Drones... do you have one, which one and why???

[Caveeagle]

Mine sets automatically when it takes off and lands just inches away. Just don't use it if you're on a moving boat. It will land where the boat was but now isn't.


I've tried to get instruction for my drone, but it's just nutzoid. I was quoted $250 for a two hour class. I asked what it included and was horrified at how ultra basic it was. At the end of the two hours I would be able to turn it on, sync it, take off, land, use the "come home feature", set the camera controls and a few very basic tasks. So, I first took off and landed a dozen or so times. I used the simulation mode and learned a lot. I have no idea how many youtube videos I have viewed. There's a learning curve, and I'm somewhere at the beginning of it all.

Like I said.. I suspect you are probably doing a great job of learning. And playing it safe. There is just really no controls or standards in place to define what training is needed to be safe. It's great that there seems to be so many safeguards built into some units. But that is not universal, and might even give a false sense of security to somebody who just purchased (or built) a drone with fewer safeguards.

Shoot, I've got my new shearwater all dialed in! Am I ready to go tackle the Nest? Heck no!! And I hear there are some pretty sketchy sidemount instructors out there.. and some pretty darn good YouTube videos.. but that does not mean I might not benefit from some quality instruction.

It's not hard to find reports of complaints of near miss type issues and drones flying close to airports etc. I fear stricter governmental controls could be inevitable if we get a few more high profile incidents.

 

[drrich2]

Haven't pulled the trigger on getting one. A few reasons...

1.) I'd want good still pics, and video, plus collision avoidance. A dedicated controller with longer range and a better experience than using an iPad to control it. I'm thinking $1,500.

2.) I think I'd play with it a few days, then sporadically, then it'd mostly gather dust on a shelf.

3.) Read an article where someone took a cheaper drone with some limited virtual reality tech., and basically, it gave him a 'drone's eye view' so it seemed like he was flying, which was a more rewarding experience than that of just piloting a drone. But it was kind of crude.

I want that, but more slick & polished. That would get keep if off the dusty shelf more...

4.) I want longer battery life.

5.) I want to be happy with what I buy for years.

Richard.

 

[drrich2]

Went to PCMagazine to hunt that drone review I read, and maybe found something better - DJI Goggles let you fly a drone in first person view.

Some snippets from that article:

"The $449 DJI Goggles, which are available for pre-order now and start shipping in May, look similar to a PlayStation VR$399.99 at Amazon headset, except instead of being powered by a gaming console, they access high-definition footage from a drone thanks to a low-latency connection. At a close range and with no interference, you'll be able to get a 1080p feed at 30fps, while flying further away will bump the resolution down to 720p, at either 30fps or 60fps. In other words, DJI says, wearing the goggles is like viewing a 216-inch TV from about 10 feet away."

"Thanks to built-in head tracking, the DJI Goggles can also be used for first-person view flight control, assuming you use them with a Mavic Pro series drone. In FPV mode, you get the ability to control the drone's yaw and camera tilt just by moving your head. Head movements work the same way as moving the control sticks on the remote: you turn your head left or right to yaw left or right, and you straighten your head to stop the turn."

Richard.

 

[The Chairman]

It's kind of phunni, but there are similar rules for drone flying and diving. Do your long flights first. Always head into the wind at the beginning of your flight. Only use a third of your battery for the flight out. Check your gauges often. Watch your height. Use good situational awareness.

@drrich2, I think the stills I'm getting from this are spectacular. Also, I'm finding flights over 5 minutes are kind of tedious. Each of these videos required more than one flight and some more than one take. I'm trying to get a bit cinematic in my approach. I really liked the sunset reveal. There weren't enough colors in the sunset for my taste, but flying up from behind that tree gave it a bit of drama. Still, there were at least a dozen flights to see the opportunity and set it up properly.

Consider this video I did for the Nautilus Explorer's Belle Amie:

​

Some drone video would have really made this a lot better. A follow from the side as the boats went out to the dive sites. A dramatic reveal of the ship from behind a pinnacle like Roca Partida. A drone sent out to see the whales that ran from our boats. There were any number of scenes that would have really made this exceptional.

 

[flyboy08]

Have you thought of purchasing liability insurance? Your home owners policy excludes this peril. Most all aviation underwriting entities are offering drone coverage at reasonable pricing....maybe even covers the physical damage of the drone too....

 

[The Chairman]

I am considering it, but have no idea where to find it. Googling it now.

 

[flyboy08]

You may need to go through an insurance broker. AOPA is the only direct writer I know of but don't know if they do drones?

 

[Caveeagle]

I have found the AMA coverage seems good, but thankfully I have never had to use it. Also not sure if it covers commercial , professional activities.

http://www.modelaircraft.org/files/InsuranceSummaryMembers.pdf

 

[drrich2]

So, the big, mainstream drones like the DJI Phantom 4; how compactly do they pack up? When you take it on a flight, is it in a checked bag?

I ask because the '1 carry on, 1 personal item, 2 checked bags' allotment many of us are used to would make me wary of packing it on a solo dive trip, at added cost & risk of theft, etc...

For a family trip? Ah, that might be worthwhile. When we fly Southwest & get 2 free checked bags apiece, even our 4 year old, at least it couldn't be more expensive...

Richard.

 

[The Chairman]

I would be nervous about taking this in a carry-on. Imagine the chaos were you to fly a drone at the airport or on the plane. IOW, if it's not illegal now, it soon will be! The DJI Mavic Pro is designed to travel small. It's only 10% slower than the Phantom 4 pro, has 10% less flight time, much, much quieter, about half the weight and less than a quarter of the size when folded. The video is not quite as nice, but it's still 4K. The Fly more package is about $1100 with all sorts of goodies like three batteries and a system that will charge them sequentially while the Phantom Pro is about $1750 with only one battery. They both use the same software since they are made by the same people.

We do a group photo at every Invasion and it's hard to get 100+ people into one picture. We're always looking for a balcony and trying to get a good vantage. This opens up some huge possibilities just in that regard.