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Is there a drone thread?

TheLivingBubba said:
050B7174-4B1D-497A-9230-E766D9DDAB0A_1_102_o.jpeg

Here is Fairbanks, all those blue areas with 100' and 200' you can get auto authorization up to that elevation. Air space can be classified differently and there can be added restrictions such as no fly zones around certain airports, but it's not hard most of the time.
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How about Wasilla? I told the FAA dude about finding a butthole tatoo in 20 seconds but jack shit for altitude info with 2+ hrs of searching.
 
There's no airports near there so it's not restricted airspace, but it shows all the small airfields. I looked on this map and it's Class E air space which starts at 700 feet above ground level. (I'm rusty on charts so I may have misinterpreted it.) SkyVector: Flight Planning / Aeronautical Charts
Drones are limited to 400 feet above ground level.
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Ok, I’ve got to admit, I’ve always thought of drones and being used by assholes to hover feet in front of you while trying to relax with the family on the beach, until today.

I’ve never been around them, but I do see PG&E and SCE contractors using them to inspect lines all the time. I know tower contractors use them to get photos instead of sending out a climber. Today there was a nest on a tower which makes climbing a bit no-no until you get clearance. A drone was flown far enough away from the tower it wouldn’t harass any birds that may present. I couldn’t believe the zoom on it could see the eggs in the nest well enough to count them, from more than 100’ away.

I started thinking about how cool it would be to check the property, keep an eye on where goats and dogs are, and see what’s up if they are alerting on something.

The one the person had today was Mavic 3, but I’m not sure which version it was. I though he mentioned it only having one camera, which would make me think it was the original 3, based on my 15 minutes of research.

The 3 Pro seems like it could be really handy for work being able to zoom in and see color code tape on cables at the antennas without having to get too close. I also had no idea drones had proximity sensors to keep them from hitting things.

Any downsides to a Magic 3 Pro? Anything better in that price range?
 
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300sniper said:
Ok, I’ve got to admit, I’ve always thought of drones and being used by assholes to hover feet in front of you while trying to relax with the family on the beach, until today.

I’ve never been around them, but I do see PG&E and SCE contractors using them to inspect lines all the time. I know tower contractors use them to get photos instead of sending out a climber. Today there was a nest on a tower which makes climbing a bit no-no until you get clearance. A drone was flown far enough away from the tower it wouldn’t harass any birds that may present. I couldn’t believe the zoom on it could see the eggs in the nest well enough to count them, from more than 100’ away.

I started thinking about how cool it would be to check the property, keep an eye on where goats and dogs are, and see what’s up if they are alerting on something.

The one the person had today was Mavic 3, but I’m not sure which version it was. I though he mentioned it only having one camera, which would make me think it was the original 3, based on my 15 minutes of research.

The 3 Pro seems like it could be really handy for work being able to zoom in and see color code tape on cables at the antennas without having to get too close. I also had no idea drones had proximity sensors to keep them from hitting things.

Any downsides to a Magic 3 Pro? Anything better in that price range?
Click to expand...
Ive own(ed) the Mavic 2 Pro, Mavic 3, and Mavic 3 Pro. The Mavic 2 actually took the best stills. But maybe not really noticeable by the average person. I only notice the difference when enlarging them for metal prints.

The Mavic 3 and 3 Pro shoot the same stills in 1x. The zoom from the 3 is pretty awesome, although the quality degrades when going from 1x to 3x to 7x. But even the 7x is pretty damn good.

This pic is 3x from 300' up and about 500' away from my neighbors cabin. I was almost a half mile away at my cabin when I took this. And it was just after sunset, so low light.


DJI_20240420185910_0531_D.jpeg
 
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2JZ said:
Ive own(ed) the Mavic 2 Pro, Mavic 3, and Mavic 3 Pro. The Mavic 2 actually took the best stills. But maybe not really noticeable by the average person. I only notice the difference when enlarging them for metal prints.

The Mavic 3 and 3 Pro shoot the same stills in 1x. The zoom from the 3 is pretty awesome, although the quality degrades when going from 1x to 3x to 7x. But even the 7x is pretty damn good.

This pic is 3x from 300' up and about 500' away from my neighbors cabin. I was almost a half mile away at my cabin when I took this. And it was just after sunset, so low light.


DJI_20240420185910_0531_D.jpeg
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Spy pics of his wife through the window?
 
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So question, I understand that legally, you're not supposed to fly these out of line of sight, but can you physically?

Let's say I'm going up to a mountain site late spring and I come to a snow drift. I have no idea what is beyond this drift. If I can fly ahead, I may find there is nothing beyond this drift and it may be worth powering through in a stock rental truck with nothing more than a shovel for recovery gear. But I may see the rest of the way up the mountain is snowed in, it wouldn't be worth going any further.
 
300sniper said:
But can you fly it strictly by the display on the remote? I have zero exposure to them, so am trying to justify the purchase…
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Yes. I fly by the screen when it’s more than 50 yards away. It’s so damn small. I can barely see it even when it’s that close. Depending on altitude and direction.
 
300sniper said:
But can you fly it strictly by the display on the remote? I have zero exposure to them, so am trying to justify the purchase…
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In the pic I posted above I took off from my cabin and flew to my friends, about 3/4 mile away. It starts getting glitchy at that point, especially in the city.
Once I see it glitch, I dont go further. But with the return to home feature, even if I lose connection, it knows how much battery it takes to RTH, and does so. And lands within a couple feet of where I took off.
 
300sniper said:
So question, I understand that legally, you're not supposed to fly these out of line of sight, but can you physically?

Let's say I'm going up to a mountain site late spring and I come to a snow drift. I have no idea what is beyond this drift. If I can fly ahead, I may find there is nothing beyond this drift and it may be worth powering through in a stock rental truck with nothing more than a shovel for recovery gear. But I may see the rest of the way up the mountain is snowed in, it wouldn't be worth going any further.
Click to expand...
You can physically fly out of site. You get the best radio and visual signal from line of sight so that degrades with the more objects you put between you and the drone. Especially things like mountains or steel buildings could cause the drone to failsafe and return to home.
 
300sniper said:
Ok, I’ve got to admit, I’ve always thought of drones and being used by assholes to hover feet in front of you while trying to relax with the family on the beach, until today.

I’ve never been around them, but I do see PG&E and SCE contractors using them to inspect lines all the time. I know tower contractors use them to get photos instead of sending out a climber. Today there was a nest on a tower which makes climbing a bit no-no until you get clearance. A drone was flown far enough away from the tower it wouldn’t harass any birds that may present. I couldn’t believe the zoom on it could see the eggs in the nest well enough to count them, from more than 100’ away.

I started thinking about how cool it would be to check the property, keep an eye on where goats and dogs are, and see what’s up if they are alerting on something.

The one the person had today was Mavic 3, but I’m not sure which version it was. I though he mentioned it only having one camera, which would make me think it was the original 3, based on my 15 minutes of research.

The 3 Pro seems like it could be really handy for work being able to zoom in and see color code tape on cables at the antennas without having to get too close. I also had no idea drones had proximity sensors to keep them from hitting things.

Any downsides to a Magic 3 Pro? Anything better in that price range?
Click to expand...
I've used my little mavic mini to look at antennas/connectors on some of my tower jobs. Also used it to inspect a damaged radome. It's pretty handy every once in a while.
 
Be careful who's around when you're using it for business. When I was with my last company, I could fly my drone around to goof off and look at shit, but using it to look at something for work made it commercial, and subject to a whole nother set of rules. Depending on the clipboard cowboy who might be standing around.
 
300sniper said:
So question, I understand that legally, you're not supposed to fly these out of line of sight, but can you physically?

Let's say I'm going up to a mountain site late spring and I come to a snow drift. I have no idea what is beyond this drift. If I can fly ahead, I may find there is nothing beyond this drift and it may be worth powering through in a stock rental truck with nothing more than a shovel for recovery gear. But I may see the rest of the way up the mountain is snowed in, it wouldn't be worth going any further.
Click to expand...

Legally, no. Technically, absolutely. Mine will go well over 2 miles with upgraded antennas on the transmitter.

Out in the middle of nowhere, nobody's going to care. More populated areas, you might run in to problems, especially if something were to go wrong it it ran in to someone's house or windshield.


Bacchus said:
Be careful who's around when you're using it for business. When I was with my last company, I could fly my drone around to goof off and look at shit, but using it to look at something for work made it commercial, and subject to a whole nother set of rules. Depending on the clipboard cowboy who might be standing around.
Click to expand...
I thought you were already a licensed pilot. And I thought you could get an exemption that would give you the 107 stuff without actually taking the test. Either way, the 107 test is basically the same as the very first test you'd take as a beginner pilot, with a few extra questions added on specific to UAVs. It's almost entirely common sense stuff, other than the weather shit and facility maps.

Basically, if you're doing anything for money or "on the clock" while flying, you're considered commercial and need to be certified and have your bird registered under Part 107.
 
bgaidan said:
Legally, no. Technically, absolutely. Mine will go well over 2 miles with upgraded antennas on the transmitter.

Out in the middle of nowhere, nobody's going to care. More populated areas, you might run in to problems, especially if something were to go wrong it it ran in to someone's house or windshield.



I thought you were already a licensed pilot. And I thought you could get an exemption that would give you the 107 stuff without actually taking the test. Either way, the 107 test is basically the same as the very first test you'd take as a beginner pilot, with a few extra questions added on specific to UAVs. It's almost entirely common sense stuff, other than the weather shit and facility maps.

Basically, if you're doing anything for money or "on the clock" while flying, you're considered commercial and need to be certified and have your bird registered under Part 107.
Click to expand...
They've even gone after some people for using footage on YouTube videos that got monetized, but I think they eased up on that bullshit.
 
87manche said:
They've even gone after some people for using footage on YouTube videos that got monetized, but I think they eased up on that bullshit.
Click to expand...

I mean, it meets the definition of "commercial". I guess the caveat being if the chanel was monetized at the time they were flying and/or if they were flying with the intent of using the footage on a monetized channel. Now, if the video or channel got monetized some time after it was posted and they went after them, that would be complete bullshit.

But it's so easy to pass the test that if there's a chance you're going to be commercial you might as well just do it.
 
Why would a guy fly a drone over my yard?
My neighbor lady knocked on my door all freaked out telling me some dude rolled up in SUV, with mismatched license plates, and then flew a drone over our backyards and then took off.
Could there be some legit purpose?
Freelance insurance photographer?
 
Riles said:
Why would a guy fly a drone over my yard?
My neighbor lady knocked on my door all freaked out telling me some dude rolled up in SUV, with mismatched license plates, and then flew a drone over our backyards and then took off.
Could there be some legit purpose?
Freelance insurance photographer?
Click to expand...
Here in California they are doing property assessments with drones. I have twice seen one at Hal to hover over my backyard for a short time, go to my neighbors repeat and move on.

I occasionally fly my drone in the backyard, but my neighbors know it’s me.
 
I have a Mavic Air 2. I've not been too successful yet with the follow me function while on my motorcycle, but that is one of the reasons I originally bought it. In the meantime, the drone takes excellent videos, and even screen captures from the video turn out pretty darn nice.

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