Anyone in Arizona

[kendallqn]

Yeah...the iphone 7 is just too small. Struggling to pull the trigger on the ipad mini 4 because I know I'll want a mount and a hood. This thing is sucking my wallet dry.

The iPad mini will fit into the controller without a holder. Just remove the little plastic guide for the phone cable open the sides all the way up and the corners slip in nicely. The shade dji sells works rather well with it as well.

 

[kendallqn]

If you do another meet I'm in Ahwatukee. Would love to meet others in Arizona

 

[Brice LeCarre]

Hey Guys,

I just got my Mavic a few days ago, but haven't had a chance to fly it. I upgraded from a P3 Pro. My wife and I actually live in Iowa and are planning a week long trip to Scottsdale in April. We have some relatives who live in Apache Jct so it gave us an excuse to visit.

I've been looking online for places to fly in the area, but haven't been able to find much online as to where it's "sanctioned". So from my research, I have found....
1. Can't fly in national parks.
2. Can't fly in state parks.
3. Some higher level bill that was passed and took effect in Sept 2016 of last year (SB 1949? My memory eludes me now) that overrides the ability for local cities/counties to impose restrictions overriding the FAA restrictions, unless it meets certain criteria. Everything I'm reading in local legislation is looking like they are trying to find loopholes in these exceptions and find a way to continue the bans.

It's all so freaking confusing right now, being a newer mainstream invention. There is such a disconnect between the law, the media, and the players. I'm sure the laws will differ by the time I'm actually there to visit and anything I read on the internet won't be current enough.

I found a site where Phoenix has designated 8 city parks where you can fly drones (Parks and Recreation Radio-Controlled Aircraft in Phoenix Parks)
Coyote Basin Park - 2730 E. Beardsley Rd. (27th Pl. and Beardsley Rd.)
Desert Foothills Park - Lower Field - 1010 Marketplace Southwest (Chandler Blvd. and Desert Foothills Pkwy.)
Dynamite Park - 4550 E. Dynamite Rd. (north of Dynamite Rd. at 44th Street)
El Prado Park - 6428 S. 19th Ave. (19th Ave. and Southern Ave.)
Esteban Park - Eastern Quadrant - 3345 E. Roeser Rd. (32nd St. and Broadway Rd.)
Grover's Basin Park B - 17447 N. 20th St. (Cave Creek Rd. and Grovers Ave.)
Mountain View II Park - open space south of the ballfield, 9901 N. 7th Ave. (7th and Cinnabar avenues)
Werner's Field Park - 17831 N. 7th Ave. (7th and Grovers avenues)

I don't know anything about these areas, but from Google image searches, it pretty much seems like they are removed from any points of interest where you would want to fly or film with a drone anyways. Let's send the droneys to the areas that nobody wants to fly in anyways. Sorry if any of you live in those areas. I'm going strictly by Google images. No offense intended.

I saw some pretty cool videos shot at the Gila River Memorial Airport that were posted to this site, but then saw another video on YouTube that said undercover cars were waiting there monitoring for somebody to jump the fence-line.

We are thinking of maybe heading up to Sedona/Flagstaff area while we are there too.

Does anybody know of any cool, scenic places in any of these areas (Phoenix, Sedona, Flagstaff) that I can legally fly w/o some anti-droney calling the cops on me? Maybe off some trails that aren't parks or city with people all huffed-up about anti-privacy. Frankly, I could care less about what's in people's back yards. I just want the cinematic geographic shots. Granted,It would also be fun to play around with some sport mode stuff, etc w/o having to worry about crashing into something or somebody and trashing my investment before I even learn its capabilities.

Hi Sparqy, congrats on the Mavic,
If you stay out of the National Parks and the Indian Reservations you can pretty much fly everywhere outside the city. Be responsible and nimble and I don't think you'll have any troubles.
We will have casual meets every months. Monitor this thread and you'll know where we meet.
Looking forward to meet you and see your drone.

 

[phxphotog]

Did you guys end up meting up today? I live in far NW Valley so Red Mtn is a bit too far.

 

[Desertdude]

Did you guys end up meting up today? I live in far NW Valley so Red Mtn is a bit too far.

Yes we did, but it was only two of us. This was a great spot to fly, great scenery with mountains cactus, and the salt river. I really enjoyed it and I have some nice video. Thanks to Brice for setting it up, I will definitely fly there again.

 

[Desertdude]

Did you guys end up meting up today? I live in far NW Valley so Red Mtn is a bit too far.

It took me an hour to get there, I'm in Casa Grande well worth the trip.

 

[Brice LeCarre]

Yes it was a great morning. Got a couple of good shots.

 

[sparqy2000]

Hi Sparqy, congrats on the Mavic,
If you stay out of the National Parks and the Indian Reservations you can pretty much fly everywhere outside the city. Be responsible and nimble and I don't think you'll have any troubles.
We will have casual meets every months. Monitor this thread and you'll know where we meet.
Looking forward to meet you and see your drone.

Thanks for the response. I was starting to wonder if I'd blurted on too long on too many details and lost the attention of the masses. I really just want to fly responsibly and have fun doing it. The last thing I need is to spend time in a Phoenix jail or courts or have to pay some exorbitant fines when I live in IA. As far as that's concerned, I'd rather not do any of the above no matter where I live. LOL.

IA is a pro-drone state. At least that's the way that legislation is being pushed now. There are many agricultural benefits. I've even debated starting my own drone business doing agricultural analysis from the air.

 

[sparqy2000]

My father-in law is a farmer. I'm a city boy myself. I flew over his field and within minutes I could tell him where his drainage issues were, low crop yield, etc. Just through analysis of the drone images/video. I don't need to be a rocket scientist to see what is blatantly obvious. He was floored by what I could tell him with just a simple fly-over.

And before you delve into the farmer's daughter jokes.....Yes, I married the farmer's daughter. I'm living it!

 

[tskoog]

Just got my Mavic Pro today, I'm in Tempe, will need to get out and practice as this is my first drone. Let me know if there are any planned meets coming up.

 

[Brice LeCarre]

Hey guys, some of us are meeting south of Higley and Elliott on Higley in Gilbert Sunday 26th early in the morning.
Interesting silos and water features.
See you there

Sunrise is at 6:22 am
Golden Hour ends at 6:54 am
And good shooting until 9:00 am

 

[stinger101]

Bummer! Can't make it. But I'm in Cancun so I can't feel that bad. Did some flying here but it's been quite windy.

 

[rfarmedilla]

Hello guys! Phoenix here. Just came from saguaro lake for quality time with my mavic. Here he is chillin'!

 

[0gMatt]

I'm out in Goodyear, AZ but try to travel to as many nearby waterfalls and other cool places as I can. Hoping to add many more videos in the coming weeks now that I've got a Mavic!

Enjoy this video from Horseshoe Bend in Page, AZ:

 

[BluesDragon]

New to the forums here... still working on gettin' a Mav though. Hopefully be seein' ya'll around the area one day soon.

 

[Lou]

Anyone wanting to hook up,in the Yuma area, let me know here or PM me... having a ball with mine. We're here until end of April

 

[0gMatt]

Waiting on my Mavic to come back from repair (gimbal motor overloaded). If anyone in the Phoenix area is interested in purchasing a Parrot Bebop 2 with all the extras (skycontroller, skyboost, goggles, iPad) let me know. Selling for $500 or $600 with the iPad.

 

[MaViC4LiFe]

Also in AZ [emoji106]always looking for anybody who wants to fly

 

[Brice LeCarre]

It is time we meet again. Let's make it around mid day so more people can come. I propose Saturday 15th at around noon. Definitely open to suggestion for a location. Criteria should be fairly centrally located below the class C floor and out of any class D if possible (since we won't be flying under 107 , a simple phone call to a tower is enough), a big field and if we can, something interesting to shoot but not required.
The purpose would be to have fun, talk drone, 107 and exchange tips and tricks. Let me know if anyone is interested.

 

[Desertdude]

I think I'm available Saturday around noon, but let's have something interesting to shoot. I would like to learn about new interesting places to fly in Arizona.