Are we MavicPilots too scared to fly in harsh environments?

[TTP]

Are we MavicPilots too old to dare to fly in harsh environments, do we only dare to fly in clear air without wind, do we need to get several younger drone pilots to show what we can do with our dear drones.

Many people here know that I mostly fly in dense forest, I let the camera roll but have not bothered to show my videos, perhaps most because if I shoot so that the horizon is visible, every publication must have a permit from the authorities.

But in order to get a broader discussion about how we can rejuvenate our stock of drone pilots, I have posted a videos under the Photos and Video thread.

My test video about flying in dense forest has, to my surprise, not received more than two comments, two but very friendly and as I see it, knowledgeable comments, ie flying in forest is not easy.

For the first time in history, we have a vehicle that lets us fly and film at low altitude and in dense forest.

I can only remember three episodes, all three fantasy products that allow something similar.

1st
Santa Claus and his reindeer, Santa Claus, however, is so wise that he only flies up into the clear night sky.

2nd
Radagast and his hares in Tolkien's story.
A very good choice of draft animals.
Hares I come across a little now and then when I fly, they are always two and two, much easier to detect opportunities but also dangers when you are two. Something we drone pilots should take after more.

3rd
Luke Skywalker in G. Lucas Star Wars, with flying motor bikes on a forest world.
Here, we certainly have very advanced sensors that help pilots avoid crashes.

But common to all three is that the pilot joins the craft, something that we drone pilots cannot, but we have to follow our drone on foot, so we have to navigate two vessels, our own body as well as the drone. Not quite easy in such an environment.

Now I come to an issue that is not so often touched upon.The average age for drone pilots tends to be quite high, and science often reminds us that our capacity for both physical and mental activity, which requires speed, decreases with age.

So, even if I worked hard to practice my ability to fly drones in dense forest, a 50 - 60 year younger pilot should be far superior and we should be able to watch videos that approach what G. Lucas shows us in Star Wars.

Why do we have so few young drone pilots, I think it depends on two things.

1st
An M2P with SC and some equipment costs around 2,500US $, a sum that the juniors can rarely avail.

2nd
Schooling, education, family formation, etc, means that there is not enough time to develop advanced know-how in drone flying, unless one has an overwhelming interest.

What can we do about it, a question I hope we could discuss here.

So dear drone pilots, reach for the keyboard and comment!

 

[old man mavic]

@TTP hi you raise some interesting points ,i dont think that its just drone flying that has the issues you mention there are many other hobbies that suffer the same issues ,i will list what i feel those are below
(1)cost of equipment
(2)need to travel to participate in hobby
(3)have the means to travel
(4)have the time to take part
(5)have the support of other family members
it also seems that in today's world there are far more restrictions on certain hobbies, such as fishing, drones, and even just access to a lot of the countryside that we as young people did not have to contend with
another thing that i feel is a hindrance when younger people start off in the hobby is the type of drone that they start with,by that i mean that it is mostly a cheap one without GPS a short range and short flight time and nine times out of ten it flies off into the sunset after a couple of flights
this has two effects (a) it puts the person off drone flying for good, back at home, they get the do you know how much that cost ,your not getting another one etc,etc
(b) it strengthens their resolve to find a way to get a better one and keep learning
it would be nice if there were more clubs where young people could go too to learn the basics of drone flying ,i know there are model clubs that do welcome drone fliers ,but then place to many restrictions on air time ,and see drones as not what model flying is about
and finally i think that most younger people today, would rather spend their time on their computers and gaming machines, than get out in the fresh air

 

[TTP]

old man mavic, thank you for your insightful post.

On the nail when it comes to cheap drones who either just fly into a wall or fly their way and never get found again. And here it is not only the juniors who make mistakes, my grandchildren's father got a drone of friends, the first thing he did was to fly it up over the house and the wind took it to a destination unknown even today.

I have double command to my M2P and therefore train my juniors to fly, unfortunately it is the project on ice now during C-times.

Here where I live there is a club for RC flight, with clubhouse and a good field to fly on, unfortunately I now only see helicopter and racing drones flying.

And so far, during the year I have flown, I have only seen one drone fly in addition to my own, and it is the local authority that flies an MP4 with measuring equipment to be able to accurately chart the municipality's continued expansion.

Since I can fly here locally where people are out walking and almost every day, there are curious people that I can give a first glimpse of a drone and what it can do, with a responsible drone pilot.

Here in Sweden we are a little late with drone flying among the general public, so there may be hope still.

 

[cyeung]

I am not sure what you mean by "harsh environment," but it sounds like you do a lot of what the FPV pilots do with "cinewhoops." That is not exactly my type of flying. Slow and steady wins the game for me.

For me, it is a matter of risk vs. reward. I fly around (not over) people and property. That raises my guard up against a few things:
(a) I can damage or lose my aircraft. A new M2P (no RC or battery) is $1,600 US.
(b) I damage someone's property. That could set me back $1,600 plus compensation. As a commercial pilot in the eyes of the civil aviation authority, damages exceeding $500 have to be reported.
(c) I injure someone. That could set me back $1,600 plus compensation. If it's something requiring an overnight stay at a hospital, I also have to report it to the civil aviation authority.

 

[TTP]

I totally agree with you, cyeung, never fly over people or other people's land that is not open to the public.

At the altitude I fly in dense forest, a crash does not do any direct damage to my M2P, apart from the propellers, and I have solved that problem with my own variant of propellers (you will find my solution in previous threads).

Agree with you that it can be a pretty expensive hobby, but after my first 800 flights, my M2P has not cost me anything, but up to now my expenses are close to 5,000US $.

SC, repairs, propellers of all makes etc etc, and now I repair my drone myself and only buy spare parts.

Is even willing to invest in a new drone that surpasses M2P when it comes to flying, not that the drone does everything.

Skydio 2 seems to be a fantastic drone that is currently handling most of the flight, "not my cup of tea". But we must hope that they develop an SC that enables the utilization of their smart AI-supported sensors, so that we drone pilots can manage the flight to the greatest extent possible.

 

[Banstead]

TTP, I'd like to see one of your forest movies - do you have a url?

 

[Johnmcl7]

Are we MavicPilots too old to dare to fly in harsh environments, do we only dare to fly in clear air without wind, do we need to get several younger drone pilots to show what we can do with our dear drones.

No and there's very simple proof to this:

Crash & Flyaway Assistance

mavicpilots.com

I went through that entire forum section and noted down the cause of each crash or issue and many, many people do dare to fly in winds that are too high, too close to trees, too low over the water etc. and paid the price for it. I feel it's pretty reckless to be suggesting people are too careful with their drones when a single loss of a Mavic 2 Pro is a hefty £1200 and even with refresh, you're not getting another one unless you can find the drone. There's some incredible expertise here helping people work out where a drone crashed or landed but even then some people never find the drone so if anything, I think the general recommendation is people should be more careful with their drones especially when newly purchased.

 

[old man mavic]

although i have already contributed to the thread.i would like to address the first line of the OPs thread (are we Mavic pilots too old to dare to fly in harsh environments)
the answer to that is no we are not too old,we are wiser from experience to put ourselves or our equipment in harms way,by pushing the boundaries
there is one other very important thing to consider and thats our capabilities due to age or some health issue ,are often what prevents us from flying in certain conditions ,i speak from the viewpoint of an young at heart person ,who's medical problems prevent me from doing as much as i would like to do
as long as i am able to get in my car and drive to a nice spot and fly my drones ,i will continue to do so ,there are so many good things about this hobby lets hope it keeps going for many years to come

 

[TTP]

TTP, I'd like to see one of your forest movies - do you have a url?

A small test video about flying in forest.

mavicpilots.com

 

[InterstateP]

Are we MavicPilots too old to dare to fly in harsh environments, do we only dare to fly in clear air without wind, do we need to get several younger drone pilots to show what we can do with our dear drones.

Many people here know that I mostly fly in dense forest, I let the camera roll but have not bothered to show my videos, perhaps most because if I shoot so that the horizon is visible, every publication must have a permit from the authorities.

But in order to get a broader discussion about how we can rejuvenate our stock of drone pilots, I have posted a videos under the Photos and Video thread.

My test video about flying in dense forest has, to my surprise, not received more than two comments, two but very friendly and as I see it, knowledgeable comments, ie flying in forest is not easy.

For the first time in history, we have a vehicle that lets us fly and film at low altitude and in dense forest.

I can only remember three episodes, all three fantasy products that allow something similar.

1st
Santa Claus and his reindeer, Santa Claus, however, is so wise that he only flies up into the clear night sky.

2nd
Radagast and his hares in Tolkien's story.
A very good choice of draft animals.
Hares I come across a little now and then when I fly, they are always two and two, much easier to detect opportunities but also dangers when you are two. Something we drone pilots should take after more.

3rd
Luke Skywalker in G. Lucas Star Wars, with flying motor bikes on a forest world.
Here, we certainly have very advanced sensors that help pilots avoid crashes.

But common to all three is that the pilot joins the craft, something that we drone pilots cannot, but we have to follow our drone on foot, so we have to navigate two vessels, our own body as well as the drone. Not quite easy in such an environment.

Now I come to an issue that is not so often touched upon.The average age for drone pilots tends to be quite high, and science often reminds us that our capacity for both physical and mental activity, which requires speed, decreases with age.

So, even if I worked hard to practice my ability to fly drones in dense forest, a 50 - 60 year younger pilot should be far superior and we should be able to watch videos that approach what G. Lucas shows us in Star Wars.

Why do we have so few young drone pilots, I think it depends on two things.

1st
An M2P with SC and some equipment costs around 2,500US $, a sum that the juniors can rarely avail.

2nd
Schooling, education, family formation, etc, means that there is not enough time to develop advanced know-how in drone flying, unless one has an overwhelming interest.

What can we do about it, a question I hope we could discuss here.

So dear drone pilots, reach for the keyboard and comment!

Very interesting post. One thing that immediately stood out to me when I first joined this forum was the average age of the members as I perused the site. I was surprised that there were so many older drone pilots as I had never put much thought into it but perhaps would have assumed that all of the tech would bring in a younger audience. You brought about a lot of good points why I would have been completely wrong to assume that. For one, this hobby can be very cost prohibitive. Second, as a father of two daughters, aged 1 and 4, I seldom have time to myself, which makes flying regularly a near impossibility. So it makes complete sense that empty-nesters would be the prime audience for drone piloting. While I probably lean more toward the “adventurous-type” I’m still going to play it safe since I am so new to flying. Once I get a better grasp of technique and control, I will absolutely test the boundaries while still practicing safe flying. I know what these machines are capable of and I want be able to take advantage of all it has to offer. After all, no one buys a race car to drop the kids off at school..

 

[TTP]

Very interesting post. One thing that immediately stood out to me when I first joined this forum was the average age of the members as I perused the site. I was surprised that there were so many older drone pilots as I had never put much thought into it but perhaps would have assumed that all of the tech would bring in a younger audience. You brought about a lot of good points why I would have been completely wrong to assume that. For one, this hobby can be very cost prohibitive. Second, as a father of two daughters, aged 1 and 4, I seldom have time to myself, which makes flying regularly a near impossibility. So it makes complete sense that empty-nesters would be the prime audience for drone piloting. While I probably lean more toward the “adventurous-type” I’m still going to play it safe since I am so new to flying. Once I get a better grasp of technique and control, I will absolutely test the boundaries while still practicing safe flying. I know what these machines are capable of and I want be able to take advantage of all it has to offer. After all, no one buys a race car to drop the kids off at school..

A very good comment InterstateP, we have all been beginner's regarding drone flying.

My first 200 flights were all dedicated to learning as much as possible about all the opportunities an M2P provides.

Since then, my next more than 800 flights have consisted in putting everything into practice and training the body's muscle memory to perform flight maneuvers more or less automatically.

My advice is to practice practice practice.

 

[TTP]

My attempt to be a little provocative at least got some mavic pilots to react.

Thanks for your posts, continue and hammer on your keyboards.

Please watch my video and comment.

A small test video about flying in forest.

mavicpilots.com

 

[23tony]

I'm pretty new, but I would consider flying in higher wind situations, if my mini wouldn't yell at me about it

I can't get it very far into the woods before it wants to RTH, too. I have to cancel it because if it tried to rise to RTH altitude it would get stuck in the canopy.

Any tips on doing better on this would be appreciated!

 

[TTP]

During my approximately 150 first flights, I learned most about how the senators and RTH worked.

Ever since I started learning and landing in my hand, I've never used the RTH function.

Should I drop VLOS to the drone and become insecure, drop the joystick, check on the map where the drone is and myself in relation to each other. Fly back to where I am with SC, only if for some reason I do not see my blue dot on SC, then I can resort to RTH to Myself and my SC. An alternative B, which I may have used once or twice.

But of course, what I write in my last paragraph only applies when I release my Skydog free to fly up in the blue without hindrance, nothing that happens when I fly in dense forest.

 

[hiflyer201]

If the forest is that dense..wouldn't it just be better to use a regular camera? Guess I'm one of the cowards you mentioned..but as the old time saying in aviation goes...there are lots of old pilots and lots of bold pilots..but very few Old AND Bold pilots.

 

[lookout]

Are we MavicPilots too old to dare to fly in harsh environments, do we only dare to fly in clear air without wind, do we need to get several younger drone pilots to show what we can do with our dear drones.

Many people here know that I mostly fly in dense forest, I let the camera roll but have not bothered to show my videos, perhaps most because if I shoot so that the horizon is visible, every publication must have a permit from the authorities.

But in order to get a broader discussion about how we can rejuvenate our stock of drone pilots, I have posted a videos under the Photos and Video thread.

My test video about flying in dense forest has, to my surprise, not received more than two comments, two but very friendly and as I see it, knowledgeable comments, ie flying in forest is not easy.

For the first time in history, we have a vehicle that lets us fly and film at low altitude and in dense forest.

I can only remember three episodes, all three fantasy products that allow something similar.

1st
Santa Claus and his reindeer, Santa Claus, however, is so wise that he only flies up into the clear night sky.

2nd
Radagast and his hares in Tolkien's story.
A very good choice of draft animals.
Hares I come across a little now and then when I fly, they are always two and two, much easier to detect opportunities but also dangers when you are two. Something we drone pilots should take after more.

3rd
Luke Skywalker in G. Lucas Star Wars, with flying motor bikes on a forest world.
Here, we certainly have very advanced sensors that help pilots avoid crashes.

But common to all three is that the pilot joins the craft, something that we drone pilots cannot, but we have to follow our drone on foot, so we have to navigate two vessels, our own body as well as the drone. Not quite easy in such an environment.

Now I come to an issue that is not so often touched upon.The average age for drone pilots tends to be quite high, and science often reminds us that our capacity for both physical and mental activity, which requires speed, decreases with age.

So, even if I worked hard to practice my ability to fly drones in dense forest, a 50 - 60 year younger pilot should be far superior and we should be able to watch videos that approach what G. Lucas shows us in Star Wars.

Why do we have so few young drone pilots, I think it depends on two things.

1st
An M2P with SC and some equipment costs around 2,500US $, a sum that the juniors can rarely avail.

2nd
Schooling, education, family formation, etc, means that there is not enough time to develop advanced know-how in drone flying, unless one has an overwhelming interest.

What can we do about it, a question I hope we could discuss here.

So dear drone pilots, reach for the keyboard and comment!

I find your lack of faith disturbing.

Well they probably weren't going any faster than 22 mph, so they had no problem avoiding obstacles.

Probably not a good idea to have RTH enabled in the forrest.

If a guy is alone in the forrest flying his drone, does anybody know about it?

If a forrest is dense, you won't even be able to get into it and move around.

Maybe be better off with an orange cone obstacle course.

 

[TTP]

If the forest is that dense..wouldn't it just be better to use a regular camera? Guess I'm one of the cowards you mentioned..but as the old time saying in aviation goes...there are lots of old pilots and lots of bold pilots..but very few Old AND Bold pilots.

That a handheld camera could do the movie job better is probably most likely. This is my first and probably the last video I post for public viewing, it was more like a means of getting a further discussion on us mavicpilots.

 

[TTP]

I find your lack of faith disturbing.

Well they probably weren't going any faster than 22 mph, so they had no problem avoiding obstacles.

Probably not a good idea to have RTH enabled in the forrest.

If a guy is alone in the forrest flying his drone, does anybody know about it?

If a forrest is dense, you won't even be able to get into it and move around.

Maybe be better off with an orange cone obstacle course.

No I have definitely not lost my faith in us mavicpilots, it is not a claim type Cato the older, it is a question.

And don't forget Aristotle's words:
Deviant thinking is the pinnacle of consciousness.

Dense forest is a pretty relative term, but if you fly your drone about 15 - 30 cm (6 - 12 inches, .5 -1 feet) above the ground I can quarantine that it is very much a barrier to your flying.

 

[lookout]

No I have definitely not lost my faith in us mavicpilots, it is not a claim type Cato the older, it is a question.

And don't forget Aristotle's words:
Deviant thinking is the pinnacle of consciousness.

Dense forest is a pretty relative term, but if you fly your drone about 15 - 30 cm (6 - 12 inches, .5 -1 feet) above the ground I can quarantine that it is very much a barrier to your flying.

That was just Darth Vader speaking...

But the trees can be too close together to move horizontally or vertically...and the vision sensors (if the flying motorcade on Star Wars even had them) would prevent the things from going anywhere most likely.

 

[TTP]

That was just Darth Vader speaking...

But the trees can be too close together to move horizontally or vertically...and the vision sensors (if the flying motorcade on Star Wars even had them) would prevent the things from going anywhere most likely.

Having the sensors set properly is really important, because it is as you say it, you are going nowhere, the drone stays in time and time.