Who has a Drone they take Camping?

stufarmer wrote:
Drone, no. 357, yes.

Anyone who thinks firing anything but birdshot into the air is a good idea probably isn't the best one to listen to.

I think drones are cool. I just don't need ANOTHER expensive hobby/toy! :D

My brother in law has one, somehow sets it to automatically follow his boat in the Florida Keys and gets all kinds of awesome shot's with it. Seems like a blast.

What kind of pictures and video does your 357 take?

Drone, no. 357, yes.

1. Did you use it for photography, playing around, scouting out a potential campsite, other? all of the above, love the auto track feature to track me on my ATV or boat (great video). I mainly use it for family photos and campground pics. Its nice to fly it out and get a group photo including the larger surroundings.
2. Where did you fly? I dont normally stay at busy campgrounds. But I fly it where ever I wouldnt be a nuisance and want to get some cool pictures.
3. What precautions did you take to not be a nuisance? I avoid people that aren't in my camping party and private property.
4. What type of drone do you have? DJI Spark - the entry level pro-sumer setup for a DRONE. lots of user friendly functionality and an OK price.
5. Where did you store it in the camper? I have a case and backpack that it all fits in.
6. Where there any challenges to charging the batteries? battery life on the SPARK is about 12 minutes. I carry 4 batteries with me. 12 minutes may see short, but you can get alot of shots in the time frame. 45 minutes to recharge. I bought a accessory that charges 4 battery's at once.
7. What was the range like in heavily forested areas? I have a booster that says 5 miles. Realistically maybe 1 or 2 miles with booster. The more stuff in between you and the drone the less distance. maybe 1400 -2000 feet in forest maybe less with dense cover or buildings.
8. Did you get comments from other campers?
Never had any issues, normally just interest and questions. Not Rage.
9. What sort of rules did you encounter at various places?
Never asked, never invaded any bodies space. DJI has built in protection from breaking FDA rules. It wont let me fly if there is a airplane in the area or airport close by. It also has safety measures to limit height to under 400 feet.

I absolutely love playing and taking photos with my drone but I go out of my way not to offend people when I'm flying. My 2 cents.

Ralph Cramden wrote:

pheelsgoodman wrote:
I've had several drones. Started with hobby built models a few years back. Last drone I purchased, DJI Mavic Pro. Really don't need to buy another.... The Mavic flys further than I ever need, travels and folds well, and has plenty of accessories available. The water proof hardcase for controller and extra batteries is a must for being on the road.

Anyways, the utility of these little devices is pretty incredible. Some of its uses are pretty obvious, but others you may discover later.

Because the Mavic streams video right to your cell phone, there isn't much hassle involved with the scouting process. Unpack and unfold the drone, boot up the controller and cellphone. Send the launch command, and the drone practically flies itself and sends its video image back to your phone instantly.

Other than just general photography, the drone serves as a pretty handy scouting tool. Most of my scouting is for fishing and hunting. I can launch the drone when showing up to a new area to get a birds eye view of the land. They also make a pretty good conversation piece, and it has been a great ice breaker for neighbors at RV parks.

Anyways, pretty handy. And if your traveling to sight-see, a drone gives you a completely new angle for sights that most will miss.

First picture is a river I've parked by to scout. No visibility of the river at all because of tall brush and bank.


Second picture.... much better.


Pit stops can be frequent.


Some pictures you just cant get from the ground.




The neighbors...

Hence the ever increasing regulations. Those are great pictures but based on the same they appears to show at least 2 direct violations of FAA regulations, not to mention the wind farm operator may have taken slight issue with someone flying drones anywhere near a turbine. Around here those operators are testy if you just walk onto one of their leased parcels.

No...not the drone police, but being a holder of an FAA RPC, and having dabbled in it commercially while pushing the envelope myself with the regs if you will in regards to locations and altitudes, you may want to not post footage to publicly accessible sites and such.

Oops
Don't ya just hate when the guy who knows what he's doing shows up. LMAO.

Also, if you have never flown a drone, it's amazing how easy they are to fly. My Mavic pro (around $700) pretty much fly's itself. If you let go of the controls, it just stops and hovers. If the drone gets out of range of the remote, it will fly back to it's take off point. If the batteries start to get low, it will also fly back before the batteries die. On the Mavic pro, it has a front facing sensor so it won't run into anything if flying forward. Some of the more expensive models have sensors on all sides. I had never flown any type of RC aircraft before and within about 30 minutes of flying the drone I was comfortable with it.

Burch

It's a shame that a small percentage of irresponsible drone owners have created so many regulations and hate for drones. I am into photography and my wife got me a Mavic pro drone for Christmas. I love it! It takes great video and pictures. I have only used it a few times when staying in our motorhome. Both times we were on the water and I tried to use it early in the morning and kept it away from the park. I got some great video going over the lake and up and down the river. I purchased a different set of blades for it and you can't hear it once it gets up above 150' or so. I have really gotten some neat pictures with it. In reality it would be a poor choice for "spying" on people as once it gets close enough to get detailed pictures the person would hear it. My guess is there are many more campers spying on other campers with a good set of binoculars. I know a friend that has a place in the mountains and has a telescope. It's amazing what he can see with that thing.

Here in Florida, you can not take off or land a drone in a state park but there is nothing that states you can't fly over the park. Just no take off and landing. That could have changed since I got my drone but that's the way it used to be.

I have had several campers come and take a look at the drone video when I am flying it and all have had a positive interest in it. However, I have been at a few RV parks where I wouldn't have been comfortable flying a drone.

Burch

Moved from Truck Campers

pheelsgoodman wrote:
I've had several drones. Started with hobby built models a few years back. Last drone I purchased, DJI Mavic Pro. Really don't need to buy another.... The Mavic flys further than I ever need, travels and folds well, and has plenty of accessories available. The water proof hardcase for controller and extra batteries is a must for being on the road.

Anyways, the utility of these little devices is pretty incredible. Some of its uses are pretty obvious, but others you may discover later.

Because the Mavic streams video right to your cell phone, there isn't much hassle involved with the scouting process. Unpack and unfold the drone, boot up the controller and cellphone. Send the launch command, and the drone practically flies itself and sends its video image back to your phone instantly.

Other than just general photography, the drone serves as a pretty handy scouting tool. Most of my scouting is for fishing and hunting. I can launch the drone when showing up to a new area to get a birds eye view of the land. They also make a pretty good conversation piece, and it has been a great ice breaker for neighbors at RV parks.

Anyways, pretty handy. And if your traveling to sight-see, a drone gives you a completely new angle for sights that most will miss.

First picture is a river I've parked by to scout. No visibility of the river at all because of tall brush and bank.


Second picture.... much better.


Pit stops can be frequent.


Some pictures you just cant get from the ground.




The neighbors...

Hence the ever increasing regulations. Those are great pictures but based on the same they appears to show at least 2 direct violations of FAA regulations, not to mention the wind farm operator may have taken slight issue with someone flying drones anywhere near a turbine. Around here those operators are testy if you just walk onto one of their leased parcels.

No...not the drone police, but being a holder of an FAA RPC, and having dabbled in it commercially while pushing the envelope myself with the regs if you will in regards to locations and altitudes, you may want to not post footage to publicly accessible sites and such.

pheelsgoodman wrote:
....
Some pictures you just cant get from the ground.

That's a good one! Tough shot to get. I am guessing the windmill was off that day - which is rare because windmills are normally placed in windy places - not always easy for drones.

-Eric