mewalsh100

Hello! Brand new to the forums here and excited to educate myself on drone usage, certification, and flight. Long time surface RC enthusiast that's making the leap to air. 

Hello - Long time surface RC enthusiast here, but total newb to RC flight / drones. I've been mulling purchasing a drone for a couple years now, and I think it's finally time to take the leap. My intention is to use the drone primarily in a recreational manner, but I've also been doing some research on commercial applications such as Real Estate marketing. It looks like my first step should be to find or enroll in a local or online course to obtain my remote pilot certification, Part 101 and Part 107?

I have a lot of questions and was looking to get feedback from folks here about the best way to proceed. Should I purchase the drone and get some flight time first? Is it even legal to fly a drone prior to certification? (There seems to be some blurry areas here)  Should I dive right in and do the course and get certified first? 

Recommendations on a drone that is "forgiving" to learn on, but will allow me some good overhead as I advance and gain skills?

Ok, thanks in advance for any feedback and recommendations. I appreciate the help!

~Mike