Air 2 Documenting my noob furthest distance..half mile to reach longest covered bridge in the US

[Hertzdonut]

Must have AWESOME vision to see a tiny gray drone 1/2 mile away. No mention of strobes, which "may" help some - but half a mile.

Yet, he said he did, so I guess he did.

I never took my eyes off the drone. At 100 ft altitude, it was silhouetted against the sky. I remember thinking, holy crap, I can still see it. If the horizon had been high, though, I'm sure I would've lost sight at 500 feet.

 

[Smooth Rhythm]

Thanks for sharing Hertzdonut. Very interesting story about covered bridges. I think I know how you felt about your comfort zone— I remember the first time I flew a quarter mile out over the Chesapeake Bay—I could still see my drone, but—whew!

 

[Hertzdonut]

Thanks for sharing Hertzdonut. Very interesting story about covered bridges. I think I know how you felt about your comfort zone— I remember the first time I flew a quarter mile out over the Chesapeake Bay—I could still see my drone, but—whew!

My pleasure! Yeah, we do have a bunch of covered bridges throughout the state, but this one is the most interesting!

However, that pales in comparison to driving across the "scariest bridge in America" from your part of the country!

 

[Prop Wash]

Good smooth flight!! I agree - over, under, around, through would make a more complete video. Obviously, sound would help. You keep this up and you'll have some really great videos coming out of your A2!

 

[Hertzdonut]

Good smooth flight!! I agree - over, under, around, through would make a more complete video. Obviously, sound would help. You keep this up and you'll have some really great videos coming out of your A2!

Thanks, Prop Wash! I agree, my video needs the other aspects. For this flight, I just wanted to document it and leave it at that. And PW, I appreciate the words of encouragement!

 

[DaveS]

Covered bridge - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

My dad once told me bridges were also covered because in the earliest days of the automobile, some didn't have tops or they had a soft top but no windows. So, if it was pouring down rain and you were stuck on the road with not roof, you could drive into a covered bridge and wait out the storm. My dad had first-hand experience with his Ford Model-T!

 

[dan2112]

So if the bridge is covered why can't you fly over it? The rules say can't fly over cars, but you aren't over the cars, you are over the bridge which is covered. If we say we don't care about the material covering the cars then technically you can't fly over land where there is a tunnel either. - Just throwing that out there....

 

[Smooth Rhythm]

My pleasure! Yeah, we do have a bunch of covered bridges throughout the state, but this one is the most interesting!

However, that pales in comparison to driving across the "scariest bridge in America" from your part of the country!

Check my perspective of the bridge:

 

[Hertzdonut]

Check my perspective of the bridge:

That is impressive! Excellent shooting, and great video Smooth. Thanks for sharing that! That bridge is amazing. Coincidentally, that is also the bridge my mom said she would NEVER go over again because it scared her so much! ?

 

[LA 2020]

This is not cinematography, strictly a video track (no audio) just to document my first "long distance" flight. I wanted to push my comfort zone out a bit, and did that today. Launched from a boat landing that is a half mile away from the Cornish-Windsor covered bridge. My first attempt got me half way there before I turned around. Just couldn't do it. When I put in a fresh battery, I said, "Screw it, I'm going for it". (The words held way more confidence then I felt!)

Anyway, 45 seconds of silent video of the last half of the flight of the bridge being reached.

In the future, I intend to go back. I would like to fly over the top, and return via under the bridge. But that's for another day.

I have to say, it is a VERY weird feeling when your drone is that far away. I could still see it, it just felt weird to have control over something that freaking far away. ? ?

- Jeff

I have been there flying a long ways away and feeling stress. The fact that you could see your drone certainly is a factor in that your controller connection was good. My M2Pro gives me a warning if it loses connection and will either hover in place or RTH which makes me feel better but when I have lost connection my fear level jumps. So far I've always regained the connection but it is stressful. Usually it's not the distance so much as the interference with objects (trees, buildings, etc) that will cause a disconnect.

 

[smashse]

A couple different colored strobes blinking at different times may help with attitude as well. The edge of my property is 1/4 mile from my house, and I fly to that often and can find it if I look away for a second. I don't doubt with good eyes someone could make out a drone at 1/2 mile if they knew where to be looking (depending on what drone, a mini, well maybe not, but a Matrice? sure)

I'd be careful flying even around this bridge. I know in MI they have laws regarding proximity to any historic site. Even though they do not have authority, any damage and it will cost so much in legal fees it wouldn't be worth fighting.

Also, if you try to fly through the bridge, while it would be awesome, you are technically at that point inside it, and the FAA loses jurisdiction IMO, as they do not control airspace inside of anything. Just like they do not control inside your home, nor inside a warehouse. If I were to try for a through shot, I would contact the DOT and see if permission could be granted. So when inside, their ordinances or laws all of a sudden become enforceable.

For flying under the bridge, I wanted to do that as well near my home. I haven't done it yet as I deemed no safe way to do it, as you also have to ensure that there is nothing "careless or reckless" about your flight. That would make it illegal without breaking a specific law. But if you determine that it could be done safely, it would be a great video and I can't think of any laws saying you can't fly under something, if it can be done safely. Just be prepared for GPS loss or fly it all in ATTI mode.

 

[Beamie]

To bad you couldn't go over to the bridge and fly through it. You'd have to cordon of the entrances though. Unless, the bridge is simply not very busy. Get a sign, bridge temporarily closed for ONE MINUTE.

Right! That'll be cool if you could do it.

 

[Hertzdonut]

In order for me to explore that bridge some more, drone-wise, will require a bit of research. That's fine, I don't mind doing it. I agree, I think it would be interesting to get footage inside, outside, etc. And I really want to be confident in what actions to take (or prepare for) in the event of signal loss.

It's like most photography, 90% prep, 10% shooting!

 

[jaswalt]

If flying from the same place, going beyond and behind the bridge MIGHT be the place signal could be affected.
So be careful, as noted above, try and get closer, bank either side, maybe walk down to the river flanks there.

Or make sure RTH alt is set right to rise and clear the bridge if it kicks in.
Really bad luck if RTH happens when below the bridge.
If you didn't not it already on the above flight, make sure signal strength is well up before trying it.

I've always wondered, why ARE these bridges covered like this (mental picture of the famous Maddison County bridges Iowa) ?
It's obviously normally exposed to weather either side approaches, was it for pedestrian use in the pre modern motor era, or when cars were luxuries ?

I've always thought the same thing and wondered why bridges are not build covered today. But I found out when I followed his link that there was a covered bridge built in 2008 that is now the longest covered bridge. You can see it here: Smolen–Gulf Bridge - Wikipedia. It's a pretty bridge, but it lacks the character that the OP shows in his flight. I currently live in AL and we have a couple of cool covered bridges here, one of which was built by my wife's great grandfather. I'll try to get some footage of it sometime.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I think it would be interesting to get footage inside, outside, etc

Inside I think best done with an Osmo Pocket (or gimbal for phone), or any sort of hand camera with either a gimbal or digital stabilisation.

The photo I posted inside that bridge, I can't see a pedestrian path either side ?
Would be dodgy flying (probable atti mode) through there if even one vehicle came along, not much room for drone or PANIC !! ha ha.

Anyway, a great thread and learned some cool things about these beautiful old bridges.

 

[Drbobk]

That's because I mentioned that I could still see it (last sentence in my original post). It was a sliver against the sky, but it was visible to me. And yes, I understand the regs.

Your point about the strobe is a good one, though. It would make it so I could go further out. Have to check into that!

Thanks,

Jeff

Technically, just being able to see your drone in the distance is not enough. You need to be able to tell its orientation in case you need to take evasive action. Could you have done that with that speck in the sky if you lost your video feed?