Aftermath/Damage caused by Hurricane Ian to Naples Pier, Florida. Flyover and Flythrough of structure using a Mavic3

[Don Testme]

The end of the Naples Pier was torn off. 17 Pilons were lost that held the end of the pier up. The last Hurricane, Hurricane Wilma didn't cause as much damage, but repairs took 9 months. The Mavic 3 flies very close to the pier and inside some of its structure. The Damage is severe. Flown in C mode with Obstacle avoidance active. Still had to watch out for dangling wires.

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[dirkclod]

That’s going to take awhile to rebuild .

 

[Don Testme]

That’s going to take awhile to rebuild .

I'm glad you took an interest in the video. Going inside the damaged covered area made me a bit nervous, but it was worth it. I've watched a few YouTube vids on techniques for flying through closed spaces without hitting things. Then of course practiced a bit. I'm getting pretty good at it. Sometimes the spaces are so narrow, the drone's anti-collision sensors won't let me go in, so I have to shut them off. That's nerve racking, but doable. I felt confident I wouldn't crash as I flew into the structure. If I did crash, That drone would be lost forever. The authorities had the pier cordoned off and beach patrol staff guarding the end of the pier.

It was funny when I walked up onto the pier. The city authorities said, "Did you file a flight plan?" I was like what? "A flight plan?" Then I had to explain the rules and tell them about LAANC. Because I was in the Naples Airport flight corridor, I was not able to take off until I was cleared with LAANC. I think the altitude limit over the pier was 200ft. But, just in case, I didn't exceed 100ft.

 

[dirkclod]

You did good

 

[Capt KO]

Thankfully they used concrete pylons so reconstruction doable. If city owned it will happen, if private probably not. Thanks for the view, damage definitely extensive. Boat fishermen will love it until rebuild. Awsome fishing spot..by boat only.

 

[a2tomm]

Great video shoot ,I noticed at the beginning the anhinga's (snake birds) didn't seem to mind the approach of the drone .It says allot about the Mavic 3 the only DJI drone I don't own ,again Amazing footage

 

[Don Testme]

Great video shoot ,I noticed at the beginning the anhinga's (snake birds) didn't seem to mind the approach of the drone .It says allot about the Mavic 3 the only DJI drone I don't own ,again Amazing footage

You know, on that day, between the white noise created by the waves and the wind, I couldn't hear the Mavic 3 even when it was just 50 feet away from me. It was weird. It reminded me of the drones we see in futuristic movies where they don't make noise.

What I'm saying is, maybe the environmental wind and wave noise drowned out the noise from the drone so much that the birds didn't fear it. I too was surprised; the birds stayed in place and did not fly off.

 

[twickers14]

We were walking along that beautiful landmark just back in early May. Our friends live 2 blocks away-we visit every year and have done for the last 15 years. Devastating sight for us but not unexpected as they said the City was and still is looking very hard hit. We are so sorry for all of you living there. I got LAANC to fly there and that came through in a second. The next 40 mins was taken up by trying to get the required dji release. All good and up to 100ft was all I asked for. We’re those American oystercatchers flitting around as you flew down towards the beach? Thanks for sharing the vid. I have forwarded the YT link to them to see.

 

[GregS]

Good video. I flinched a few times when you were flying through the structure. Glad you saw those wires on the left. Don't think I would have seen them on my phone. Did the Beach Patrol say anything to you? He obviously saw you flying a drone. Did the FAA have a problem clearing you for the flight?

 

[DaveS]

So, the hurricane blew the end of the pier away but left the shingles on the roofs of those two structures and did hurt the beach end of the pier at all! You gotta love mother nature!!! At least the pier now serves another purpose as the fish catching spot for the sea birds.

 

[Don Testme]

Good video. I flinched a few times when you were flying through the structure. Glad you saw those wires on the left. Don't think I would have seen them on my phone. Did the Beach Patrol say anything to you? He obviously saw you flying a drone. Did the FAA have a problem clearing you for the flight?

No issues with clearance with the FAA. Beach patrol questioned the flight at first, until
I taught them about the LAANC clearance protocol.

 

[CactusJackSlade]

Surprised it was not even worse?! My kid lives just north of there and escaped a lot of that... I've been out of the FAA regulations loop for a while are we able to fly over people now?

 

[Don Testme]

Surprised it was not even worse?! My kid lives just north of there and escaped a lot of that... I've been out of the FAA regulations loop for a while are we able to fly over people now?

You can, but you can't hover above them or perform repeated fly overs. If you are going from one spot to another and there is a mass of people, you may pass over them. Just no hovering in one place or repeated pass overs.