To drone or not to drone?

raqball

Jul 22, 2025

I have been considering getting a drone for a while now but keep putting it off as I don't think I'd use it that much.. I am not a YouTuber or anything like that so getting footage for videos would not be my primary goal.

I would like to find one that has collision avoidance because I am a drone nOOB and don't feel like it getting stuck up in tree on my 1st flight. LOL. There are only a few that do that, and they are kinda pricey..

My main use of a drone would be to scout ahead on a trail to check conditions / terrain or, more importantly to me, to look for sweet dispersed camping sites that I might otherwise miss..

**Most people use a DJI, like a Mini 4 Pro, but they are hard to find as I guess the US has an issue with them being made in China and is blocking their imports. DJI has also taken all the drones down from their US website and no longer sells them here in the US.. You can import them from places like Korea, but you'd probably be hit with a few hundred dollar in tariff fees..

**please do not turn this thread into a political / tariff food fight..

Any of you peeps have, and use, a drone?

Thoughts, suggestion and opinions welcome..

onX Trail Guide & Tread Lightly Member

Laura, BuckYeah

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Today at 12:47 am

#180

We live in an area where wild fires are common so much so that getting home owners insurance was next to impossible and very expensive. I live on 100 acres and two side of our property is owned by the state park so there is about 800 acres around me that are natural. The other day I walked out of the house and there was a ton of smoke. So I ran into the house and grabbed the drone I flew strait up and just looked up wind. Didn’t see any flames so I figured we were safe. Turns out Canp Bullis was doing some controlled burns 10 miles from us. The Camp Bullis fire a few years ago ago was a bad one, started by them shooting a school bus with a 50 cal machine gun cut it in half then caught the grass around it on fire.

BN 1100, Desert Sand Everglades. Reservation 7/30/20. ordered 1/22/21, reordered 10/15/21 dropped tow and hard top, reordered 3/9/22 changed to Everglades. production date 9/7/22 rescheduled 9/14/22 completed 9/26/22, shipped 10/7/22, arrived 10/31/22, delivered 11/03/22

raqball, Lots O Fords

Today at 1:00 am

#181

Jakob1972
We live in an area where wild fires are common so much so that getting home owners insurance was next to impossible and very expensive. I live on 100 acres and two side of our property is owned by the state park so there is about 800 acres around me that are natural. The other day I walked out of the house and there was a ton of smoke. So I ran into the house and grabbed the drone I flew strait up and just looked up wind. Didn’t see any flames so I figured we were safe. Turns out Canp Bullis was doing some controlled burns 10 miles from us. The Camp Bullis fire a few years ago ago was a bad one, started by them shooting a school bus with a 50 cal machine gun cut it in half then caught the grass around it on fire.

The saying from the forest service is "when you're flying, we can't". Might want to keep that in mind...

OnX Expert Trail Guide and Tread Lightly Member.
4 Door BadSquatch | Soft-top | Velocity Blue | 2.7 Auto

Today at 12:08 pm

#182

Jakob1972
We live in an area where wild fires are common so much so that getting home owners insurance was next to impossible and very expensive. I live on 100 acres and two side of our property is owned by the state park so there is about 800 acres around me that are natural. The other day I walked out of the house and there was a ton of smoke. So I ran into the house and grabbed the drone I flew strait up and just looked up wind. Didn’t see any flames so I figured we were safe. Turns out Canp Bullis was doing some controlled burns 10 miles from us. The Camp Bullis fire a few years ago ago was a bad one, started by them shooting a school bus with a 50 cal machine gun cut it in half then caught the grass around it on fire.

JoergH
The saying from the forest service is "when you're flying, we can't". Might want to keep that in mind...

I purchased an app called Drone Buddy Pro ( Drone Buddy App ) and if has a no fly zone areas that are constantly updated.

TFR's (Temporary Flight Restriction) are issued for things like major sporting events, disaster sites, wildfires, or areas hosting VIPs like the President etc.

Here is a screenshot showing a National Forest that you can normally fly in but now has a TFR due to forest fires.

Here is an onX screenshot showing that same National Forests current fire condition.

Here is where I am headed next week. It currently has a TFR issued but only for the NE part of the National Forest.

However, even if the TFR stays in the same area, I won't fly my drone anywhere in the National Forest just to be safe..

First and foremost, I do not want to disrupt, or cause issues, for the incident / fire responders and I'd rather spend my moola on something other than gubment fines. I'd also prefer to avoid becoming Federal Inmate # F27543678!

onX Trail Guide & Tread Lightly Member

Today at 5:36 pm

#183

raqball
I purchased an app called Drone Buddy Pro ( Drone Buddy App ) and if has a no fly zone areas that are constantly updated.

TFR's (Temporary Flight Restriction) are issued for things like major sporting events, disaster sites, wildfires, or areas hosting VIPs like the President etc.

Here is a screenshot showing a National Forest that you can normally fly in but now has a TFR due to forest fires.

Here is an onX screenshot showing that same National Forests current fire condition.

Here is where I am headed next week. It currently has a TFR issued but only for the NE part of the National Forest.

However, even if the TFR stays in the same area, I won't fly my drone anywhere in the National Forest just to be safe..

First and foremost, I do not want to disrupt, or cause issues, for the incident / fire responders and I'd rather spend my moola on something other than gubment fines. I'd also prefer to avoid becoming Federal Inmate # F27543678!

That is great! I wish every drone operator was as responsible as you are!

OnX Expert Trail Guide and Tread Lightly Member.
4 Door BadSquatch | Soft-top | Velocity Blue | 2.7 Auto

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