Proposed path for Alcatraz & Golden Gate

[luckydog125]

Wow it made it. Awesome flight! Nervous at all????

 

[Julioego]

Hello everyone!

I am back from my California trip and I can say without any doubt that it was my best drone experience ever.
I was able to take-off everywhere. I have amazing shots of the city and many landmarks. Everyone was cool with it and no one even bothered me about it.

I even had the opportunity to take-off from mainland, fly all the way to Alcatraz Island, do a 360 on it and then return safely and land with 9% battery. It was a close call, I could have lost my Mavic on the sea, but the footage is awesome. I am a little skeptic on uploading the footage or flight log because I do not think the flight was very kosher. Wind was strong and I had to use sport mode to overcome it and I may have gone a little higher than the 400ft limit.

When visiting the Golden Gate Bridge, I saw a guy with a Phantom 3 taking off just beneath it, and I approached him (mainly because I though the app would not allow that since it was a red zone, but not in his case). He said he was having great footage but the winds were so strong we was sure he could not make it back so he was going to land it on the other side and then go pick it up. I did not wanted to distract him anymore, so I left. When I crossed the bridge with my bike I can tell you the wind was very strong. Not safe for hobby drones. I was glad I did not try that stunt with my Mavic.

I little up north, when we visited the Wineries, most owners were very permissive with my hobby. I took pictures of Sonoma Country and its vineyards.

Later on the trip we headed south to Carmel, Monterey and Santa Cruz were i got to fly on the beaches and at some point in SC, seagulls near the pier started chasing my drone. At some point I think one of the seagulls triggered the object avoidance sensor and my Mavic stopped mid air. I got scared and headed back.

I wish I could share my footage with you guys, but at this point I am a little scared that if by any chance I did something wrong, I may end up in trouble. So I am going to finish by saying that I have the best memories from this trip and that after almost 6 months with my Mavic I still use the original propellers.

I welcome any comments and suggestions. I wish you all a great weekend.

JG.

 

[Geo]

All the videos you want to make are already on YouTube. I'm always thankful to the people who filmed something I wanted to film ,because now I don't have to. If they are also great editor, then I know it is a better video than I could make, so why try to make it again?

 

[Julioego]

All the videos you want to make are already on YouTube. I'm always thankful to the people who filmed something I wanted to film ,because now I don't have to. If they are also great editor, then I know it is a better video than I could make, so why try to make it again?

If I have to answer that, then you and I will never convince each other.
Cheers!

 

[Geo]

If I have to answer that, then you and I will never convince each other.
Cheers!

While I commend you for making the flight successfully, I'd do the same, I've had a drone go down into a lake in Colorado. It's a terrible feeling that makes you think about every flight over water. Amazingly I got back to Chicago and got a phone call, "Did you lose a drone in Grand Lake?". Apparently the guy was paddle boarding and went over the drone and saw it at the bottom of the lake. Went and got his scuba gear and recovered it in 30 ft. of water. Sent it back to me. Got it back and sold it as is on Ebay. Got $500! Longest RTH on the books!

 

[dewster]

NFZs cause your aircraft to automatically land. You may get a warning when you approach one. There are a lot of small planes and helicopters in that area. Plus it's extremely windy over water and near that bridge.

 

[Pablo]

Hello everyone!

I am back from my California trip and I can say without any doubt that it was my best drone experience ever.
I was able to take-off everywhere. I have amazing shots of the city and many landmarks. Everyone was cool with it and no one even bothered me about it.

I even had the opportunity to take-off from mainland, fly all the way to Alcatraz Island, do a 360 on it and then return safely and land with 9% battery. It was a close call, I could have lost my Mavic on the sea, but the footage is awesome. I am a little skeptic on uploading the footage or flight log because I do not think the flight was very kosher. Wind was strong and I had to use sport mode to overcome it and I may have gone a little higher than the 400ft limit.

When visiting the Golden Gate Bridge, I saw a guy with a Phantom 3 taking off just beneath it, and I approached him (mainly because I though the app would not allow that since it was a red zone, but not in his case). He said he was having great footage but the winds were so strong we was sure he could not make it back so he was going to land it on the other side and then go pick it up. I did not wanted to distract him anymore, so I left. When I crossed the bridge with my bike I can tell you the wind was very strong. Not safe for hobby drones. I was glad I did not try that stunt with my Mavic.

I little up north, when we visited the Wineries, most owners were very permissive with my hobby. I took pictures of Sonoma Country and its vineyards.

Later on the trip we headed south to Carmel, Monterey and Santa Cruz were i got to fly on the beaches and at some point in SC, seagulls near the pier started chasing my drone. At some point I think one of the seagulls triggered the object avoidance sensor and my Mavic stopped mid air. I got scared and headed back.

I wish I could share my footage with you guys, but at this point I am a little scared that if by any chance I did something wrong, I may end up in trouble. So I am going to finish by saying that I have the best memories from this trip and that after almost 6 months with my Mavic I still use the original propellers.

I welcome any comments and suggestions. I wish you all a great weekend.

JG.

I forgot about this. Glad it worked out well for you.

It's a shame we can't see the footage though!

 

[RavenTBK]

There is no such thing as a "400ft limit" for hobby flights.

NFZ aren't codified in law either. You only need to notify the nearby airfields that you'd be flying, and you can go do it.

So you'd be perfectly fine posting the video you took.

 

[richardhurst]

I

That is not true, but you shouldn't fly into a NFZ.

To the OP, there are no airport-related NFZs north of South San Francisco all the way until the GG bridge (where a NFZ associated with a Marin county airport begins). Most of the interesting parts of SF are within 5 miles of helipads, but AFAIK those don't count as NFZs. I've certainly not gotten warnings taking off from the Embarcadero near the Bay bridge, in Golden Gate Park, or in the Mission.

If you fly into a NFZ the drone will automatically land wherever it is. You have no hoover or RTH function.

 

[Grey Wolf]

There is no such thing as a "400ft limit" for hobby flights.

NFZ aren't codified in law either. You only need to notify the nearby airfields that you'd be flying, and you can go do it.

So you'd be perfectly fine posting the video you took.

Wrong !
It was an illegal and irresponsible flight. Too many low flying aircraft in that area.
Plus, if you post it, the FAA will find you!
People seem to lack common sense these days when flying a drone, hence the new regs put on the rest of us because of the irresponsible actions of some!

 

[Marko9219]

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/incredible-photo-of-an-f-18-zooming-through-the-golden-1645700221
I assume you saw none of this happening!

 

[Grey Wolf]

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/incredible-photo-of-an-f-18-zooming-through-the-golden-1645700221
I assume you saw none of this happening!

What are you talking about?
Of course it happened. He was very proud of his flight.
He was extremely lucky he didn't collide with low flying aircraft in that very busy area.
Below is what he said.

Hello everyone!

I am back from my California trip and I can say without any doubt that it was my best drone experience ever.
I was able to take-off everywhere. I have amazing shots of the city and many landmarks. Everyone was cool with it and no one even bothered me about it.

I even had the opportunity to take-off from mainland, fly all the way to Alcatraz Island, do a 360 on it and then return safely and land with 9% battery. It was a close call, I could have lost my Mavic on the sea, but the footage is awesome. I am a little skeptic on uploading the footage or flight log because I do not think the flight was very kosher. Wind was strong and I had to use sport mode to overcome it and I may have gone a little higher than the 400ft limit.

When visiting the Golden Gate Bridge, I saw a guy with a Phantom 3 taking off just beneath it, and I approached him (mainly because I though the app would not allow that since it was a red zone, but not in his case). He said he was having great footage but the winds were so strong we was sure he could not make it back so he was going to land it on the other side and then go pick it up. I did not wanted to distract him anymore, so I left. When I crossed the bridge with my bike I can tell you the wind was very strong. Not safe for hobby drones. I was glad I did not try that stunt with my Mavic.

I little up north, when we visited the Wineries, most owners were very permissive with my hobby. I took pictures of Sonoma Country and its vineyards.

Later on the trip we headed south to Carmel, Monterey and Santa Cruz were i got to fly on the beaches and at some point in SC, seagulls near the pier started chasing my drone. At some point I think one of the seagulls triggered the object avoidance sensor and my Mavic stopped mid air. I got scared and headed back.

I wish I could share my footage with you guys, but at this point I am a little scared that if by any chance I did something wrong, I may end up in trouble. So I am going to finish by saying that I have the best memories from this trip and that after almost 6 months with my Mavic I still use the original propellers.

Of course, the question remains, if he doesn't post it, which is a very smart move, what's the point of having it if you can't show it?
I hope he learns from this and won't attempt any such stunt in the future.

 

[Roo]

I am back from my California trip and I can say without any doubt that it was my best drone experience ever.

I even had the opportunity to take-off from mainland, fly all the way to Alcatraz Island, do a 360 on it and then return safely and land with 9% battery...

How cool! Good on ya. I like reading posts like this, and I too would have been thrilled to get that kind of usage out of my drone. For some reason Alcatraz fascinates me, and flying over water is something I haven't dared yet. I wish I could see the videos yet I understand the reluctance to post. Good for you though mate!

 

[Grey Wolf]

How cool! Good on ya. I like reading posts like this, and I too would have been thrilled to get that kind of usage out of my drone. For some reason Alcatraz fascinates me, and flying over water is something I haven't dared yet. I wish I could see the videos yet I understand the reluctance to post. Good for you though mate!

So you are new to drone flying I see!
It doesnt seem to occur to you then that what he did was extremely selfish and dangerous?
There are countless low flying aircraft in that area. He was very lucky he didn't get hit by any of them.
I would suggest that you take ground school training so you would understand the inherent dangers of recklessly flying a drone!

 

[bowens44]

All the videos you want to make are already on YouTube. I'm always thankful to the people who filmed something I wanted to film ,because now I don't have to. If they are also great editor, then I know it is a better video than I could make, so why try to make it again?

Really?

 

[Roo]

So you are new to drone flying I see!
It doesnt seem to occur to you then that what he did was extremely selfish and dangerous?
There are countless low flying aircraft in that area. He was very lucky he didn't get hit by any of them.
I would suggest that you take ground school training so you would understand the inherent dangers of recklessly flying a drone!

In terms of hours with my Mavic, I'd call myself new as I rarely have time to enjoy it. And I struggle to find places to fly. I'm not new to flying though. I am all for safety, flying responsibly and following the rules. Very much so. That's not what the gest of my post was about though. I was merely happy that someone got enjoyment out of flying, and I like reading about other peoples holidays / adventures.

I was simply relating to the OP's joy of their "best experience ever" and getting good use out of the Mavic, not in any way commenting on whether or not I agreed with the actual detail. I'm in Australia and don't know the detail around this place (though am fascinated by it), so I'm not qualified to comment on that. Perhaps my post was worded poorly and could have been left as a thought not posted.

 

[Grey Wolf]

In terms of hours with my Mavic, I'd call myself new as I rarely have time to enjoy it. And I struggle to find places to fly. I'm not new to flying though. I am all for safety, flying responsibly and following the rules. Very much so. That's not what the gest of my post was about though. I was merely happy that someone got enjoyment out of flying, and I like reading about other peoples holidays / adventures.

I was simply relating to the OP's joy of their "best experience ever" and getting good use out of the Mavic, not in any way commenting on whether or not I agreed with the actual detail. I'm in Australia and don't know the detail around this place (though am fascinated by it), so I'm not qualified to comment on that. Perhaps my post was worded poorly and could have been left as a thought not posted.

Thanks for the clarification. It just sounded like you supported illegal flying. At least that's the way it came across.
No worries then!

 

[maximeeso]

Also youll have alot of calls to make if your going to go by the book and call the all of the heliports as well. Even out in the middle of the water your looking at no less than 4 calls.

Wow. You call all the heliports too? I would have to make like 4-5 calls every time I took off, every where I take off from..

 

[Grey Wolf]

Wow. You call all the heliports too? I would have to make like 4-5 calls every time I took off, every where I take off from..

Yes, only because there are so many heliports.

 

[maximeeso]

So you are new to drone flying I see!
It doesnt seem to occur to you then that what he did was extremely selfish and dangerous?
There are countless low flying aircraft in that area. He was very lucky he didn't get hit by any of them.
I would suggest that you take ground school training so you would understand the inherent dangers of recklessly flying a drone!

You do realize that most people have ears as well, right?
Generally airplanes/helicopters are fairly loud even at 2-3 miles away (the average maximum range people seem to go with their Mavic)
It's as simple as pinpointing where the aircraft is and where it's heading and yielding to them as the law states... Given, this would be very difficult if we were talking about somewhere there are multiple crop dusters doing their thing because they are very unpredictable.