Bay Area Pilots Sound Off

kevinelliott · Oct 31, 2016

Hey, I'm in the Bay Area. I've been flying my two Inspires for the last 1.5 years or so. Waiting on my Mavic.

Sutliff707 · Oct 31, 2016

Originally from the North Bay but currently live in North Carolina for work. Next time I'm in the Bay Area we should link up!

kevinelliott · Nov 1, 2016

APEX^ZERO said:
Right on! I'm based out of Oakland and fly with a couple other guys from the South Bay. I have 2 inspired as well. My Mavic should be here Wednesday!!! Let me know when you get yours and let's try and link up.

Sounds great man, let's link up...

There is a channel in the DroneHome community on Slack for the Bay Area to chat in realtime with others. Slack requires an invite (it's here DroneHome on Slack) and the channel is #region-sf-bay-area (what's cool is Slack has web and apps for iPhone and Android)

There is also a Facebook group for us locals so we can easily stay in touch.
www.facebook.com/groups/1142884559112311

You should join both!

Slingshot · Nov 1, 2016

Greetings from a very rainy South Bay morning......

kevinelliott · Nov 1, 2016

I sure love the rain! We need it. Makes for unflyable conditions though...

Achilles · Dec 8, 2016

Santa Rosa here - Hi All.

Mavic - North Bay, CA

Tuskegee Airman · Dec 14, 2016

Flying with an Inspire 1 and Mavic Pro. I know we need the rain but hopefully there will be a clear weekend soon when I I can fly.

Vin829 · Dec 18, 2016

I'm in San Jose. Any ideas where I can go to fly in an open area? I wanna see what kind of distance I can get before I get uncomfortable

kendegg · Dec 21, 2016

Yo! San Jose / milpitas area. Flying mavic and phantom 3 4K (trying to sell this one though)

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Vin829 · Dec 21, 2016

Went to Baylands Park Yesterday. Nice open space to practice

kevinelliott · Dec 21, 2016

Vin829 said:
Went to Baylands Park Yesterday. Nice open space to practice

Baylands is nice to kind of learn how to fly. But after a few times you'll hate flying there. You have to worry about others flying, plus there's a lot of areas you shouldn't be flying (too high and you're in the way of aircraft, also freeway, ballparks, etc). But mostly, it's kind of boring footage.

I go there when I'm craving to get the birds in the air, but can't find anywhere else to fly.

Vin829 · Dec 21, 2016

kevinelliott said:
Baylands is nice to kind of learn how to fly. But after a few times you'll hate flying there. You have to worry about others flying, plus there's a lot of areas you shouldn't be flying (too high and you're in the way of aircraft, also freeway, ballparks, etc). But mostly, it's kind of boring footage.

I go there when I'm craving to get the birds in the air, but can't find anywhere else to fly.

Where are some places you suggest Kevin?

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kevinelliott · Dec 21, 2016

Vin829 said:
Where are some places you suggest Kevin?

I really like flying up off Skyline Blvd. There are areas that are heavily patrolled by Rangers, which is super annoying because those open spaces are great for flying, but the State Parks have banned drone flying. Some of the Regional Parks allow it, but the Rangers still like to say no. I could probably challenge them about the legalities of it, but usually I don't have the energy to argue with them. And I appreciate nature and the parks a lot, so I respect them anyway.

But there's a lot of good spots up there. And the further deep you go into nature, the higher chance to will see great stuff without people.

Flying off the coast is nice, but again, some areas are illegal. Lots of NFZ in this state. Super disappointing.

There use to be a park in Menlo Park that was nice to fly at, but all the locals decided to complain about it, and then the city banned drone flying in all of their parks. It's legal to fly over their homes at 400feet, but illegal to fly in empty parks. Go figure. People have their priorities wrong.

A friend of mine flies over the sloughs and water channels in Foster City almost daily. I've been meaning to get over there on a sunny day because it's pretty, and he's had no problems flying there (even with the proximity to San Carlos Airport).

Vin829 · Dec 21, 2016

Yea I do a lot of mountain bike riding in the state parks. I'm sure I can find spots away from rangers. Good to know though. It's so nice this little thing fits into my backpack.

kevinelliott · Dec 21, 2016

Make sure to let us know about good spots. Scenic value + ease of flying + lack of people is a good combination that's hard to find in this crowded Bay Area!

Vin829 · Dec 21, 2016

I know for a fact Henry Coe will be amazing. No one ever there either

ecoyne · Jan 2, 2017

Reporting in from San Jose... I'll check out that Slack group as well, appreciate that connection!

New Mavic pilot, still in baby steps, but super excited to get involved and improve. I'm a 20,000 mile/Year motorcyclist, and will use the Mavic to enhance my Trip reports.