Recent content by Donnie Frank

Generally speaking, my cutoff point is 20 mph gusts. I'll make exceptions, but that's generally my cutoff point - especially for video. D

<rant> As long as we're opening Pandora's Box (and rightfully so), where is all the "green new deal" money for Nuclear Fusion? Or graphene batteries?? Or enough hydrogen produced via electrolysis to power a car in real-time?? Which was supposedly achieved in the SEVENTIES by Stan Meyer...

Nicely said. While I would concede that some or most UAV pilots are oblivious to some of the under-the-hood politics that keep us (U.S.) dead last, I would like to add that our own regulatory agencies are also to blame. This is why all the kewl, phun stuff happens overseas. Jet suits in...

The flaw in your argument is that running a malfunctioning red light is not breaking a law. My analogy is that you're essentially "hacking" your way past the light by essentially disobeying it ONLY when it malfunctions. Don't get too hung up on the word "hack," as I use that word loosely for...

Interesting comment. Let's do a test. Let's say you're driving home at midnight. You come to an intersection. The traffic light is red. 2 minutes pass. 3 minutes. 4 minutes. You finally decide that the light is malfunctioning. You look both ways. There are no cars in either direction...

I don't think these limitations would be deployed as a disruptive device, but more of a DJI back-door that would disable drones that require an Internet connection to fly or pre-flight. As you alluded to, the FCC would never allow such an RF disrupter device. Just a theory. D

I actually turn the WiFi off. I believe airplane mode can be bypassed. I surmised this after receiving an Amber Alert on iPhone I use as a gauge cluster in my car: So I turned off WiFi and haven't received any Amber Alerts on this phone. BlueTooth™ is still enabled. All this is just...

I don't connect my drones to any DJI accounts. I remember that was an option a long, long time ago for keeping track of hours or something like that. I opted out. Yeah...I don't have that. I don't use an iPhone (or any phone for that matter), and only one of my iPads is even cell capable...

To be clear, I obey all laws and go through all the same procedures and channels any UAV pilot goes through before he flies. The only difference between me and those guys is that when the LAANC system fails, most guys are grounded with no recourse. Conversely, I can still fly. This actually...

That technology doesn't exist. And while disrupters are certainly easy enough to build, the FCC would never approve such a thing for use, especially within city limits. You may not be shocked, but, depending on how much your drones rely on Internet, you may be disabled. My point is that my...

I'm just saying I've seen no evidence for it. Logically speaking or intuitively speaking, these drones operate in the same frequency band as many electronic devices. So to saturate or "pollute" those frequencies would cause many devices to fail. The FCC would never allow it. For YEARS I have...

This sentence caught my eye.... "...if this bill passes DJI products will not work within the continental United States." Not work? How do "they" plan on stopping DJI drones from working? Especially the legacy drones I use?? The only "infrastructure" my drones utilize is either privately...

Great work. Very impressive. I love animals, too. I hope they get these guys. D

First off, China doesn't care about U.S. airspace (or is ignorant of it), so DJI will heave upon the unweary pilot erroneous No Fly Zones. This is why all of my drones are hacked. This has saved my client THOUSANDS of dollars in wasted man hours (because often my flights include a very...

If you're just using the camera, remove the props. That eliminates all possibility of flight. I've done this before. D