Paul79UF

We live in Orange County, CA and my wife insists on showing me the pictures on the "I Love Newport Beach" Facebook page just about every day. They finally posted something that really piqued my interest.

It's an aerial video of NB and Corona Del Mar shot by an R/C helicopter. I'm dying with envy and thinking about all the cool shots I've could have gotten on our trips to South America and New Zealand in the past.

YouTube Video -


There must be a couple of FT members that already have these new "toys". Maybe I can convince the wife that we need one.

reft

There are a few cheap ones out there, under $100, that may be a good first dip of the toe in the water. There are stories out there about $600 heli's with $400 of Go-Pro attached, disappearing for good, so starting cheap may be a good approach.

For the cheap versions, search Amazon for "helicopter with camera"

Someone filmed New York City with a model airplane. I think this is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9cSxEqKQ78

In other news, the "Drone Selfie" shot is also on the rise...

Paul79UF

I just read some of those stories. Sounds like those were the early generation models and the WiFi link on the GoPro may have been to blame(???).

I think I will order one of those Husban quadcopters on Amazon for about $40.

ND Sol

They are still prohibited by the FAA for commercial purposes (such as realtors filming houses for sale), but the FAA is supposed to issue regulations next year and, to my knowledge, has given at least one exception for commercial purposes. It did, however, stop Texas EquuSearch earlier this year from using the one it has in searching for missing persons. Also, Yosemite has outlawed them completely.

Need

What about the owner filming his own house and give the video to the realtor? I know my neighbor just did that. He told us that "Hey you guys got a big backyard." That was easy to see just from google bird eye view, but it is still kind of creepy when you can get a live view anytime.

I can see that as drones become more and more popular, more places will start to ban them.

reft

... or skeet shooting will experience a sudden and unexpected rise in popularity....

piper28

The FAA actually lost a court case earlier this year over whether they have the right to regulate this, so at the moment, it *may* (or may not) be legal to operate them commercially. It was kinda interesting, because that ruling happened not too long before the Toledo Expo (a fairly big trade show in the RC world), and suddenly there were a number of companies that were definitely advertising commercial services there.

As someone that flies model airplanes, the whole "drone" thing has been something that I've been keeping an eye on. (Heck, our club has the word Drone in it, which we've debated at times whether it's a good idea to keep with that.) One thing that's been something of a concern is that these things have gotten to the point where they're cheap enough that just about anyone can get their hands on them. And so now you have idiots that barely have any experience flying things doing things without thinking about whether it's really a "smart" idea to be doing it. One of the reasons Yosemite has banned them? Apparently you had people flying them up next to climbers on the rock faces so they could get pictures of them. How do you think the climbers felt about suddenly having this distraction flying right by them? How'd you feel if you're hanging from a cliff face and one comes by, and you have no idea whether the person controlling it has years of experience flying it, or just picked one up at the store this afternoon and has never done it before? Those propellers being used can cause serious injury.

BTW, all the national parks have apparently been directed to ban them now too. That order went out pretty recently. Kinda makes me wonder whether that will affect those people that fly at Lake Mead (I was kinda astounded when I was driving around and ran across an RC flight area there a little while back).

I know it kinda sounds like I'm opposed to them, which isn't true. I'm just not really a fan of stupid people that do pretty irresponsible things with them, and so far there seems to be a somewhat larger than normal percentage of idiots doing that with this particular hobby. (Heck, I know several people in our club that have started flying these. The good ones are incredibly easy to fly, far easier than a helicopter is to fly. Course, the good ones aren't the real cheap ones either. And of course, they're easy to fly up until something goes wrong, then things can get messy pretty quick.)

ND Sol

The "court case" was before an Administrative Law Judge because the FAA had levied a fine against the drone operator (similar to when the TSA levies a fine for a violation by a passenger). The FAA has appealed the decision (which is currently stayed from my reading) to the NTSB. So right now, it is not and has not been in what many think of as a court. It is all within an executive agency and not within the judicial branch.

Texas EquuSearch has filed a petition with the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit seeking to overturn a February order by the FAA to stop using drones in its search and rescue missions. I don't know where that stands currently.

The FAA is required to issue regulations next year related to this, but I don't know what tack they will take.

airmotive

I'll raise my hand...

I have a DJI Phantom 2 Vision Plus, and I have to admit, it's pretty damn cool.
(The money WAS allocated for a new laptop...but my old laptop seems to be doing just fine).
It has a gimble-stabilized 14MP camera that takes HD video and stills. It's stunningly easy to fly basic maneuvers, yet equally challenging to fly precise, intricate flightpaths.

I bought mine directly from DJI with an extra battery for about $1300.

There's a pretty active online community, which is pretty helpful.
Now if we can just get folks to use their brains to differentiate between a Global Hawk and my quad copter. My little copter can't look in your window or secretly spy on you and your kids (it's quite loud). Its lens is very wide angle and cannot zoom.
It's not a tool for perverts and pedophiles...they prefer to use iPhones.

reft

For non-owners (future owners) there's a recent review here: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/...dcopter-drone/

jww947

For those with Drone that use it photography get ready for your rights to be taken away. I own a DJI Phantom 3 drone and No Fly Zone (NFZ) is coming.


Geospatial Environment Online (GEO) will provide drone users with up-to-date guidance on locations where flight may be restricted by regulation or raise safety or security concerns. With this major upgrade to DJI's existing geofencing system, users will have access to live information about areas temporarily restricted from flight due to forest fires, major stadium events, VIP travel and other changing circumstances. The GEO system will also show restricted areas around locations like prisons, power plants and other sensitive areas where drone flight would raise non-aviation security concerns.

To accommodate the large variety of authorized applications, GEO will allow drone operators with verified DJI accounts to self-authorize and temporarily unlock flight in some locations. Certain areas where drone flight is not allowed, such as Washington D.C., will remain as unlockable no-fly zones. Unlocking requires a DJI account verified with a credit card, debit card or mobile phone number. DJI will neither collect nor store the information, and the service is free.