Drones

[Stranger]

Who's got one?
What kind?
Where do you fly it?
Any special purpose for it?

[Ralph_Cramden]

Fly your drone where its not permitted in France where the French military has a presence and they very well could send this guy, or gal, to intercept it out of the sky for you. Its one of 4 Golden Eagles they have trained for the purpose.

[2edgesword]

Figuring the rules are probably going to get more strict I went ahead and got my 107 commercial drone pilot license. While I don't have any near term plans to fly commercial it allows me to use the LAACN system to get immediate authorization to fly in some areas that are restricted airspace (I live right between two sections of class C airspace) and if questioned by someone in authority about flying in a particular location it may help to have a license indicates I have some training in airspace rules and regulations.

Speaking of restrictions, as some have mentioned I decide against getting any DJI drones due to the flight restriction programmed into their software. I understand why they are doing it but at this point felt having to get FAA authorization to fly and then get an unlock code from DJI was another layer of red tape I didn't want to deal with. There are companies that once you sign a waiver to assume all responsibility for the operation of the drone provide a permanent unlock code DJI hasn't gotten there. Hopefully the will at some point since they makes some of the best moderately priced drones with good features but the NFZ can be a deal breaker for some.

[JimBollman]

I bought a small one with similar capability to charming's, crashed it a couple of times trying to figure out how to fly it, no visible damage and it would not lift off anymore. Every thing still ran just didn't develop lift anymore. All I wanted to do is go straight up about 40 feet do a 360 degree pan video and come down. Decided drones were not for me.

[charming]

I have a small drone I was given several years ago. I've never flown it, don't know what I'm worried about it probably won't go up more than 50 feet, probably more like 15.

[packnrat]

i have the mavic pro platinum. love it. sad all the ridicules oversight from the chi-coms.400 feet agl, not much there, how about also keeping the maned aircraft above 1000 feet agl.
no i do not fly close to any airport. but live in the hills, (still rooted in place), the local paved non-towered airport (there runway is a good 200 feet above my house, and just under five miles away) says no problem. any low flying maned craft would crash around here.
but plenty of places to go to that have no sunbathers to freak out if they see a drone. heck not even any homes.
these dji drones fly them selves, you just tell it where to go.
but get the free faa app, B4Ufly. and UAV forecast. as well as a couple "other" toys to help you fly safer. (wind meter, sock, etc0.
fly right. fly safe. helps keep the government away.

[magnusfide]

CFerguson wrote:
Some good advice in this thread, esp regarding the legal limitations/requirements. Yes, NP's are definitely out and so are many other gov properties. Make sure you know the regs before you fly cause those people have zero sense of anything.
...
Legally speaking, drone law hasn't been tested in the courts enough to say it is settled. It seems that the exact circumstances tend to weigh into a drone shoot more than the underlying principles of flying over private property. Shot down while photo'ing bikini girls in their backyards = you lose. Shot down flying by = gray area. Local laws on if you can shoot where/how you did seem to be the most important factor so far. Theres gonna be a lot more cases in the courts before the exact line is drawn More likely, some fedgov agency is just going to make some rules and that will be the answer. And before someone tears into me, I NEVER fly over private property without permission- I fly race quads and really aren't interested in photo drones.
...
I wouldn't have a dji if you gave it to me. They are a very controlling company that restricts your flight areas well into completely legal areas. And every time they give you a free software update via the internet, they pile on more restrictions. By owning a dji, you are also giving them permission to possess all photos and flight data from that drone. If you want a photo drone, I strongly recommend Yuneec or one of the other large companies that actually care about their customers beyond seeing them as a cash cow. They are just as good as a dji, often better, and they have none of the nannystate software that dji mandates.

Double ditto.

[wanderingaimles]

I got a Vivitar Skyeyeview from Hellmart for less than $200, takes great videos and weighs a little over a pound. I took it back because of the poor phone holder and ordered a Yuneec Q500 4k which is even bigger. If the mass marketers are selling large enough ones to require licensing then there are going to be hundreds of thousands out there in violation already, reminds me of CB radios and their requirements, but these could be a hazard.

[atreis]

CFerguson wrote:
fwiw, I fly racing drones and have buds that fly pretty much everything else, including commercial. I fly ImmersionRC quads + my own builds. I use it to scout areas I want to hike sometimes, but mostly just for flying fun.

I fly mostly Armattan frames with Oomph motors, doing freestyle. Haven't gotten into doing my own frame design or cutting CF yet, although I do 3d print my own camera mounts and such.

2edgesword wrote:
The FAA website is still showing the 0.55 lb and above criteria for registering a drone. Do you know when the new rule requiring registration for drones under 0.55 lbs becomes effective?

Yes, the old regs still apply. I've no idea when the new regs will be put out. Hopefully they do a comment period beforehand. The Class G 400 foot rule, in particular, makes no sense at all.

[tragusa3]

Our local police did a presentation on how they are using them to stage cameras around a property before searching or detaining. Having multiple eyes in the sky, in close proximity, for very little money.

Also using them to aid in crowd control for large urban events.

[gbopp]

Deb and Ed M wrote:
When you start pondering "what could a drone do that would be helpful?" - the list starts to grow..... search-and-rescue comes to mind, for starters.

Locate other drones that were shot down?
I agree with the S&R. They would be a whole lot cheaper and more available than helicopters for searching.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

As an aside - the insurance agent who used to work with our condo association got a drone a few years ago. He became so adept at doing roof inspections (or general inspections after hurricanes) with it, that he opened his own business simply providing aerial views of properties. When you start pondering "what could a drone do that would be helpful?" - the list starts to grow..... search-and-rescue comes to mind, for starters.

[CFerguson]

gbopp wrote:

CFerguson wrote:
I'm happy to help if you have further questions. Just post or PM me.

Does anyone have a drone that can deliver a case of beer from a local distributor to my house? :B

Of course, but you'll have to fly the gauntlet of people trying to bring it down with shotguns.

[gbopp]

CFerguson wrote:
I'm happy to help if you have further questions. Just post or PM me.

Does anyone have a drone that can deliver a case of beer from a local distributor to my house? :B

[2edgesword]

PenMan wrote:
I have a Mavic Pro and really enjoy it. I only fly for fun and do not have the 107 license. I do use the drone to check the top of my camper (I don't climb on top as I'm a little heavy) for debris, etc. and can even blow leaves off the slide outs with it. You do have to be careful where you fly it as there are many places where it is illegal. I started flying with a cheap drone that did not have GPS and flew it a lot indoors. The range was so short and the camera was too cheap to get good photos so I ended up buying the Mavic Pro. It is a big step up from a $100 drone to a $1000 Mavic but well worth the price.

I'll have to try blowing the leaves of the top of the RV when I get better at flying :).

I kind of, sort of understand the need to regulate as more and more people get into the hobby, fill the airspace and of course get he irresponsible folks that can't seem to keep the drone below 400' AGL and away for crowds of people. But the idea that you have to have a license to fly on your own property is a little much.

I'll also be interested to see what they come up with regarding a recreational license test and the cost versus the current 107 license. The 107 license is $150. I'm hoping they don't charge anywhere near that for the recreational license.