Is the Draganflyer X6 remote control helicopter the ultimate millionaire's toy?

Often I write about gadgets I wouldn’t buy because they are over-priced for what they actually do, but at least they’re not beyond the reach of the normal credit card owner. This week though I’m looking at a device that definitely falls into the category: “If you have to ask the price you can’t afford it.”

There are loads of remote control helicopters on the market. Some are quite sophisticated, but the Draganflyer X6 is in a totally different class. This is no toy. It’s a genuine miniature aircraft complete with autopilot for “operating autonomously” as the company says.

Most conspicuously it has no less than six rotors to give it stability. But it’s the hidden technology that makes it really clever.  It has 11 on-board sensors: three gyros, three accelerometers, three magnetometers, one barometric pressure sensor, and a GPS receiver. The last enables it to hover over the same point while you head off for a cuppa.

That doesn’t sound nearly as much fun as piloting it yourself which the company says can be accomplished with minimal or zero training. It’ll even stream real-time video to special glasses so you can swoop and take pictures of, well, whatever you’d want to capture with a small surveillance aircraft.

The little electric-powered chopper weighs just a kilo. It can carry cameras and suchlike weighing up to 500 grams. And if one of the rotors is damaged it can keep on flying until it lands safely.

Some clue as to the intended use of the helicopter comes from the company’s website which offers help for US companies seeking Department of Homeland Security grants. There are no suggestions as to how to get cash out of Brown or Salmond.

Incidentally, the name of the helicopter doesn’t come from some crappy piece of trendy misspelling, but from the company president, Zenon Dragan. I’m sure I should remember that name from one of the Superman movies.

For further information or to request a quote visit draganfly.com

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