Anyone Use Drones?

[marcspaz]

 

I have a couple of drones I use for hanging antennas from trees, recording offroad videos, scouting areas to put up my portable gear when in the field, and occasionally just for the sake of flying.  I got really bored yesterday and ended up with a fun gag reel I wanted to share.

 

Anyone else here use drones and find a way to incorporate then into other hobbies?  How do you use your drone?  Anyone a Part 107 Certified Remote Pilot?  If so, what are you using your cert for?  Work? Fun? Both?

 

 

[PACNWComms]

I only fly quad-copters for pleasure, and to get video and pictures of the area immediately around me. For me, if it becomes work, then the pleasure often fades very quickly.

I was about to get into the Part 107, but work intervened. One of my radio warehouses became a swarming drone test building. Large fans were installed, curtains to contain parts of the building hung, and the sprinkler system was re-tooled to allow it to "rain" when wanted in various parts of the building. This is a three story building that looks like an Amazon fulfillment center (there are several in the area, and I think that was part of the idea [security through obscurity]). 

Great video by the way. Great to see yours following you down the road.Great video quality and stability. 

[WRKC935]

I was a heavy drone user until all the rules got set in place. 

Seem's that I am within 5 miles of a strip of land that that FAA recognizes as an airport so can't even fly in my back yard legally without logging every flight. 

And when we were required to telephone inform the airport, I was doing so and the guy got sort of upset (his private airport number is his private residence number).  He told me to NOT call.  Problem is he didn't have that authority so my guess would be if he see's my drone up, he's gonna call the FAA and turn me in.   So NOT worth the hassle. 

And when I say I was involved in it, I had / have something like 10 drones.  These range from copies of the original DJI Phantom to a heavy lift unit that I was building to carry an SLR camera aloft with a cellular telemetry data link system that would have allowed almost unlimited link distances with a fly home mode if the link was severed. 

I was also in process of planning / building a Reaper Drone that would have connected with that same system.  This was all going to be controlled from a computer with a high end flight sim yoke and throttle setup and a number of additional channels for servo and digital I/O for controlling various things.   I was just getting that plan off the ground when the 55 pound max rule was put into place and the engine and ducted fan was going to exceed that. 

Once the FAA got all crazy and dropped the hammer on the whole hobby, I completely backed away from it. 

Last time I had a drone in the air I was taking video of the tower my buddy has (before the 107 was created) which was 4 or more years ago. 

 

[OffRoaderX]

I had pretty good drone setup that I used to make videos, but the rules got tougher, it got harder to fly in a lot of areas, and I dont make that kind of videos anymore.. So I sold it all earlier this year.

This was the last video I made with my drone - also got help from a friend that has one of those fancy 'stunt-drones":

 

[WRQC527]

That's some top-drawer drone footage right there!

[marcspaz]

2 hours ago, WRKC935 said:

I was a heavy drone user until all the rules got set in place. 

Seem's that I am within 5 miles of a strip of land that that FAA recognizes as an airport so can't even fly in my back yard legally without logging every flight. 

And when we were required to telephone inform the airport, I was doing so and the guy got sort of upset (his private airport number is his private residence number).  He told me to NOT call.  Problem is he didn't have that authority so my guess would be if he see's my drone up, he's gonna call the FAA and turn me in.   So NOT worth the hassle. 

And when I say I was involved in it, I had / have something like 10 drones.  These range from copies of the original DJI Phantom to a heavy lift unit that I was building to carry an SLR camera aloft with a cellular telemetry data link system that would have allowed almost unlimited link distances with a fly home mode if the link was severed. 

I was also in process of planning / building a Reaper Drone that would have connected with that same system.  This was all going to be controlled from a computer with a high end flight sim yoke and throttle setup and a number of additional channels for servo and digital I/O for controlling various things.   I was just getting that plan off the ground when the 55 pound max rule was put into place and the engine and ducted fan was going to exceed that. 

Once the FAA got all crazy and dropped the hammer on the whole hobby, I completely backed away from it. 

Last time I had a drone in the air I was taking video of the tower my buddy has (before the 107 was created) which was 4 or more years ago. 

 

 

2 hours ago, OffRoaderX said:

I had pretty good drone setup that I used to make videos, but the rules got tougher, it got harder to fly in a lot of areas, and I dont make that kind of videos anymore.. So I sold it all earlier this year.

This was the last video I made with my drone - also got help from a friend that has one of those fancy 'stunt-drones":

 

I feel bad hearing this. If you guys are still interested the rules are a heck of a lot more relaxed as of today, compared to even a year ago.  Part 107 gives me more permissions, like flying above 400 ft with no special permissions in some cases.  We also have the ability to do night flights now, too.

 

Also, the rule about 5 miles within an airport are gone and no need to call ATC/Tower anymore. I've actually flown at Dulles International and the local regional airport by my house. For the times you do need FAA approval, a vast majority of it can be done via a phone app and get instant approvals.

 

The only thing that sucks now is, no flying in national parks or wildlife management area.

 

Part 107 turned out to be a big plus, even if you are only doing recreational flight, the certification makes it so you can do so much more than a strictly recreational flyer with no cert.  

 

If you are still interested in quads or fixed-wing, check out some of the latest free videos at Pilot Institute. They are the best Ground School and Remote Pilot training I found. If you decide to go back to recreational flying, the training is 100% free and their commercial 107 training was under $200 last I checked, with lifetime continued training. 

[tweiss3]

@marcspaz Is this the one you used: https://pilotinstitute.com/course/part-107-remote-pilot/

I thought about it 4 years ago, but at that time, the rules changed about once a month, and I never followed through. We've thought about it for the office, maybe I just need to do it.

[marcspaz]

@tweiss3, yes, Sir... that is the one.

This is the best place to get started on understanding where the process is right now...  https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started

 

The the rules have been all over the place for awhile, but the commercial side has finally settled at this point and seems to have been for at least 6 to 8 months.  I figure with the free lifetime membership Greg offers and the re-training / updates as little things pop-up, it won't be so bad.

 

Right now the recreational side is all over the place.  They biggest problem I see is the whole "CBO" requirement.  Since the FAA is somewhat tied to it due to congress passing a law, you have to use a community based organization's rules while flying for recreation.  When there was no 'formally recognized' CBO, it was easy to use someone like Flite Test Community Association (FTCA) and download their guidelines.  Now, Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) is the only official CBO, and their rules are way worse and more complex than the FAA Part 107 rules.  Which is why I went commercial instead.

[WRKC935]

13 hours ago, marcspaz said:

Right now the recreational side is all over the place.  They biggest problem I see is the whole "CBO" requirement.  Since the FAA is somewhat tied to it due to congress passing a law, you have to use a community based organization's rules while flying for recreation.  When there was no 'formally recognized' CBO, it was easy to use someone like Flite Test Community Association (FTCA) and download their guidelines.  Now, Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) is the only official CBO, and their rules are way worse and more complex than the FAA Part 107 rules.  Which is why I went commercial instead.

Which is the reason I got out.  While I have nothing against the AMA, I find it odd that I am forced to all but be a member of the AMA to enjoy the hobby.  And NOT following the letter of the regulations will get you in deep crap facing HUGE fines.  I realize that radio is also regulated, but there aren't any FCC agents actively looking for rule breakers.  The asme can't be said of the recreational drone community.  Or has that changed, becuase they were tracking down YouTubers for a while that flew outside the regs and slapped them with huge fines or attempted to.

 

[marcspaz]

 

@WRKC935 I am not a fan of AMA either.  They are the Sad Hams of the drone world... 100%.  I can definitely understand where you are coming from.  The whole situation back to 2018 kept me out of the drone hobby for for a couple of years, too.

 

The drone world and enforcement is kind of like GMRS enforcement.  There are rules, but rules unenforced are almost the same thing as no rules.  I am  only aware of one person who actually got some major fines from FAA... but this person repeatedly posted videos of him flying his drones way above 400 feet... like above cloud cover... flying well beyond VLOS and from what I recall, he also broke speed restrictions by flying well over 100mph.  So yeah, they hung that dude out.

 

I have heard of some limited instances of people getting caught up in local BS when cops charge remote pilots for stupid stuff that doesn't actually violate federal law.  Usually the PD involved knows zero about drones and the arresting LEO is just an a$$.

 

Also, I checked again today.  There are now 3 CBO's, one being FTCA, which has very relaxed common sense rules.  They are the ones I picked for flying recreation before there were any "officially recognized" CBO's.

 

Right now... today, you can go from zero to legally flying almost anywhere in less than an hour, and then in seconds every flight after.  For recreation, these are the current rules...

 

1.      The aircraft is flown strictly for recreational, or educational purposes.

Pretty straight forward.

2.      The aircraft is operated in accordance with or within the programming of a community-based organization’s set of safety guidelines that are developed in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration.

With FTCA now being approved... also very easy.  I used to keep the printed safety guide in my bag so I could use it as a reference if PD or a nosy person got in my business (thankfully neither ever happened).

3.      The aircraft is flown within the visual line of sight of the person operating the aircraft or a visual observer co-located and in direct communication with the operator.

Also, common sense.  Can't avoid a crash, especially with over aircraft if you can't see them.  Forward camera isn't good enough.

4.      The aircraft is operated in a manner that does not interfere with and gives way to any manned aircraft.

Also makes sense and pretty easy to abide by.

5.      In Class B, Class C, or Class D airspace or within the lateral boundaries of the surface area of Class E airspace designated for an airport, the operator obtains prior authorization from the Administrator or designee before operating and complies with all airspace restrictions and prohibitions.

This sounds hard, but is actually super easy.  I use an FAA approved LAANC (pronounced Lance) service provider app on my phone.  It's called Air Control.  It takes seconds to check where I want to fly and automated approvals take less than 60 seconds in most limited/restricted areas.  Most consumer grade drones also have this feature built into their controller apps.

6.      In Class G airspace, the aircraft is flown from the surface to not more than 400 feet above ground level and complies with all airspace restrictions and prohibitions.

Again, same as above.  No need to struggle to ID the airspace class.  The software does it near instantly. 

7.      The operator has passed an aeronautical knowledge and safety test described in subsection (g) and maintains proof of test passage to be made available to the Administrator or law enforcement upon request.

This is called a TRUST certification.  It's free, only needs to be done once and is good for your lifetime.  Only took me 15 minutes to do.

8.      The aircraft is registered and marked in accordance with chapter 441 of this title and proof of registration is made available to the Administrator of designee or law enforcement upon request.

This is also super easy.  If your drone is less than .55 lbs (250gr), then you don't need to register it for recreational use.  If you want to or if the drone is 0.55lbs or more, you get one registration number for free in just a few minutes (only legit site is the FAA .Gov site) and that 1 number is good for all of your drones.

 

 

[StogieVol]

On 12/27/2022 at 4:09 PM, marcspaz said:

 

I have a couple of drones I use for hanging antennas from trees, recording offroad videos, scouting areas to put up my portable gear when in the field, and occasionally just for the sake of flying.  I got really bored yesterday and ended up with a fun gag reel I wanted to share.

 

Anyone else here use drones and find a way to incorporate then into other hobbies?  How do you use your drone?  Anyone a Part 107 Certified Remote Pilot?  If so, what are you using your cert for?  Work? Fun? Both?

 

 

I really want to get a drone but all my Jeep upgrades are coming first. 

[marcspaz]

5 hours ago, StogieVol said:

I really want to get a drone but all my Jeep upgrades are coming first. 

 

Man, don't you know it.  Just had $40k in work done to my Gladiator... it hurt a little, but hot damn.  40" Mickey Thompson Baja Boss MTs and a Metalcloak 4.5" long-arm lift with all the bells and whistles... worth every penny. 

 

My son posing with it... (he did the build) 

 

 

 

[SteveShannon]

Wow! That’s impressive.

[StogieVol]

Yes Sir! Looking good! I know I asked in another forum about your lift but this answers that question for me. MC is an outstanding company and I love their lift.