New Drone Pilot from Alberta.

Dale D · May 25, 2023

RCDrones said:
So a little about myself,
My first drone I purchased was a parrot AR 2.0. All I remember from that drone was maybe 10 minutes of flight time, no obstacle detection very crappy camera and weird controls.
Sold it, and then moved on and never looked at drones again.

It left a bad taste in my mouth. Add in all the talk about licensing and fees and legal issues in Canada drones seemed like a really "demonized" and niche hobby that I didn't want to deal with.
Now for Christmas my parents because they never know what to get me picked me up this cheap Amazon F89 drone. Which of course first thing I did was seek out the legal issues with drones. Which got me into the classifications on weight, licensing, rules, maybe not the first thing most people do but I am 35 and don't need that. My first few flights brought back memories of that Parrot drone. poor range, poor battery life, weird charging setup.
Decided to look at other drones to see what they were like. and I found the Mini 3 pro. I was blown away by the camera quality, how could something so tiny be so mighty is what came to my mind. Also the built in screen and transmission range, flight times, This had to be BS no way the drone was this good all these people must be lying on youtube, paid off by DJI. So I went to the store, saw the mini 3 fly more with the DJI RC and I bought it. I got it home opened it up, started charging the batteries and went for the first flight and it was better than I expected it to be (Notice I said Mini 3 not Mini 3 Pro) I went with the non pro for 2 reason, 1) I am not a photographer or videographer, 2) not sure if this was a hobby I wanted to actually get into and selling a mini 3 would be pretty easy if I wanted to recoup costs if I didn't 3) Budget, its the cheapest drone that also offers the DJI RC.
Well fast forward 3 weeks and I have several flights under my belt, I had to send my unit back to DJI as the RC remote had a defect and they offered to replace the whole kit. (SD card would not eject, I could read and save to the card but there was no way to remove it without tweezers)
I am also licensed and studying for the advanced license in Canada and if I get that I plan on picking up the new Air3 or Mavic 3 Classic. Alberta has lots of wind and the bigger drone would be better over all, I would get the Air 2s but I want 30+ minute flight times.
One thing I did not expect, I have never liked taking photos, I take pictures for work, to capture information but never to capture the moment so to speak.
My drone made me get a Lightroom subscription and start learning how to edit RAW images and the magic you can do with RAW files is mind-blowing. I turned a hazy dreary smoky day into a bright colorful sunny day with beautiful blue sky.

Anyway, glad to be here.

Firstly, welcome to the club. You have a lot of learning but a ton of fun ahead of you. This will no doubt be greatly enhanced by getting more into photography. You were very smart to go with Lightroom. The adobe Photo package for $10 USD a month gives you both Photoshop and Lightroom, and they require a lifetime of learning. But the results are amazing, and now, even more improved with their latest AI upgrades of the amazing masking tools, and the brand new remove tool and generative AI tool released two days ago which is astounding.

I am on schedule to vacation in Alberta in August and am finding the air space for drones really restricting since most of it is national park. Do you have any recommendations for areas in which I can fly? I will be in Canmore, Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, Yoho, Icefields Pkwy, etc. Not a single one of these places of course allows drones.

Here is a webinar with my favorites teacher- Colin Smith, introducing the new AI generative software. It is astounding what this new upgrade offers!

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careless · May 25, 2023

Welcome from Kentucky USA

wjkrysak · May 25, 2023

Welcome to the forum. We look forward to your participation and your view of the world.

Robert Prior · May 25, 2023

Dale D said:
Do you have any recommendations for areas in which I can fly? I will be in Canmore, Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, Yoho, Icefields Pkwy, etc

As I've mentioned before, you'll need an SFOC unless you're flying a sub-250 g drone.

Foreign pilots and operators must have a valid Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC) for Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) to fly a drone for any purpose (recreational, work or research).

You are considered a foreign pilot or operator if you are not a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or a corporation incorporated by or under federal or provincial law.

As a foreign drone pilot, you need a Canadian drone pilot certificate to operate in Canada even if you are authorized in your home country.

Foreign drone pilots or operators do not need special permission for fly drones under 250 g.

Get permission to fly a drone as a foreign pilot or operator

tc.canada.ca

In terms of flying, the mountains are just as spectacular outside the parks (with the exception of the Columbia Icefield).

Head east from Saskatchewan River Crossing on highway 11, for example. Or highway 95/93 in BC for an alternate route. Or highway 40 south of Don Getty Provincial Park.

Edited to add:

Highway 2 south of Calgary to Nanton. Stop at the Canadian Bomber Command Museum. Then take 533 to 22, head north past Chain Lakes (beautiful foothills ranch country), and 532 west to 40, through a scenic pass. At 40 either head north through Loughheed Park to eventually get to highway 1 east of Canmore, or head south to highway 3 and the Crowsnest Pass. Highway 3 in BC gets you to 93, which if you head north will take you to Kootenay and hence to Banff. Lots of amazing mountain scenery, and almost all of it wide open for drone flying (just avoid hospitals, which all have helipads — use the NRC drone tool to find them). You could also stay on 93 until you get to highway 1 at Golden (thus passing up a beautiful valley with a chain of lakes and mountains on both sides) and east onto Banff that way through Yoho, but that will put you at the north end of Banff so if you want to see the usual sights (Lake Louise, Morraine Lake, etc) you'd have to head back south.

Most of this route avoids parks and is thus drone-friendly (assuming no emergency operations — it's wildfire season so stay informed).

Drone site selection tool - National Research Council Canada

nrc.canada.ca

SpitFire · May 25, 2023

Welcome to the forum from Chicago the Windy City.
FLY SAFE & FLY SMART

Ron0909 · May 25, 2023

Welcome from shhhh (Ottawa). My folks are in Edmonton as well. They've been cursing the smoke for some time now. I hope it finally lets up for you guys. My son bought the Mini 3 and when I saw I immediately grew envious. Like you, I studied and got the basic ticket before I got my drone. I found a good deal on the Air 2 and my thoughts were the same...
fight the wind

I look forward to some good Rocky mountain footage if you decide to post some!
Ron

Drone Master · May 25, 2023

Welcome to Mavic Pilots!

Enjoy the forum! Thumbswayup

Mickeyg90 · May 30, 2023

RCDrones said:
So a little about myself,
My first drone I purchased was a parrot AR 2.0. All I remember from that drone was maybe 10 minutes of flight time, no obstacle detection very crappy camera and weird controls.
Sold it, and then moved on and never looked at drones again.

It left a bad taste in my mouth. Add in all the talk about licensing and fees and legal issues in Canada drones seemed like a really "demonized" and niche hobby that I didn't want to deal with.
Now for Christmas my parents because they never know what to get me picked me up this cheap Amazon F89 drone. Which of course first thing I did was seek out the legal issues with drones. Which got me into the classifications on weight, licensing, rules, maybe not the first thing most people do but I am 35 and don't need that. My first few flights brought back memories of that Parrot drone. poor range, poor battery life, weird charging setup.
Decided to look at other drones to see what they were like. and I found the Mini 3 pro. I was blown away by the camera quality, how could something so tiny be so mighty is what came to my mind. Also the built in screen and transmission range, flight times, This had to be BS no way the drone was this good all these people must be lying on youtube, paid off by DJI. So I went to the store, saw the mini 3 fly more with the DJI RC and I bought it. I got it home opened it up, started charging the batteries and went for the first flight and it was better than I expected it to be (Notice I said Mini 3 not Mini 3 Pro) I went with the non pro for 2 reason, 1) I am not a photographer or videographer, 2) not sure if this was a hobby I wanted to actually get into and selling a mini 3 would be pretty easy if I wanted to recoup costs if I didn't 3) Budget, its the cheapest drone that also offers the DJI RC.
Well fast forward 3 weeks and I have several flights under my belt, I had to send my unit back to DJI as the RC remote had a defect and they offered to replace the whole kit. (SD card would not eject, I could read and save to the card but there was no way to remove it without tweezers)
I am also licensed and studying for the advanced license in Canada and if I get that I plan on picking up the new Air3 or Mavic 3 Classic. Alberta has lots of wind and the bigger drone would be better over all, I would get the Air 2s but I want 30+ minute flight times.
One thing I did not expect, I have never liked taking photos, I take pictures for work, to capture information but never to capture the moment so to speak.
My drone made me get a Lightroom subscription and start learning how to edit RAW images and the magic you can do with RAW files is mind-blowing. I turned a hazy dreary smoky day into a bright colorful sunny day with beautiful blue sky.

Anyway, glad to be here.