Creekside Fall

[AlanLichty]

I took a side trip on the way down to Florence and went up Sweet Creek road to see how much water was flowing and how the leaves were progressing. The water levels in the creek were rather dismal and a lot of the big leaf maples simply dropped their leaves this year without doing much of a show at all. There is still some fall color in the forest understory and along the creek. I had sent my drone up at the top of the waterfall trail and was disappointed with the view from high up and was about to land when I decided to check out the scene from a bridge over the creek. The view from the height of the bridge wasn't impressive so I brought the drone down closer to the water for this shot. My biggest complaint about the result lies in the fact that the water in this pool was almost dead still with some lovely reflections. The prop wash from the drone riled up the water directly beneath the drone.

C&C always welcome.

 

[Ben Egbert]

Delightful scene Alan.

 

[AlanLichty]

Delightful scene Alan.

Thanks Ben - it was an interesting exercise in close quarters flying. Not a lot of the waterfall trail area is suitable for using a drone as the forest canopy is far too dense.

 

[Jameel Hyder]

Nice. You could try shutting the props while you take an image. Oh wait …

 

[AlanLichty]

Nice. You could try shutting the props while you take an image. Oh wait …

Hmm - I do see a slight problem with that solution

There are a bunch of places along the Sweet Creek trail downstream from here where you can hear waterfalls but can't see them and there is no way to get to the creek through all of the blackberry thickets. A drone is a temping solution but the forest canopy is very dense and your VLOS doesn't exist. This was one of the only places along there I would even try it and I was standing on a bridge not more than 20' away.

 

[Kurt Harrigan]

Nice scene. Do you use some type of auto focus/live view when doing something like this?

 

[AlanLichty]

Nice scene. Do you use some type of auto focus/live view when doing something like this?

Thanks Kurt - the drone does do autofocus and the remote control has a live camera view window I used to frame the shot. I can raise and lower the camera gimbal and use the drone yaw controls for side to side movement to center the shot.

 

[JimFox]

This is a really great scene Alan, love the composition. And yeah, one can see the very slight ripples in the water. How far up above the water were you at that point do you think? That's where maybe the Mini 2 would have an advantage were it would have as much prop wash being smaller.

As for VLOS, they say we have to have visual line of sight of the drone. Now maybe it's easier with a larger drone, but with my Mini 2, once it's about 100 feet away, I can't pick it out anymore, especially if the background is taller then its location. Even when I know exactly where to look, I can't see it. I would think the VLOS was meant for safety? I am not flying the drone over populated areas or around people.

I have noticed despite the claims of how far away the drones can fly, I have never come close to even getting 1/4 of that distance before I get warnings that it can't communicate properly. I think the furthest I have gone is one mile and then it initiated a return to home. In most cases 2000 feet is the most I can get before it says it is going to return to home as it can't communicate. I know going behind hills is the worst for blocking the signal between the drone and the controller, but even trees can do it if there are enough of them blocking the signal.

 

[AlanLichty]

This is a really great scene Alan, love the composition. And yeah, one can see the very slight ripples in the water. How far up above the water were you at that point do you think? That's where maybe the Mini 2 would have an advantage were it would have as much prop wash being smaller.

As for VLOS, they say we have to have visual line of sight of the drone. Now maybe it's easier with a larger drone, but with my Mini 2, once it's about 100 feet away, I can't pick it out anymore, especially if the background is taller then its location. Even when I know exactly where to look, I can't see it. I would think the VLOS was meant for safety? I am not flying the drone over populated areas or around people.

I have noticed despite the claims of how far away the drones can fly, I have never come close to even getting 1/4 of that distance before I get warnings that it can't communicate properly. I think the furthest I have gone is one mile and then it initiated a return to home. In most cases 2000 feet is the most I can get before it says it is going to return to home as it can't communicate. I know going behind hills is the worst for blocking the signal between the drone and the controller, but even trees can do it if there are enough of them blocking the signal.

I was about 5' above the water for this shot and maybe about 8 feet away from the bridge behind the drone. I think even my Air 2 would have less prop wash than the Mavic 3 but it just doesn't have a camera to that can match the M3.

I have taken my Air 2 out a couple of times after getting the M3 and have the same issue you have with the Mini 2 - it just disappears and blends into the sky in very short distances. I can keep VLOS on the M3 for considerable distances in comparison. I have a strobe I mount on the M3 for even greater distances and visibility for night flying. I use the strobe in the Gorge since small aircraft often fly through the gorge below the height of the cliffs (800'+) and I frequently launch from atop the cliffs. As long as I stay within 400' of the cliffs I am OK to fly there but I prefer to be highly visible in those circumstances. Drones are required to stay away from manned aircraft in all circumstances and if anything goes wrong it's the drone pilot's fault according to the FAA.

Flight distance is impacted by a number of factors but the one least mentioned is the fact that we are using the same radio frequencies as public WiFi which means flights in urban areas can encounter a lot of RF interference. Actual RF transmission power is limited by the same FCC regulations as WiFi and all of the factors that limit WiFi data transmissions still apply. Trees have lots of water in them and that will always impair signal transmission. My RC Pro controller has sector type RF antennae and the manual makes it clear that the position of the RC and the antenna relative to the drone's position will impact signal integrity.

 

[Beth]

nice one! just land on one of those conveniently placed rocks in the water. what's the worst that could happen?

trees? trees are nothing. we've had other agencies bring comm jammers to our drone party. it's always fun when the jammers get turned on midflight.

 

[JimFox]

nice one! just land on one of those conveniently placed rocks in the water. what's the worst that could happen?

trees? trees are nothing. we've had other agencies bring comm jammers to our drone party. it's always fun when the jammers get turned on midflight.

Ha ha.... now that would be a whole new kind of fun....

 

[JimFox]

I was about 5' above the water for this shot and maybe about 8 feet away from the bridge behind the drone. I think even my Air 2 would have less prop wash than the Mavic 3 but it just doesn't have a camera to that can match the M3.

I have taken my Air 2 out a couple of times after getting the M3 and have the same issue you have with the Mini 2 - it just disappears and blends into the sky in very short distances. I can keep VLOS on the M3 for considerable distances in comparison. I have a strobe I mount on the M3 for even greater distances and visibility for night flying. I use the strobe in the Gorge since small aircraft often fly through the gorge below the height of the cliffs (800'+) and I frequently launch from atop the cliffs. As long as I stay within 400' of the cliffs I am OK to fly there but I prefer to be highly visible in those circumstances. Drones are required to stay away from manned aircraft in all circumstances and if anything goes wrong it's the drone pilot's fault according to the FAA.

Flight distance is impacted by a number of factors but the one least mentioned is the fact that we are using the same radio frequencies as public WiFi which means flights in urban areas can encounter a lot of RF interference. Actual RF transmission power is limited by the same FCC regulations as WiFi and all of the factors that limit WiFi data transmissions still apply. Trees have lots of water in them and that will always impair signal transmission. My RC Pro controller has sector type RF antennae and the manual makes it clear that the position of the RC and the antenna relative to the drone's position will impact signal integrity.

I didn't realize they were using the same frequency as wifi. But where I fly mine, there is no wifi typically for miles and miles. A strobe is a good idea, I believe there is a strobe I can get for the Mini 2 that supposedly keeps it under 250 grams still. Not sure. But a strobe would be a help. What color or colors are yours?

 

[AlanLichty]

nice one! just land on one of those conveniently placed rocks in the water. what's the worst that could happen?

trees? trees are nothing. we've had other agencies bring comm jammers to our drone party. it's always fun when the jammers get turned on midflight.

Thanks Beth - remind me not to attend one of your parties with my drone in the air. These jam the controller signals? Hopefully RTH is set for loss of signal.

 

[AlanLichty]

I didn't realize they were using the same frequency as wifi. But where I fly mine, there is no wifi typically for miles and miles. A strobe is a good idea, I believe there is a strobe I can get for the Mini 2 that supposedly keeps it under 250 grams still. Not sure. But a strobe would be a help. What color or colors are yours?

Anything other than the typical public FCC frequencies (as in WiFi) would require a separate FCC license per device.

A strobe is required for any flights beyond sunset (civil twilight included) so you will be more visible to manned aircraft. White on top of the drone is required for that. During daylight you can put one on the bottom for added visibility. I have a white Firehouse ARC V I can stick on top for night flights but would also like to get a red and a green with mounts for the propeller arms which would help me for navigational purposes. Those are not required. Weight is of no concern for my purposes. Your drone isn't registered on the FAA DroneZone web site?

 

[Beth]

I didn't realize they were using the same frequency as wifi. But where I fly mine, there is no wifi typically for miles and miles. A strobe is a good idea, I believe there is a strobe I can get for the Mini 2 that supposedly keeps it under 250 grams still. Not sure. But a strobe would be a help. What color or colors are yours?

i recommend the firehouse strobes too. the strobe light has to be seen for 3 statue miles, and they're one of the few that actually can be seen that far.

your mini weighs 249 grams. there are no strobes or any other accessories out there that you can add and stay under 250 grams. but the only thing you need to do if you're over 250 grams is register the drone with the faa. it takes 5 minutes, costs $5 and is good for 3 years. put the faa reg number somewhere on the outside of the drone and you're good to fly.

 

[Beth]

Thanks Beth - remind me not to attend one of your parties with my drone in the air. These jam the controller signals? Hopefully RTH is set for loss of signal.

the first time it happened the drone (an early phantom) dropped out of the sky. it was a low drop and we collected it later with very little damage. none of us had any idea what was going on so the pilot was freaking out. it was also our first official mission at work. it happened one other time, but the drone was a tiny cheap model we were using because it was likely to be destroyed. now that i'm thinking about it, it was the same federal agency that brought the jammer and didn't tell us.

 

[AlanLichty]

the first time it happened the drone (an early phantom) dropped out of the sky. it was a low drop and we collected it later with very little damage. none of us had any idea what was going on so the pilot was freaking out. it was also our first official mission at work. it happened one other time, but the drone was a tiny cheap model we were using because it was likely to be destroyed. now that i'm thinking about it, it was the same federal agency that brought the jammer and didn't tell us.

That would certainly leave me scratching my head if I was the pilot. Glad to hear there was little damage. Did early phantoms not have RTH with signal loss as an option?

 

[Bob Israel]

Nicely Scene!

 

[BlackRockArt]

I took a side trip on the way down to Florence and went up Sweet Creek road to see how much water was flowing and how the leaves were progressing. The water levels in the creek were rather dismal and a lot of the big leaf maples simply dropped their leaves this year without doing much of a show at all. There is still some fall color in the forest understory and along the creek. I had sent my drone up at the top of the waterfall trail and was disappointed with the view from high up and was about to land when I decided to check out the scene from a bridge over the creek. The view from the height of the bridge wasn't impressive so I brought the drone down closer to the water for this shot. My biggest complaint about the result lies in the fact that the water in this pool was almost dead still with some lovely reflections. The prop wash from the drone riled up the water directly beneath the drone.

View attachment 53759

C&C always welcome.

Alan, nice elevated view, have you tried drone CPL ? The reflection is a little distracting.

Oliver

 

[AlanLichty]

Alan, nice elevated view, have you tried drone CPL ? The reflection is a little distracting.

Oliver

Thanks Oliver - I have one and have used it a bit but find it quite worthless whenever I am shooting panoramas and that's quite frequent. It is currently what I would characterize as bagware that goes along most of the time and doesn't get used