EHang's App-Controlled GHOST Drone Takes Flight with Hobbico

OSHKOSH, Wis., July 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Say goodbye to drones that practically require a pilot's license to fly! EHang's GHOST Drone is controlled with a few taps on a smartphone or tablet – no hard-to-use joystick-like controller is required – and provides a rich feature set including the ability to plot a course simply by touching your device's on-screen map, an auto-follow mode that lets the GHOST go wherever you go, and a GoPro-ready gimbal for taking aerial video. It's also the first app-controlled camera-ready drone with an auto-follow mode – perfect for taking video selfies.

Now with national distribution through a partnership with hobby products giant Hobbico, the $749.99 GHOST is coming soon to camera, hobby and drone specialty stores near you. It will also be available for sale at Hobbico's Booth D9 at the Innovation Center of the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh fly-in convention opening today in Wisconsin and running through July 26.

Fly from Your Phone

Designed to make drone flying as easy as playing a mobile game, the soccer ball-sized GHOST puts all controls on your Android or iOS smartphone or tablet screen for tap-and-fly fun. GHOST 'pilots' can:

• Takeoff, land, hover and bring their GHOST home if the signal is lost with a tap on an icon
• Activate the auto-follow mode with another tap, enabling their GHOST to hone in on the signal of a tiny box that connects wirelessly with the user's phone or tablet
• Change drone altitude and rotation by moving vertical and horizontal bar controls on the screen
• Micro-control the GHOST's position by moving a circle icon left and right
• Route their GHOST to any location within the drone's signal range merely by touching the desired point on the on-screen map
• Attach a camera like a GoPro Hero 3 or 4 to capture video selfies (bicycling down the lakefront?), record the scenery (visiting your favorite spot for fall color?) or document events like outdoor weddings
• Tilt the camera up, down, left or right from a special set of on-screen camera control bars

The GHOST Drone measures 14.6" diagonally and has a 1,000-meter (0.61 mile) range. It can fly as fast as 49 mph and last 19-23 minutes per session.

A Haunting Good Time

"The GHOST is really a game-changer for the drone market. Only a handful of other drones are controlled by smartphone apps, and none of them are as easy to fly or have as many capabilities," said Mark Williams, Senior Product Manager, Hobbico, the largest distributor of radio-control and general hobby products in the U.S. with a retail network that includes large chain stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, Michaels, Meijer, Hobby Lobby and Toys-R-Us.  "Now every would-be drone flyer who has been grounded because of the difficulty of manipulating radio controllers can get into the game."

"This partnership with Hobbico gives us the national footprint, marketing expertise and local technical support we need to gain a strong foothold for our GHOST Drone in the U.S. market," said EHang co-founder Derrick Xiong. "It also will help build our brand among American consumers and thereby smooth the way for future product launches."

The GHOST Drone is shipped pre-assembled and ready to fly. Cameras are sold separately. For more information, visit www.ehangdrone.com.

About Hobbico, Inc.

Hobbico, Inc. is one of the largest radio-control product companies in the world – active not only in retail sales and wholesale distribution, but also in the product development, marketing and support for many popular exclusive manufacturers. The company distributes a wide variety of toy, hobby and commercial products from hundreds of manufacturers, including over 40 proprietary brands. Hobbico also exclusively represents a large number of international manufacturers in the United States. For more information, visit hobbico.com.

About EHang

EHang, founded in 2014, is a Chinese aerial technology company with offices in California, Beijing, and Guangzhou. EHang's singular mission is to help shape the way we connect with the sky. EHang makes the world's most easily-flown UAV, innovating the way consumers harness UAV technology. With users in over 70 countries, EHang's products bring joy to both new and seasoned fliers around the world. Visit http://www.ehang.com/en/ for more information.

SOURCE Hobbico, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.hobbico.com