Fireworks from a drones POV...

Status
Not open for further replies.
I don't know how that Phantom survived... :shocked:

Did you see that it was GoPro's video of the day yesterday?
 
while beautiful... This is the kind of thing that is gonna get our little sub industry quickly regulated to the hilt.
 
I see the day coming when you can only fly over your own property as a hobbyist and other property only if you are a licensed operator.
 
I agree. While we all like these things, there are some serious issues to be dealt with regarding their use. I am 50-50 on my opinions and will accept whatever society comes up with as far as rules.
 
You know, honestly, I just can't stand all of the useless press on "Drones". If it is an RC airplane, it is a drone. If it is a model helicopter, it is a drone. If it is a weather balloon, it is a drone. If you put a Gopro on a hang glider, some news agency will call it a drone.. If you put a Gopro on an ultralight aircraft, someone will call it a drone. A quadracopter is only as safe as the person operating it. As with anything else, the operator is responsible for all property damage that occurs from it crashing. Now, take Yosemite, they say you can't fly a drone in the park because it could cause injury to someone..... But, they will allow you to climb the side of a sheer face cliff, you can hang glide from the side of the mountains, and that's ok. Some how, neither of those are considered dangerous to others.... In addition, neither of those requires ANY license. Let's hop into an ultra light aircraft for a second.... It can weigh less than 254 lbs and requires ABSOLUTELY NO license to operate it. You can launch a weather balloon with 12 lbs of weight in it and launch it all the way into space... Not a single license is required. None of these things require a license.. All of these things could cause injury to a person. But, for some reason, "drones" are considered dangerous and can't be allowed...

Makes me mad........stepping off my soapbox now. :)
 
Besides the safety problems, the issue with sUAS vehicles in National Parks is the noise.

Many years ago, I remember camping in the valley floor at Yosemite, and at 11:30 pm all you heard was Johnny Carson's monologue emanating from 10,000 RVs.

Pretty annoying.
 
Very, very impressive video

I did a slow motion fireworks recording last week from a fixed tripod position - glad I did not post it (i.e. super boring compared to this video).

However, I am with Mark in holding back until we find out what the rules are going to be.

Nothing wrong buying today a $100 flying machine so you get up to speed (no pun intended) before you start trashing Phantoms with expensive on-board camcorders.
 
mcgeedigital said:
Yup totally irresponsible.
Click to expand...
This had the potential to ruin a multi-million dollar live event and television broadcast, viewded by millions of people both at the event as well as around the country and even the world. If someone in authority had mistaken that little DJI Phantom & GoPro for something more ominous, it could have shut down the entire show. And then think of the lawsuit, not to mention angry mobs.

Boats are not allowed out on the water near the fireworks barges and aircraft are not allowed in the airspace in the vicinity of the fireworks show. And for incredibly obvious reasons. What makes this guy special, other than being a jerk?
 
In Egypt during the coup they were used for news gathering/propaganda depending on who you talk to. Those using them were accused of being enemys of the state. Operators were arrested and may have been amongst those recently sentenced for execution. Egypt is not the US but point is collecting footage is as ominous as your accuser decides it is.
 
The last three posts demonstrate just how complicated this situation is. I think the industry is doomed as there will always be somebody who thinks "what is the harm in flying my little drone?" Kind of a clash between old world reality and the new world is my oyster thinking.
 
Yeah, the comments on youtube under that video drove me crazy. People bagging out anyone who pointed out the laws or potential dangers as a wowser. No regard for anyone that might be trying to operate drones in a legitimate compliant manner, let alone trying to promote business application. It is and will be regulated. It has to be. How accessible that is to industry and enthusiaists will be defined over the next couple of years and cowboys can only push the debate in the direction of hysteria. It's all well and good that hobbyists don't know. But also unlikely because there is a learning curve, which leads to signing up to forums and any relevent forum will be discussing the state of regulation and what it means to the enthusiasts.

Truth is it's all up in the air (pardon the pun) at the moment but incidents like this will inform the debate that determines the future of public access to this airspace. Some maturity and good behaviour on the part of all drone operators now could result in greater access in the future. Of course you know the more authoritative the poster the greater the chance they are a teenager. I knew everything once too.
 
Dave Allen said:
What kinds of ominous things can a DJI Phantom be mistaken as?
Click to expand...
Think about the situation. It's night. This is specifically a no-fly zone. It is New York City. Y'know, the place where 9/11 killed almost 3000 people. There are hundreds of thousands if not a million people gathered on the shores of the East River in both Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn to watch the event. There must be a vast police presence. And their greatest fear is that someone could turn this into an opportunity to unleash something horrible.

Suddenly someone in law enforcement spots something up in the air where absolutely nothing is allowed to be. And they have to think fast because so many lives are at stake. How much time do they spend analyzing what that thing is before reacting?

Or people in the crowds spot it up there. And they are not professionals, do not know what these things are, do not have the experience to judge the relative size of such a thing up in the nighttime sky, and are likely a little drunk so have poor judgement. They just see it buzzing around up there. And in a world full of conspiracy theories, someone panics. In a crowd of a million people packed together like Times Square on New Year's Eve.

It doesn't matter what a rational person might think of a DJI Phantom in more mundane situations. But in this instance, it could have very easily started something that all would have regretted.
 
Mitch, I respectfully disagree. A DJI Phantom has flashing green and red lights. Every aircraft has these same lights. Who suspects this is something ominous? No one that I know of. What we do get is a TON of incorrect information. This video was shot in Florida, not New York. The guy used a bit of common sense... He didn't fly over crowds. He didn't fly over boats. He flew over water, empty water. It may be illegal and we'll find out in the end. But, that is about as safe as you can get for this recording. The type of concerns people keep mentioning are way overblown. Airplanes fly legally over downtown cities every day pulling giant banners in the wind. These are quite large and 1000X more dangerous than a simple drone. They are 100% legal. 100%. Cars are allowed on the road daily. People text in them while they drive.... It is dumb, but no one is banning cars. You can fly an ultralight aircraft without a single license, downtown, in major cities, with a camera on it..... They are basically kites...... They are dangerous. They are 100% legal.

We need to stop with the drama. Support sensible rules and regulations and set up no-fly zones. I support that. But, a drone is just an R/C aircraft and they are also legal to fly except near an airport. Everyone can be ticked at me all they want. I am just stating common sense. Every day you get up and get in your car, you are capable of accidentally causing much more damage than a drone can inflict in its entire life. They are here. They will be here. That isn't going to change. Everyone needs to come to terms with it and help it be as safe as possible. Complaining about every single sighting isn't doing anything positive.....

Just my 2 cents.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top