I flew RC planes in the late 80s when I was around 14. There was a barrier to entry back then. It wasn't money, although that was part of it. You generally h

I flew RC planes in the late 80s when I was around 14. There was a barrier to entry back then. It wasn't money, although that was part of it. You generally had to build the planes (much more involved than assembling a ready-to-go drone), and then learn how to fly them. The were not easy to fly like the current drones are. Part of the training we got was not to do stupid stuff like fly around airports. Those barriers to entry are gone, so now you plop down $1000 or less, and a day later you're up and flying.