Any other DRONE PILOTS around?

[motojunkie101]

I've been in the UAS game for a long time, my first job in the Air Force just after the turn of the century was as a sensor operator on the RQ-1 Predator, then the MQ-1 model that added hellfires. My follow on assignments were on the other end exploiting the video and doing the intel work that we used to capture or kill a lot of bad dudes. Towards the end of my career I was a mission commander for the RQ-4 Global Hawk as well as the U-2. It's a pretty awesome job getting to run collections with a strategic ISR platform, especially when you look at the storied history of the U-2. The Global Hawk on the other hand was just an awful platform, but that's a story for another day.

Anyways, I started flying a DJI phantom 3 advanced years ago and more recently picked up a mini 2 a couple of seasons back so I can toss it in my backpack. I have my part 107, trust, and all that jazz completed for personal or professional use.

In my day job with the Forest Service I have a collateral duty as a UAS pilot and am carded to fly the Parrot Anafi and Vision Aerial Switchblade. Hopefully I'll get carded soon on our Alta-X so I can get into doing prescribed burns in addition to the thermal and mapping stuff I can do now.

On the part 107, it is heavily focused on airspace. As long as you can read a sectional chart and know your FAA specific limits, waiver authorities, and can read a METAR you will pass with no issues. I watched a couple of youtube videos to brush up and took a couple of practice tests and I walked out with a 90 something.

This is a short video I put together last year after a ride with my parents that was shot with my mini 2:



My advice is to pick up extra batteries and an extra memory card for whatever you are flying, those are always going to be your limiting factors if you want to fly multiple times throughout a day.

 

[christopher]

Getting pretty solid on Flight Maneuvers.
Just about ready to start Video Editing.

Inclined to just SUCK IT UP and dive into Adobe Premiere

 

[christopher]

On the part 107, it is heavily focused on airspace. As long as you can read a sectional chart and know your FAA specific limits, waiver authorities, and can read a METAR you will pass with no issues. I watched a couple of youtube videos to brush up and took a couple of practice tests and I walked out with a 90 something.

This is a short video I put together last year after a ride with my parents that was shot with my mini 2:



My advice is to pick up extra batteries and an extra memory card for whatever you are flying, those are always going to be your limiting factors if you want to fly multiple times throughout a day.

While I have not started down that path, I spent two years in college working on my commercial pilots license.
Can't imagine there is too much in Part 107 that will be totally unforseen.

 

[motojunkie101]

Getting pretty solid on Flight Maneuvers.
Just about ready to start Video Editing.

Inclined to just SUCK IT UP and dive into Adobe Premiere

Some practice maneuvers that I do:

Horizontal square at each orientation and again changing orientation at each corner
Vertical Square same as above
Vertical diamonds
manual orbits around fixed objects
coordinated turns, circles and figure 8s (pitch, roll, and yaw)
recovery without telemetry or video (flying S turns to find orientation and getting it back to land)
recovery via video
recovery via telemetry
"Flying the line" when on approach. descending and pitching in a way that the UAS appears to hold position in the sky, but should be getting larger as you get closer to land.

Finally, the different DJI modes have settings you can change to speed up or slow down beyond their presets so you can fine tune how fast your UAS is going to move. Which is nice to be able to customize it to your own preferences and how you want to fly.

 

[christopher]

Some practice maneuvers that I do:

recovery without telemetry or video (flying S turns to find orientation and getting it back to land)

THERE IS SOOOOO MUCH TO MASTER on this little beast!

So this is not something I have come across yet.
Walk me through this would ya???

 

[motojunkie101]

THERE IS SOOOOO MUCH TO MASTER on this little beast!

So this is not something I have come across yet.
Walk me through this would ya???

During a flight it looks kind of like this: you fly out far enough that you maintain eyes on, but can't tell what your orientation is. Enter a hover and make some right or left yaw movements to randomly position your UAS. Without looking at the controller telemetry or video feed, and with eyes on the UAS, you pitch forward for 2-3 seconds to determine direction of travel. Slowly add right or left yaw to start bringing it closer. You usually end up doing some S turns as it is typical to yaw a little too far. We also call it "walking the dog". Once you are close enough to home you can begin your landing approach or continue with other flights. This is a good way to practice loss of GPS, Loss of camera, or if the screen on your tablet/phone/controller stops working.

 

[christopher]

During a flight it looks kind of like this: you fly out far enough that you maintain eyes on, but can't tell what your orientation is. Enter a hover and make some right or left yaw movements to randomly position your UAS. Without looking at the controller telemetry or video feed, and with eyes on the UAS, you pitch forward for 2-3 seconds to determine direction of travel. Slowly add right or left yaw to start bringing it closer. You usually end up doing some S turns as it is typical to yaw a little too far. We also call it "walking the dog". Once you are close enough to home you can begin your landing approach or continue with other flights. This is a good way to practice loss of GPS, Loss of camera, or if the screen on your tablet/phone/controller stops working.

was that intended for a drone with no Red/Green marker lights on it?

 

[christopher]

Adobe Premiere Pro is a BEAST to learn!

 

[ATVPT]

Adobe Premiere Pro is a BEAST to learn!

Baby steps flying. it gets easier as you gain experience. We are not starting out like MJ101 flying for the military. take extra batteries, fly within sight, if you are in follow me mode, remember to update home or it will return to the start point when battery runs low. Practice each individual fly mode to it feels comfy. That is my advice, and that is what I have been doing with mine.

 

[christopher]

Baby steps flying. it gets easier as you gain experience. We are not starting out like MJ101 flying for the military. take extra batteries, fly within sight, if you are in follow me mode, remember to update home or it will return to the start point when battery runs low. Practice each individual fly mode to it feels comfy. That is my advice, and that is what I have been doing with mine.

Piloting is EASY by comparison to EDITING

 

[ATVPT]

Piloting is EASY by comparison to EDITING

I got back to editing yesterday. It felt good to do some of the air show practice pics. Too bad it was so hazy from the fires coming from over your way.

 

[christopher]

The still images this drone shoots are LOVELY.

 

[christopher]

And the video is every bit as nice.

 

[christopher]

 

[ATVPT]

You got this Christopher!

 

[christopher]

You got this Christopher!

he he he
What I got is an order for a POLARIZING and ND Lens for this little bugger!

 

[motojunkie101]

was that intended for a drone with no Red/Green marker lights on it?

That is for daytime recovery because we fly out at the far limits of the transmitters so more often than not our UAS is a tiny little speck in the sky so lights would be hard to see at that distance. Even then, for whatever reason the LEDs on our Switchblades aren't even the red/green nav lights. My phantom 3 has the red/green lights, so at night they would likely help me get it home if I needed to manually recover.

The Forest Service has an approved BLOS/ELOS waiver too, so we can actually fly beyond what the FAA says is allowed if it is a mission requirement.

 

[motojunkie101]

Baby steps flying. it gets easier as you gain experience. We are not starting out like MJ101 flying for the military. take extra batteries, fly within sight, if you are in follow me mode, remember to update home or it will return to the start point when battery runs low. Practice each individual fly mode to it feels comfy. That is my advice, and that is what I have been doing with mine.

100% agree! Also when you are out flying make sure you set your return to home altitude above tree height! I typically go up and do a 360 to make sure I'm clear of everything before I fly off and start filming. If I'm eyes down and flying off the camera trees can sneak up on you.

 

[christopher]

100% agree! Also when you are out flying make sure you set your return to home altitude above tree height! I typically go up and do a 360 to make sure I'm clear of everything before I fly off and start filming. If I'm eyes down and flying off the camera trees can sneak up on you.

EXCELLENT POINT.
Thanks for pointing that out.

 

[christopher]

Here is my first feeble attempt at dronage.