There are two great local user groups and we’re active members of both.

The New England Drone Users Group is for anyone with any interest in any kind of drone.

In addition to traditional photography events, Vermont Photography Meetups regularly holds meetups specifically for enthusiasts/operators of aerial photography and cinematography drones.

Vermonters with an interest in Drones are welcome to join the Vermont UAS Drone Operators Facebook Group.

Everyone interested in flying should also join the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA). The AMA is an association of modelers organized for the purpose of promotion, development, education, advancement, and safeguarding of modeling activities. They’ve become the national voice for its membership, providing liaison with the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Communications Commission, and other government agencies. AMA Members also receive liability insurance for the operation of their model aircraft.

When joining the AMA, they’ll ask for recruiter details. You may provide the following details:
Recruiter Name: Steve Mermelstein
Recruiter AMA #: 544166

FPV Drone Racing is immensely growing in popularity and is loads of fun.

Our local group, the Northern New England Drone User Group welcomes all ages. It’s free to join and is the best way to get help and questions answered. Free fly-ins, races, and meetups are offered at least once a month. Quite a few members have toys or micro-quads at each meeting. They’re never looked down upon!

Don’t buy a racing drone and run out to fly without first having some experience with a toy micro quad drones. Don’t skip this step! Luckily, the toys are inexpensive and are built much tougher. They survive pretty much any type of crash without damage. It takes lots of practice to be able to understand how to fly an FPV Racing Drone as they don’t have a GPS or systems which make them easier to fly.

We’re often contacted by folks, newly interested in drones, wanting to meet to pick our brains or watch us fly. Unfortunately, our time is severely limited. The only way we can do this for free is at one of the meetup/user groups we regularly attend or if you purchase a drone from our shop.

Private (or video conference) lessons, consultations, and/or meetings are only offered in the following ways:

1. In a Private Drone Wokshop through our sister company, VTPhotoTours.com;
2. Or, if you pay us for our time.

For option 2 please email us a short bio and briefly explain why you want to meet and what you hope to accomplish. Please be sure to also include your full name, address, cell phone number, and a link to your website or social profiles. If we’re available to meet, we’ll reply with a list of times and dates we’re available.

Unfortunately, no photography drone is crash-proof or as easy to fly as the marketing leads everyone to believe. It takes lots of practice with a toy micro quad drone first. Don’t skip this step! Luckily, the toys are inexpensive and are built much tougher. They survive pretty much any type of crash without damage. Pick one up today at our shop in Burlington!

Once you can fly with confidence and skill, rather than luck, DJI is the best ‘off the shelf’ brand.

To be guaranteed of getting the latest/updated versions, we only recommend buying DJI products direct from DJI.