of maturity.
Absolutely do it if you know that he is ready.
At first, you keep the UAV and make it something you do together (beginner mode).
Develop from there.
Don't buy some cheaper UAV that's inherent difficulty that will spoil the fun and interest before he even gets used to it.
Make sure that he understands that at any time things go wrong, release the controls and let it hover while he regroups.
The Phantom 3 is forgiving and relatively easy to fly, unlike cheaper ones.
Be 'the adult' and make him learn it in steps, but keep it fun and remember that a catastrophic failure could happen and add to your costs.

 

[Tony Cowan]

No need to argue guys. It's only money. Hehehe


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[TheRealNick]

I think it is fine, depends on the kid. I also have a Syma X5 and it is much more difficult to fly than a phantom, but it is cheaper which is why most recommend learning on it. I let my 7 and 5 year old use the flight simulator on our tv using Apple TV and also let them fly for real with me right there and they can fly the phantom no problem, until they get bored and wanna do full stick maneuvers and then I take over. They cannot fly my X5 by themselves, it is really hard for them to modulate the throttle to hover. Sometimes I take the left stick and they take the right stick on the Syma. I can see buying my 7 year old a phantom in 4 years if he seems to understand the risks and seems responsible enough. You can't generalize wit age. Plenty of people older than 30 shouldn't have a phantom...

 

[TheRealNick]

I wanted to add a lesson I learned with my Syma....I flew it up and when it hit my roof line the wind took it away quick. It went out of range so I ran after it and got signal back. I was holding full back as I was running when I regained signal. I then turned it and flew it forward back towards me. As I approached i tried to transition into hover and found it extremely difficult to stop the forward motion. I was able to land ok, but it seems unknown to me that the sticks re zeroed and since I was holding full back that became center and with the stick centered it would fly forward. Soo....if your Syma goes out of range and you run to get it back, make sure you center your right stick and you may have to redo the throttle learn, I may have done that without realizing it....

 

[wellsi]

The 11 year old is my friends son who is a single mother. He loves my P3A. I do a lot of stuff with him. He is constantly around or with me. He looks up to me. I thought since they are so stable and easy to fly that it would be good for him. So u guys think the Syma would b better?

Only other point no one's touched on is the liability for any damage caused if he crashes it into anything or anyone else. Can the single mother afford that? And I'm not sure of your laws, but as you've supplied it to him, would that cause you any liability or put you at risk of prosecution ? When a kid crashes a car that his dad let him drive, the dad gets in trouble.....

 

[azpilot61]

Personally no way I would do that. Big discussion in our family on this, Grandma wanted to get nephew a nice $250 drone for christmas all the bells and whistles because she saw me flying my small ones in the house and the P3S and X380 outside. I explained that I started with small hubsan to learn control, then moved to a Tarantula X6 and then the Phantom and bigger UAS gradually and I didn't think this was a good idea.

Well he got the drone, can't fly it waste of money. Its not a video game at all and its a lot less painful to loose $24 than $500!

 

[RayH]

Hi,
I have a Blade 200srx helicopter with SAFE mode which is good for beginners. Blade also makes the 200QX which helps people learn quads Blade 200 QX BNF Quadcopter with SAFE | Horizon Hobby


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[The Suburban Hippie]

NO! You are giving an 11 year old a flying blender! No matter how responsible the kid seems they are 11. How about something much smaller? A blade Nano QX?

While you are at it, why don't you buy them a chainsaw, or circular saw?

 

[TheLightSpeedz]

NO! You are giving an 11 year old a flying blender! No matter how responsible the kid seems they are 11. How about something much smaller? A blade Nano QX?

While you are at it, why don't you buy them a chainsaw, or circular saw?

It depends on the kid. People told me the same thing when I got my kid the first iPad when it first came out. You teach responsibility.... My son still has that iPad he had when he was four, five years later. There's not a scratch on it. He protects it like he bought it himself. Same is true of his iPhone 6+ and his AR Parrot Drone. Some kids are immature and some aren't. If I saw my kid trying to do a flip with my Phantom he would never touch it again. He knows that.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[Wormfood]

My son is 5 and loves to fly his p3s. Someone is always with him when he flys and only in beginner mode. He has never crashed or had any other issues.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[The Suburban Hippie]

Supervision goes a long way. However, most people don't always supervise. Do you lock it way when you aren't around, or do you just tell your 5 year old not to fly it without you?

I was a kid once. Kids don't always do what you say. Maybe most of the time, but not always...

...and everyone always thinks THEIR kids are different. Smarter, more responsible....

 

[buford]

Ya know, there are a lot of opinions flyin around. If the guy had been up front, and said his "friend" was a single mother, and the father is not in the picture? We would all have had different opinions. I for one don't want to know about his friend or their relationship, or the the kid and his maturity level, or how many people have Einstein as a son who has been flying a drone since he was 2 and is excellent at video games and has even drove the family car on occasion. The fact still remains that the kid is eleven, it goes against intelligence to let him start out with a phantom. I withdraw from this conversation.

 

[TheLightSpeedz]

Worst case is it gets wrecked.... There's tons of adults on here you could argue the same point.... They should have learned on something else, but with big wallets, come the big toys. They wreck them and get on here to learn what they should have learned by reading the manual.

Remember the guy that wouldn't fly his Phantom because when he pulled the left stick down the motors shut off while the props were off? lol.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[Wormfood]

It stays put up and batteries put up in a different spot.


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[wellsi]

Worst case is it gets wrecked.... There's tons of adults on here you could argue the same point.... They should have learned on something else, but with big wallets, come the big toys. They wreck them and get on here to learn what they should have learned by reading the manual.

Nope, worst case is something he doesn't own or someone else gets wrecked. Anyone can fly; it's how you deal with things when something goes wrong....

 

[m0j0]

I have a P3A and was seriously considering buying a P3S for my good friends son. What are your thoughts?

I would say it depends on the kid and the parent. If both are reasonable and you know the flights will be supervised why not. It's your cash if you can afford it... Sure.


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[m0j0]

The range on a syma is 130'. You can loose a quad in 130? And the phantom can get into VRS.
And I don't think playing any video game prepares you for flying a quad.

I rarely play video games but yes, playing s video game absolutely can help. Many of the games have drones in the game that behave pretty closely in the game to the phantom. The games have developed past frogger! They are incredibly difficult to play and I would even say more difficult than flying a quad. Albeit if you crash on the screen you just get another one and the potential damage is 0.. Still if you don't think you can learn orientation and other skills through a video game you haven't watched games recently. The Go app uses a video game / simulator it's a really bad one but still a video game.




Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app