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Helicopters/drones for filming

Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
sixstringsteve said:
...

How does active track differ from follow me?
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You can highlight just about any object that you want the Mavic to follow with Active Track and it will do so. Follow Me just follows the remote.

Active Track is awesome, it's incredibly smooth and does a great job but IMO it can be a bit finicky. I have a hard time trusting my Mavic to fly around in automated mode, but with Active Track you really get amazing footage.... way smoother than manual control brings.
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
Greg said:
I passed my FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Exam today.... :greg:
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For anyone else that's interested in getting their Part 107, here's what I used to study and what helped me.

The 3DR Practice Tests... lots of good information to start learning about flying commercially and legally and laid out similar to the actual Part 107 Test. I ran thru all 130 questions 3 different times. - https://3dr.com/faa/drone-practice-tests/

Also the ASA Remote Pilot Test Prep Book. The best part about the book is that when you buy it, you get 5 practice tests that are VERY similar to the real test. Those practice tests probably helped me the most, I started taking them the day before my test and improved my score each time I took one of the practice tests. - http://www.asa2fly.com/Test-Prep-Remote-Pilot-P3573.aspx

I also picked up a copy of the Airman Knowledge Testing Supplement book. You WILL have this book to use as reference to the testing questions. Get one, learn it well and most important learn the Legend for the Sectional Aeronautical Chart. - https://www.amazon.com/FAA-Computer-Testing.../dp/B00JEJX4VK

Lastly, this video was very helpful for last minute cramming... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_ucCKFJUCU

The things I struggled with most were the different levels of airspace, what they look like on a sectional chart and being able to read that. Learn how to read Latitude and Longitude (I mean so that you can look at a chart and figure out the Lat/Lon of a location within 30 seconds). Also, remembering all the weather information takes effort and learning how to read a TAF takes some studying. Other than that, there are many numbers that you need to remember (min & max weight, max speed, minimum age, etc, etc) and for the most part the rest of it is common sense, really. The questions have 3 possible answers, usually the 2 wrong ones are kinds obvious but you do have to think about the right one. 60 questions on the test, you have 2 hours to take it and you need a 70% to pass. Really, a passing grade isn't difficult but a GOOD grade takes work. I passed with a 82%, good enough for me.
 
sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
Forgive my ignorance , but what is the benefit of passing the test? Can you fly in more zones? Or can you now fly commercially?
 
Skylinerider

Skylinerider

Wandering the desert
Location
Ephraim
sixstringsteve said:
Forgive my ignorance , but what is the benefit of passing the test? Can you fly in more zones? Or can you now fly commercially?
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Fly commercially. Make money from your drone footage, survey buildings, crops, etc. I'm a few weeks out from taking mine. It's a market that is really starting to take off.
 
sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
When I stayed at a farm a few weeks ago and pulled out the drone, all the farm hands said "go fly over by the sheep real quick!" They'd never seen a drone before , but tgey already knew how to maximize it for their work.
 
sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
so far I've only crashed the drone twice (hoping that's it). I was at least getting some cool footage when it crashed. The second crash hit the tree, but it didn't fall out of the sky. It chipped one of the propellers, but the other three props kept it up in the air. I was able to steer it out of there, fly away, and land it. Whew!

Drone footage starts at 1:51

[video=youtube;ekS0WIN8ux4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekS0WIN8ux4[/video]
 
spencurai

spencurai

Purple Burglar Alarm
Location
WVC,UT
If you keep the spare batteries warm ( as close to 70f) as possible then you can fly year round. Keep them in a small cooler with a hand warmer or inside your jacket pockets. Once you're flying you don't have to worry as the internal resistance while discharging keeps them toasty. I've flown in the teens and single digits before with no problem.
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
RogueJeepr said:
Bring it to the snow run. If we get snow. [emoji54]
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I might, just need somewhere to take off and land.

spencurai said:
If you keep the spare batteries warm ( as close to 70f) as possible then you can fly year round. Keep them in a small cooler with a hand warmer or inside your jacket pockets. Once you're flying you don't have to worry as the internal resistance while discharging keeps them toasty. I've flown in the teens and single digits before with no problem.
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My fingers were the problem I had last Winter! :rofl: I had the batteries sitting on the Jeeps defroster before flying, then in pockets. I need to find some light gloves that I can run the touch-screen with.
 
R

rholbrook

Well-Known Member
Location
Kaysville, Ut
I have been waiting and waiting for Autel Robotics to come out with something a little more portable like the Mavic. My friend bought a Spark last week and dropped it off to me and said figure it out and then teach me how to fly it. The problem with it was it had a lot of updates that needed installing for the drone, controller and batteries. Once that was all done, it proved to be a fun drone to fly, especially in sport mode.

I was thinking of getting either a Mavic or now a Spark but then......I got an email from Autel Robotics with this little dime.

https://www.autelrobotics.com/evo/

From what I have read it should be a great drone and what makes it even better is the customer service that Autel has. It is supposed to have flight times of 30 minutes too. I will own one.
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
The Evo looks pretty good, Russ. Any idea what pricing will start at?

IMO the Spark is a selfie drone... not built for long distance or long flight times.
 
R

rholbrook

Well-Known Member
Location
Kaysville, Ut
Greg said:
The Evo looks pretty good, Russ. Any idea what pricing will start at?

IMO the Spark is a selfie drone... not built for long distance or long flight times.
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They said it will be in the $999 area with all the goodies. I am trying to get them to let me have one sooner then summer.

The Spark is a selfie drone but a lot of fun to fly in sport mode. The thing that sucks about it is battery life. The camera not being 4K doesn't bother me because most of the time you not playing back at 4K anyway. The distance you can fly it isnt very good either. I was able to get it probably 500-600 yards and then it was giving me all kinds of connectivity issues. The new EVO is supposed to be good up to 4 miles and have a battery life of 30 min. The fact that it may not loose you under trees as easy as the Mavik and Spark will be nice too if that really works. We shall see how it all really works. I'll try one.
 
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