Standing before the Golden Drone -- a bird averting skin

[Prismatic]

Birds fear and flee from fire. The dazzling golden holographic skin of my drone, Bertie, flashes hues of red and orange, as if on fire. It's intended to alarm an approaching bird, and make it break away to safety. The photo and video only suggest the extreme visual impact of Golden Bertie in flight!

Here's a short video of her in flight; again, the in-person effect is much stronger than the photo or video suggests!

Vineyards use similar holographic streamers to deter birds from plundering the crop. I hope and believe that Bertie's "fire skin" will intimidate birds and dissuade avian attacks, but I'll probably never know.

Yes, this is custom. I used Cricut permanent holographic vinyl, which I'd never seen, much less used. Um, yes, there was a learning curve, despite obtaining a Mavic Air skin template (which was not 100% accurate or suitable for this material, but one makes do ...). Many hours, four top-skins, and multiple revisions of lesser patches later, dear ol' Bertie looks like a superhero! And if all that work spares a bird or two from a painful, probably mortal encounter with Bertie, then ... well, I'll probably never know.

 

[superstarpup]

Whether it works or not it looks pretty cool.

 

[ZX14-R]

 

[Prismatic]

<*snip>>skin pix<*/snip>

As anyone could tell, my post was less about "skin" and more about "bird deterrence". So, does yours also deter birds? Does blue camo effectively conceal the drone from birds over open water? No? I wonder why you posted it as a reply.

Because, yes, we know: some people skin their drones. There are tons of them just like yours--preprinted, precut, and ready to stick on--easily available around the internet.

But while 99% of people who skin their drone do it for stylin', I thought it was obvious that wasn't my reason. And I sure didn't intend to start another "Oh, look! Look! Here's MY skin!" thread.

 

[THE CYBORG]

I like it and it could possibly be easier to keep VLOS.
Now where can I get my hands on some holographic vinyl

 

[DagDerniT]

Birds fear and flee from fire. The dazzling golden holographic skin of my drone, Bertie, flashes hues of red and orange, as if on fire. It's intended to alarm an approaching bird, and make it break away to safety. The photo and video only suggest the extreme visual impact of Golden Bertie in flight!

Here's a short video of her in flight; again, the in-person effect is much stronger than the photo or video suggests!

Vineyards use similar holographic streamers to deter birds from plundering the crop. I hope and believe that Bertie's "fire skin" will intimidate birds and dissuade avian attacks, but I'll probably never know.

Yes, this is custom. I used Cricut permanent holographic vinyl, which I'd never seen, much less used. Um, yes, there was a learning curve, despite obtaining a Mavic Air skin template (which was not 100% accurate or suitable for this material, but one makes do ...). Many hours, four top-skins, and multiple revisions of lesser patches later, dear ol' Bertie looks like a superhero! And if all that work spares a bird or two from a painful, probably mortal encounter with Bertie, then ... well, I'll probably never know.

View attachment 80809

Nice color there Goldmember! I betcha mine works better, lol! Used to have issues with those pesky birds, now they fly away in complete fear whenever my Mavic is in town Absolutely love when the sun hits it, if you dont have sunglasses on, you will be seeing rainbows for hours though, haha!

 

[SoCalSteve]

I wondered how many bird encounters people had. This thread makes me feel like my inquiry is valid!

 

[Prismatic]

I like it and it could possibly be easier to keep VLOS.
Now where can I get my hands on some holographic vinyl

It definitely sparkles in the sky! I got the material locally, at Joann's Fabric & Crafts. The same stuff is available online.

I didn't find it particularly easy to work with; it's very thin and flexible, but not stretchy, even heated with a hair dryer, so domed areas require slitting the vinyl to achieve a flat lay. The slits make applying it exceptionally tricky, and it took me a couple of tries to master the task.

Yes, the slits are slightly visible, even in the photo from my posting. But they're way better than the only alternative, which is wrinkles. And as my wife quipped, it's always good to get the wrinkles out.

 

[Prismatic]

I wondered how many bird encounters people had. This thread makes me feel like my inquiry is valid!

You could search these forums for that kind of information, but the short answer to your question is "plenty of them". ?

 

[Prismatic]

Nice color there Goldmember! I betcha mine works better, lol! Used to have issues with those pesky birds, now they fly away in complete fear whenever my Mavic is in town Absolutely love when the sun hits it, if you dont have sunglasses on, you will be seeing rainbows for hours though, haha!View attachment 80846View attachment 80848View attachment 80849

Zang! I am impressed, that's brilliant (in a couple of ways)!

I actually first tried a similar material, the same "threads" hologram as what I used, but in a silver (not golden) color. I found it was too intense for my own eyes! I couldn't bear it in full sun. Then I realized the golden material that was so fiery was also easier on the eye. So ... now she's "Fire Bertie".

 

[Neil Reid]

Nice color there Goldmember! I betcha mine works better, lol! Used to have issues with those pesky birds, now they fly away in complete fear whenever my Mavic is in town Absolutely love when the sun hits it, if you dont have sunglasses on, you will be seeing rainbows for hours though, haha!View attachment 80846View attachment 80848View attachment 80849

I really like this- very cool. Just wrapped my MP and even with the excellent pre-cuts it took a bit of work to apply correctly- job well done for you- it looks awesome!

 

[SoCalSteve]

I love both of these. Prismatic, do you have a modified pattern for your vinyl? What drone is that?
Dag, where did you pick up your vinyl and how was it to wrap?

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View attachment 80809

 

[Thomas B]

Nice color there Goldmember! I betcha mine works better, lol! Used to have issues with those pesky birds, now they fly away in complete fear whenever my Mavic is in town Absolutely love when the sun hits it, if you dont have sunglasses on, you will be seeing rainbows for hours though, haha!View attachment 80846View attachment 80848View attachment 80849

@DagDerniT .... What did you use to attach the material to your drone?

 

[dronerdave]

I don't have a colorful skin on my MP (carbon fiber pattern) but use strobes and I still have bird issues with both flocking birds and raptors.

 

[Prismatic]

I love both of these. Prismatic, do you have a modified pattern for your vinyl? What drone is that?
Dag, where did you pick up your vinyl and how was it to wrap?

I got the skin template for the Mavic Air from Ashland Aerial. My modifications to it were either hand-sketched (after finding that a given piece wasn't going to work with this material) or simple scaling (because many of the pieces in the template were about 5% too small). So, no, I don't really have anything to offer.

A template that works for one material may not work for another. If you were to, say, buy a cheap Mavic Air skin and use it as a template, you could replicate it using the holographic vinyl. But the vinyl may not conform to curves exactly the way the material in the "template" skin would, resulting in wrinkles and gaps. Or it might; you'd have to try it to know!

I got the holographic vinyl (Cricut brand) here in Colorado at Joann's Fabric and Craft, but that and other brands are available online. I used an Exacto knife on a wood cutting board to cut out the pieces; it was easy because it's a great cutting board. You can easily remove the backing from a piece by sticking a corner of the vinyl side to a piece of tape, and then bending the tape away from the backing. With the backing off, you have to achieve perfect alignment before any part of the vinyl touches the surface; this can be mighty taxing with shaky hands. But it can be done.

The hardest part is a dome. The forward canopy of the Mavic Air is a dome, and after three failed attempts to apply the top skin--it would wrinkle regardless of whatever heat or pressure or graduated speed I tried. I finally used an array of slits in the skin where sections can slightly overlap, which prevents wrinkles. The slits start along a circle that's centered on the dome, and they radiate out to the edge. With six cuts, I wound up with five "wedges" around the front of the drone (the centerline does not need a slit). And I 'cheated' a little by making the piece slightly oversized, and then using a new Exacto blade to razor off the excess--without nicking the aircraft!

The slits are visible, to be sure, but they're way better than wrinkles!

 

[Prismatic]

Nice color there Goldmember! I betcha mine works better, lol! Used to have issues with those pesky birds, now they fly away in complete fear whenever my Mavic is in town <*snip*>

Well, that is good to hear! I'm hoping to see birds beat an equally vigorous retreat from Fire Bertie!

And while I can't imagine how we'd ever run that test, to see which works better, I'd take you up on it. My "burning bird" should register like your "second-sun" in a bird's mind: "Deadly danger! Flee!"

 

[Prismatic]

@DagDerniT .... What did you use to attach the material to your drone?

Can't speak for him, but the holographic vinyl I used is self-sticking. You cut out a piece, remove the backing, align the piece in its location, and (finally) stick it in place--avoid trapping air bubbles by 'rolling' the piece into place. Your technique finally gets pretty good about the time you're done. ?

 

[DagDerniT]

Can't speak for him, but the holographic vinyl I used is self-sticking. You cut out a piece, remove the backing, align the piece in its location, and (finally) stick it in place--avoid trapping air bubbles by 'rolling' the piece into place. Your technique finally gets pretty good about the time you're done. ?

I love both of these. Prismatic, do you have a modified pattern for your vinyl? What drone is that?
Dag, where did you pick up your vinyl and how was it to wrap?

Hey SoCalSteve,
I ordered the skin through a online seller from Malaysia. He mainly wrapped cars for advertising but then got into doing drones. The hologram material is like a thin vinyl with sticky peel backing and was pre-cut for the Mavic Pro. I ordered 2 sets in case the first one ever got damaged as I liked it so much and received many compliments I will look up his info if you would like it when I get home to my laptop, just hoping I still have it.
Thanks!

 

[DagDerniT]

@DagDerniT .... What did you use to attach the material to your drone?

Hi Thomas,
The material is a thin vinyl that is sticky peel back. I used a credit card and hair dryer to get the bubbles out. Took me a couple hours to do the Mavic Pro, 3 batteries, and the controller. Have had it on for 2 years now...

 

[Thomas B]

Hi Thomas,
The material is a thin vinyl that is sticky peel back. I used a credit card and hair dryer to get the bubbles out. Took me a couple hours to do the Mavic Pro, 3 batteries, and the controller. Have had it on for 2 years now...

Do you remember the name of the material? TIA