I've got my own flying drone. I'm basically the CIA and a spaceman all in one civilian package. I'm going to fly a drone, I'm going to get arrested, and I'm going to be a hero." After pulling one of Parrot's AR Drones out of the box and experiencing this understandable reaction, you start to think about what you're really dealing with—a flying robot, controlled by your phone, with a camera that records the world below as if you're sitting in a tiny cockpit.An affordable four-prop remote-controlled drone with an HD camera and a wide-angle lens.Aviation dabblers who want to look over their neighbors' fences.DesignAn insectoid pod, about one square foot, with an orange color scheme near the toy end of the aesthetic spectrum.Using ItThe first minute is magical—with a single button press, your own little drone hops a meter into the air. And just sits there. Next, you fly that fucker right into a wall.The Best PartIt's a flying drone with a built-in camera. You own a drone.Tragic FlawNeither of the cameras—the front facing 720p one or the lower-resolution cam that points straight down—are any sort of magic.

(Think cell phone camera from 5 years ago.)The tilt-to-control flight interface is so instinctive that it is borderline overwhelming. It tilts just like I tilt my phone?Test NotesFlying an AR Drone makes you feel like a robotic Peeping Tom crossed with a cybernetic monk with a splash of soon-to-be-killed Call of Duty side-story operative.I broke the hell out of the Styrofoam indoor hull pretty much as soon as I started screwing around with it.You can buy replacement hulls for about $45—a lot of scratch for something that's almost certainly going to be trashed multiple times, especially by a novice. (Good news: glue is still available.)I lost it off the roof of a midtown NYC building. I let it fly too far away from me and it stopped responding to my commands. It drifted slowly in the breeze until it ran into a building and fell about 20 feet onto a skylight. From there, I was able to get it to respond, and I guided it onto the ground. The claimed outside range of the Wi-Fi connection—200 feet—isn't as far as you might think.

Parrot didn't seem very on the ball when it came to actually supporting its product after its launch, as a quick scan of the AR Drone forum will uncover. Not all the features promised in the 2.0 version have been released yet; updated firmware has actually caused drones to "drop altitude abruptly"; developers trying to use the AR Drone API complain of a lack of feedback from Parrot engineers. It didn't engender a lot of confidence in your $300 purchase. (Parrot seems to have improved in the last couple of weeks, having released new firmware.)There are some really interesting hacks—especially ones that turn the AR Drone into a hunter-seeker. Others can track objects, or even follow you like a pet. Why hasn't Parrot hasn't included those out of the box?If you really want to buy a drone to capture high-quality footage, you'd be better off buying a rig purpose-built for it. Some $1,000+ models now have six-axis DSLR mounts as options (and the horsepower to haul them).The app can save video files to your phone (and even upload them to YouTube), but another option is saving directly to a USB stick that can be nestled inside the flight body.

This saves at a higher bitrate, with no potential dropped frames due to Wi-Fi issues. One caveat: finding a USB stick that the AR Drone will recognize. It took me a few before I found one that would record—and I happened to have a hot crash right after plugging it in. Unfortunately, I don't have video of that crash. The hard shut-down disrupted the writing of the file. ar parrot drone cut out emergencySometimes having a record of your big failure can ease the embarrassment.parrot ar drone quad helicopterThe indoor hull's four Styrofoam hoops, meant protect the rotors, break with very little force. ar drone motor specsHow about thin loops of wire? parrot ar drone api c#

Flexible but sturdy plastic ribs?Should You Buy It?As far as drones go, you're not going to get much more accessible or inexpensive as the AR Drone. But it's still three bills—and Parrot's shortcomings on service aren't instilling consumer confidence. Updated software is meant to fix the loss-of-altitude problems that have plagued the first runs. But since my test drone is waiting on replacement gears (due to an unfortunate decision to let an intern attempt to fly it on the High Line in Manhattan), I can't verify if Parrot has worked out all the kinks. parrot ar drone how high can go Flying a drone is a lot of fun, and you can get some decent video out of the Parrot's camera. ar drone 2 central crossProvided you have the disposable income and free time to justify it, the AR.ar drone 2 cross bar

Drone 2.0 is a satisfying purchase. Whatever you do, just be prepared for the inevitable crash—and the possibility of lost footage or additional costs to repair the damage.Drone 2.0 SpecsCamera: 720p 30fps HD Lens: 92-degree diagonal wide angle Processor: 1 GHz 32-bit ARM Cortex A8 Weight: 380 grams with outdoor hull; 420 grams with Styrofoam indoor hull Motors: 4 brushless 14.5-watt, 28,500 RPM inrunner motors Battery: 3 elements 1,000 mA/hour LiPo rechargeableWhile other flying-camera makers have gone after enthusiasts, the Parrot Bebop is very approachable to average consumers looking to start shooting aerial video and photos without a big investment. (There's a good reason why you can find Parrot's drones in major retailers including Best Buy, Apple and Harvey Norman, as well as from mobile service providers.) Made from foam, strong plastic and fiberglass, the Parrot Bebop is the safer, gentler quadcopter that you can pilot with the smartphone in your pocket.

In an attempt to capture some of those enthusiasts, however, Parrot perhaps stretched a bit too far, making something that was too pricey for beginners and with not enough features or performance for experienced users. It's good for what it is, but in category that's growing rapidly, it's a tough sell. Drones that came before it, the Bebop can be up and running in minutes. You'll want to charge up a battery, of course, and install Parrot's FreeFlight 3 app on an iOS, Android or Windows device. And if you're flying indoors, you can clip on the protective propeller hull, but really that's about it. There are almost no instructions included in the box, though. To figure out the controls, you can download a user guide from Parrot's site or browse the mobile app's Help section, where you'll find written and video tutorials for the Bebop. There have been several feature updates to both the Bebop and FreeFlight app, but because the tutorials remain unchanged for the most part, some things you'll have to figure out on your own.

With the $499 Bebop (£400; AU$800) you'll get two batteries and one charger; the indoor hull and four additional propellers with a small mounting tool to lock them in place. For an additional $400 (£330; AU$700), you can pick up a Bebop bundled with Parrot's Skycontroller, which can also be purchased separately for $499 (£400; If you're not a fan of flying by touchscreen alone, the Skycontroller is a very large, clunky wireless controller that gives you two joysticks, discrete controls for the camera, a button for taking off and landing and one for emergency motor cutoff, status lights for the battery of the Bebop and the controller and a return-to-home button. Additionally, you can wirelessly pair a tablet or phone with it for first-person-view (FPV) flying. The Skycontroller runs on Android, which allowed Parrot to install the FreeFlight app on it, so you don't need to pair a mobile device to fly -- you just won't have a visual from the camera. (It also means it takes a minute to boot up before you can use it.)

A full-size HDMI output on the side lets you connect an external display to see what the camera sees and also supports VR headsets like the Oculus Rift, completely immersing you for FPV flight. On top of the Skycontroller is an amplified Wi-Fi radio and four antennas allowing you to fly farther -- up to 1.4 miles (2.3km) -- than you can using a mobile device alone, which is up to 820 feet (250 meters). Unless you're in an area free of wireless interference and obstructions, this is more of a theoretical distance (for both, actually) and nothing you should actually attempt. Keep in mind, too, that while you might be able to fly out that far, with the Bebop's brief battery life, someone better be waiting at the other end. Speaking of battery life, the Skycontroller uses the same pack as the Bebop, and when you buy the bundle you get a total of three batteries. Regardless, if you want physical controls as well as increased wireless range, the Skycontroller gives you those things, along with a place to mount a phone or tablet.

There are, however, many options in the vicinity of the $1,000 mark, such as the DJI Phantom 3 Advanced or for GoPro owners, 3DR's Solo -- or any number of other, lesser-known quadcopters. Also, the build quality on my test Skycontroller was a bit iffy given its price, and the thing is really big compared to transmitters for other models. The Bebop's foam body and ABS-reinforced structure might look a bit less polished than other ready-to-fly (RTF) quadcopters, but it is deceivingly tough. The materials keep the Bebop light -- its maximum weight is 410 grams (14.5 ounces). It's compact, too, measuring roughly 12 inches (28cm) square and 1.5 inches (3.6cm) tall. Since the camera is electronically stabilized on three axes, there's no fragile gimbal to worry about should you crash. If you do crash and damage a component, Parrot has made replacement parts available -- from props and batteries to camera and motherboard -- for you to buy and install yourself. Even if you don't crash, you'll probably want to buy another battery or two, some extra propellers and a few spare landing feet (I lost three of four after just a few flights).

The camera is a step up from the one found on its previous models like the AR.Drone 2.0, with an f2.2 fish-eye lens that has a 180-degree angle of view and a 14-megapixel sensor. Though the camera can't physically move, you can digitally pan and tilt it to help you get the shot you're after. It can capture video at 1080p full-HD resolution; Drone 2.0 is limited to 720p. Video is recorded to the Bebop's 8GB of internal storage (there's no microSD or SD card slot) in MP4 format. Photos can be captured as JPEGs or Adobe DNG raw format. Drone 2.0, the Bebop has a GNSS chipset with GPS, Glonass and Galileo built in. The chipset allows the Bebop to return to its take-off location on its own and hover in place 2 meters above the ground. The Bebop can fly in winds up to about 24 mph (40 kmh) and can reach speeds of around 45 mph (75 kmh). When you can't get a GPS lock, such as when you're flying inside, a vertical camera and ultrasound and pressure sensors keep it from drifting while hovering at up to 8 meters (26 feet) above the ground.