Drones, UAV's, quad helicopter type thingy's etc.

Sep 29, 2016
1,821
240
19,935
Visit site
I believe Hutch is into drones, anyone else on here?

Reason I ask is that I am thinking of taking it up as a hobby, it seems to me it might sit well with caravan touring.

Hoping Hutch can give some advice pointers, ta Hutch.
 
Jun 26, 2017
445
17
10,685
Visit site
Yes, I have a drone, and absolutely love it, it’s great taking aerial footage of places you’ve been to and then editing at your leisure.

However, unfortunately, they are often frowned upon by many, as very often, when people hear and see a drone above them, they immediately assume that someone is spying on them, and feel a sense of violation which can get them quite agitated, sometimes to the point of aggression. More often than not, when I have been met with such a reaction, I have taken the time to show the aggressor how the drone works and is controlled, and the quality of HD footage of their favourite places, and they end up walking away with a smile on their face, wanting one !

To the best of my knowledge, the are banned from all club sites, and as a responsible user, I would strongly advise adhering to the drone code, which amongst other topics covers restricted flying areas, max altitude and distance, line of sight and proximity to others.

Don’t let this put you off though, it’s a great pastime, and used responsibly, wil give you many hours of enjoyment. I would suggest investing in a decent drone though from a repuatble manufacturer. DJI being the only one that really springs to mind, although there may well be some competition now, but I haven’t checked, There are of course many cheap “toy” drones around which whilst grabbing your attention initially, won’t give you the proper experience and full enjoyment.

Looking forward to hearing how you get on !
 
Mar 8, 2017
391
13
1,685
wandering.me.uk
The important point made by Icaru5 is the understanding and adherence of the law governing the operation of drones. They are quite restrictive and would certainly prevent their operation anywhere near any caravan or people other than yourself. Further stringent restrictions will become law in a year, so I recommend that you investigate these fully and also take out insurance cover before operating one.

Having said all that I agree with Icaru5 statement that their use can form a rewarding pastime.
 
Nov 16, 2015
11,345
3,593
40,935
Visit site
And remember to get insurance, its about £20 a year , to cover third party damage and / or injury. This cover all your drones / helicopters / model aircraft / boats etc.
And read the rules about using these thing, they can be great fun, oh and make sure you don/t bite your tongue when you first start flying them.
 
Feb 23, 2018
902
76
10,935
Visit site
EH52ARH said:
And remember to get insurance, its about £20 a year , to cover third party damage and / or injury. This cover all your drones / helicopters / model aircraft / boats etc.
And read the rules about using these thing, they can be great fun, oh and make sure you don/t bite your tongue when you first start flying them.

Sounds like advice from experience!

I don't own a drone, but I love the perspective of the video a drone gives. It adds a cinematic quality to YouTube videos. My only complaint is the noise from them; it can be annoying & some tourist attractions forbid their use. I personally don't mind the videoing aspect... I prefer it to someone walking round with a go-pro on a stick right in my face.
 
Nov 16, 2015
11,345
3,593
40,935
Visit site
CustardAvenger said:
EH52ARH said:
And remember to get insurance, its about £20 a year , to cover third party damage and / or injury. This cover all your drones / helicopters / model aircraft / boats etc.
And read the rules about using these thing, they can be great fun, oh and make sure you don/t bite your tongue when you first start flying them.

Sounds like advice from experience!

I don't own a drone, but I love the perspective of the video a drone gives. It adds a cinematic quality to YouTube videos. My only complaint is the noise from them; it can be annoying & some tourist attractions forbid their use. I personally don't mind the videoing aspect... I prefer it to someone walking round with a go-pro on a stick right in my face.

You can get a glider with a camera, If your competent enough to fly them you can get excellent filming .

41pbnjcxu-YL.jpg
 
Sep 29, 2016
1,821
240
19,935
Visit site
EH52ARH said:
And remember to get insurance, its about £20 a year , to cover third party damage and / or injury. This cover all your drones / helicopters / model aircraft / boats etc.
And read the rules about using these thing, they can be great fun, oh and make sure you don/t bite your tongue when you first start flying them.

Link(s) to insurance company(s) please Hutch :)
 
Sep 29, 2016
1,821
240
19,935
Visit site
Dodger524 said:
The important point made by Icaru5 is the understanding and adherence of the law governing the operation of drones. They are quite restrictive and would certainly prevent their operation anywhere near any caravan or people other than yourself. Further stringent restrictions will become law in a year, so I recommend that you investigate these fully and also take out insurance cover before operating one.

Having said all that I agree with Icaru5 statement that their use can form a rewarding pastime.

Hi Dodger,

I have commenced reading up on current legislative requirements for usageownership.

OK, it is a bit restrictive, but not really any more than I expected, all things considered.

Any links to reliable web-sites or resources would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
John
 
Nov 16, 2015
11,345
3,593
40,935
Visit site
Anseo said:
EH52ARH said:
And remember to get insurance, its about £20 a year , to cover third party damage and / or injury. This cover all your drones / helicopters / model aircraft / boats etc.
And read the rules about using these thing, they can be great fun, oh and make sure you don/t bite your tongue when you first start flying them.

Link(s) to insurance company(s) please Hutch :)

Look at the insurance link/ info. https://bmfa.org/Join-Renew/Join-the-BMFA
 
Mar 8, 2017
391
13
1,685
wandering.me.uk
I also recommend the BMFA membership for insurance cover, it may also help you find a club in your area that can help you.

A link that explains current and future regulations quite well can be found HERE
 
Sep 29, 2016
1,821
240
19,935
Visit site
I checked out the BMFA website ( bmfa.org/Join-Renew/Join-the-BMFA ) and if I read it correctly then membership for me would be £38.00 and includes insurance.

To be honest, the BMFA website does not appear to promote any compelling reasons for me to join.

I think for now I will only look at insurance cover.

Any links to insurance cover only?
 
Nov 11, 2009
22,368
7,446
50,935
Visit site
Anseo said:
I checked out the BMFA website ( bmfa.org/Join-Renew/Join-the-BMFA ) and if I read it correctly then membership for me would be £38.00 and includes insurance.

To be honest, the BMFA website does not appear to promote any compelling reasons for me to join.

I think for now I will only look at insurance cover.

Any links to insurance cover only?

If you try a Bing search “drone insurance cover uk “ you will get 4-5 established British insurers who say they offer such cover. Easier than me posting links.
 
Jun 26, 2017
445
17
10,685
Visit site
Finding myself almost lost for words here when I see how a thread started by someone who is enthusiastically looking to enjoy a fun new hobby has digressed into a relentless pursuit for an unnecessary insurance policy before even discussing the finer details of the various different models and the fun that they bring. :unsure:

Stop looking at insurance Anseo, and get yourself over to here ! :p

Mine’s the Spark, which I can thoroughly recommend, but I wouldn’t say no to the new Mavic Air !

You won’t go wrong with anything from DJI :p
 
Nov 16, 2015
11,345
3,593
40,935
Visit site
Icaru5, I have sent Anseo links to Drones direct, for the upto £100 ones, ideal for a garden, or in a playing field with nobody around. I use the Proflight Wraith. I agree just get out there and try it.
 
Sep 29, 2016
1,821
240
19,935
Visit site
Patience all.

Christmas may bring an opportunity to explore a wider range of purchase options.

Hoping 'austerity' and 'brexit' have not impacted adversely on the generosity of the good little people of Lapland andor the Claus organisation.
 
Jun 26, 2017
445
17
10,685
Visit site
Thanks Anseo - Your post has inspired me to finally get round to reviewing and editing some of the drone footage I have taken this year.

Most of my edits are of footage of family and friends, for example, often taken from above the sea, looking back at the beach, panning along the coastline or cliffs just above us, from the opposite side of a river, or of us all walking through the hills of the Lake District. However, I’ve put together some clips here which focus on scenery and locations from some of our caravan trips instead of memories of family and friends and I have uploaded it to YouTube in the hope that it may inspire not only yourself Anseo, but also others who may be interested in taking up this thoroughly enjoyable pastime.

You can see my video HERE

All of the footage in the video was taken using my DJI Spark, which is small enough to fit in my hand as you can see from the picture below which I’ve just taken ...

2rhqvt5.png


To show the video exactly as is, I haven’t changed the aspect ratio by adding any cinematic black bands, or made any video enhancements whatsoever. The editing was done this evening using Adobe Premier Elements.

Hope you enjoy !

Ic.
 
Mar 27, 2011
1,332
507
19,435
Visit site
Hi Icaru, I too was impressed with your YouTube footage, if I had come across that footage by chance I would have thought that to get shots like that would require a much more expensive bit of kit, I googled the model you stated and not sure why but was available from £350 to around £475, does that price ring true with you? How long would you think it would take to practice to be competent of controlling to that level, I must admit to have been tempted to get one myself but drones like everything else are a nightmare to choose which to buy because the massive range available at prices ranging from really cheap to majorly expensive, this thread has certainly awakened my interest in getting one and at the prices I’ve seen for the DJI Spark makes it a contender for Santa’s list.
 
Jun 26, 2017
445
17
10,685
Visit site
Many thanks for the positive comments Beehpee.

You may wish you hadn’t asked, and for those who have no interest at all in drones, or are not considering one, please stop reading now, for your own sake ! :evil:

I paid £499 for the “Fly more combo” pack and a 32G Class 10 MicroSD back in November last year, during a promotional offer that Maplins had on at the time.

The combo pack includes an additional,battery, bringing the total quantity to 2, the controller, charging station and a decent quality carrying case with shoulder strap.

In standard form, the Spark can be flown without the dedicated controller. In this way, you would connect your mobile device, be it a smartphone or tablet (iOS or Android) directly to the Spark, using Wi-Fi. The Spark would be controlled using the dedicated DJI App (DJI Go 4). The two main drawbacks to this are first of all that the range is very limited, and rather than have the tactile feel of physical controls, you fingers are operating a virtual joystick on the screen.

When you have the controller, your mobile device physically clips (or rather claws) onto the bottom of the controller. Your mobile device connects to the controller via wi-fi (a cable connection for this is also possible, known as an OTG cable, but that’s for another day), and then the Spark connects to the controller using Wi-fi. So, two different wi-fi streams going on.

With this method, the range is vastly increased and the tactile feedback from the controller is incomparable to that of the touchscreen.

Video feed from the Spark begins even before takeoff and streams directly to the screen of your mobile device, in real-time. This can also be recorded and stored on your mobile device, and uploaded to a DJI cloud server, but for best results, there is a Micro-SD card slot in the Spark onto which the live stream can be recorded in a higher resolution to that given by the feed being streamed to the phone. Of course, this is a direct Recording straight from the Spark onto the card and so as subject to no streaming loss or artefacts.

It is possible to control the Spark entirely from looking at the screen of your mobile device and never physically looking at it once, although this takes the pleasure our of the whole experience, and in any case, the drone code states that it must remain within your line of sight at all times.

All of the key info is overlaid onto the video image on your mobile device such as altitude, speed and battery level. Automatic Take-off is performed by simply swiping across an icon, and then the Spark hovers at about waist height awaiting your control.

With regards to the level of competence required to take quality footage, I would honestly say that very little is required at all. All that is really required is familiarity with the basic controls, a basic understanding of how the drone works, and a little confidence, which soon comes. I would say that if you had even a novice drone user stood next to you advising, you would be able to shoot footage comparable to that in my video on your very first flight. If you were alone, provided you have read-up before hand, then if not your first outing, then second or third at the very most.

The reason it requires so little skill as that in reality, from a certain perspective, the drone flies itself. You’re just telling it where to go, and controlling the camera, but that certainly doesn’t make it any less fun.

On power-up, it locks on to a number of GPS (Maybe also GLONASS, but I can’t remember) satellites, usually a minimum of 10 if I remember correctly. Once the Spark is in flight, it maintains control of its own position by permanently referencing the GPS co-ordinates, If you leave it hovering in the air, you will hear pitch changes from the changes in rotational speed of the propellers, particularly on a windy day, as it maintains its position. You can even pull or push it gently and again you will hear the pitch changes, as it’s well aware of the delta between where it should be and where it is, and so acts accordingly.

So, in terms of taking quality footage, if you just leave it hovering, unless there’s a gale force wind, you will have a perfectly still image, so still in facts, that you sometimes need to see people or cars moving to believe that it’s a video. It’s not that the drone itself is absolutely motionless, but that the camera is mounted on a gimabal which to those unfamiliar with the term, automatically levels itself in real time, compensating for any movement of the drone.

To get the type of results shown in my video, all that is neccesary is to first move the drone to your chosen location, adjust the camera to your preferred angle, and then have it move in a particular direction, slowly and smoothly for the duration of time that you want to shoot, it really is as simple as that.

With regards to the Spark compared to other models, the Spark is generally marketed more as a drone that you can fly without the controller, and can even follow you. You can put the controller down, communicate to it with hand gestures and tell it to follow you on your mountain bike, on to follow any target, by first locking on to the target using the screen on your mobile device. Other things are possible such as using hand signals to instruct it to fly high and circle wide, taking some great aerial footage, I’ve yet to try any of these features with mine though.

In terms of range, realistically, with the standard CE version of the Spark, you will be able to fly up to about 3-350 metres away from where you are standing (that is of course a radial dimension, so a total range of 600-700 Metres, and at a height of significantly more than the legal limit of 120M. Again, the drone code states that it must always remain within your line of sight,

The non CE version, as is sold in the US can reach a range of approx 3KM from where the operator is standing, many owners in the UK flash hacked versions of firmware to allow there’s to do the same, but I haven’t done so.

The only difference between the two versions is the power of the radio signal output. In order to conform to CE regulations, it must be limited below a certain threshold.

You don’t need to worry about losing the Spark. If you suddenly find you can’t see it, just tell it to return to home, and it will do just that, landing where it took off from. It will even do that if your mobile device battery runs out during a flightt, or if you ignore low battery warning from the drone itself. It lands accurately because in addition to GPS, as it takes off, it films video footage for its own use as it ascends, and stores it. When it descends during landing, it overlays its own camera image with the footage taken during take off to precisely guide itself very accurately down to its original launch position.

The Spark is great fun, and is to be enjoyed, the only really strong advice I would give would be to avoid taking off very close to trees, and avoid flying near HV power cables.

Although the Spark is marketed more as a “selfie” drone, as you can see from my footage, it’s more than adequate as a hobbyists drone, particularly at it’s price point, but I would say that an additional battery (one battery gives you about 15 minutes flight time), the charger and the controller are absolutely essential, whether bought as part of the fly more combo pack, or otherwise. I would not recommend a Spark without these.

For me, the really impressive part is the software, more so than the drone itself, as it has been developed over many years to control DJI’s professional drones commonly used worldwide in the film industry, and for the military, where money is literally no object. The fact that their drone costs many thousands and ours is £500 makes no difference, we both have 4 variable speed propellers in each of the 4 corners of our drone, what works for theirs works for ours. The difference is that over the years, substantial investments in commercial drones has paid for all of the software development which now leads to our enjoyment, :p

All of the other, more expensive consumer drones from DJI work in just the same way, using the same software, but have different physical properties, different cameras, and video capabilities, more sophisticated gimbals, different range characteristics etc.

I am very happy with the Spark and don’t intend upgrading any time soon.

I think that’s probably about it for now ! ;). - Happy hunting and just fire away with any more questions ...

Ic.
 
Oct 12, 2013
3,037
4
0
Visit site
Crikey & interesting read , I'm still not getting one though but that's got to be one of the longest posts ever even beating most of the professors long posts !!
 
Nov 16, 2015
11,345
3,593
40,935
Visit site
I tend to trim the hedge with mine and the small dog has still not realised it hurts his nose when he tries to bite it.
Great write up and very Pro.
Hutch.
 
Nov 16, 2015
11,345
3,593
40,935
Visit site
CustardAvenger said:
Wow. Excellent write-up. The DJI Spark looks like a toy drone... but the video results look incredible.

@ 1.17/1.18 - Is that a Wind Jammer on the car?

The DJI spark is not a toy, neither is my Wraith, but easy to control with the inbuilt systems. The under £ 1oo ar classified as toys but are really trainers, all good fun , my small indoor one is great until the dog trys to snatch it out of the air. :p
 
Jun 26, 2017
445
17
10,685
Visit site
CustardAvenger said:
Wow. Excellent write-up. The DJI Spark looks like a toy drone... but the video results look incredible.

@ 1.17/1.18 - Is that a Wind Jammer on the car?

Thanks - :p - It’s a towel. We were just about to leave the CL site, having taken down the awning, and all packed up. The wind jammer is actually a towel, draped over a bike rack. When we don’t have the washing line out, I tend to use the roof mounted bike racks for airing and drying the odd towel or two !
 

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts