Drones are the hot new gift

  • Associated Press
  • Wednesday, December 24, 2014 3:21pm
  • Business

Santa’s sleigh isn’t the only thing flying this holiday season.

Drones — flying devices that often carry cameras and can be navigated remotely by smartphones or controllers — have “taken off” as popular gifts as novices have become just as interested in the devices as serious hobbyists. The demand has grown as the industry and government are working together to address safety concerns.

Best Buy expanded its selection from one last year to eight different models in stores and five more online because of rising demand. BHPhoto.com now offers 140-plus models online that range from $50.99 to $6500. And Amazon says the Parrot’s $160 MiniDrone Rolling Spider and DJI’s Phantom 2 Vision+ Quadcopter, which costs about $1,000, have been “popular sellers.”

Michael Perry, spokesman for DJI, which makes the popular Phantom 2 Vision+ and new Inspire models, said demand for drones has moved “pretty dramatically out of being a pretty niche field into more of a consumer electronics field.”

Will Leverett, 40, from Austin, Texas, bought himself the DJI Phantom 2, and has been using it to take aerial shots of his ranch in Central Texas. Leverett spent $2,700 on the drone and a camera and image stabilizer that goes with it.

“Being able to see the ranch from the air is something that my late dad always dreamed about,” said Leverett, who also used his drone to take shots at the World Cup in Brazil. “Now this technology is literally at Best Buy.”

Leverett said he was planning to buy DJI’s Inspire for his brother as a Christmas present. It’s a drone that can be controlled by two people — one person being the pilot and the other operating the camera — for $3,500.

“It will blow anybody’s mind as soon as they get behind the controllers,” he said. “Getting up there and seeing a bird’s eye view for the first time is inspiring. You see how beautiful everything is from just 150 feet up.”

On the more casual side of the sector, Victoria Blevins, 37, from Woodbridge, Virginia, is buying a Parrot 2.0 drone copter that retails for $299 for her teenage son. Her son likes aeronautical engineering, electronics and computers so she considers the drone “his first step in learning flight patterns.”

But Blevins did say, though, that safety will be a focus when her son using the device. “He won’t be using it unsupervised.”

Indeed, safety concerns have grown with the popularity of drones. In Belgrade in October, a drone carrying a banner over a soccer field ignited an on-field brawl. A plane in London’s Heathrow airport had a near-miss with a drone in December. And in October an Oregon man pleaded guilty to violating a ban on drones in national parks by flying a one near bison and over Yellowstone’s Midway Geyser Basin.

Drone makers say they have put safety measures in place to prevent accidents. All drones are recommended for use in large open areas, not near crowded spaces.

DJI said its latest drones have an automatically capped height of 400 feet, even though technically it could go up to 1200 feet. Geosensors also won’t let the drones fly close to any major airports. Parrot, which makes the $500 BeBop drone, also ensures drones do not go above 400 feet.

All three of the biggest personal drone makers — DJI, Parrot and 3D Robotics — have formed a coalition to lobby the FAA to help develop standards for personal drone use.

Additionally, drone industry officials said they are teaming up with the U.S. government and model aircraft hobbyists to launch a safety campaign. The campaign includes a website — www.knowbeforeyoufly.com — which advises both drone operators of FAA regulations and how to fly their unmanned aircraft safely.

The industry also said it plans to distribute safety pamphlets at industry events and work with drone manufacturers to make sure safety information is enclosed inside the packaging of new drones.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

Black Press Media operates Sound Publishing, the largest community news organization in Washington State with dailies and community news outlets in Alaska.
Black Press Media concludes transition of ownership

Black Press Media, which operates Sound Publishing, completed its sale Monday (March 25), following the formerly announced corporate restructuring.

Maygen Hetherington, executive director of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association, laughs during an interview in her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maygen Hetherington: tireless advocate for the city of Snohomish

Historic Downtown Snohomish Association receives the Opportunity Lives Here award from Economic Alliance.

FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held the office on Nov. 22, 2021, after he was sworn in at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Hobbs faces several challengers as he runs for election to the office he was appointed to last fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

Hobbs, a former Lake Stevens senator, is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mark Duffy poses for a photo in his office at the Mountain Pacific Bank headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mark Duffy: Building a hometown bank; giving kids an opportunity

Mountain Pacific Bank’s founder is the recipient of the Fluke Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Barb Tolbert poses for a photo at Silver Scoop Ice Cream on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Tolbert: Former mayor piloted Arlington out of economic brink

Tolbert won the Elson S. Floyd Award, honoring a leader who has “created lasting opportunities” for the underserved.

Photo provided by 
Economic Alliance
Economic Alliance presented one of the Washington Rising Stem Awards to Katie Larios, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Mountlake Terrace High School senior wins state STEM award

Katie Larios was honored at an Economic Alliance gathering: “A champion for other young women of color in STEM.”

The Westwood Rainier is one of the seven ships in the Westwood line. The ships serve ports in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia. (Photo provided by Swire Shipping)
Westwood Shipping Lines, an Everett mainstay, has new name

The four green-hulled Westwood vessels will keep their names, but the ships will display the Swire Shipping flag.

A Keyport ship docked at Lake Union in Seattle in June 2018. The ship spends most of the year in Alaska harvesting Golden King crab in the Bering Sea. During the summer it ties up for maintenance and repairs at Lake Union. (Keyport LLC)
In crabbers’ turbulent moment, Edmonds seafood processor ‘saved our season’

When a processing plant in Alaska closed, Edmonds-based business Keyport stepped up to solve a “no-win situation.”

Angela Harris, Executive Director of the Port of Edmonds, stands at the port’s marina on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Leadership, love for the Port of Edmonds got exec the job

Shoring up an aging seawall is the first order of business for Angela Harris, the first woman to lead the Edmonds port.

The Cascade Warbirds fly over Naval Station Everett. (Sue Misao / The Herald file)
Bothell High School senior awarded $2,500 to keep on flying

Cascade Warbirds scholarship helps students 16-21 continue flight training and earn a private pilot’s certificate.

Rachel Gardner, the owner of Musicology Co., a new music boutique record store on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. Musicology Co. will open in February, selling used and new vinyl, CDs and other music-related merchandise. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Edmonds record shop intends to be a ‘destination for every musician’

Rachel Gardner opened Musicology Co. this month, filling a record store gap in Edmonds.

MyMyToyStore.com owner Tom Harrison at his brick and mortar storefront on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burst pipe permanently closes downtown Everett toy store

After a pipe flooded the store, MyMyToystore in downtown Everett closed. Owner Tom Harrison is already on to his next venture.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.