I met the drone police today

[MAvic_South_Oz]

@MAvic_South_Oz ,I would imagine that in order to purchase one of those drones ,would require apart from the considerable cost,also a very good reason to need such a drone, and the ability to have the proper training to fly it ,probably why they dont feel the need to have a comprehensive web site to tempt customers ,it probably has features that are only known to LE s and other government funded users ,that they dont want to be revealed who knows

Could be . . . obviously the Navy boys like em too.
They'd be pushing them pretty well to all the relative defense / law enforcement type services.
Yep, think you'd need to be a licensed commercial pilot to be operating this baby.

 

[itallica]

@Yorkshire_Pud ,( NO COMMENT )

sorry couldn't resist it

The Drone Police, they live inside of my head... the drone police... police... police

 

[AVLJMA]

hi fellow flyers
went up to one my local flying spots today ,and met up with the drone police unit who happened to be there,
had a great chat with them, and they allowed me to watch them fly, and ask about the drone they were flying,
it was an Evolve Dynamics Sky Mantis cost around 39K , has a one hour flight time and is equipped with a duel camera set up including FLIR ,they were just getting some flight time in, to keep current with their flight logs
if you log onto the Evolve Dynamics web site and select Sky Mantis you will see all the specs
it was quite some beast

Seems like a much better police drone solution than the local police here. Our local police use the DJI Matrice 600. But I assume that changes from one agency to the next.

 

[twickers14]

They were very lucky to bump into you!!! What a thrill just wish I could have been on your shoulder.

 

[old man mavic]

@twickers14 ,i hope that your post ,was not pure sarcasm, i would like to think it wasn't ,i think it was me that was lucky to have the chance to see an amazing drone up close ,and to gain an insight into just what a very specialised drone can do,despite what a lot of people think, law enforcement are not just out to put drone flyers down ,and some parts of my conversation with them ,were very interesting ,when it came to their thoughts on the new rules ,and how they were expected to enforce them

 

[SethB]

All weather! And look at that controller- I really appreciate the clearly labeled knobs, sticks, dials. Similar to a pro video camera, there’s more on the control surface and perhaps less buried in menus.

 

[AVLJMA]

All weather! And look at that controller- I really appreciate the clearly labeled knobs, sticks, dials. Similar to a pro video camera, there’s more on the control surface and perhaps less buried in menus.

I was thinking the same thing. No fishing around for settings. Also, 1 hour of flight time!

 

[MaxE1955!]

hi fellow flyers
went up to one my local flying spots today ,and met up with the drone police unit who happened to be there,
had a great chat with them, and they allowed me to watch them fly, and ask about the drone they were flying,
it was an Evolve Dynamics Sky Mantis cost around 39K , has a one hour flight time and is equipped with a duel camera set up including FLIR ,they were just getting some flight time in, to keep current with their flight logs
if you log onto the Evolve Dynamics web site and select Sky Mantis you will see all the specs
it was quite some beast

Video caption says: “Easy to transport” as he Carrie’s a mid-sized dormitory refrigerator on his back. hahahahahahahaha. That had me LOL’ing!

 

[wardtom084]

So they are allowed over 400 feet. Noticed the arm button. Wonder what that is for.

 

[old man mavic]

@wardtom084 the arm button under the red cover is literally that the motors will not start unless that is activated its a safety feature so the drone cannot be started unless the RC is live and able to control the drone ,it is covered by the red cover to prevent accidental activation whether arming or disarming ,its used on a lot of Radio Controllers to prevent injury from the props

 

[Crouching Leopard]

Lucky lucky man, wish I was there, cheers Len

Lucky man. What I wouldn't give to have a go. Interesting to see it only has 4 props. In Australia, the Police operations requirement certainly for flying in metropolitan areas over buildings, people and crowds is 6 props. Perhaps it there are particular categories for 4 prop operations.

If I had the $ to spare, this machine would be on my list.

 

[4006448]

Whoa ! Quite the beast !!
When they say it comes with a backpack, they really mean it !
A huge white Mavic Pro with a handle.

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Quite the bit of kit. Good zoom for LE purposes and I imagine with FLIR great for SAR work.

 

[Wreckhunter]

hi fellow flyers
went up to one my local flying spots today ,and met up with the drone police unit who happened to be there,
had a great chat with them, and they allowed me to watch them fly, and ask about the drone they were flying,
it was an Evolve Dynamics Sky Mantis cost around 39K , has a one hour flight time and is equipped with a duel camera set up including FLIR ,they were just getting some flight time in, to keep current with their flight logs
if you log onto the Evolve Dynamics web site and select Sky Mantis you will see all the specs
it was quite some beast

Only time I ran into the drone police was two years ago at our local marina while I was down there for a walk.
I stopped by him to have a chat.He was flying one of the older inspire models,which he said the batteries were no longer available.
he also has a couple of drones that he flies for a hobby.He could not have been nicer.

 

[twickers14]

@twickers14 ,i hope that your post ,was not pure sarcasm, i would like to think it wasn't ,i think it was me that was lucky to have the chance to see an amazing drone up close ,and to gain an insight into just what a very specialised drone can do,despite what a lot of people think, law enforcement are not just out to put drone flyers down ,and some parts of my conversation with them ,were very interesting ,when it came to their thoughts on the new rules ,and how they were expected to enforce them

As a Moderator you are presumably very knowledgeable (and I know you are as I read your posts most days) I have nothing but admiration for you and the Police you were lucky enough to meet. What I meant was that you will have brought an informed perspective (as a recreational flyer) to to their job that they would not otherwise have experienced had you not come across each other. Hope that makes sense! PS what an amazing piece of kit they were flying. Remind me never to go “on the run”!

 

[twickers14]

One final thought-perhaps we should call the guys you met PDOs, Police Drone Operators rather than Drone Police which makes them seem focused on policing us lot on how we operate our drones?

 

[EliteBleader]

hi fellow flyers
went up to one my local flying spots today ,and met up with the drone police unit who happened to be there,
had a great chat with them, and they allowed me to watch them fly, and ask about the drone they were flying,
it was an Evolve Dynamics Sky Mantis cost around 39K , has a one hour flight time and is equipped with a duel camera set up including FLIR ,they were just getting some flight time in, to keep current with their flight logs
if you log onto the Evolve Dynamics web site and select Sky Mantis you will see all the specs
it was quite some beast

Sounds cool!

 

[old man mavic]

@twickers14 please see my post in conversations that i sent you

 

[manc54]

@MAvic_South_Oz ,I would imagine that in order to purchase one of those drones ,would require apart from the considerable cost,also a very good reason to need such a drone, and the ability to have the proper training to fly it ,probably why they dont feel the need to have a comprehensive web site to tempt customers ,it probably has features that are only known to LE s and other government funded users ,that they dont want to be revealed who knows

Ii STILL want one

 

[YVRGUY]

hi fellow flyers
went up to one my local flying spots today ,and met up with the drone police unit who happened to be there,
had a great chat with them, and they allowed me to watch them fly, and ask about the drone they were flying,
it was an Evolve Dynamics Sky Mantis cost around 39K , has a one hour flight time and is equipped with a duel camera set up including FLIR ,they were just getting some flight time in, to keep current with their flight logs
if you log onto the Evolve Dynamics web site and select Sky Mantis you will see all the specs
it was quite some beast

I checked out the specs and could not find how many donuts it’s capable of delivering

 

[snowghost]

I interviewed with a company that supplies Part 107 RPIC and drones to police departments. The pilots are in command of the drones, but they are flown by non pilot police from a remote location using Motorola software on a PC. The RPIC performs the take offs and landings as well as takes over in emergency situations. The controller also uses a Motorola proprietary app as well, which when launched kills the DJI Pilot app.

I watched live operations for two hours one day. One of the police departments (not the one I was at) has a waiver for 3 mile BVLOS. They're all using Matrice drones, with whatever the factory remote is.

I would consider working at a neighboring agency to the one I observed, because the latter were 10 hour shifts with nonstop back to back flights. So you'd pretty much be a glorified battery swapper and charger. The other departments only deploy when there is a 911 or other emergency they need a drone for. Much more interesting that way, but a lot of down time.