Aloha, malihini haole boy, from Hauptmann in North Texas!
First things first: I'm jealous as hell. Haven't been to Hawai'i in years--and never with my drone. Your post has got me so excited that I'm planning a trip myself!
In Hawai'i, trade winds can be fierce, even on calm days. Always try to fly upwind, so you can RTH downwind. Don't even THINK of flying at the Nu'uanu Pali, or you'll never see your drone again. Once you get out of the car up there, you'll see why. It rains sideways. Hair blows sideways. Lucky for us guys, skirts blow sideways too!
You might consider DJI's Drone Refresh or get private insurance. I insure my drone with State Farm for $75/year. You can include your other cameras and stuff under the same policy for no additional premium. You don't need to have existing SF business (my home and autos, etc. are with USAA). Not all SF agents know about it. If your local SF agent won't write you a policy, PM me, and I'll hook you up with mine.
For your trip, take along several fast SD cards, batteries, an SD card reader, a car charger, a parallel charger and an external SSHD. Change SD cards after each flight so you’ll lose the least amount of footage in a crash or flyaway. If you rent a car, be sure the 12 VDC outlet works OK before you leave the lot. I think many of them are purposely disabled to make you use
their GPS for an additional fee. Ask that the outlet be working. Make them change the fuse, if need be.
LOTS of neat stuff to shoot there. People walking on Kalakaua. Surfers. Wonderful sunsets. The Blowhole. Hanama Bay. Waimea Bay. The Aloha Tower. The Kamehameha statue. Farmers’ markets, with fresh, picked-ripe local fruits and flowers, and local clothing and art on display. It once was great to hike into Sacred Falls and swim in the fresh water pool below. Can’t hike there now. The State of Hawai’i closed the trail after Mothers’ Day 1999 when a rockslide killed 8 hikers and injured 30 more. Your drone, however, will bring it within reach, though partly BVLOS. If you attend a luau—and you should—you can get several brief but fun videos of the proceedings. There is so much interesting stuff to shoot. Opportunities are endless.
In case you’re new to Aerial videography, I’ve added a few links below which may help make your vids more dramatic.
You'll love the flexibility of vantage points an aerial camera platform affords--you'll get shots and videos you could only dream of before! I fly a
Mavic 2 Pro now, but will soon be upgrading to the
Mini 3 Pro.
Our more than 150,000 members worldwide--including many in the Carolinas--enjoy helping each other get the most out of our hobby. Many of the questions you'll have will have already been addressed, and are easy to search. New questions? Just ask!
Glad to have you with us. Mahalo for joining!
Rich R (aka Hauptmann)
