Remote Controlled Multicopters

[Hoss]

I fear my discussion may have, um, "hexed" a friend, who just lost his DJI around (or in) the river.   He mentioned his video feed started to break up, so he gave a Return command, and the 'copter just flew out of sight.

He's a Private Pilot so my impression is that he is a capable operator, and is hoping the "reward if found" decal works better than the software did.

The return command will only work if the operator waits long enough to allow the vehichle to set the home location.  The arm leds will flash green rapidly once that happens.

[dbacksfan 2.0]

I fear my discussion may have, um, "hexed" a friend, who just lost his DJI around (or in) the river.   He mentioned his video feed started to break up, so he gave a Return command, and the 'copter just flew out of sight.

He's a Private Pilot so my impression is that he is a capable operator, and is hoping the "reward if found" decal works better than the software did.

Wasn't this one by chance?

http://www.cnet.com/news/quadcopter-drone-crashes-on-white-house-grounds/

[Breadburner]

If I was that guy....I think I would have let that one go......

[Conan71]

If I was that guy....I think I would have let that one go......

Can you imagine the anal probe for that one?

"Hi, I'm looking for my lost quad copter..."

[Breadburner]

Heh....Are you using the whole fist doc...

[dbacksfan 2.0]

Heh....Are you using the whole fist doc...

[Breadburner]

Nice....!!

[patric]

Wasn't this one by chance?

http://www.cnet.com/news/quadcopter-drone-crashes-on-white-house-grounds/

Nyet, that turned out to be a White House employee.  May look bad on their record.

[patric]

15 miles is a bit overkill for model aircraft, but the FAA insists on recycling old regulations meant for manned aircraft to apply to new technology.

The no-fly comes in the form of a software update that causes the craft to land when the GPS coordinates match a list of those stored in memory.

[Hoss]

15 miles is a bit overkill for model aircraft, but the FAA insists on recycling old regulations meant for manned aircraft to apply to new technology.

The no-fly comes in the form of a software update that causes the craft to land when the GPS coordinates match a list of those stored in memory.

I'm surprised they didn't have this anyway, as they have restrictions all over based on GPS coordinates.  Kind of silly.

[patric]

My understanding is the National Parks Service can no longer mis-appropriate a U.S. Code aimed at banning helicopter rides in parks, to hobbyist craft, but this seems to have gone over the top:


Park Ranger Uses Stun Gun On Man Flying Drone Over Lava Lake In Hawaii

HONOLULU (AP) - A man who had been flying a drone over a lake of lava at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was hit with a Taser by a park ranger, then arrested in front of several hundred people.

Travis Ray Sanders brought his family to the park on Saturday evening to record the lava with his drone and didn't realize the man yelling at him to bring it down was a ranger, he told Hawaii News Now.

"He sounded very angry, confrontational - like he wanted to fight - and I didn't really want to stick around for it so I just told him, 'I don't have ID and I'm leaving," Sanders told the Honolulu news station.

Because Sanders was near the edge of the caldera rim - where there's a 500-foot drop - the ranger deployed a Taser, a spokeswoman said.

Another visitor to the park, Randy Horne, was setting up his camera and tripod at the overlook when he heard a commotion. He heard someone yell stop and when he turned around, he saw the ranger pull out a stun gun. He saw the weapon's "sparkly, glowing blue" wires attached to a man on the ground.

"I really didn't see there was any severe threat going on," Horne, of Honokaa, Hawaii, told the AP. "In my opinion, I thought it was a severe overreaction."

Horne watched as Sanders was handcuffed and then put into a police car.

Sanders, 35, of Pahoa, Hawaii, was arrested and cited with interfering with agency functions and operating an aircraft on undesignated land. He was taken to a Hawaii County police cellblock where he spent the night and was released in the morning on $500 bond, Ferracane said. "The ranger felt he needed to be stopped for the safety of himself and others."

Video:  http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/clip/11435375/10pm-report-drone-operator-chased-tased-by-ranger-at-hawaii-volcanoes-national-park

[Townsend]

Because Sanders was near the edge of the caldera rim - where there's a 500-foot drop - the ranger deployed a Taser, a spokeswoman said.

I know nothing of the location or the situation but the edge of a cliff seems to be a poor place to render someone unable to control themselves.

[Vision 2025]

Finally!

http://generalaviationnews.com/2015/05/26/faa-streamlines-approvals-for-rpa-test-sites/

[patric]

[Hoss]

After 10 months, I finally have the hexacopter flying and taking footage.

It began last August when I started piecing together parts for this behemoth.  Working mainly on weekends with my brother, and then about a 8 week hiatus after both mom and dad passed earlier this year...then a test flight failure two weeks ago (you can read that as a crash), then a rebuild, last night we put her up for two fully batteries worth..well, more like half batteries, since I'm learning the usage on this thing I have to time flights for now.

During pre-flight checks (the dangling item is the gopro camera..we had to locate the proper allen wrench to secure it on the gimbal):





Here's a bit of footage from the camera.  Keep in mind I'm a GoPro rookie and the footage is pretty washed out.  We got about 25 minutes..this is about 2 or so.

https://vimeo.com/132168487