The General Drone-Related Thread

Never saw all this fuss about safety and regulation when radio controlled planes and helicopters started to become popular. I am sure far more damage could be done to somebody flying one of these that goes out of control, and it's far more likely too. Just because you fly in a field or at a club, doesn't mean your aircraft can't malfunction and fly off on its own.
50 years ago, my Dad had a free flight plane with a petrol engine and an 8 ft wingspan. It was supposed to fly in circles in a 40 acre field till it ran out of fuel and came down on its own. It malfunctioned and flew 3 miles before it crashed into a house and landed on the roof, next to a roofer repairing the chimney. Luckily, our address was on the plane and he brought it back.
No one was hurt, although the potential for damage was tremendous, the thing weighed a couple of kilos at least!
I wonder just how many people ( excluding owners) have been injured around the world by quads?
I'm not saying there shouldn't be legislation, but if there was, it would be common sense, and people that fly without using their common sense would be just as likely to ignore any regulations.
And, just for the record, I fly r/c quads, helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. I am a Country member of the BMFA and fully insured.
I had a quad a couple of years ago that fell a couple of hundred feet out of the sky and crashed into the field I was flying over. It was a professionally built 450 sized quad with every fail safe you could want and thoroughly tested and checked before its flight. Even if I held a PFAW and was using it commercially, it would probably still have malfunctioned. You can't legislate for malfunctions
 
allanm said:
Never saw all this fuss about safety and regulation when radio controlled planes and helicopters started to become popular. I am sure far more damage could be done to somebody flying one of these that goes out of control, and it's far more likely too. Just because you fly in a field or at a club, doesn't mean your aircraft can't malfunction and fly off on its own.
50 years ago, my Dad had a free flight plane with a petrol engine and an 8 ft wingspan. It was supposed to fly in circles in a 40 acre field till it ran out of fuel and came down on its own. It malfunctioned and flew 3 miles before it crashed into a house and landed on the roof, next to a roofer repairing the chimney. Luckily, our address was on the plane and he brought it back.
No one was hurt, although the potential for damage was tremendous, the thing weighed a couple of kilos at least!
I wonder just how many people ( excluding owners) have been injured around the world by quads?
I'm not saying there shouldn't be legislation, but if there was, it would be common sense, and people that fly without using their common sense would be just as likely to ignore any regulations.
And, just for the record, I fly r/c quads, helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. I am a Country member of the BMFA and fully insured.
I had a quad a couple of years ago that fell a couple of hundred feet out of the sky and crashed into the field I was flying over. It was a professionally built 450 sized quad with every fail safe you could want and thoroughly tested and checked before its flight. Even if I held a PFAW and was using it commercially, it would probably still have malfunctioned. You can't legislate for malfunctions
Click to expand...

My dad brought me a similar plane from USA in the late 70s, not as big as yours but had an angry sounding engine on the front of it
I think it's either the modern way, or maybe just the tories way. Legislate things so you can impose heavy fines and registration dosh. Like speeding fines, totally disproportionate but they keep getting increased, or the cbt bike training every two years. It's all just an excuse to dip our pockets more
 
BruceMo said:
I remembered some of the relevant bits to me. Enough to put me off bothering getting a license
I know it's not a license but no where does it mention drones either :p

Edit to say wrong again..... It used to be uav when I first looked, did they change that because of popular vocabulary?
Click to expand...


I don't quite undestand your post. My link is to the DRONE code. Thats where they're mentioned ;)
 
4wd said:
I'd agree, however the P2V+ is good to learn with - just harder - or rather more involving to manage the technical aspects of maintenance such as plugging it into the computer to do calibrations.
(this is all done from the app on the P3)
While the video is not as good as P3 the stills especially if you use RAW are not that different.
The camera has go-pro style fish-eye distortion but is easily corrected, and has a wider field of view which is sometimes useful.
Click to expand...

I needed the P2V+ to replace the camera on my mates as, stupidly, f-ed it up with a really slight bump. Since then, have done loads of research and seen how easy they are to break. Spoke to Heliguy and, as they are discontinued, and the camera's being as much as the actual drones themselves, recommended that I look on ebay.

Managed to get it for £450 with a load of extras too. Replacing the camera on my mates, like for like, and going to buy the Zenmuse H4-3D gimbal as I already have a GoPro Hero 4 that I can utilise with the drone!

Believe me, I was planning on getting a P3 later on in the year but this little mishap has sped it up lol
 
Ricardodaforce said:
New 4K wifi Phantom 3 has just been announced.
Click to expand...

Yeah I saw that, it seems it's just a cheaper way to get into 4K for those that basically don't need all the tech that is in the Pro, personally I'm still glad I've got the Pro, though will not lie I've a serious lust for the Inspire with X5
 
MWHCVT said:
Yeah I saw that, it seems it's just a cheaper way to get into 4K for those that basically don't need all the tech that is in the Pro, personally I'm still glad I've got the Pro, though will not lie I've a serious lust for the Inspire with X5
Click to expand...

I will probably upgrade my X3 to the X5 this year.
 
I'm changing the frame of my mid-sized hex from the custom mish-mash turnigy talon/DJI F550, to a HMF S550 carbon, it will still be a hexacopter but a bit lighter and some new features.
 
MWHCVT said:
Yeah I saw that, it seems it's just a cheaper way to get into 4K for those that basically don't need all the tech that is in the Pro, personally I'm still glad I've got the Pro, though will not lie I've a serious lust for the Inspire with X5
Click to expand...

I'm seriously considering the Inspire 1 v2. Looks like a good deal from DronesDirect at the mo. Very tempting
 
I see the FAA in the USA has introduced compulsary registration for owners of drones between 0.55 and 55lbs in weight. The FAA requires the registration number to be marked on the drone and for users to carry their registration certificate with them when flying. Currently registration is only possible on the FAA website but the plan is to roll out point-of-sale registration. They've also introduced punative fines for not registering and/or not complying with FAA flight rules.

I wonder if a similar system will be introduced here?
 
My S550 hexacopter frame arrived today, going to get that built before the spring :)
 
My S550 ready to go :)

tumblr_o0ntiwSFFG1sb7qm1o2_1280.jpg


tumblr_o0ntiwSFFG1sb7qm1o3_1280.jpg
 
Well, I plumped for the Inspire Pro. Bought it Saturday and charged everything up on Sunday and played with Sim.

All I need now is for somewhere safe while I learn how to fly it before moving on to more adventurous/interesting locations to film :thinking:.

If any of you guys can recommend anywhere in Cheshire, that would be well cool :)
 
I also decided to buy a drone, a DJI Pantom 3 which I hope arrives tomorrow. I also hope that one of my existing Android Tablets will work sufficiently well with the DJI Go App, as this seems to need a fairly high performance Tab to minimise display lag from the drone camera.

Large parts of Cheshire and the Wirral are subject to Airspace Control Zones. If my understanding of Control Zones is correct, nothing can fly in these zones without air traffic control permission. The restriction applies from surface to an altitude of 2500 (ft?) minimum.

http://notaminfo.com/ukmap

On the options, the Show Control Zones box needs to be ticked within Airspace details to show up the purple coded areas.
 
DJI used to list compatible tablets on their site. I assume they still do.
 
The preferred options for Android tablets are basically anything good for gaming.
You will still want everything else properly shut down before starting, and make sure the Pilot App is fully shut down after use, as it will quickly drain the battery left running in the background.
The most often recommended is the nvidea shield, closely followed by 2013 Nexus 7.
A cheaper one getting good comments is the Dragon Touch.
Large screen size is good but has to be balanced against the cumbersomeness if you are using the controller to hold it.
You could have a longer USB and use a larger device on a stand or something. The 7" size is probably the sweet spot.
Some screens have a lot of detail so smaller phones may run it but be hard to use.

HarveyM said:
I also decided to buy a drone, a DJI Pantom 3 which I hope arrives tomorrow. I also hope that one of my existing Android Tablets will work sufficiently well with the DJI Go App, as this seems to need a fairly high performance Tab to minimise display lag from the drone camera.

Large parts of Cheshire and the Wirral are subject to Airspace Control Zones. If my understanding of Control Zones is correct, nothing can fly in these zones without air traffic control permission. The restriction applies from surface to an altitude of 2500 (ft?) minimum.

http://notaminfo.com/ukmap

On the options, the Show Control Zones box needs to be ticked within Airspace details to show up the purple coded areas.
Click to expand...
At the moment the new geofencing is an unholy mess.
It would be advisable to not do any firmware updates and furthermore do not install the latest app as it appears to impose the additional lock downs when the self authorisation process is not yet in place.
There is no obligation to update, you will just see a nag message when it starts up.
For Android 2.4.3 seems to be the last version without any geofencing popping up.
If you run 2.5 app even once when connected you cannot undo the geofence lock down, even on older firmware.
You can download older versions and sideload from here.
https://apkpure.com/dji-go/dji.pilot

Auto updating wants to be turned off to avoid unexpected further surprises.
 
Last edited:
4wd said:
At the moment the new geofencing is an unholy mess.
It would be advisable to not do any firmware updates and furthermore do not install the latest app as it appears to impose the additional lock downs when the self authorisation process is not yet in place.
There is no obligation to update, you will just see a nag message when it starts up.
For Android 2.4.3 seems to be the last version without any geofencing popping up.
If you run 2.5 app even once when connected you cannot undo the geofence lock down, even on older firmware.
You can download older versions and sideload from here.
https://apkpure.com/dji-go/dji.pilot

Auto updating wants to be turned off to avoid unexpected further surprises.
Click to expand...

Cheers for the heads up, not sure if it applies to the naza V2 FC, as I don't connect my naza to the Internet, although I did check for updates, none were found.
 
Just brought a Phantom 3 standard :D Will be keeping an eye on this thread.

Any useful hints, tips, gear recommendations, greatly appreciated.
 
I updated firmware on my Inspire 1. I was 2 behind the current. People get their knickers in a twist over this, but it went like a dream.
 
nigpd said:
All I need now is for somewhere safe while I learn how to fly it before moving on to more adventurous/interesting locations to film .

If any of you guys can recommend anywhere in Cheshire, that would be well cool :)
Click to expand...

Cheshire is a big place - care to narrow down your target area a bit?.

There is an android app called Drone Zones which has the potential to help find suitable areas but it isn't widely known.
 
nigpd said:
Well, I plumped for the Inspire Pro. Bought it Saturday and charged everything up on Sunday and played with Sim.

All I need now is for somewhere safe while I learn how to fly it before moving on to more adventurous/interesting locations to film :thinking:.

If any of you guys can recommend anywhere in Cheshire, that would be well cool :)
Click to expand...

Did you get insurance ?

https://bmfa.org/ was good last time I checked.
 
morfis said:
Cheshire is a big place - care to narrow down your target area a bit?.

There is an android app called Drone Zones which has the potential to help find suitable areas but it isn't widely known.
Click to expand...

Am in Frodsham (J12 M56), but don't mind travelling to get a good safe site. I've got Drone Zones, so will be checking out the local sites. Thanks for the tip
 
Last edited:
Ricardodaforce said:
Won't cover for a crash or fly away though will it? It's just third party cover.
Click to expand...

Its more for public liability, not sure anyone covers flyaway's or crashes. (if they do let me know) when we tried we could not get public liability insurance unless we were qualified via the usual channels, as it was something we decide did not make business sense we didn't want to get certified, so the only option was BMFA for public liability.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top