Introduction

It started as an advanced tool, specifically designed for military use in a variety of roles.
Today, “drone” is a generic umbrella term, broadly used to describe any type of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aerial system (UAS).

For most people, this informal buzzword usually describes a remote controlled or autonomous quadcopter (or other multi-rotor models), used by ordinary civilians for recreational or professional purposes.

Millions of drones owned by enthusiastic hobbyists and commercial operators already fly regularly in the U.S. as well as internationally and this number increases rapidly, as the popularity of these aerial vehicles continues to expand.
Drones have rapidly evolved from being a geeky small-niche hobby of early adopters to a major retail and cultural phenomenon.

Private recreational consumers see them as cool high-tech toys and as flying cameras.
They are fun to play with, due to the unique joy, adventure and challenge of maneuvering them through the sky and capturing breathtaking photos as well as high-quality videos from diverse angles and perspectives.

For others it’s a vital professional tool in their field of work or a main source for livelihood, in case they are among the business service providers who are authorized to use drones for profit.

Today, quadcopters are the most popular form of multirotor systems, which typically feature a square H or X-shaped frame with four arms with a motor and propeller on the end of each arm.

Manufacturers have made current models more affordable, small in size, light in weight, extremely portable and fairly easy to operate, as these crafts are piloted from the ground by an individual with a handheld radio controller or programmed to fly on their own.

Common Uses

Drones that are sold in the market have a variety of civilian and commercial uses.
These flying robots offer powerful technical capabilities and wide ranging applications such as:

• Hobby & Recreation
• Moviemaking and Photography
• Livestock Tracking
• Wildfire Monitoring
• News Coverage / Capturing Live Events
• Real Estate & Construction
• Aerial Surveying
• Mapping
• Agriculture
• Law Enforcement
• Emergency Management & Response
• Insurance
• Research
• Industrial Inspection
• Security
• Sport – Drone Racing

The future of drone technology is extremely promising, full of potential applications and unlimited possibilities in areas like logistics, shipping and delivery, personal transportations, firefighting, search and rescue operations and much more.

Popular Brands

The following list includes some of the most popular brands in the drone industry:

• DJI
• Parrot
• 3D Robotics (3DR)
• Yuneec
• GoPro
• Autel Robotics
• Walkera

What Do Drone Websites Offer?

A number of innovative companies in this industry develop drones for the civil markets (personal and commercial).
With time, the hardware and software aspects of drone technology dramatically improve, offering more exciting features and enabling new applications for all types of consumers.

Online retailers as well as manufacturers who sell directly through their websites offer a broad range of drones which are available in just about any shape, size or configuration.
These sites serve types of audiences, which include recreational customers and hobbyists, professional photographers and enterprise users (for example, those who own or wish to start mapping or surveying businesses).

Drone companies offer different models that are ideal for specific uses (toy, aerial photography and videography, selfies, racing, filmmaking, etc.) or experience level (for beginners, intermediate or advanced users).
They also offer a variety of products for different budget frames that range from basic dirt-cheap entry-level models to professional high-end quadcopters with all the latest bells and whistles.

In addition, the major online quadcopter dealers and distributors offer an extensive range of accessories that include bags and cases, batteries, remote controllers, propellers, lens filters and other useful items.

With so many competing brands and models to choose from, purchasing a new drone can definitely be overwhelming and confusing – especially for a novice.
Consumer and professional drones vary widely in their size, weight, use, shape, price as well as technical capabilities and features.

Some of the important factors that need to be carefully considered before ordering a specific quadcopter include flight range and time, skill level, battery life, camera specifications, controllers, integrated GPS (with return-to-home option), headless mode and more.

Paying for Drones with PayPal

Many popular UAV / UAS ecommerce sites in the market accept PayPal and take a variety of other payment methods such as credit cards, debit cards, wire transfers, gift cards and more.