Just got my MP today and I'm astounded...
I live on 100 terrain- and obstacle-filled acres north of Santa Fe, so flying here can get exciting.
I'm a long-time Silicon Valley software engineer (25 years there, plus another 15 back in Michigan) still working on Internet infrastructure (read "big routers"). I bought a Phantom II Vision a few years back and was impressed by what that beast would do. I hadn't flown the P2V in a couple of years, but we are having problems with neighbors dumping on our property here, so I dusted it off to get my stick skills back (and to take some aerial photos), flew it for about 20 minutes, upon which time it decided to make an uncontrolled descent into a tree (stuck about 30 feet up). Then I remembered that the last time I flew it, it did the same thing (which I attributed to a rotor vortex event). This means "time to get a new one" so I did.
I'm blown away by the capabilities of the platform; it's basically a supercomputer with a bunch of interesting sensors, four motors, and a lot of code. Of course, by buying one I figure that I'm helping the Chinese government fund their research on autonomous flying battle-bots, but what are you going to do... ;-)
I'm also a 20-year fixed-wing full-scale pilot (a Baron 58), so I'm used to piloting expensive things without hitting anything. ;-) (Except for a bird once; all I found were claws and a beak embedded in my deicing boots, along with a bunch of goo...)
Hello to all, and glad to be flying drones again!
I live on 100 terrain- and obstacle-filled acres north of Santa Fe, so flying here can get exciting.
I'm a long-time Silicon Valley software engineer (25 years there, plus another 15 back in Michigan) still working on Internet infrastructure (read "big routers"). I bought a Phantom II Vision a few years back and was impressed by what that beast would do. I hadn't flown the P2V in a couple of years, but we are having problems with neighbors dumping on our property here, so I dusted it off to get my stick skills back (and to take some aerial photos), flew it for about 20 minutes, upon which time it decided to make an uncontrolled descent into a tree (stuck about 30 feet up). Then I remembered that the last time I flew it, it did the same thing (which I attributed to a rotor vortex event). This means "time to get a new one" so I did.
I'm blown away by the capabilities of the platform; it's basically a supercomputer with a bunch of interesting sensors, four motors, and a lot of code. Of course, by buying one I figure that I'm helping the Chinese government fund their research on autonomous flying battle-bots, but what are you going to do... ;-)
I'm also a 20-year fixed-wing full-scale pilot (a Baron 58), so I'm used to piloting expensive things without hitting anything. ;-) (Except for a bird once; all I found were claws and a beak embedded in my deicing boots, along with a bunch of goo...)
Hello to all, and glad to be flying drones again!
