Recent content by journo

I'll check that page out as well. This looks all to be public info provided by NOAA.

Very cool. Thank you! Btw, the app is off by 500' (overcast today); this shows ceiling is actually 1000'+ over Seattle/King County, not 499'/98% cover.

This is cool; I'll need to decode some...thank you.

I fly in Seattle, and best practices are to check the weather on the LAANC flight app. Often during overcast, the visibility can still be up to 5 miles with clouds well over 500', which gives some room to fly. I rarely need to take it up to 400'. And it's not clear where exactly that 500' report...

I had a job in the Sodo neighborhood of Seattle and one seagull was quite aggressive toward a mavic mini (gen 1). This was a while ago before RID, when I could still use the drone. The descriptions in this thread of gulls simulating attack but not making contact was my experience was well. As a...

I've never been able to understand this sudden lack of control at the end of a 15-20 minute flight, years ago, with a Mavic Mini first generation. Out of hundreds of flights this has happened only once. It was while covering an apartment fire where I was well to the outside of rescue efforts and...

This has happened to me only once and I think it was because I was in the last 20% of battery life. RTH was launched automatically, but I kept cancelling it because it was near homes. It wouldn't let me go anywhere but straight down, no other control options worked. Luckily I was close to the...

The animation on this is a little troubling since a drone can't do flips without stopping the propellers at a full perpendicular position to the ground. Yikes! And in a safety film!

Hi all, just an example from a recent flight log where I was photographing along a cliff edge during a 107 commercial flight. A helicopter could be heard but not seen so I immediately descended under 50'. Attached are screen shots in order. I was over cliff plateau and slightly ventured partly...

The USB port on that Mavic3 charger is really meant to plug in the RC for recharging simultaneously. Always use the direct line. I charge each battery while in the drone and it's usually an hour or less if it's down to 1-2 lights.

I like being in complete control of the drone at all times, especially during urban flights and in controlled airspace, so I'm inclined never to use it. My fear is that it would make me lazy, less vigilant and create a false sense of security. I consider it only as an insurance policy. I use it...

Thanks for your input!

Thanks all. I posted this over two years ago and I can say now with certainty, the LAANC apps (of which there now seem fewer) have caught up with 'no-fly' red-out military areas on their maps. My original post wasn't worded very precisely. My question was about flying off to the side, or...

Regarding my Mavic 3 which I fly as a 107: its serial# isn't listed as compliant in FAA DOC, it's not clear that DJI will patch with a firmware fix, the drone's purchase was before DJI's factory compliance date -- so it's not clear: DJI says Mavic 3 is compliant, but it doesn't show up as...

We're the Rodney Dangerfield of pilots. I was talking to a fellow photojournalist and she says it's "pretentious" when I call myself a "pilot." When I pointed out I really am (107) she said "I know, but it's still pretentious." Lol.