Soaring over Portland - Sunset in the City of Roses

[IlluminationsfromtheAttic]

I filmed this video a few days ago - my first flight in a big city! Thanks to the fact that big cities tend to host large international airports, it's no surprise that it's tricky to find a place to fly a drone. However, there are gaps to found between no fly zones, and that's what I found here.

I love flying in wild and rural places with their immense natural beauty, but it was undeniably exciting to fly in such a complex moving environment as the city. Rowing teams on the river, trains, jet boats, and sea lions (see if you can spot him swimming by the bridge!) made for a spectacular afternoon flight. This was another situation where where the zoom on the Mavic 2 Zoom was immensely useful, since it allowed me to safely get close up footage of all this cool stuff!

 

[dirkclod]

Nice
Was surprised to see that submarine and not only saw the sea lion
but caught em .

 

[IlluminationsfromtheAttic]

Nice View attachment 58120
Was surprised to see that submarine and not only saw the sea lion
but caught em .
View attachment 58121

Well done!

 

[jeplane]

Funny, I was just there yesterday!.... Still working on processing the pics, but here is one from the same bridges you flew over...

 

[JDawg]

I live in the Portland area and though I would like to have seen some differnt looks I think you did well

 

[JDawg]

Nice View attachment 58120
Was surprised to see that submarine and not only saw the sea lion
but caught em .
View attachment 58121

Submarine, USS Blueback, has been at OMSI for years. Submarine

 

[dirkclod]

Submarine, USS Blueback, has been at OMSI for years. Submarine

Hey I could go for a camp in

 

[IlluminationsfromtheAttic]

View attachment 58137Funny, I was just there yesterday!.... Still working on processing the pics, but here is one from the same bridges you flew over...

Nice one! That looks like the NW Steel Bridge, which is a ways to the south of where I was flying.

 

[jeplane]

Nice one! That looks like the NW Steel Bridge, which is a ways to the south of where I was flying.

I think it is the Hawthorne bridge? What do I know, I don't live there... I was flying from Tom Mc call waterfront park. I agree with you, Portland is a nice city to be able to fly with our getting into trouble...

 

[jeplane]

Well, here is the next one.
As you can see, I love "sunrise-30 minutes", or "sunset+30 minutes". I don't have to worry about the legalities of flying at night, and I still get details in the sky that way...

 

[IlluminationsfromtheAttic]

I think it is the Hawthorne bridge? What do I know, I don't live there... I was flying from Tom Mc call waterfront park. I agree with you, Portland is a nice city to be able to fly with our getting into trouble...

You may be right, I'm only somewhat familiar with the city myself, and am just going by Google Maps to identify the bridge names. The second image you posted is I-5, with OMSI in the background, which is the area I was flying in. You must be using the Mavic 2 Pro, as I don't the Zoom has good enough low light capability to be able get that shot.

 

[IlluminationsfromtheAttic]

I live in the Portland area and though I would like to have seen some differnt looks I think you did well

Thanks, I might have done more flying, but I had places to be! It's always hard to judge when I have enough different shots to put together a video. In hindsight I would have liked more footage of the rowers, and of downtown - specifically I wish I'd flown all the way over downtown and captured video looking straight down at the city.

 

[787steve]

Nice work. Especially liked the bridge sweep at about 1:45.

 

[IlluminationsfromtheAttic]

Nice work. Especially liked the bridge sweep at about 1:45.

Thanks! That bridge was a lot of fun to film - a beautiful structure with pedestrians, bicyclists, and trains to add motion and interest.

 

[IlluminationsfromtheAttic]

I also published a blog post with a bunch of photos: Illuminations from the attic: Soaring over Portland - Sunset in the City of Roses

 

[swooshdave]

Did we have any clear weather in the last couple weeks? I'm starting to forget...

 

[Wilbur&Garth]

I love getting pictures of bridges around Portland! Here's a shot of a crow that swooped right below me while shooting the Broadway. And yes, the bridge in question from one of the previous posters is the Hawthorne. The Steel is much taller with a passenger walkway below it.

 

[selee]

very good! ... what is the music you used?

 

[swooshdave]

Interestingly the PDX Class C airspace extends to the edge of the Willamette. So technically you can fly over the river just not on the Eastside. Not that I care where you fly.

 

[JDawg]

Interestingly the PDX Class C airspace extends to the edge of the Willamette. So technically you can fly over the river just not on the Eastside. Not that I care where you fly.View attachment 58390

Thanks for that. No rain in the forecast for several days and I want to get downtown to get some pics.