This is an awesome article, Paul. I really dig the layout of your site, too. I've been flying Lumenier quads for about 6 months, and just ordered their plug-and-play gimbal for my QAV400. It arrives today!

Sharing your article with friends that want a smooth entry to drone exploration.

wow, just wanted to say it's an awesome post - so much useful information in a really comprehensive and easy to read format. well done!

Cool, that was fun to peruse. Any comments on the Parrot AR drone? Is it worth looking into or just a dud?

Battery life is short. You need at least two batteries so you can fly uninterrupted. My parrot drone has 12 mins battery which is short. Just when you're enjoying flying the battery runs low.

A coworker has one, looks like a decent and relatively cheap choice, but it seems the others recommended have better battery life.

Edit: looking on Amazon, there's a 2-battery version which looks good.

Really cool, thank you !!.