I can't afford to learn how to fly, but I've always wanted to do it. So, when I was a kid (8ish) my parents hooked me on aeromodelling, and I loved it like anything. I used to spend hours sanding away wood, which is quite incredible for an 8 year old.

I know that isn't a substitute for the real deal, but for those of us who can't fork out 15K regularly for something it's worth it.

Moreover, it's possible to make a drone these days. So, a lot of people over here could design a suitable balsa aircraft that could handle the payload and attach a battery with a small video camera to it and an arduino to control it. The biggest problem IMO would be the radio communication, but a lot of solutions exist for that too.

I think that if someone is fairly dedicated they could make one for under $300 using spare parts, and it should be worth it too. As it scratches that itch in a much much cheaper way, and learn a lot about design too.

A huge plus is that if you crash it your or other's life isn't, necessarily, on the line.