I moved here for the climate...

Mike Drop · Dec 10, 2021

...but what I get is weather. The new Tripltek 7 tablet is loaded with DJI go, DJI Go 4, DJI Fly, and Litchi. The battery is all charged up. The new Mavic A 2 is linked up, both batteries charged as well as the RC. The neutral density filter is installed.
The old P3 S is linked to its charged-up controller and the new tab. Both batteries fully charged and I wrote test missions for everything.
Today the local winds will blow through at 25 to 30 MPH with gusts possible to 50 mph.
Its a good day to stay in and study the 107 material.

KTM890Rider · Dec 10, 2021

Where are you?

Mike Drop · Dec 10, 2021

KTM890Rider said:
Where are you?

Southern New Mexico. Six miles from the border.

KTM890Rider · Dec 10, 2021

Mike Drop said:
Southern New Mexico. Six miles from the border.

Nice, We are planning on spending 6 months every winter in Southern Arizona....starting in 2023 when I retire. We are tired of long PA winters.

Mike Drop · Dec 10, 2021

KTM890Rider said:
Nice, We are planning on spending 6 months every winter in Southern Arizona....starting in 2023 when I retire. We are tired of long PA winters.

Sounds good. I get it. I moved from the high Colorados 4 years ago. The winters at 8500ft MSL were long and brutal. Winds regularly clock on the Kenosha pass at 90 mph.

AZDave · Dec 10, 2021

KTM890Rider said:
Nice, We are planning on spending 6 months every winter in Southern Arizona....starting in 2023 when I retire. We are tired of long PA winters.

This is about as southern Arizona as you can get ... less than 2 miles from the border. I took this video early last March after launching from my lot.

If you don't already have a spot picked out, feel free to ask me about the area.

MARK (LI) · Dec 10, 2021

Great video @AZDave ...pretty cool music to go with it ..very smooth recording, so it looks like you did well with your editing

MARK (LI) · Dec 10, 2021

AZDave · Dec 10, 2021

MARK (LI) said:
View attachment 139947 View attachment 139948

Nice! The Tucson area is a great place. It's convenient to almost all of southern Arizona and not too far from the amenities of Phoenix. A bit longer drive takes you up to the high pine forest country of the Mogollon Rim.

I grew up in Minnesota, though, and the biggest things I miss are the lakes and good fishing. Can't have everything, I guess ... but then again we have very few mosquitos here so that's a plus.

KTM890Rider · Dec 10, 2021

AZDave said:
This is about as southern Arizona as you can get ... less than 2 miles from the border. I took this video early last March after launching from my lot.

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If you don't already have a spot picked out, feel free to ask me about the area.

Thanks for that video....I'm itching to get down there. We are flying into Tucson on January 19th for a week to have a look around. We have checked out Caballo Loco Ranch on the internet, it is off Highway 286, about 45 miles south of Tucson. I have driven through AZ in a truck, but that was many years ago. My girlfriend has never been there, but she was actually the one who suggested AZ for snow birding.
I would love to hear more about the area you are in, I'll send you a message so I don't clog up the thread with chatter.

hychewright · Dec 11, 2021

AZDave said:
This is about as southern Arizona as you can get ... less than 2 miles from the border. I took this video early last March after launching from my lot.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

If you don't already have a spot picked out, feel free to ask me about the area.

Really enjoyed your video very much and good camera control.

Dale D · Dec 11, 2021

AZDave said:
This is about as southern Arizona as you can get ... less than 2 miles from the border. I took this video early last March after launching from my lot.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

If you don't already have a spot picked out, feel free to ask me about the area.

Very nice footage, nice flying and nice editing. You have captured the essence of the desert southwest.

If the movers are committed to the Southwest, that's ok, but I would be worried, in the long run about WATER. Any warm climate sure beats the cold. I escaped to Florida (from Chicago) in 1970 and never regretted it. No more cars disappearing under the snow, icy sidewalks, shoveling snow, etc. But we have to contend with hurricanes, heat, and humidity for 6 months. The other six months (October -March) are like heaven.

Dale
Miami

twickers14 · Dec 13, 2021

As I sit here in the early morning in the middle of a British winter, wet and windy and we’re not even half way through it yet, I remember our sunny trips to Phoenix with the kids 25 years ago and Naples FL for the last 12 years-me and the Mrs. You guys have it pretty good. Have fun down there and I am jealous. Fab film by the way, love the music and all shot at no more than 60ft. With views like that who needs altitude.

Sparc343 · Dec 13, 2021

I am in the middle of moving from Chicago, IL to Arizona myself! I just bought some nice acreage of vacant land to build my homestead on! Arizona is such a *great* place to be! Only, I despise IL so much, I will not be doing the "snow bird" thing, I am coming in full time! Well, I will have to make at least ONE more trip back to IL after the house is built in AZ so that I can retrieve everything that didn't make it for the initial/build trip down! But after that, I plan to leave IL permanently in my rear view mirror (to never look back)!

Sparc343 · Dec 13, 2021

Mike Drop said:
...but what I get is weather. The new Tripltek 7 tablet is loaded with DJI go, DJI Go 4, DJI Fly, and Litchi. The battery is all charged up. The new Mavic A 2 is linked up, both batteries charged as well as the RC. The neutral density filter is installed.
The old P3 S is linked to its charged-up controller and the new tab. Both batteries fully charged and I wrote test missions for everything.
Today the local winds will blow through at 25 to 30 MPH with gusts possible to 50 mph.
Its a good day to stay in and study the 107 material.

Sounds like my weather a few days ago here in AZ... Although those winds seem a little higher than what we had, I think we only had up to 30-40 MPH gusts...

AZDave · Dec 13, 2021

Sparc343 said:
Sounds like my weather a few days ago here in AZ... Although those winds seem a little higher than what we had, I think we only had up to 30-40 MPH gusts...

I'm going to have to jump in here again after that comment about the wind. That's another thing we have plenty of where I live. It's quite moderate most of the year, but for about 8 weeks in the spring when the land starts to heat up the thermally created wind gusts can get pretty significant. I used to have a calibrated wind gauge that recorded wind gusts, and during the spring it was not uncommon to see regular 60 to 80 mph gusts for hours during the middle of the day. The gauge actually topped out at 99.9 mph one totally clear day when the spring thermals joined up with a storm front that moved across the state further north.

Lest anyone think I exaggerate, let me explain. I live on an eastern slope near the southern end of a mountain range and the prevailing winds are from the south-southwest. The wind gets blocked by the mountain range and has to suck around the southern end of the range to backfill where it wanted to go. That creates a partial vacuum that gets filled by swirlers ... literally mini-tornados. I've seen branches torn from trees less than 200 feet from me while I stood in completely calm air. One spring day my young son, who weighed about 130 pounds at the time, was out whacking down the dead tall grass on our lot with a gas powered string trimmer. I was in the house but heard the wind pick up (it sounds like a freight train) and looked out a window just in time to see him get lifted about 2 feet straight upward (still holding the trimmer), move him about three feet laterally, and set him back down unharmed ... and all the while he was vertical. I wish I had that on video ...

Needless to say my drone operations are pretty sketchy in the springtime.

Mike Drop · Dec 13, 2021

AZDave said:
I'm going to have to jump in here again after that comment about the wind. That's another thing we have plenty of where I live. It's quite moderate most of the year, but for about 8 weeks in the spring when the land starts to heat up the thermally created wind gusts can get pretty significant. I used to have a calibrated wind gauge that recorded wind gusts, and during the spring it was not uncommon to see regular 60 to 80 mph gusts for hours during the middle of the day. The gauge actually topped out at 99.9 mph one totally clear day when the spring thermals joined up with a storm front that moved across the state further north.

Lest anyone think I exaggerate, let me explain. I live on an eastern slope near the southern end of a mountain range and the prevailing winds are from the south-southwest. The wind gets blocked by the mountain range and has to suck around the southern end of the range to backfill where it wanted to go. That creates a partial vacuum that gets filled by swirlers ... literally mini-tornados. I've seen branches torn from trees less than 200 feet from me while I stood in completely calm air. One spring day my young son, who weighed about 130 pounds at the time, was out whacking down the dead tall grass on our lot with a gas powered string trimmer. I was in the house but heard the wind pick up (it sounds like a freight train) and looked out a window just in time to see him get lifted about 2 feet straight upward (still holding the trimmer), move him about three feet laterally, and set him back down unharmed ... and all the while he was vertical. I wish I had that on video ...

Needless to say my drone operations are pretty sketchy in the springtime.

Wow, I hear ya, Dave. During the spring we get Haboobs. They're windstorms associated with violent spring rainstorms. First comes the wall of dust, then rain. By then its pretty much raining mud.