The General Drone-Related Thread

ChrisH said:
I really like your photo, what drone was it ?
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Hi Chris, it's a mavic air 2, 5 seperate exposures blended together in lightroom, I have a mavic mini as well but the air 2 has a bigger sensor and much better range.
 
cambsno said:
Wonderful, great lighting and stunning view
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Thanks Simon, I'm pleased that you like it, the half inch sensor on the Air 2 is quite impressive for what it is, I'm trying to resist the temptation to buy the Mavic Pro 2 with a one inch sensor but then again it's only money :D
 
So, what will probably sound like a silly question!!!

Dronesafe which is a CAA/NATS site, has maps which include all the airports with FRZ - and looking at it, makes sense. No fly zones around major airports, in my case a couple of RAF bases, Old Warden, Duxford and Cambridge Airport. However on the DJI app which I updated, it had those on but not Cambridge. Cambridge does have some big jets there for maintenance, and there are small operations to Jersey etc... As a result, most of Cambridge is 'off limits' as the zone covers most of Cambridge.

So I have to assume the app is wrong (I just moved the map to Cambridge when I was at home, and did not fly there) by appearing its ok? Which begs the question, how reliable is the DJI app, and does everyone check out Dronesafe first?
 
I know a guy who has a sheep farm. There's a lay-by on the edge of his land and weekends used to see half a dozen people flying drones over his fields. Some of the guys were 'buzzing' two and three day old lambs.. It didn't last long. Apparently it's quite spectacular seeing a drone hit by a 12g 30g cartridge.**

** One guy reported his action to the police who basically said "what do you expect?". And went on to say what they did could be construed as sheep worrying.

I do know of a company in the US who make net/mesh cartridges expressly for the purpose of bringing down drones. No a good idea to fly one over someone's garden over there.
 
cambsno said:
So, had a few test flights to get the hang of the Mini. Took a few snaps and all working ok. This evening went out for a 'proper go' - still get scared as soon as it goes over 50 feet!!!

Anyway, got a couple of of images, one of the church (which had a lot of high trees surrounding it!) and one from the edges of the village.

972961F4-B23A-4310-88DB-B51C6F451473 by Simon Owens, on Flickr

F0075911-10D9-4B6A-8B01-857DF8BD4C2A by Simon Owens, on Flickr
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The problem I see with this is you’re too close to the church (should be 50m away) and arguably the village (built up area 150m, but what exactly constitutes a built up area...)
 
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cambsno said:
So, what will probably sound like a silly question!!!

Dronesafe which is a CAA/NATS site, has maps which include all the airports with FRZ - and looking at it, makes sense. No fly zones around major airports, in my case a couple of RAF bases, Old Warden, Duxford and Cambridge Airport. However on the DJI app which I updated, it had those on but not Cambridge. Cambridge does have some big jets there for maintenance, and there are small operations to Jersey etc... As a result, most of Cambridge is 'off limits' as the zone covers most of Cambridge.

So I have to assume the app is wrong (I just moved the map to Cambridge when I was at home, and did not fly there) by appearing its ok? Which begs the question, how reliable is the DJI app, and does everyone check out Dronesafe first?
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You should check the NATS app before flying. I haven’t flown for a while but sometimes the DJI app would be ultra cautious.
 
ManxTom said:
I know a guy who has a sheep farm. There's a lay-by on the edge of his land and weekends used to see half a dozen people flying drones over his fields. Some of the guys were 'buzzing' two and three day old lambs.. It didn't last long. Apparently it's quite spectacular seeing a drone hit by a 12g 30g cartridge.**

** One guy reported his action to the police who basically said "what do you expect?". And went on to say what they did could be construed as sheep worrying.

I do know of a company in the US who make net/mesh cartridges expressly for the purpose of bringing down drones. No a good idea to fly one over someone's garden over there.
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That's not something you would remotely (!) consider doing with camera drones we are talking abut here.
It also sounds like an urban myth tale but anyone trying to scare livestock with one wants shooting themselves never mind their drone.
 
4wd said:
That's not something you would remotely (!) consider doing with camera drones we are talking abut here.
It also sounds like an urban myth tale but anyone trying to scare livestock with one wants shooting themselves never mind their drone.
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No myth, urban or rural, at all. I have seen ShotCam footage of two drones 'downed' by said farmer. And I agree totally with your end statement.
 
Are there any Reasonable quality/ Reasonably priced RC Planes that can be brought with a camera on board ? As a child me and my dad built a few planes and I fancy having a go and including the two hobbies.
 
Whilst I 100% agree with not scaring animals or people with drones, shooting a drone down is against the law and can carry hefty prison sentences or fines.

Drones under CAA law come under the same laws as aircraft and as such shooting a drone down is classed the same as shooting down a Jumbo jet or a paraglider.

However the Police are sadly likely to get involved as they have no idea what the drone laws are in biggest part, and are just as biased as a lot of people against us.
 
Local ATC have given me approval to fly in the authorisation zone tomorrow, so going to take it for a proper flight in/over the local woods
 
ChrisH said:
However the Police are sadly likely to get involved as they have no idea what the drone laws are in biggest part, and are just as biased as a lot of people against us.
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You might be right about the not getting involved part, but lots of police forces use drones themselves so knowledge should be improving.
 
cambsno said:
What authorisation zone are you in?
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Norwich Airport. The edge of it cuts through the local woods (mousehold heath) and there's a big open field there called Fountain Park. Perfect for getting to grips with the drone and should get some nice shots over the woods.

Was really easy and the guys at ATC were very helpful :)
 
There is a facebook group for the Mavic Air 2, unless you are a member you cannot read any of the posts, so I have copied and pasted this post from one of the members, it's an interesting little read.

"Well that was interesting. Just got my Mavic Air 2 a few days ago, been waiting for the weather to improve to try it.... decided to go for it this evening. I live inside the authorisation zone near Stansted Airport so went online to unlock the zone. All ok.... went up above my house which is well away from other people & property. Took a couple of photos of the house & garden then came indoors. Within 30 minutes the Police were on my doorstep, 2 officers & a Sargent in 2 cars, questioning me about a drone flying in the area! Took my Flyer ID number & after some investigating and much discussion they left as they would be taking no further action at this time..... not a good first flight experience! "

Given what happened at Stanstead last year it would seem that the powers that be are on the ball.
 
TVRTim said:
There is a facebook group for the Mavic Air 2, unless you are a member you cannot read any of the posts, so I have copied and pasted this post from one of the members, it's an interesting little read.

"Well that was interesting. Just got my Mavic Air 2 a few days ago, been waiting for the weather to improve to try it.... decided to go for it this evening. I live inside the authorisation zone near Stansted Airport so went online to unlock the zone. All ok.... went up above my house which is well away from other people & property. Took a couple of photos of the house & garden then came indoors. Within 30 minutes the Police were on my doorstep, 2 officers & a Sargent in 2 cars, questioning me about a drone flying in the area! Took my Flyer ID number & after some investigating and much discussion they left as they would be taking no further action at this time..... not a good first flight experience! "

Given what happened at Stanstead last year it would seem that the powers that be are on the ball.
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Did they get authorisation from ATC or just self authorise on the app?
 
PFCO theory seems pretty simple really. Lots of common sense, little bit of physics, and operational procedures. Nothing too taxing from the looks of it.
 
KitsuneAndy said:
Did they get authorisation from ATC or just self authorise on the app?
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Looks like it was self authorisation on the DJI app and because his details are on his DJI account (they have to be in order to unlock a zone) that's how the police were able to get to him so quickly, He was not so close to the airport that he needed to ring ATC or the DJI no fly zone would not have allowed the unlock or the drone to take off.
 
TVRTim said:
Looks like it was self authorisation on the DJI app and because his details are on his DJI account (they have to be in order to unlock a zone) that's how the police were able to get to him so quickly, He was not so close to the airport that he needed to ring ATC or the DJI no fly zone would not have allowed the unlock or the drone to take off.
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It would if he's in an authorisation zone rather than a restriction zone.

I could self unlock for my flight tomorrow, but ATC would notify the police if I wasn't authorised for flight by them. You just have to tick a box saying you have the relevant permissions.
 
KitsuneAndy said:
It would if he's in an authorisation zone rather than a restriction zone.

I could self unlock for my flight tomorrow, but ATC would notify the police if I wasn't authorised for flight by them. You just have to tick a box saying you have the relevant permissions.
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So are you saying that ATC have to be notified for flights in a self authorisation zone? There are three zones near me on Dartmoor (military training grounds) but I've only ever self authorised as the only time that there are aircraft movements is when the ten tors is on.
 
TVRTim said:
So are you saying that ATC have to be notified for flights in a self authorisation zone? There are three zones near me on Dartmoor (military training grounds) but I've only ever self authorised as the only time that there are aircraft movements is when the ten tors is on.
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If it's an aerodrome with a restriction zone then you'll need to ATC for permission to fly, unless they've unilaterally approved it. Should be on their websites.

Some only restrict it during certain hours, or in the case of military, when they have maneuvers scheduled. And some are only restricted at certain altitudes, so it's not one size fits all.

But normal airports you'll usually have to notify local ATC. My local airport just have a specific email where you have to give them details of the flight and max altitude 24 hours before hand.
 
KitsuneAndy said:
If it's an aerodrome with a restriction zone then you'll need to ATC for permission to fly, unless they've unilaterally approved it. Should be on their websites.

Some only restrict it during certain hours, or in the case of military, when they have maneuvers scheduled. And some are only restricted at certain altitudes, so it's not one size fits all.

But normal airports you'll usually have to notify local ATC. My local airport just have a specific email where you have to give them details of the flight and max altitude 24 hours before hand.
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Got it (y) thanks for the info, no aerodromes or airports on dartmoor, just one prison and lots of sheep :)
 
I'm really quite tempted to get a Mavic Mini, mainly for travel photography. Trying to consume about as much content as YouTube has to offer and it seems like it really could be a great intro to the hobby. Unless anyone says otherwise? It'd be more for photos than video.
 
Doug said:
I'm really quite tempted to get a Mavic Mini, mainly for travel photography. Trying to consume about as much content as YouTube has to offer and it seems like it really could be a great intro to the hobby. Unless anyone says otherwise? It'd be more for photos than video.
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Same as me (photos v video) - Got mine last week, great fun to fly and easy, just need to practice although it is scary seeing it 300ft in the air. The only worry is that I get GAS and end up wanting something more expensive!! The kit is great value.
 
Mavic Mini is a great starter drone but does have one downfall and that is it uses WiFi to connect to the drone, It limits the distance you can fly especially in WiFi clogged areas like towns and built up areas. However don't let that put you off. You'll get plenty of fun and learn the colour of adrenaline the first time you look at your controller and then look back and cant see your drone. It has an adequate camera for most beginners, not fantastic but not crap. You'll be limited in anything but the lightest winds but again the first time the wind gets it and carries it a little you learn to check your wind heights in something like the UAV Forecast app.
Personally if you can stretch to it I would go for the New Mavic air 2, it uses a similar thing to WiFi called occusync. It's the same as the Mavic 2 pro series use and as such suffers less from outside interference. The camera is better being a 40mp interpolated 12mp camera, giving what seems to be great results, the video can be shot at higher frame rates so you can get easy slo-mo video. The Air 2 is a great middle drone to the more expensive Mavic pro 2 series.
The best extra expense you can make is a Fly more kit, it has extra batteries, props and other bits and bobs. The batteries alone make it worth the money.
I have an original Mavic Air, and a Mavic 2 pro both fantastic drones, but had the Air 2 come out last year I would have probably gone for one instead of the Mavic 2 pro.
 
Well, I am now the proud (and somewhat nervous) owner of a new Mavic Air. Went for that one over the Mini as the latter does not have Active Tracking. My Huawei phone model is compatible with the Air but not the Mini. Also could not quite run to the cost of the Air 2. Took the online test and got my Flyer & Operator IDs. Now just need to update all the firmware and then find somewhere to start learning to fly the thing!
 
cambsno said:
Am guessing the prison has an exclusion zone
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The local prison's exclusion zone here doesn't extend outside it's boundary which I thought it would.

Took it for it's first flight today, really foggy. Couldn't go above 50m or couldn't see the drone (and it couldn't see anything either)
 
Did you slow down the footage? If shot at 30fps and slowed down a bit of often gives that effect as there isn’t enough data to work with between frames. Always shoot at 60fps if you intend on slowing down at all, as you get much more frame data to work with.
 
Was the export fps (24?) the same as recorded at.
It will look smoother if you work from start to finish at 30fps and keep shutter speed lower if it's controllable - ideally 2x frame rate.
If you are moving while looking down ever part of the frame changes x times per second and it only just copes, it might skip frames.
You see it less going slowly forwards and more e.g. panning too.
 
4wd said:
Was the export fps (24?) the same as recorded at.
It will look smoother if you work from start to finish at 30fps and keep shutter speed lower if it's controllable - ideally 2x frame rate.
If you are moving while looking down ever part of the frame changes x times per second and it only just copes, it might skip frames.
You see it less going slowly forwards and more e.g. panning too.
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Shot at 30fps, interpreted to 23.976. Shutter speed 1/60th frame rate 30fps.

It's not choppy in premiere so wondering if it's bitrate on the export!
 
4wd said:
This impressive if not entirely legal.
(it's a bit LOUD at first)

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6u0Qh7W3b0
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I've followed Peter ( nevermindyourown ) for a few years now. He is a fantastic Droner and takes the craft very seriously. If you watch a few of his videos from round the world you'll be fascinated with some of his antics. Don't forget he's from the Netherlands and the rules there are different to ours, more relaxed and the Police don't see drones in many of the bad ways ours do.
 
4wd said:
Was the export fps (24?) the same as recorded at.
It will look smoother if you work from start to finish at 30fps and keep shutter speed lower if it's controllable - ideally 2x frame rate.
If you are moving while looking down ever part of the frame changes x times per second and it only just copes, it might skip frames.
You see it less going slowly forwards and more e.g. panning too.
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Sorted it now, bitrate wasn't high enough on export
 
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