Drones

[TooMany2cvs]

WJNB said:

.....then what's the point? Surely there are other more worthwhile things to do with ones time? Time that will never come back, time just wasted filling time.
Don't understand, sorry.

What's ever been the point of a radio control plane/helicopter? Sellotaping a cheap webcam to one doesn't make a huge conceptual difference.

[Supersonic Welly]

So just how far away from the operator can these drones fly? And money no object how much can you spend on one?

[feef]

WJNB said:

The near miss of drone & plane at Heathrow more than confirms the pessimism of my original post. Bury not thy head in the sand on this subject. I'll drone on no further, honest.

The drone that turned out to be more likely a plastic bag and was only suggested to be a drone by a newspaper report which was then picked up by other newspapers?

The pilot was only aware of an 'object'. He didn't say anything about drones, and drone isn't mentioned in any of the investigation.

[myvision]

Supersonic Welly said:

So just how far away from the operator can these drones fly? And money no object how much can you spend on one?

4.2 miles according to this test for the new phantom 4.

http://myfirstdrone.com/phantom-4/dji-phantom-4-re...

[thescamper]

Supersonic Welly said:

So just how far away from the operator can these drones fly? And money no object how much can you spend on one?

DJI Phantom PRO is limited by battery life in terms of distance. Mate of mine flew his about 4.5 miles out and 4.5 miles back purely on GPS waypoints it flew withing 20 feet of me one end and then back to hime again within 20 feet.

Less than a grand and carries a gyro stabilized gimbal with a go pro hero 4 on it.

Skys the limit on costs I would guess, yes pun intended.

[V8A*ndy]

thescamper said:

Supersonic Welly said:

So just how far away from the operator can these drones fly? And money no object how much can you spend on one?

DJI Phantom PRO is limited by battery life in terms of distance. Mate of mine flew his about 4.5 miles out and 4.5 miles back purely on GPS waypoints it flew withing 20 feet of me one end and then back to hime again within 20 feet.

Less than a grand and carries a gyro stabilized gimbal with a go pro hero 4 on it.

Skys the limit on costs I would guess, yes pun intended.

So much for the 500m line of site rule. Your mate needs to wise the feck up.

[V8A*ndy]

WJNB said:

.....then what's the point? Surely there are other more worthwhile things to do with ones time? Time that will never come back, time just wasted filling time.
Don't understand, sorry.

Same could be asked about why you bother to post on Piston Heads ridiculing what other people do or don't do in their spare time.

[feef]

WJNB said:

.....then what's the point? Surely there are other more worthwhile things to do with ones time? Time that will never come back, time just wasted filling time.
Don't understand, sorry.

For some folk I know, they use it as an extension of their interest in photography, you can get some interesting shots from up there

For me, it's for videography, mainly for off-piste skiing, where I use an autonomous drone to follow me down the mountain with a camera

[s3fella]

feef said:

For some folk I know, they use it as an extension of their interest in photography, you can get some interesting shots from up there

For me, it's for videography, mainly for off-piste skiing, where I use an autonomous drone to follow me down the mountain with a camera

Its interesting but what would it be like if everyone had similar.....could happen one day.
Do you have to avoid certain areas, ie skiing down where cable car runs are?

[feef]

s3fella said:

feef said:

For some folk I know, they use it as an extension of their interest in photography, you can get some interesting shots from up there

For me, it's for videography, mainly for off-piste skiing, where I use an autonomous drone to follow me down the mountain with a camera

Its interesting but what would it be like if everyone had similar.....could happen one day.
Do you have to avoid certain areas, ie skiing down where cable car runs are?

By off piste, I mean away from the lifts and crowds, not just off to the side of the marked runs. We often don't even see another person when we're out for the day so the chances of encountering someone else with a drone is vanishingly small.

[Andyuk911]

I have been away and I have not read the complete thread.

This all comes under the CAA Air Navigation Order

I actually went to the court case for the Nottingham person who constantly flew over football games.

From the CAA:

UK United Kingdom
You cannot fly closer than 50m of any person, building, structure, vessel or vehicle unless they in under the DIRECT control of the pilot. This can be reduced to 30 meters for take-off and landing.
Where there is an open air assembly of 1000 people or more you cannot fly within 150m of that assembly.
You cannot fly futher than 500m away whilst maintainng direct un-aided visual sight of the aircraft at all times. To clarify, the aircraft cannot just be a dot in the sky, the pilot must be able to see which way the aircraft is facing and travelling.
Not to fly above 400ft (121m) AGL if the aircraft is 7KG or more. There is no height restriction under 7KG but you must adhere to the previous rule for line of sight. Therefore the larger the aircraft the higher you can go, but we highly do not recommend it.
When the aircracft is 3.5KG or less and flying FPV you cannot exceed 1000ft (304m). You must also have a spotter next to you who can clearly see the aircraft as per the above rules on your behalf so they can directly communicate with you.
Recommendations, not LAW:
Recommended not to fly above 400ft regardless of the weight category of your sUAS.
Recommended not to fly at night unless a daytime inspection has been carried out on the same day for hazards.

And more info:-

http://droneaware.org/

Happy to answer any questions.

[Red Devil]

feef said:

WJNB said:

.....then what's the point? Surely there are other more worthwhile things to do with ones time? Time that will never come back, time just wasted filling time.
Don't understand, sorry.

For some folk I know, they use it as an extension of their interest in photography, you can get some interesting shots from up there

Like these superb examples by this PH member.

[Robbo 27]

Red Devil said:

Like these superb examples by this PH member.

Thanks for posting this link Red Devil, stunningly attractive images.

[Red Devil]

Not content with such skill, the jammy git has all those superb roads at hand to play on (this is PH remember). Makes my blood boil.

[mbcx4jrh]

There is a lot of cool stuff you do with drones, just like with cars...
certainly better than golf...

[BGARK]

Bump, are there any PH drone experts on here that could possibly help me.

I have a research interest in detailed 3D terrain mapping if anyone can point me in the right direction?

Thanks.

[problemchild1976]

plenty of companies around that do this (EO, IR and LIDAR)

most can detect v small variations in ground level

a company i was working with recently can detect burial mounds beneath a tree canopy (i.e. in woodland)

JJ