The Year in Photos : 2017

2017 was our busiest year yet as we set new records for article readership. In this post we take a look back through our extensive archive of images to bring you 2017: our year in photos.

January

We started the year riding the Tiny Whoop wave with staff personally importing frame kits and upgraded flight controller boards or tearing apart our crash damaged Blade Inductrix FPV to use them with aftermarket controllers Meanwhile our customers couldn't get enough of the fantastic ready-to-fly Makefire variants. But by far the most popular post was by Phil, who after unboxing it, began tearing apart our brand new Inspire 2 (craft transmitter and all)  that we hadn't even flown yet!

February

Our small-scale FPV action spilled over into the following month where our unboxing of the new HPI Racing Formula Q32. . . got torn apart to make way for swappable batteries and an FPV camera mount! Elsewhere we had a previous record breaker in the photo studio, Traxxas' 100mph+ capable XO-1! I'd never seen such a large motor and ESC in a model before and on reflection I failed to communicate the sheer scale of the internals.

March

Following its invasive surgery, our Inspire 2 took to the skies and showed us just how capable it was. The tiltable FPV camera was a game changer and has proved invaluable on subsequent flights. We also took delivery of a range of Radiolink transmitters that offered top of the line features at a fraction of the competition price.

April

Our inspire 2 coverage continued with our tame pilot testing all the new flight modes and technologies. Phil particularly liked the 360 quick spin the drone was capable of. Elsewhere we continued to expand our transmitter availablity with the Taranis Q X7, offering X9D-like qualities at a discount.

May

May was Mavic Pro month. We tested out the dual remote control mode, which is an excellent (if expensive) way to introduce a complete novice into flying. Following several months test flying, we surveyed our staff who gave us their feedback on the craft from their area of expertise. This covered views from our pilot, our photographer and even our FPV racer.

June

It was a great start to the summer where we got to play with DJI's beginner drone, 'Spark'. The all-new craft could be flown safely with gesture controls by complete amateurs. It is the first time DJI have offered their drones in a range of consumer friendly colours. Traxxas dropped the TRX-4 Land Rover defender and the internet (along with us) went absolutely crazy for it. If you follow our facebook or instagram accounts you will have doubtless seen plenty of photos of us having fun with it, but indulge me a few more. Lastly we finally got our hands on the much-anticipated DJI Goggles. These really raised the bar for FPV goggles with their incredible dual HD screens and they got a real workout over the summer.

July

One of our most popular blogs this year (perhaps from those of you have had an incident with their drone) was the teardown of the DJI Spark that happened as soon as they arrived in our stockroom. Its always interesting to see how DJI balance packaging the new electronics against how easy they make them to repair. Making the most of the summer sun, we spent many hours in the air filming and photographing, making use of the great Polarpro filters and polarisers recently available for DJI drones. July also saw the release of our very first commercial video. Created by expert filmmakers 282 Video, it shows what really goes on behind closed doors.

August

Our editorial team expanded and our newest author Rory put together a very popular guide to setting up the Eachine Wizard X220s. After so many DJI drones it was great to fly something so performance orientated. Elsewhere Phil approached the hot topic of Drone Regulation in the UK which proved controversial in the comments. Looking beyond quadcopter drones, the TobyRich smartphone controlled planes landed at the office and proved a big hit.

September

Film memorabilia can often be limited to just die-cast inanimate models sat on a shelf. Sphero rewrote the book on this with Ultimate Lightning Mcqueen. It is a remote control car like no other, full of motors, speakers, screens and servos that breathe life into this fabulous toy. Elsewhere on four wheels, we converted our Traxxas TRX-4 to brushless power and documented the progress. Needless to say it turned the already powerful truck into an absolute beast.

October 

Slot car sets such as Scalextrics have been a mainstay of Christmas gifting but Anki have turned the entire hobby on its head with their new overdrive game. Gone are the slots and controllers, instead you control your car wirelessly from your smartphone and battle it out on a flexible track that locks together with magnets; It is almost like a real-life version of mario kart! We reviewed the fast and furious edition which has been a popular seller ever since. We also pitted a mustang against our hopped up TRX-4 defender to create some cover shots for our 'how fast does an RC car go' article, hopefully addressing said question.

November

The long awaited HPI Racing Venture Toyota FJ became available and we put it through its paces in the hills and on the beach. Whilst it lacked the hi-spec of Traxxas TRX-4, it was certainly accomplished in off-roading. We also got our hands on the DJI CineSSD and caddy, to look at the new workflow requirements when shooting RAW with the inspire 2.

December

DJI's pro transmitter, the Cendence arrived in the stockroom and Phil explored its pros and cons. Finally we got caught up with 'the last Jedi' hype, closing the year out with a review of the great Sphero smartphone-controlled star wars toys.

Happy New Year!

From an expanding range of RC Crawlers, to us potentially getting our hands on a DJI action camera; There is plenty on the horizon for us in 2018. If there is anything in particular you would like us to look into, leave us a comment below! So from everyone at RCGeeks, thanks for reading and have a great new year!