Who's filmed themselves riding with a drone? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Who's filmed themselves riding with a drone?

PrivatePilot

PrivatePilot

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I bought a DJI Phantom 3 Advanced last night. I've been interested in the drone thing for a long time (I flew RC planes and heli's for decades, but kinda drifted away from it about 5 years ago) but there was no way in hell I could justify the $1000+ price tag (for a good gimbal camera drone, not a cheap POS) for what would amount to a toy for me - I have no professional need for one, just for fun. ;)

So, last night I see one popup on a local Facebook bidding wars page for a $300 opening bid. It had some crash damage on the camera gimbal mount (not the camera itself, or the gimbal, just an "X" shaped mounting piece that it all mounts to which I'm pretty sure it *designed* to sacrifice itself to save the gimbal) that the owner didn't really seem to be interested in fixing even though he ordered the parts already and were just waiting for them to arrive - classic eBay "might get there in a month" type thing.

Long story short, I went out and bought it for $300 cash last night as he really just wanted the cash ASAP. Worked for me.

So, I bandaged it up last night until the part arrives and then went and flew it. Super easy for anyone with any RC experience, or anyone who reads the manual and practices beforehand - unlike the radio controlled planes/helis I used to fly, this thing almost flies itself.

Anyhow, one of the most interesting things I'm looking forward to trying is using the "follow me" mode while riding on a back country road somewhere.

Anyone tried this? I see lots of videos on YouTube with varying levels of success but thought I'd strike up a conversation here.
 
The Ontario govt recently took the fun out of drones. My ten year old daughter was flying hers in a big empty park in Barrie, police showed up and made us leave.

Sent from my SM-A500W using Tapatalk
 
Wow. That's a great deal at $300.

I've also been stopped by the police asking for a UAV license. Barrie cops coincidentally.
 
IIRC there's a guy on here that's done follow-mode vids, hopefully he shows up with some tips.
 
If transport canada drone regulations are being enforced now, there are very few places you can legally use them.

"at least 75 m away from vehicles, vessels, and the public (if your drone weighs more than 1 kg up to 35 kg)"

Since you need a clear 150m circle around your drone, even most parks aren't legal places to fly. Using a drone to follow you on the street is likely illegal as well (unless you can push the following distance back to more than 75m and no other vehicles use the street and there are no houses on either side of the street).
 
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TwistedKestrel said:
The rules may get better? I haven't been following it too closely but it seems like there may be a license coming which will drop most restrictions except for staying 30m away from people.

https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/opssvs/proposed-rules-drones-canada.html
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Cool, but $100,000 liability insurance? It will be interesting to see how that plays out. It doesn't seem like it would be worthwhile for anyone to write a policy for <$100 and if it was much more than that, a lot of people wouldn't bother paying for it. The best approach is probably a rider on your home policy as administration costs would be essentially zero.
 
TwistedKestrel said:
The rules may get better? I haven't been following it too closely but it seems like there may be a license coming which will drop most restrictions except for staying 30m away from people.

https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/opssvs/proposed-rules-drones-canada.html
Click to expand...

Cool, but $100,000 liability insurance? It will be interesting to see how that plays out. It doesn't seem like it would be worthwhile for anyone to write a policy for <$100 and if it was much more than that, a lot of people wouldn't bother paying for it. The best approach is probably a rider on your home policy as administration costs would be essentially zero.

EDIT:
Also has to meet a design standard which outline required maintenance. Haha, they are making these like small planes where everything has to get documented. They are quickly leaving the realm of toys and moving solidly into the hobby category. You are looking at a bunch of money and time each year just to maintain compliance, it's no longer just something you can pull out in the evening and go for a rip.
 
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i-WERKS said:
I've also been stopped by the police asking for a UAV license. Barrie cops coincidentally.
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Unless you were flying a monster of a drone, you don't need a UAV licence. Classic case of misinformed LEO's.

GreyGhost said:
If transport canada drone regulations are being enforced now, there are very few places you can legally use them.

"at least 75 m away from vehicles, vessels, and the public (if your drone weighs more than 1 kg up to 35 kg)"

Since you need a clear 150m circle around your drone, even most parks aren't legal places to fly. Using a drone to follow you on the street is likely illegal as well (unless you can push the following distance back to more than 75m and no other vehicles use the street and there are no houses on either side of the street).
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FWIW the restrictions don't apply to the pilot him/herself obviously, so filming yourself would be no problem.

But yes, the 75M requirement is downright stupid when you realize it lumps in the 1.2KG DJI Phantom line with 35 KG processional camera rig monster drones - one is not like the other.

Anyhow, I came across a government input site where people are discussing the issues.

https://letstalktransportation.ca/lets-talk-drones

I chimed in with this:

As both a licensed pilot and a drone/RC aircraft owner I do see this from both sides of the fence and appreciate what some of these regulations are designed to accomplish, but I feel that they are still over reaching, punitive, and simply unrealistic in some aspects.

Although I am supportive of the regulations that are designed to keep drones clear of potential aircraft conflict (although I was glad to see a more realistic 5.5KM airspace limit vs the overzealous 9KM previously), I struggle with some of the other regulations for the >1KG class, specifically the 75 meter requirement - this makes it difficult if not virtually impossible for the recreational drone user to film the very things most choose to film - friends, family, and events.

Although I understand the underlying safety aspect behind such, the 1 thru 35KG range lumps FAR too many drones into this category, and unfortunately also lumps in the most common consumer friendly DJI models which are in the 1.2-1.5KG range, yet pose dramatically less risk vs a 35KG drone. Putting the two together in a single group is akin to comparing a huge SUV to a bicycle and suggesting that they present the same level of risk to bystanders, when the reality is anything but.

It seems to me that there should be a new (perhaps 1 thru 3-5KG?) category that would safely encompass most consumer and prosumer drones that are being used recreationally, but are FAR less risky from a safety standpoint vs a 35KG (Clearly professional/commercial drone) they are being lumped in with.

The distance regulations in such a "lower middleweight" class of drones could safely be relaxed to a more realistic 20-30 meter range which would fit the needs and requirements for most owners at that point and would foster adherence vs abhorrence.

In short, horribly overzealous and unnecessary limitations on the classes of drones that are most often ending up in the hands of the "average" consumer are, in short, going to be result in the limitations simply being ignored by many because they are simply unrealistic, the same as how the requirement for liability insurance will also inevitably be widely ignored, as it too is simply unrealistic for the average consumer who might fly their drone once or twice a month.

On the other hand, realistic and easily attainable requirements on the other hand will foster engagement and adherence by a much wider percentage of the public.
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