Some video from my Blade 350qx.  

Nice job!  If that had been either of my QXs they would have been in the drink within the first 2 minutes

Thanks!


That one did go in the drink at the end of the video.  LOL!

I was just putting it in a nice hover when a blade separated and she tumbled in to the water.

Horizon Hobby has been awesome about it.  I sent them pictures of the separated blade and a copy of the video.  They sent me a brand new 350QX and let me keep the old one which still flies!  (has a shorted ESC but still flies).  They also sent me some bling for the boats in the form of a marine brushless motor and ESC to make Miss Geico rock!

Our businesses has gone good so far, had some jobs and more interested on the way. Got our letter from the Faa on Friday, ,, its totally without merit and you can see they know it, in how its written.

Ordered a custom made T4 quad setup, excited to get it, wish I knew more on how to build them, but I dont.d

Here's what I've been flying....

This was posted elsewhere on this board but this is an awesome site and you can post you own videos to it also.  original thread here http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1635258_.html&page=1&anc=bottom#bottom Drone videos from all over the world!!!!


http://travelbydrone.com/

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-faa-is-still-sending-out-fake-cease-and-desist-letters-to-drone-pilots
Got a small article written about our FAA letter.

All of that really made my head hurt. the derp is just out of control.

Basically.. FAA .. don't fly that or we will fine you.....

FAA.... the above is not true and the letters are not real... but the FAA could fine you...

What.

They can fine you but lose in court, however after you pay for a lawyer and court cost the FAA still wins.  

I may be mistaken but I believe both cases that went to court were covered by the same lawyer and done pro bono. It's much like gun rights, they keep taking and taking.

I had a surprise while camping this morning at my favorite campground.  A gentleman was out walking his Sheltie (dog) and my Aussie makes a point of trying to meet every other dog in the campgrounds.  My dog and I walk up to him and he says  " you're the one that posted the YT quadcopter video of this campground aren't you?"  I acknowledged yes and he told me he was from Dallas and had chosen this campground to spend a weeks vacation after seeing my video.  Said he even selected his site by watching the aerial.  The state of Tenn may owe me a commission after this LOL.  He had recognized my dog and my trailer from the video.

which one did you buy, and from where?

how do you power it?  do you add a second battery dedicated to the gimbal?

Oh lord this was so long ago and I am so over the terrible mistake of buying the QX350's, but to answer your question these had the cheap EBay gimbals that only sometimes worked correctly and they were plugged into the flight battery via a modified balance cable to the battery for correct voltage,  I am much happier with my  Phantoms and other quads all using Naza flight controllers and on the Phantoms I am using the Feiyutech G3 gimbals and am very pleased with them also.

That thing is huge!!!  What is the size of that quad?

It's about 940mm square (not counting props). It's actually an X8

The gimbal for it came in yesterday. I'm stuck before installation though because I'm missing a few standoffs.

Ok, guys time for a fire mission of our own.

The FAA has opened up a comment period on their proposed rules and they are totally crazy.

FAA Model Aircraft ruling and commentary page


This is totally a over reach by the FAA and totally crazy as some of the rules would affect current business (RC parts and model suppliers) and the professional demo and 3d pilots that already exist in the industry.

Please take the time to comment if you get a chance.

I joined the AMA last week and I have been a bit hesitant to do so, however I do know some people at the local flying field and I would like to fly there at some point. I am also interested in attending and participating in RC flying type events and the membership is required.

The AMA has never been a organization that did a lot of legal fighting or wrangling for the hobby but at this point they are being threatened and they must step up to the plate. I look at them no differently than my membership in off roading organizations (both state and national) and gun rights groups (both local VCDL and national NRA).

Suggestion letter below, if you are not a AMA member remove that portion.

"    Re: Docket No. FAA-2014-0396
   Interpretation of the Special Rule for Model Aircraft

   To Whom It May Concern,
   I am a model aviation enthusiast and would like to comment on your recent notice regarding flying ‘FPV’ first person view flying as well as the definition of commercial operation.

   I am also a member of the AMA – Academy of Model Aeronautics, and follow their guidance for what is safe operation as they have published in previous years. The AMA does allow exchange of money for flight instruction, and I also enjoy seeing factory sponsored pilots perform demos at various conventions. Your notice claims these activities to be illegal.

   I also enjoy operating my model aircraft by way of video goggles. The AMA has published their safety guidelines to allow this with use of a spotter that maintains visual line of site. However, again your notice claims this to be illegal.

   In the context of Federal Aviation Regulations, commercial operation of an aircraft should not exclude exchange of money as you have applied it to of model aeronautics. There are many valid reasons for money to be exchanged such as flight instruction (for models), demonstration by manufacturers, as well as simple non-profit compensation by clubs, educators, and similar small groups. This is not for the intent to make a profit, but can help offset costs of an expensive hobby.

   FPV flying is an exciting way to enjoy model aviation, and contrary to the FAA’s belief, can enhance the safety of flight be allowing me to see and avoid obstacles such as trees and structures. Restricting flying to direct visual control causes me to judge distances incorrectly. FPV flying also allows me to fly my video camera around in a much more precise way.

   I understand that the FAA is working on legislation for UAS and possibly hobbyists, however I feel your interpretation of the existing laws to be flawed, and creating more confusion than safety. I ask that the FAA rescind notice 2014-0396, and allow the AMA to set the standards for what is safe operation.

   Sincerely,
   Your Name
   City, State"

Hopefully we can get a lot of comments.

I will send a letter with a large portion of that. However there are many other reasons why money could/should be exchanged. If I want to fly over someone's house that wants to pay me for that service they should and do not have any say in the matter! I am not hurting anything or anyone flying safely around at 50-125 feet in the air and should be none of their business if I make a few bucks doing so!

They are only going after the whole hobby because they have had the commercial enforcement portion shoved up their ass in court so far. Instead of just stepping back and doing what they were told they are going to attempt to bully everyone now.

Freaking sucks,,, I took up flying quads to get away for the stress of gun laws for a while and they follow me over to quads. The govt has their hands in to many places where it doesn't belong!

I doubt the FAA will care any more than any of the other 3 letter agencies care about things like F&F or audits for political opposititon.

Good luck but I have my severe doubts about the FAA giving two shits.   They were supposedly listening to the AMA and working with their concerns at heart when they came up with this bullshit in the first place.


And I doubt I will be gettin rid of any of my FPV gear much less stop using it.     Said it in the DOJ thread where the guy had his quad video from the border used, buy up as much of the gear as you can before dipshit feds start trying to ban it.

I changed a large portion of it as well.

I am also into offroading and fight the government every step of the way on that as well.  I spend way too much time and money trying to keep my hobbies legal and available.

It is very disheartening.

Every time I find a new hobby the Gov't decides to step in and fuck things up.  I am sick of all the bullshit!

OK I've read every single page of this (unfortunately for my wallet) and have a couple of questions about the DJI Phantom 2 Vision+. My intent is to take video/pics of the highest quality possible, not into stunt stuff. Looking for ultra safe/stable flight characteristics, awesome video quality with FPV and enough safety to save me from myself in loosing my investment. I'm ok with buy once cry once here...
1. Can you get it with a H3-3D gimbal set-up without their DJI branded camera so it can be used with your own GoPro3+?
2. Does that particular configuration come with everything necessary to fly it FPV with an iPhone5/iPad Air?
3. Is there any other Phantom kit that's known to be on the horizon that would be worth waiting a few months for instead of buying now?
4. Any other question I should be asking about this set-up that I didn't?

If you want the H3 gimbal and to use the GoPro save a bunch of money and buy the Phantom2 with H3-3D gimbal.  Not the Phantom2 Vision.

Been a little pre-occupied the past few weeks with my main passion

Concern I see is the Phantom 2 uses the 2.4GHZ controller vs the Phantom 2 Vision+ which uses the 5.8GHZ, which I understand will give you better range, no conflicts between the GoPro and the GPS since they're on different frequencies, no range extender and the DJI Vision App (is this the FPV or something different?). Thanks for the suggestion, I'm still confused though...

One or more of the posters in this thread has a new  P2V so maybe they can answer your question.  I know on the FC40 you can do what you are asking as far as the gimbal which I have done, but I don't know if the range extender on the P2V will work the same with GoPro wifi as it does with the new factory camera.  As far as range goes 2.4 actually gives much more than 5.8.  One of the main reasons the manufacturers have gone to 2.4 plus 5.8 is easily blocked by buildings, trees, and such.  At the same time 2.4 and Wifi do not play well so yes you need to go with the Vision instead of the P2.  I was only thinking about the camera and gimbal and not the Wifi use for FPV.

Those sure shoot some amazing video.  

Blade 350 and GP Hero 3 Black

Well I had emailed DJI about the Phantom 2 Vision + and using the 3D gimbal with your own GoPro and they responded by saying the gimbal cannot be swapped out to the 3D version without the system malfunctioning and will not work with the GoPro. Oh well, back to the drawing board...

Kinda what I thought but I wasn't sure.  I would go with the P2 and add what you need.  All that info can be found in the thread.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2048910

Thanks for the link! So if I get the Phantom 2 with the 3D gimbal, what additional pieces do I need to do FPV with my iPad as the monitor?
HELP!

Almost done with my FY680 setup.  I hooked the first battery up to it this morning, bound the receiver/transmitter, and made sure it got a GPS lock.  All I have left to do is program it and I should be ready for my maiden voyage.

If anyone here can advise me on throttle calibrating my ESC's, I'd love to run some things by you.  I cant seem to get the motor test on the DJI software assistant to initialize the motors and I think its because the ESC's aren't calibrated and think they're getting improper throttle position.

http://www.bladehelis.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=BLH7900

Would this be a good deal, for $800? I'm really interested in getting into quads for aerial photography, and this thing looks like it has all the bells and whistles as far as GPS, wireless cameras, ect ect.

I had pretty good luck with my Gen 1 Blade 350 - this is the redesigned one and I haven't seen much reviews on it.

Considering it comes with a gimbal and camera, that's really not a bad price over Gen 1 without those (or the improvements).

But once you start getting into that $800+ price range, you do have more options available to you so make sure you do your research.

Do yourself a favor and just run away from the Blade.  Get a Phantom and you will be happy.  The  Blades have so many issues and the version 2 did not correct any of them.

Noted. I'd prefer a GoPro over the noname camera it comes with, but thought it otherwise looked great. But I don't know anything about quads, either.

Here is a 1267 page discussion on the Blade that I wish I had read before purchasing 2 350QX's myself.  That is almost 1267 pages of nothing but issues being discussed.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1953854&page=1267

to be fair the Phantom thread is quite similar

Not even close when it comes to serious issues.

Like fly aways?  Don't get me wrong, I still trust DJI enough to use their flight controller on my FY680 but they've had their fair share too.

Fly a ways are pretty much a non issue with the latest firmware.  The Blade won't even stay in the damn air and even the minor crashes result in broken frames  I have never had either Phantom ever crash after many flights carrying unshielded GoPro and gimbal.  My Blades struggle to fly more than 2 minutes before something seriously goes wrong and they come crashing down completely out off control with a shielded GoPro.

DJI flyaways are now mostly the result of user errors.

That's a good thing. I did read about that, and I would be unimaginably pissed off if I dumped a grand on a quad, and the first time I started it up it flew off and vanished.

Yeah, that's obviously not acceptable but I flew my 350 at least a couple dozen times with a GoPro 3+ Black and never had an issue.  I don't see why it'd be hit or miss.

My buddy bought a really nice setup for $1200, and while he was filming over the Hassayampa River, he had a bird strike, and it went into the drink.   Total loss.    

That sadly is part of the game.  It can be a very expensive hobby but it is a blast when all goes right.

Like many forums you never really know who's the other guy typing. So problems with anything can be operator error. I'd say 99.9% of my issues have been on my end and not the product. I've had nothing but fun with my Blade 350. It has it's limitations of course, all things do. That being said I've never used a Phantom to make a comparison.

Having 2 Blades, 2 Phantoms, built an AquaCopter, Built a LiftoffUAV, have a V262.  I do not have issues with any of my quads other than the Blades.  Operator error is not a part of my equation.  The Blades have very serious known issues that Blade themselves even acknowledges.  Some get lucky but most have major issues.  They are fantastic flyers when they do behave correctly but they are not and should never have been advertised as an aerial photography platform.