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Drones

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CoreyinWP

RVF VIP
Joined
Nov 3, 2019
Messages
187
Location
West Palm Beach Fl
RV Year
2017
RV Make
Newmar
RV Model
Ventana 4369
RV Length
44
TOW/TOAD
Buick Enclave
Just purchased my first Drone. Learning how to fly. What experience do others have with them? Tips or suggestions would be great!

Mine is the DJI Mavic Mini.
 
Congrats! It's a great new opportunity for photography. I started flying mine in a field with no obstacles, I went to a school football field for my first flights. It's very easy to fly and you'll learn the DJI app as well which is amazing. It's going to go out of sight so you'll learn how to use the map to find your way back or use the return to home feature which I rarely use. All to suggest really is fly it, experiment, enjoy. Lots of YouTube videos on everything about flying to camera settings and learning the features of the drone you purchased.
 
I was really interested in getting one but then started seeing all the restrictions in Nat’l Parks, SP and campgrounds and decided to hold off. Do you find these restrictions prohibitive? Are they not really enforced except NP?
 
There is an app or two that tells you if you can fly or not. Yes, there are places you can't fly, I've started seeing some CG's that don't allow drones, okay ONE so far. It's a valuable photography tool that I really enjoy and now that DJI has them smaller in the Mavic lineup it's even better for RVers. I can carry my drone and my Nikon camera in a camera bag. Imagine going to Alaska and being able to get the far off shots without having to risk being consumed in the process!

This is the camera bag I use for drone + Nikon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002I9OBPG/?tag=rvf01-20

Here is the drone I got: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RZDWCM1/?tag=rvf01-20

I previously had the DJI Phantom 3 Pro and loved it and carried it in the RV until I got the above drone. I sold it.

@CoreyinWP upload videos to youtube when you do some flying, I'd love to see some drone shots.
 
I was really interested in getting one but then started seeing all the restrictions in Nat’l Parks, SP and campgrounds and decided to hold off. Do you find these restrictions prohibitive? Are they not really enforced except NP?

More and more places are prohibiting their use. It comes down to safety, because THEY WILL have issues; whether inference, batteries, or pilot error! I’ve experienced all three and have been lucky to not injure anyone or lose my drone.

I became keenly sensitive that not everyone likes to have a camera flying over them; let alone the constant buzzing. I let this be my guide, along with the safety factor.

Interesting Sidenote: the FAA regs for drones pretty much restrict all of the things “we” seem to love to do: eg fly over people, high value targets, etc. [emoji15]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I was on an airline heading in to LAX. I spotted a drone off the left wing guessing 1/4 mile. It was at our altitude of nearly 3000ft. I notified the flight attendant and got invited to the cockpit to inform the pilots as they didn't see it, they reported it to whomever. I did get a heading and distance from the airport to try to locate the area of the near miss. It could have been ugly. I was in a 757.

I flew my drone in my remote SP location in southwest NM on the trip west. As I flew the drone back to my site my neighbor came over putting on a non verbal show, I ignored.

Don't let any of this prevent you from enjoying what a drone can offer. Just know the rules, don't bother others such as flying your drone up to their window and taking videos haha. It's an amazing tool for great photography. Great for the 4th of July too :)
 
Where did I put those shells for the skeet gun? I know they're around here somewhere. :ROFLMAO:

TJ
 
Where did I put those shells for the skeet gun? I know they're around here somewhere. :ROFLMAO:

TJ

It’s an expensive investment and people like you have me worried ?
 
Seriously, for a moment; how much chance is there that a drone will be lost? At nearly two grand for the one @Neal is flying, losing it would be a hit to the edit card. Is there some type of GPS tracking that will lead you to them even if they are grounded?

TJ
 
I think there was a story in the news once of someone shooting a drone. As these are expensive devices the penalties can be high. I don't think it went over well for the shooter in that case.

Yes, there is GPS tracking, it's rare for flyaways unless you don't do what you're supposed to do such as calibrate the compass. People get into trouble testing max range and don't consider headwinds flying back and run out of battery. Again, all on YouTube.

Tips on when to calibrate the compass:

1) Anytime you've changed location over 30 miles
2) If it's been over 30 days since the last calibration
3) The app tells you to

Sure enough the only time I ever had a problem was when the seller came to look at my DJI Phantom 3. I hadn't flown it in forever other than a short test flight before he arrived. Yep, it flew off, was very difficult to control. Had I not had experience in radio controlled airplanes in my past it would have been a gonner. It was hard to control but I got it back. I did a compass calibration and immediately flew it again for the seller and it was fine. He bought it! Amazed.
 

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