Drone for Christmas

  • Thread starter Thread starter Altissimus
  • Start date Start date
  • Replies Replies 149
  • Views Views 23K
Yes ma'am, that's the plan. My insurance agent is talking to the underwriter tomorrow about getting it covered against loss and liability.

I'm going to look into the commercial aspect of it (FAA) and possibly see if there's money to be made with it aside from my own use.
 
They sure develop those drones fast.
Just yesterday the big thing was delivering packages with them, and now they already have them taking down Redwoods.




:P
 
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SNPJMk2fgJU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
We should sell those to the DHS police.

I worry about the rotor blade on those things. Those little helicopters they sell to kids seem like they could take an eye out.

Never heard of that though. I could see myself having a lot of fun just flying one around and looking at stuff.

Does anyone know about the 500 foot private property rule that aviation has to follow? Do drone have to operate above that too? I know spray pilots have to have a permit to operate below 500 feet.
 
First video I've put on YouTube from the drone I got Friday. Very quick and dirt job on the coloring/post editing... all automated in FCPX. Flying the drone is cake (this is my third), getting the most out of the camera system will require some effort.


The first part is looking towards the sun, then following Levi running back to the house, then circling a service truck out in the field that has been there a bit. That flying/circling around the truck was done by the computer. I'm sitting on the trailer with the Nifty.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-4n6cxeJYxM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
My longest flight has been 13 minutes and I landed with an indicated 30% battery life remaining. Another flight was 7 seconds longer and I landed with 28% remaining. On those two flights combined I covered just under 3.25 miles of flight distance.

So far the setup cost about $7K. That includes 2 remotes (pilot and camera operator) with iPads for a display on each controller, 4 spare batteries, swanky case to carry it all in (plus the case it ships in). I'll be adding some more things to the setup as time goes on, but this is assuredly getting me started. One thing I'm going to add is a set of ND filters for the camera so I can run a larger aperture while keeping the shutter speed where it needs to be.


I'm hoping to shoot my first tree job with it tomorrow as a test. Should be a reasonably scenic location.
 
This is what I wanted to do with my first drone 3 years ago, but the technology was pretty far outside my budget. The whole system is put together by one company (DJI), which really helps the gimbal take out so much motion from the drone flying around. Being able to see what you're recording makes the job far easier as well.
 
When I flew over the truck I recorded the location then told the drone to circle it anti clockwise at a given radius and speed. It's one of the autonomous flight modes. I can set waypoints for it fly on its own, follow the controller (like if I was in a vehicle or piece of equipment, and a couple other computer assisted modes. It can also take off and land itself as well as transform itself from landing to flight mode which moves the airframe up relative to the camera so you have more unobstructed area to move the camera through (360* unobstructed rotation up to 10-15* above horizontal).
 
How well does it handle wind? Is there a wind speed limitation? Is it as steady in a gusty breeze?
 
We just used a dji phantom 3 drone here in St. Martin to video from overhead some yoga done in a group circle formation...using ropes. It was windy with some gusts...the drone/gps synchronization to stay directly overhead was amazing. Will post some video later.
 
Tuebor said:
How well does it handle wind? Is there a wind speed limitation? Is it as steady in a gusty breeze?
Click to expand...



That gave me an idea for a video.... attacking the drone with a backpack blower! :lol: It's rated for 10m/s= 22mph. I've had it up to ~45mph. Its max speed is listed at 22m/s= ~49mph.


For giggles, I flew it from my house to my property and my parents house, a little over 2 miles away, and took some pictures/video.
 
Tuebor said:
The 500' rule can be found here:

http://www.flightsimaviation.com/data/FARS/part_91-119.html

It's more about safety than privacy. Don't know what, if any, rules apply to drones.
Click to expand...

I watched a video of "drone fails" last night on the youtube. People are crashing these things all the time, would seem to be kind of dangerous to be hit with one.

There was a case of a person shooting one down with a shot gun in California. I guess the drone owner was spying on the back yard sunbathing activities of some dude's daughters. Dude shot it down. If a drone is close enough to be shot down with a shot gun, it is too close.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #49
...heard him interviewed , Bird Shot took it out of his airspace. Owners showed up pissed off , he suggested they leave the property.
 
pantheraba said:
We just used a dji phantom 3 drone here in St. Martin to video from overhead some yoga done in a group circle formation...using ropes. It was windy with some gusts...the drone/gps synchronization to stay directly overhead was amazing. Will post some video later.
Click to expand...

You are in St. Martin? Dutch or French side?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Altissimus
GRCS , tips and technique for greatness
2
Replies
26
Views
1K
friedrich
friedrich
SeanKroll
Drone recommendations
Replies
11
Views
812
SeanKroll
SeanKroll
lxskllr
Options For Manually Moving Material?
2 3 4
Replies
95
Views
4K
WoodCutr
WoodCutr
lxskllr
Rope For Ghetto Fiddle Block?
2
Replies
45
Views
2K
lxskllr
lxskllr
WoodCutr
Load securement for on road transport
2 3
Replies
53
Views
3K
WoodCutr
WoodCutr
Back
Top