My 12-year-old wants to build a drone from scratch. I already have a DJI and some technical know-how, but I’ve never built a drone before. He’s taking a VEX robotics class at school, learning basic programming and working on robots, but hasn’t done anything with drones or flying tech.
I’m looking for an all-in-one kit that is easy to start with but helps him understand how drones work beyond just plugging parts together. Something educational but fun.
The only must-have is that the drone should actually fly with his controls. Having a camera would be nice, but I think the focus should be on building and learning about drones first. Any suggestions?
I’d recommend the Holybro X500 kit. It’s great for beginners but has room for growth. It uses ArduPilot as the flight control software, and there’s plenty of guides and videos online to help.
Have you checked if there’s a local drone club near you? In Canada, there’s the Drone Pilots Association of Canada. If you’re in the US, I’m not sure of specific groups, but local hobby shops might have leads.
The DJI Tello could be a good option if it’s still available. It’s affordable, comes with prop guards, and includes a few swappable batteries. It’s designed with education in mind.