The AR Drone is the cheap, hackable way to do it. It's just a tiny PC running Linux hooked up to four weak motors. You can control it via wifi, or replace the f

The AR Drone is the cheap, hackable way to do it. It's just a tiny PC running Linux hooked up to four weak motors. You can control it via wifi, or replace the flight software yourself if you are enterprising. Add their new GPS add-on, and you can use the excellent QGroundControl. There are excellent projects putting it to use for a variety of tasks. Unfortunately it will be limited in its power, unless you do an extensive engine and frame mod as shown here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KESy--N6ags http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KESy--N6ags The 3DRobotics Iris is an exciting new product that represents a more flexible, pro-amateur level tool. They're made to be put to work, not flown like a remote controlled helicopter, so you'll find good support for programmability here. On the other hand, it's almost $1k fully built out, compared to half that for the Parrot.