Report from the field: Dropping cans with my *very* inexpensive dropper that still works great!

[Thmoore]

Two things.

1. I am pleased to report back that the very inexpensive dropper I wrote about last September is still working flawlessly.

2. At the beach last week, I developed a sophisticated and highly effective beverage distribution method I wanted to share with the community:

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I've spent some time working on dropping things via parachute, but it turns out that there's a simpler method that also works well:

Slip a short length of paracord gently through the hole in a can tab and tie it securely with a square knot. The can will not open during that process, nor will the can open when it is hung by that loop and flown somewhere on a drone via a dropper system such as the one described in #1.

If you're dropping onto sand, you'd best do it from a low altitude to avoid having the can smash itself open on impact. But if you're dropping into water, you're golden:

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I am also pleased to report this: We noticed that some folks two houses down the beach were flying a drone around, so we flew a Budweiser over and dropped it to them as a friendly gesture. Made them very happy. They swung by later to say hi. The guy said he'd been flying his new, very pricey, Skydio 2 drone around, and everyone said, “Your drone is so cool!" and then this Mavic Air 2 shows up delivering a Budweiser, and they all turned to him and said, “Your drone sucks!” The Skydio has its charms, but it can't lift very much.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Thanks for keeping us up to date. Thinking about getting one for taking my fishing line out farther then I can cast.

 

[Thmoore]

Thanks for keeping us up to date. Thinking about getting one for taking my fishing line out farther then I can cast.

I haven't used it for that purpose, but apparently this sort of solution works great for fishing line.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

I haven't used it for that purpose, but apparently this sort of solution works great for fishing line.

Ya it was either this or one of those RC boats that you put your lure and bait in the back and when you get to where you want it dumped it works like a dump truck. Drops the bait over board.
Since I already have the drone this seems like a better solution. ?

 

[Prismatic]

Thanks for keeping us up to date. Thinking about getting one for taking my fishing line out farther then I can cast.

You may want to check with your State fishing authority. I can imagine that this practice could breach regulations in place to prevent drones from giving sportsmen an unfair advantage in the field.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

You may want to check with your State fishing authority. I can imagine that this practice could breach regulations in place to prevent drones from giving sportsmen an unfair advantage in the field.

Since I am in Canada our rules are pretty clear and a tad different then the usa.
Canadian provinces already prohibit hunters from using aircraft or other vehicles to locate, herd or chase their prey. Ontario’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, for example, says that “a person shall not use a vehicle for the purpose of killing, injuring, capturing, harassing, pursuing or chasing wildlife.”
A spokeswoman for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry said her department considers drones to be a type of aircraft and therefore they are banned from hunting use. So far using them for fishing is still allowed but I do have mixed feelings about the ethics of it. Probably would not use it for that as I would be scared of the chance of the drone ending up at the bottom of the lake.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

I received my dropper a few days ago. Been playing with it a bit. Tried a can of pop. Found the Air 2S really had to dig in to lift it. Very noticeable sound difference. Would not suggest things that heavy as that is real hard on the ESC's. You don't want to over heat those.
Set up a fishing rod in a stand I use for ice fishing. Just used a small sinker for some weight and opened the bail on the real. Set the drone out in the back yard up about 25 feet. That worked excellent. I found the weight of the pop just to much sometimes for the lever to open all the way and I would have to open and close a few times before it actually dropped the pop.
So my conclusion is this is good for light things.
I also found the unit does not hold a full charge for very long.
For 26 bucks Canadian I guess I cannot complain. Not sure how much I will use it but it kept me entertained for a few hours this afternoon.
Oh and I never caught any fish in the back yard. I'm sure some will ask LOL