Drone suggestion

[LittleBill21]

i think the digital zoom is amazing for what it is, at least on my air 1

 

[LittleBill21]

I'm also located in PA. I looked at the Mavic Air 1 last year but the regulations and red tape associated with flying a drone where I live made me change my mind. Among others, I have to register the drone with the FAA and take a recreational UAS safety test.

I use an app on my phone and a PC program to check where it's legal to fly. Just about every municipal, state and national park bans their use.

To make it worse, I live on 25 acres in a rural part of the state but I'm within 5 miles of a small private airport. The FAA regulations require I call the airport tower to notify them I'm going to fly and get confirmation. When I call, I get an answering machine and can't get this confirmation. I can't even leave a message since their mailbox is always full. This means I can't legally fly a drone on my own property!

Do all the drone owners here actually adhere to these regulations and just how strictly are they enforced?

I am in a flight path as well. that said the air 2 has a ADS-B, which will let you know when a plane is in the area, it works incredibly well. i have seen it activate over 10 times with amazing accuracy. I always land when i get the warning

I own a air2 not sure why i thought it was the 1. that said keep it under 400 don't fly like an ***hole, you generally are fine.

there are some apps i have to look, where you can submit throw the app for the air traffic control tower to let you fly near an airport. it depends on the airspace. its been a while since i looked it up

 

[LittleBill21]

here is a video from the weekend with the air 2

 

[BigBlue1]

To make it worse, I live on 25 acres in a rural part of the state but I'm within 5 miles of a small private airport. The FAA regulations require I call the airport tower to notify them I'm going to fly and get confirmation. When I call, I get an answering machine and can't get this confirmation. I can't even leave a message since their mailbox is always full. This means I can't legally fly a drone on my own property!

Do all the drone owners here actually adhere to these regulations and just how strictly are they enforced?

I'm within 4 miles of a local airport. It's run by the city nearest me. When I had a drone about 4 years ago I tried to do the right thing and call in when I was going to fly. Found there is no phone number for the airport. Called the city. After sending me around to a few folks in the office I got someone who knew about the airport and he was like "There's no staff out there regularly. You don't need to call us. It's fine." Hey, I tried...

 

[BigBlue1]

Does this Air 2s have the ability to stream the video back to your controller or phone so you can have a live view? That was always the big downside with my Aton and GoPro setup. Didn't know really what you were getting until you landed and downloaded video off the mem card. Just wasn't a useful setup. I ditched that thing before I'd had it a year.

Rob

 

[LittleBill21]

Does this Air 2s have the ability to stream the video back to your controller or phone so you can have a live view? That was always the big downside with my Aton and GoPro setup. Didn't know really what you were getting until you landed and downloaded video off the mem card. Just wasn't a useful setup. I ditched that thing before I'd had it a year.

Rob

yes, full fpv, with the ability to download it to your phone in live time, where you can share and look through without connecting to the drone.

 

[BigBlue1]

Nice. Maybe it's time to reconsider getting back into that hobby.

 

[Alien]

As LittleBill21 says. 100% FPV In 1080P. As I mentioned they capture video up to 5K. The FPV is crystal clear view.
I don't use my fully autonomous drones any more even though they worked well. I gave 2 away and kept one for posterity. LOL You can capture video on the drone and on the smart controller if you insert a mem card in it. Then play it back on the smart controller. I use the Smart controller because the screen is bigger than a phone and it is less hassle with no cords.
I also fly RC gas planes but I prefer the FPV drone now. Much more relaxing and interesting at my age. (73)

 

[grsthegreat]

my drone made it from China to alaska via Japan within 1.5 days after i ordered it....fantastic. then UPS got involved. now its taken 4 days to go from alaska to Ontario Ca.

Just got a message that UPS that it is holding it pending info from shipper...may take 10 days. i HATE UPS.

i cant believe China can package and ship to the USA , and have it on US soil in 1.5 days. but then it gets into the UPS loop. i might not see it for years.

i had one package shipped UPS that went back and forth between different UPS terminals for 2 weeks before i forced them into actually intercepting it and holding it for me at Spokane terminal, where i went and picked it up.

 

[SouthernSky]

I live in the woods within 3 miles of a rural state national guard base. When I first got my P4 and the rules were lax, I flew that sucker everywhere, out of line of sight, using the Litchi app after plotting a course using Google maps, sending it off on 20 minute missions and praying it came home safely. Never an issue.

Then we had to start calling the airport, one staffed only part time and no tower. No number listed except a general airport number no one ever answers except during business hours.

So I started using an aircraft frequency scanner and monitored for transmissions. Then I added FlightAware to my arsenal.

And then I learned that since they have a fleet of helicopters, all military and not on FlightAware or public frequencies, that I was taking a bigger risk because the only true way to know if the sky was clear was if I actually heard props and rotors. And these Huey pilots fly a lot lower than 400’.

Too many damn rules now. I haven’t flown my drone except for federal holidays in over a year. Too worried about causing an incident with a military bird. Took all the fun out of it.