(22-Apr-2024, 03:26 PM)iFly4rotors Wrote: Just my impression and I have not data to back it up, BUT...

In the past, many (maybe most) people who go into FPV were DIY and builders 
at heart. Many have or had careers of a technical nature and already had many 
of the skills needed to build a quad including soldering skills. Consequently, there 
was a demand (large?) for parts which resulted in companies to provide them 
(many were FPV builders and pilots). So, you had vendors that were dedicated 
to the hobby besides making a buck. During these times, FPV was wild and free 
(more or less, regardless of regulations). 

As things change, the trend is towards smaller quads, quality pre-built quads, and 
a shift in the builder/pilot profile... from techie to less skilled consumer. Yeah, the 
techie types still exist, but some are leaving and some are just less active. The 
volume sales are in products for the consumer who wants to get into FPV. 
Consequently, more and better BNF quads, better combo kits, more options 
especially in the smaller category. You no longer have to be a builder to get into 
the hobby. This shift seems to be driving the smaller concerns out of business 
(reference Cyclone FPV). 

    Even given that Cyclone had more than one issue, larger corporations
    can weather these storms better. It is the small guy, who gets pushed
    out. Plus, if someone offered me the right money for a business that
    I owned, then I would be out, too.

Yeah, there seem to be tons of folks entering the hobby with no soldering skills 
that just jump right in, botch everything, and want to know what happened. 
The long and the short of it is that the hobby is moving from techie to consumer.

At least, that is how I see it.

Later, iFly  

Well put. Yes I did have to bang my head against the wall over and over and over again back in the days with multicopter. I think my first quad was a Gaui X330. I cannot remember and not sure if it was bind and fly. I doubt there were such things as bind and fly. Heck even airplanes had to be build. 

Then the hobby became so much better in technology and opened the market to the uninitiated. Good for the profit margins but I am not sure if that is good for the hobby. Maybe this is no longer a hobby but a pass time that flyers no longer have to be passionate before getting involved. Just open the wallet and pay the money and anyone can buy a ready to fly DJI package without learning anything.

What was my inspiration for pursuing this hobby? Well, in 2018, my Wife   found 
a YouTube video entitled "Slaughter Bots" and said to me "You have got to see this".
I was impressed by the capabilities of such a small drone, not any ACRO stunts or 
fancy maneuvers. The drones were about the size of the one shown in the picture 
below. Yeah, I have a couple like that, but without the fancy AI and such.




Interestingly, I began with the intention of flying rather than building. Now, I was
never a "gamer" and never messed with RC anything, so my experience was at
ground zero. (Ok, so I am a techie and did have all of that experience). Anyway,
I wasn't sure that I would even like it, so I bought the brushed motor Eachine E013 
Combo kits that were selling for about $75 USD complete with quad, cheap analog 
goggles (which I still have, by the way), and a super cheap, very tiny, plastic 
transmitter. 

Yeah, using a sim was out of the question, period, so I learned to fly bouncing off
the walls and ceiling. I quickly figured out that having it in the "Easy" fly mode
position helped a lot. Next, I move up to larger quads and doing assembly. I hate
to call it building when the 65mm framed "tiny" whoops had an Everything AIO FC
with motor connectors and plug in motors. Then I moved outside and realized that
these little guys just couldn't keep up with the wind.

My first two brushed motor, open prop, freestyle quads were BNFs; one was a 2.5
inch EMAX TinyHawk II Freestyle; the other one was a 2.5 inch GEPRC Phantom.
Both analog, both cheap. Interestingly, I still have them and fly them. Now, that 
was 2019. Next, I bought a 3 inch Flywoo XBot3. These were nice, but I wanted
a nice 4 inch, however, they were not available at the time which was before the 
release of the Flywoo Explorer. Consequently, building was the only option. So now, 
I jump down that rabbit hole. Thing is, I was building quads that I could not buy. 

Some years later, many builds, much research, a lot of experimentation, and now, 
here I am; pretty much fully entrenched and love    it. 

Later, iFly