Drone has arrived

[indaba1991]

DHL have informed me that my long awaited drone will be delivered tomorrow. I have bought all the bells and whistles on a Storm Drone 6 with GPS, camera stabilisation and FPV controller. Anyone assembled one of these and if so any tips?

[whisper]

Looks awesome

[Maximus]

That does look the Dogs! I know Matt h has done a lot with Radio controlled Copters from Kits ect..as well as the Real thing...I bet he'll be along sometime soon,when he's finished fettling his new 4.8

[matt h]

Ha Ha, Flipping heck AJ gonna jerkin his gherkin and the 5 knuckle shuffle when he see's that..
AWESOME

[jyasaki]

Originally Posted by indaba1991

any tips?

Don't crash it?

Have fun.


jky

[indaba1991]

Matt / Maximus - when are you guys coming to Lymington again? The beast need one to drive the Rib, one to fly and one to catch it! Its Round the Island tomorrow but methinks some flying time is required before trying anything complicated! My PPLH is out of ticket for some years - so it would be good to have you along on the first water experiment Matt!

I am off to Sicily next week and sadly looks like I will not make it back for RTI with Ribs

[mick]

we can expect some good pics then

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by indaba1991

Matt / Maximus - when are you guys coming to Lymington again? The beast need one to drive the Rib, one to fly and one to catch it! Its Round the Island tomorrow but methinks some flying time is required before trying anything complicated! My PPLH is out of ticket for some years - so it would be good to have you along on the first water experiment Matt!

I am off to Sicily next week and sadly looks like I will not make it back for RTI with Ribs

Drop me a pm when you get back,and I'll see if we sort something out

[AJ.]

Originally Posted by matt h

Ha Ha, Flipping heck AJ gonna jerkin his gherkin and the 5 knuckle shuffle when he see's that..
AWESOME

Hubba, Hubba that's a serious bit of kit with FPV.

Not sure of your experience with RC but would not recommend using FPV until you have mastered flying by eye and orientation preferably over land first before venturing over the wet stuff.

[thomas]

+1 - Learn to fly first, when learning you will crash, these are great to learn on .....

HUBSAN X4 H107 Quadcopter with LED's: Amazon.co.uk: Toys & Games

... will teach you a lot and they ounce too.

I'd also be cautious about using an out of the box FPV set up, FPV is the kind of thing you build up gradually and there is a lot to learn - what works for one person may not work for someone else. Have a look at this series

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dZfovzdSrM

Having said that, it's a whole lot of fun once you get your head around everything, enjoy.

[indaba1991]

Quick update: have assembled the whole system and flown several times. It is a very complicated and sophisticated rig. Hardly any instructions at all - so had to source most info online - would not recommend this to anyone starting out in RC without some electronics sav. The auto stabilised camera gimbal is quite magnificent - it has a tilt so you can point upwards and downwards as well. Setting it all up was a struggle - but amazing what you can find on forums. The whole Rig plugs into my Mac so I am able to tune items on the Nazza, GPS and general TX / RC functions. Tested the auto return / fail safe mode and it flew back from 500m and landed on an X I made on the ground!! Already have some incredible Go Pro movies over the church at Lymington - rather large files to post. In the clear weather you can see Cowes to the Needles. The FPV is incredibly good - but you do have to be wary of distance. Rushing off to Italy now but I will be back next week to do some filming off the Rib - gutted I wont make RTI as this would have been so great to use for that.

[indaba1991]

Here are a couple of screen captures from the videos - have to say the latest Go Pro Hero 3+ has improved the lens no end.

[Cookee]

Do some research into "Fly aways" and make sure that you have all systems functioning before taking off - lots of horror stories out there!

[HughN]

I think the CAA published some rules for this sort of thing. IIRC correctly they are along the lines of >50m from properties and people; no overflying of properties and people.

[indaba1991]

Originally Posted by HughN

I think the CAA published some rules for this sort of thing. IIRC correctly they are along the lines of >50m from properties and people; no overflying of properties and people.

From the CAA

Essentially, the person controlling a small UAS is fully responsible for the safe operation of any flight, but it is important to consider whether a permission (not a licence) from the CAA is needed.

You must request permission from the CAA if you plan to:

fly the aircraft on a commercial basis (i.e. conducting ‘aerial work’)
or
fly a camera/surveillance fitted aircraft within congested areas or closer (than the distances listed within Article 167) to people or properties (vehicles, vessels or structures) that are not under your control
Permission is not required if:

the aircraft will not be flown close to people or properties, and you will not get ‘valuable consideration’ (i.e. payment) from the flight, then a permission is not needed;
Permission is also not required for ‘practice’ or demonstration flights. However, the other requirements of Articles 166 and 167 must still be complied with, and it must also be ensured that no one is endangered while flying the aircraft.

The regulations are intended to protect people and / or properties that are not involved in the activity. They are also aimed at being as ‘light touch’ and proportionate as possible, so there is a great deal that can be done (especially for private or recreational flights) without the need to approach the CAA at all.

[HughN]

Yes, I was a bit out on one of my numbers. Article 167 listed them as

...(a) over or within 150 metres of any congested area;
(b) over or within 150 metres of an organised open-air assembly of more than 1,000 persons;
(c) within 50 metres of any vessel, vehicle or structure which is not under the control of the person in charge of the aircraft; or
(d) subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), within 50 metres of any person.


(3) Subject to paragraph (4), during take-off or landing, a small unmanned surveillance aircraft must not be flown within 30 metres of any person.



(4) Paragraphs (2)(d) and (3) do not apply to the person in charge of the small unmanned surveillance aircraft or a person under the control of the person in charge of the aircraft.

My £100 FPV job broke (a), (c), (d) and (3) when I flew (it in the dark) from my garden on Saturday evening...

Interesting that they refer to "UAS" and "unmanned surveillance aircraft". UAS (occassional part of my day job) usually refers to "Umanned Aircraft System". If it doesn't have a camera or other sensor then I can't see how it is a "surveillance" aircraft (but I'm sure they define it somewhere).

"Drone" is a really old term. One of the first remotely piloted aircraft was called a Queen Bee; the smaller version was named 'drone' by some wag.

Clever stuff.

[HughN]

^^^ Hexcopter, sorry.

This auto-following UAS could be interesting.

[willk]

Originally Posted by indaba1991

Here are a couple of screen captures from the videos - have to say the latest Go Pro Hero 3+ has improved the lens no end.

Victor Meldrew looks well grumpy with you overflying his garden!!

[thomas]

Originally Posted by Cookee

Do some research into "Fly aways" and make sure that you have all systems functioning before taking off - lots of horror stories out there!

Make sure you calibrate the GPS/compass on the NAZA properly other wise they can decide to fly off home to China, chances are it wont get there but it might come down and damage something trying.

The CAA and MOD have prosecuted people recently, the other thing to bear in mind is OFCOM, don't exceed 25mw on your video transmitter unless you have a HAM licence.