How far do you risk your Drone ?

[Pacefast]

I took this video getting soaked in the process but really want to send the drone up the 500 metres !
The purpose to portray the shear energy hence not high above ! Flying over Lava or through a firework display all risky but many do !
What are you prepared to do for an ultimate video ? Risk the drone ?

 

[Felix le Chat]

Risk two drones that cost on average £1300, or one flimsy little number that shaved £850 off my bank balance? No. But then again I haven't got the bunce to treat expensive kit like a throwaway toothbrush.
I recognise the fact that these things are awesome flying tripods with amazing miniature cameras and treat them with the same respect that my Foveon X3 sensor Sigma SD1 Merrill gets. A good craftsman looks after their tools.

 

[Pacefast]

Risk two drones that cost on average £1300, or one flimsy little number that shaved £850 off my bank balance? No. But then again I haven't got the bunce to treat expensive kit like a throwaway toothbrush.
I recognise the fact that these things are awesome flying tripods with amazing miniature cameras and treat them with the same respect that my Foveon X3 sensor Sigma SD1 Merrill gets. A good craftsman looks after their tools.

Just to be clear this video taken by a land based camera not a Drone !
The Lure is to take the drone up the waterfall maybe 500 metres !
Dangers appear from this video to be water spray meaning my guess the need to be at least 30 feet above the water

 

[slup]

... Dangers appear from this video to be water spray

It's a lot more than that...

500m up there means that you will not be able to keep the drone within VLOS, that together with all twiggs & branches & the limited field of view in the live screen increases the risk for you to either backing up or sideways flying into something... ending up with a drowned drone. Have seen just this happen numerous times here at the forum.

Then you have the risk of losing the connection... with a initiated RTH, ascending the drone up in overhanging branches... ending with a drowned drone.

And if the above aren't enough... the GPS quality could suddenly become scetchy that low with trees covering a large part of the sky, making the drone to either switch to ATTI mode & start to drift or through the VPS sensor, locking onto the streaming water making the drone start to move with it & crash into something... and again ending up in the water.

 

[DARKSeifer]

I only risk the Avata because It's for that. I have the filter to protect the lens from scratches, a battery holder from StartRC to prevent the battery from popping out on a crash, and the rest of the drone is quite sturdy, at slow speed it can crash dozens of times without problems.

But I wouldn't risk a camera drone.

 

[Pacefast]

There is risk as with the guys who filmed the volcano / Lava activity in Iceland or the acclaimed video footage of a drown flying through a large firework display !
VLOS ? You would need to position halfway up the run meaning 250 metres each way.
But yes it would have to be shot higher or in the summer when the water flow is far diminished! It crossed my mind about not so much myseld but how much extreme footage drone pilots risk their drones to get the high viewer levels ?

 

[slup]

...but how much extreme footage drone pilots risk their drones to get the high viewer levels ?

It's easy math for those that do it on a regular basis... if you have a big monetized YT channels with a lot of subscribers that have proved that your type of productions can generate $$$... it's just the calculated income minus the price of the drone.

Trashing/risking expensive equipment over & over aren't something an ordinary hobbyist with a small YT channel mostly viewed by family & friends can afford in the long run.

My guess is that going up a waterfall with a slow photo drone, maybe with hesitant moves & occasionally yawings trying to find the way... will not go viral on YT, generating enough to cover a loss of the drone.

I suspect (but I can be wrong) that If you take this flight & lose the drone... the best you can hope for, is that your satisfaction from having tried it outshines the loss of the drone.

 

[Cafguy]

 

[Dale D]

I took this video getting soaked in the process but really want to send the drone up the 500 metres !
The purpose to portray the shear energy hence not high above ! Flying over Lava or through a firework display all risky but many do !
What are you prepared to do for an ultimate video ? Risk the drone ?

There is only one answer to that question and it is obvious to me...I would NEVER risk a drone for that shot.

Also, why , on earth, would you film that amazing scene in vertical?

Dale
Miami

 

[Pacefast]

Dale

Maybe because its there and I love challenges ! My background is 25 years as a corporate jet Captain now retired from that but also ferry flying Corporate Jets around the World so a strong adventure streak
As the saying goes ! The only worse thing than taking a risk is raking no risk But this waterfall keeps jumping into my head ! Will I do it ? Prob yes but higher up on zoom lense ! I am not that daft seeing how high that speay goes

 

[Dale D]

Dale

Maybe because its there and I love challenges ! My background is 25 years as a corporate jet Captain now retired from that but also ferry flying Corporate Jets around the World so a strong adventure streak
As the saying goes ! The only worse thing than taking a risk is raking no risk But this waterfall keeps jumping into my head ! Will I do it ? Prob yes but higher up on zoom lense ! I am not that daft seeing how high that speay goes

Hey Captain- My most daring flight was directly over a raging huge waterfalls in Iceland. It was my first time in a situation like that and I was very stressed over losing my little red Mavic 1. I feel more courage now in flying over water but I try not to get into high waves or water that might catch the drone. If you have the time, here is a link to my Iceland video, go to 9:39

 

[Pacefast]

Great video Thanks ! Spray high too compared to my Many Weir forages

I will keep well above not like in this video

 

[slup]

...I love challenges...25 years as a corporate jet Captain...strong adventure streak...

With that urge & background... you should switch the tool, instead take on learning real acro FPV flying with 5-7" quads, much more agile & manoeuvrable.

Take on the challenge to learn, then fly like a fighter jet for real without leaving solid ground yourself... even easy mountain dives like below is so much more rewarding for you when flying & breath taking for the average viewers.

Since I started up flying FPV quads, my photo drone collects dust.

(Not my video... but jeeze what I miss mountains like this in Sweden)

 

[Pacefast]

Yes Very Tempted Air 3 climbs like a bat out of hell and can go FPV or DJI reported to be bringing out a new model wuth longer endurance or there is this

 

[slup]

...Air 3 climbs like a bat out of hell and can go FPV...

The crucial part is "Acro or full manual" FPV... a photo drone together with goggles will not be able to dive, just descend flat with maybe some function that at the same time pitch the camera lower to mimic something that maybe look like a real dive... that will not give you a proper feeling of a freefall nose down dive, and that's a big thing you miss that hugely contribute to the low level "full fighter jet" feeling.

And just so you know (I'm sure you do being a corporate jet pilot)... going 40mph 3ft above ground feels (& looks) faster than 220mph 160ft above... & 3ft above is way more impressive as it require more skill & concentration.

Flying like a bat...

 

[ericole]

I took this video getting soaked in the process but really want to send the drone up the 500 metres !
The purpose to portray the shear energy hence not high above ! Flying over Lava or through a firework display all risky but many do !
What are you prepared to do for an ultimate video ? Risk the drone ?

I assume that’s a phone. I’d recommend rotating 90deg to actually film correctly for how our eyes are designed and to capture more of the subject without so much panning.

 

[AMann]

The only time I shoot vertical is for still photographs or for overlapping panorama sequences when I’d like to show both ground and sky. Sometimes it would be nice to do the same with a drone, but mine can’t do it. I never shoot videos in vertical format though, nor would I do it with a drone. As for taking risks with mine, not worth it and also not worth the fines for breaking US FAA regulations.

Just a joke about VVS:

 

[Pacefast]

The only time I shoot vertical is for still photographs or for overlapping panorama sequences when I’d like to show both ground and sky. Sometimes it would be nice to do the same with a drone, but mine can’t do it. I never shoot videos in vertical format though, nor would I do it with a drone. As for taking risks with mine, not worth it and also not worth the fines for breaking US FAA regulations.

Just a joke about VVS:

I shot vertical because i wanted to show the energy of that water ! Zooming in with that vertical shot meant i could show a taller piece of that water while zoomed in !

 

[Pross99]

I took this video getting soaked in the process but really want to send the drone up the 500 metres !
The purpose to portray the shear energy hence not high above ! Flying over Lava or through a firework display all risky but many do !
What are you prepared to do for an ultimate video ? Risk the drone ?

Personally, I would not risk my drone for that shot. Would have used my Canon. Cool video, thanks for sharing.

 

[ericole]

With that urge & background... you should switch the tool, instead take on learning real acro FPV flying with 5-7" quads, much more agile & manoeuvrable.

Take on the challenge to learn, then fly like a fighter jet for real without leaving solid ground yourself... even easy mountain dives like below is so much more rewarding for you when flying & breath taking for the average viewers.

Since I started up flying FPV quads, my photo drone collects dust.

(Not my video... but jeeze what I miss mountains like this in Sweden)

what I'm always wondering is how people can be VLOS yet be looking through FPV googles. How does this work?