Lets talk about drones

[Cooper]

Canada (as does every country), has rules for drone use. Some countries will fine you while others will toss you in jail/prison. You may not be a spy, but some countries won't believe you.

 

[Cooper]

Are you saying that because you are in the woods and flying away from people, that what I wrote doesn't apply to you? If so, I really encourage to click on the links in my original email.

 

[Cooper]

As soon as the drone is off the ground, you are now required to follow FAA guidance just like the Boeing 747 flying at 20,000 ft. The only exception is if you are inside a building.

 

[huntindog]

The higher you go the less you can hear the prop noise from the ground. If you take it to the max allowed altitude, depending on terrain you might be able to see the site long before you get close enough to bother anyone who might already be there. That would also reduce the total time you are in the air scouting. You also want the height to get best signal, range, and visibility of the drone (VLOS guidance) from where you are.

Do you think a drone would bother someone more than a quad?

 

[huntindog]

Are you saying that because you are in the woods and flying away from people, that what I wrote doesn't apply to you? If so, I really encourage to click on the links in my original email.

Nope not at all. There have been some responses that a drone would bother another person that may (very unlikely)already be there.
But presently we have been using a quad for this purpose. I think that a quad is a lot more disturbing to others than a drone. I was just asking your opinion on that

 

[Jlisle01]

I have a DJI Mavick mini that I use to take video out at campsites. It works great as long as it isn’t too windy. I have a couple thoughts on your intended use for one. First, I recommend you look at the smaller drones. If you go with a drone that weighs under 250grams you do not have to register your drone with the FAA. You can fly under the recreational exception for such drones. Mind you, the same flight rules still apply to these drones but it gets you out of dealing with the FAA. This is exactly why most drone manufacturers have a smaller model that weighs 249grams.

Second, I have no experience with other manufacturers drones but the DJI drones are quite sophisticated. These gps drones know exactly where they are and will simply refuse to take off if you are in a restricted zone. They have very extensive maps built into the app you use to control them and these are routinely updated so it’s actually kinda hard to fly my drone somewhere you aren’t supposed to. A quick note, ALL national parks are restricted zones. State parks vary by state.

Thirdly, I would venture a guess that at least some of the time you won’t have to fly a drone any distance to do your recons. The view from 200 feet directly above your head will reveal a lot. That will depend on the terrain and tree coverage of course, but if it’s so far away that you can’t see from directly above you then the drone likely won’t fly far enough to show you anyway. My mini is only reliable out to a 1/4 mile or so.

 

[JAKunze]

Do you think a drone would bother someone more than a quad?

Depends on the person. I don’t think either would bother me. But there are for sure folks who go nuts if there is a drone near.

 

[huntindog]

Depends on the person. I don’t think either would bother me. But there are for sure folks who go nuts if there is a drone near.

And I have met quite a few that go nuts over quads.
IMO, If I ride my quad in, anyone there will KNOW it. A drone stands a good chance or not being seen or heard. In addition, it would be a LOT faster and cheaper to operate...Once the price of admmission was paid....Though my quads cost a lot more than any drone I would purchase

 

[Hoopy Frood]

Just curious, and don't mean to sidetrack this thread too much, but what is the difference between a "drone", and a "quad-copter"? I thought a quad-copter was also a drone. Or is it just a question of semantics?

On Edit: Oops, read part of a post out of context. Quad was NOT a quad copter. So, as Emily would say "Never mind".

 

[huntindog]

Just curious, and don't mean to sidetrack this thread too much, but what is the difference between a "drone", and a "quad-copter"? I thought a quad-copter was also a drone. Or is it just a question of semantics?

IDK
I will say that the responses so far have mostly been useless.
Most are concerned that I am going to break laws or bother someone.
I want to know what features to look for, reliability, good brands etc.... IOW the nuts and bolts of what I am looking to do.

 

[huntindog]

I have a DJI Mavick mini that I use to take video out at campsites. It works great as long as it isn’t too windy. I have a couple thoughts on your intended use for one. First, I recommend you look at the smaller drones. If you go with a drone that weighs under 250grams you do not have to register your drone with the FAA. You can fly under the recreational exception for such drones. Mind you, the same flight rules still apply to these drones but it gets you out of dealing with the FAA. This is exactly why most drone manufacturers have a smaller model that weighs 249grams.

Second, I have no experience with other manufacturers drones but the DJI drones are quite sophisticated. These gps drones know exactly where they are and will simply refuse to take off if you are in a restricted zone. They have very extensive maps built into the app you use to control them and these are routinely updated so it’s actually kinda hard to fly my drone somewhere you aren’t supposed to. A quick note, ALL national parks are restricted zones. State parks vary by state.

Thirdly, I would venture a guess that at least some of the time you won’t have to fly a drone any distance to do your recons. The view from 200 feet directly above your head will reveal a lot. That will depend on the terrain and tree coverage of course, but if it’s so far away that you can’t see from directly above you then the drone likely won’t fly far enough to show you anyway. My mini is only reliable out to a 1/4 mile or so.

Thankyou for some useful info. My Momentum will not fit in National/ State parks. So even if I had the desire to go to one, it isn't possible

 

[jjbbrewer]

I will say that the responses so far have mostly been useless.
Most are concerned that I am going to break laws or bother someone.
I want to know what features to look for, reliability, good brands etc..

I agree about the responses you're getting.

My background -
I'm a FAA Part 107 licensed drone pilot. Part of my employment is flying in remote areas for the company I work for.
I'm also a professional cartographer specializing in custom recreation maps (hiking, camping, OHV, MTB, etc.).
I boondock quite a bit using my 349M to take my friends with dirt and mountain bikes on both work trips and out for fun.

Scoping out with a drone is a great idea to get temporal data on a camping area (how many people are there, where are people parked), but you can also get pretty reasonable non-current info from Google Earth. You just have to know how old the imagery is. I reckon you already know that, though.

Kind of what you're thinking about requires a bit of skill. Flying near obstacles (mainly trees, I suspect) isn't something that's super easy. I have flow about 10-50 feet AGL in a forest a couple of times and it's a challenge for sure. I'd do practice quite a bit and, even so, I've parked mine into a tree twice (I forgot what mode I was in so collision avoidance was off .. duh!). Keep in mind that when you're flying and looking at the monitor (controller or smart device) you don't have a very wide field of view, so it's like you're flying while looking through a straw. That's why collision avoidance features are important.

Small, less expensive drones (Category 1 .. <250 grams) have kind of marginal collision avoidance capabilities and they tend to be pretty strongly affected by wind. I haven't flown one of those in a forest, but I'd sure want to practice with it A TON before trying that. Others have mentioned recreational licensing, TRUST, etc. which is all good info, but I think the biggest considerations are how much you want to spend and how much you want to use it (aka practice).

I'll stop droning on now D) and see where this conversation goes. I have some example drone video from some forested areas that I can post up if you're interested.

 

[Rovers]

I have a DJI Mavick mini that I use to take video out at campsites. It works great as long as it isn’t too windy. I have a couple thoughts on your intended use for one. First, I recommend you look at the smaller drones. If you go with a drone that weighs under 250grams you do not have to register your drone with the FAA. You can fly under the recreational exception for such drones. Mind you, the same flight rules still apply to these drones but it gets you out of dealing with the FAA. This is exactly why most drone manufacturers have a smaller model that weighs 249grams.

Second, I have no experience with other manufacturers drones but the DJI drones are quite sophisticated. These gps drones know exactly where they are and will simply refuse to take off if you are in a restricted zone. They have very extensive maps built into the app you use to control them and these are routinely updated so it’s actually kinda hard to fly my drone somewhere you aren’t supposed to. A quick note, ALL national parks are restricted zones. State parks vary by state.

Thirdly, I would venture a guess that at least some of the time you won’t have to fly a drone any distance to do your recons. The view from 200 feet directly above your head will reveal a lot. That will depend on the terrain and tree coverage of course, but if it’s so far away that you can’t see from directly above you then the drone likely won’t fly far enough to show you anyway. My mini is only reliable out to a 1/4 mile or so.

Thank you for your detailed response. I was going to jump in with nearly your exact info but you got there first - saved me lots of typing ;-)

Lots of bad info out there about drones mostly from those who don’t fly them. I’ve had a couple different ones for a few years now (all DJI models) and the under-250 gram models are very impressive and as you said not subject to FAA registration rules or licensing. There is the Remote ID issue but it keeps getting pushed back so who knows when we’ll need to ID our drones.

I’m pursuing my Part 107 license so I can do some commercial work and for other professional uses but that license or any other is NOT required for recreational flying.

To the OP… get a DJI Mavick Mini and it will suit your needs perfectly. They are very easy to learn how to fly and will much less bothersome to campers in the area you’re lotto set up camp than driving your quad to the campsite. Nobody will notice it with the long range camera capability in the drone.

Have fun flying!

Bob

 

[JAKunze]

IDK
I will say that the responses so far have mostly been useless.
Most are concerned that I am going to break laws or bother someone.
I want to know what features to look for, reliability, good brands etc.... IOW the nuts and bolts of what I am looking to do.

I didn’t mean to give the impression you would bother someone or be overly concerned about it, maybe I read that out of one of the other posts but I thought that was one of your concerns. Sorry about that.

I’ve built my own rc planes and drones and owned some toy drones and three DJI drones. The Mavic pro, Mini 2, and Air2s. I’ll second Jlisle01 recommendation of a smaller drone. I’d avoid the lower cost drones. I suggest the DJI mini 3 with DJI RC combo for around $600. The controller’s built in display and not needing to connect your phone is worth the extra cost to me. I’ve never had a problem selling an older DJI to buy a newer one, they retain their value better than others. I suspect the other brands would be difficult to sell at all if using a drone turns out to not be worthwhile. I think you will find lots of other uses (and it can be fun) for it though.

 

[Jlisle01]

You’re welcome! As far as features go, you get what you pay for. If you want to fly near obstacles there are drones that have sensors and will stop before they hit anything. The latest model of the DJI mini has this feature but it is also close to $1k. I wouldn’t think you would need that for what you want to do. The newer models are available with a controller that has a touch screen instead of using your phone. Mine doesn’t have that but when I replace it I will definitely go the “smart controller” route. Using your phone is a giant pain in the backside and my understanding is the smart controllers have better signal strength to boot. I suggest something along these lines:

https://store.dji.com/product/dji-mini-3?vid=128031&from=site-nav

Don’t worry about the camera quality on these. Anything made by DJI in the last decade will be more than you need.

mod edit: release from moderation (our hold bucket) as I reviewed it and the link is OK. New users with few posts who include links in their posts go into moderation until one of us moderators can review it to be sure it isn't harmful or spam. This post is OK.

 

[RV Sailor]

Just what I want to have to deal with now

Some Richy Rich with his big monster trailer flying a drone in bothering us because he’s to lazy to walk in a check it out.

No matter how little you think you won’t bother someone for long, . Flying the drone in, it’s an intrusion of privacy. Suppose my wife is topless sunbathing in a place where she would have had time to cover up except this peeping Tom flew his drone in.

 

[jproctor9]

Considerations:
- LOS restrictions (previously mentioned)
- Registration (reduced hassle if under 250g)
- Transmission range
- Connectivity (use of cell phone may require cell coverage)
- Obstacle avoidance

I have limited knowledge of brands and models outside of DJI. If it were me, I'd buy a DJI Mini 4 with RC2 controller. The Mini 4 has improved obstacle avoidance versus the Mini 3, and the RC2 will eliminate the need to use a cell phone for controlling.

If you get this, please report back. Interested to see how it works.

 

[retired_engineer]

From the noise perspective I think a drone would be less intrusive than a quad or worse yet someone using a chainsaw within hearing distance. I would probably find the drone or someone coming up on a quad somewhat unnerving, maybe more so for the drone, for a bit wondering what brings them up to our secluded camping spot but that would subside.

 

[toolman.dustin]

As my signature states we are committed boondockers. With as large as our momentum is, we have to be careful about going down just any dirt road. We have several sites that we like to camp in, that if they were occupied when we arrived would leave us in a bad situation as far as getting turned around. What we have been doing is dropping a quad off, to go check it out before towing the Momentum in. then radioing the status back to the rig. This works well.
Recently we were discussing getting a camera drone for this.
We know less than nothing about them. I figure there has to be people here that have knowledge in this area.
TIA

You're not really getting much "which one" suggestions. Here are some ideas that might help you narrow down the field.
- Many communities have remote control (RC) air craft flying areas. Several years ago I called my local airport and found out where
these guys go to fly RC aircraft. I went out and talked to several of them These types are people are more than willing to
share ideas. I'm in a small town (50,000) and there are probably 50 RC enthusiast. I dropped in several times and visited
with many of them.
- I'm sure you googled "which drone to buy for beginners" - this article looks promising: space.com/best-beginner-drone
- K-State University offers several classes on drones. The Salina, KS, facility even has a 100' tall, football size cage used to train
drone pilots. I suggest you call or email them, get the name of an instructor and see if he/she has the kind of info you looking for.
- With drone prices ranging from $99 to $14,000 it's certainly a subject that requires more than a little research.
- google "drone shows 2024" - attend an event. Everybody there will be willing to share information, and you'll have fun.
- Probably the most valuable way to gather the info you're after would be to go to an RC "airport" and talk to different people. They
will most certainly know drone pilots and can get you useful info about which craft will meet your needs.
- Many fire departments, sheriff depts, highway patrol, forest rangers, etc have drones. They could probably give you useful info.

Dustin

 

[Jomani]

This thread has been an interesting read.

Yes, there are a lot of rules that come along with operating a drone. I have been flying an older DJI for many years and have used it for the exact reason you are thinking about. My drone is registered, and I have all of the required paperwork and training.

My drone has a range of about a mile - anything farther than that and it will loose the signal and automatically return home. Depending on the tree canopy, sometimes I can take it up to the maximum height and see everything I need to without flying too far away. From that height, you will never bother anyone.

Others have mentioned setup time. I give myself about a half hour to get in the air. You will typically need to calibrate the compass and establish your home position every time you fly. You also have to make sure the batteries are charged - that would be drone battery, controller battery, and iPad or phone battery (I always fly with my iPad).

To actually see the video, you will need to view it on a decent size screen. Before I can actually make out any kind of detail, I download the video to my laptop where I can review it. The times I have used it to scope out a remote campsite, it took me about two hours total to determine if I should proceed.

To give you an idea of clarity (or lack there of), below is a video I made last year (the first half was done with my drone). Before I get a bunch of nastygrams, I should state that: We were camping in a group and everyone approved of the fact that I was flying/filming with my drone, I received prior permission from the campground, and while it is hard to tell from the footage, I do not fly over people (except possibly me).

https://youtu.be/ZTU0u0F8yRE?si=TYTfU8MYzTt64p71