Shared a little happiness

[RavenTBK]

On my 3 hour commute this morning, I drove by what I thought was a woods fire, so I quickly found a safe spot to park off the road and threw the bird up in the air to get a couple aerial views. Once I was up in the air and started going over the area I realized it was just a simple waste pile burn. Had about 10 piles going, tended by a dozer, nothing special.

I then remembered on the side of the highway about a mile back there was a oversize load parked on the side of the road with an emergency tire change. I then thought I would fly back and take a peek at how they're doing...since I'm already up and all.

I got alongside them on the other side of the highway, there was a man and a woman waving orange flags while the tire repair crew did their job. I saw the woman poke the man and point at me, which caused me to drop down some and draw in a little bit closer. I saw the man pause and then wave his flag at me. I waved back by "wiggling the wings" to which he ran over to the tire guys and everyone stood up to look.

At that point I figured I oughta go and not distract them from important roadside repairs any longer. So I flipped sport mode and rolled off hot foot back towards "home".

The whole point of this story is the ending. Once I got loaded up, I flipped the median and tooled back towards where the truck was being serviced. Flipping the median again, I eased up behind the breakdown with my warning lights lit. Got out and asked the lady if she'd like her photos. After a half second of confusion, she got excited asking if the drone was me. Yep. She had a whole bunch of questions which I answered and explained the lot. She gave me her email address, and right there on the side of the road I sent the two high up overview stills I snapped before the wave.

The man came over and told me how cool it was, and how none of the tire guys spotted it in the sky nor believed I waved back. I emailed him the snaps too.

They both thanked me, and said they look forward to seeing them later. Back on the road I go. Hour and a half left. It felt good to bring a smile to people's faces and make their mundane day a little bit more exciting. One of those stills is below.

 

[CoolBreeze]

Good to hear people appreciate the Mavic and had a positive experience. Also think it was good of you to stop and talk with them.

I'm often torn between interested and privacy. Everytime I tell someone I have a drone they say "Does it have a camera?" I explain flying at high altitude, filming nature and when possible show videos of same.
.
One neighbor wants to buy a drone, one neighbor installed shower curtain above outdoor shower and hot tub. Two friends from church I attend are coming over to fly my u818a and are interested in buying a Mavic.

 

[PT_Mavic]

One neighbor wants to buy a drone, one neighbor installed shower curtain above outdoor shower and hot tub. Two friends from church I attend are coming over to fly my u818a and are interested in buying a Mavic.

I just tell people "If you want to fly over and look at me in the hot tub, I really don't care. But I don't recommend it, either."

That is one **** of an I-beam load.

 

[flipside05us]

Not to be a damper on your mavic experience which is great by the way but per FAA rules you are not supposed to fly over or near a possible wildfire of any sort. Just a friendly reminder but i do appreciate you advocating for our hobby by engaging and getting a positive feedback from the public.

 

[CoolBreeze]

Good thought. This time of year wild fires are numerous.
Below video I was at least 11/2 mile away and no closer. Fire was on an island. I did think about aircraft and helicopters and returned home. For many reasons drones should stay clear of fires. Not aware if a standard distance is recommended.

 

[RavenTBK]

Not to be a damper on your mavic experience which is great by the way but per FAA rules you are not supposed to fly over or near a possible wildfire of any sort.

That's not quite accurate. There was no aerial or ground firefighting going on, nor was a TFR in place. No violations of hobby flight recommendations occurred.

 

[CoolBreeze]

Good thought. This time of year wild fires are numerous.
Below video I was at least 11/2 mile away and no closer. Fire was on an island. I did think about aircraft and helicopters and returned home. For many reasons drones should stay clear of fires. Not aware if a standard distance is recommended.

Read some fires will have TFR. MINNESOTA Has 5 mile rule.

Like flipside05us remind...best not to fly.

 

[Ping^Spike]

Cool post @RavenTBK

And **** me, how long is that truck!??

That'd never work on the roads here in the UK lol

 

[RavenTBK]

Cool post @RavenTBK

And **** me, how long is that truck!??

That'd never work on the roads here in the UK lol

I didn't measure it, but that's a concrete span for an overpass. I'd reckon it's 35m by itself, and 50 tonnes easy. Add another 10m or so for the tractor and ballpark 5m more for that dolly under the rear.

 

[flipside05us]

That's not quite accurate. There was no aerial or ground firefighting going on, nor was a TFR in place. No violations of hobby flight recommendations occurred.

I understand that but you did say that you parked nearby and flew the mavic over the the area you thought had a fire so what if there was? You would have been instantly in violation of FAA regulations and put firefighting aircraft at risk before you even know what was going on. Your intent was to get close. Like I said, I'm not here to bash you but all of us has a responsibility to be careful out there for the safety of everyone.
Nothing bad happened so it's all good but it only takes a narrow minded reporter to spot your drone and before you know it it's in the news with some silly headline like "Drone spotted in wild fire risking other aircraft" Like I said just a friendly reminder.

 

[RavenTBK]

But that's assuming facts not in evidence. Next you'll be accusing me of flying under the influence...or that I am responsible for the leaks at the White House....as that is just as left field as the one you assumed.

As a red card holding wildland firefighter representing the Florida Forestry Service and my home county, I knew what I was getting into before I flew overhead. There were no firefighting operations going on, as the fire was still new with light smoke. If it was called in as a real fire emergemcy, nobody had arrived yet, so these magical restrictions you speak of did not exist at the time of the flight. Nor would they exist even if ground units were there as it was not a "wildfire" that involved possible aerial operations but rather what I observed from the highway as a woods fire occupying less than 1/8 acre.

Once I climbed up on the overpass it also was plainly visible as a pile burn, but I put up anyway to see if it was attended, which turns out it was.

None of this was important to the story as the subject matter mainly concerned the positive interaction with "Bob and Jane" down the road enjoying seeing a birds eye view of themselves working with the oversize load.

Please quit making assumptions.

 

[flipside05us]

But that's assuming facts not in evidence. Next you'll be accusing me of flying under the influence...or that I am responsible for the leaks at the White House....as that is just as left field as the one you assumed.

As a red card holding wildland firefighter representing the Florida Forestry Service and my home county, I knew what I was getting into before I flew overhead. There were no firefighting operations going on, as the fire was still new with light smoke. If it was called in as a real fire emergemcy, nobody had arrived yet, so these magical restrictions you speak of did not exist at the time of the flight. Nor would they exist even if ground units were there as it was not a "wildfire" that involved possible aerial operations but rather what I observed from the highway as a woods fire occupying less than 1/8 acre.

Once I climbed up on the overpass it also was plainly visible as a pile burn, but I put up anyway to see if it was attended, which turns out it was.

None of this was important to the story as the subject matter mainly concerned the positive interaction with "Bob and Jane" down the road enjoying seeing a birds eye view of themselves working with the oversize load.

Please quit making assumptions.

 

[flipside05us]

Wow someone got off the wrong side of the bed this morning, don't get offended man I told you I'm not here to bash you and I even commended you for being a positive influence for our hobby. My reply was based on your original post so if you presented this information initially then maybe there wouldn't have been this confusion. Sorry you got offended but stop being so defensive, there is enough misrepresentation of our hobby as it is and it doesn't matter if you're what you say you are the media is just going to twist the truth so again we still need to be careful as to not give any more ammunition to the media to further their cause of making our hobby look bad.
I'll be the bigger person here and apologize if I have offended you, this kind of back and forth does nothing good for this group.

 

[Ping^Spike]

I waved back by "wiggling the wings"

Can you explain this action to a n00b please mate?

Did you rock it from left to right somehow?

 

[Don Boyd]

Good thing you did not chop a chopper

 

[RavenTBK]

Can you explain this action to a n00b please mate?

Did you rock it from left to right somehow?

Exactly right.

 

[TrayBoz]

I think the only thing you did wrong was to take a job where you have a 3 hour commute...... ugh.

 

[RavenTBK]

I think the only thing you did wrong was to take a job where you have a 3 hour commute...... ugh.

Haha. That's just one day. Other days it's 6h each way. Depending on how I feel at the end of the day, I may grab a hotel, or haul back.

Then other days my travel time is just under 970miles and 22hours from leaving my bed to getting back in it.

I've had my company van for four months now and already broke 53k miles.

It pays the bills....and gives me ample opportunity to fly.

I think the only thing you did wrong was to take a job where you have a 3 hour commute...... ugh.