RC Airplanes and Helicopters

I won't deny that some may get lucky and be able to acquire smooth footage on a given moment of one day. But to do this as a business, providing good footage, on demand, in an assortment of locations and in varying wind/weather conditions day after day is something entirely different. I only mention business because I can't imagine anyone putting out this much effort otherwise.

How many times have you seen smooth video from an RC platform in anything above 10mph winds for example?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxOXa-KdiPo

I'm not saying you can't do it if your determined. I'm just saying that I for one certainly underestimated the level of commitment required.

I totally agree. I'm not interested in doing this as a business that fly's camera's for other people. I'm more interested in the unique perspective aerial shots can provide in more of a "Planet Earth" sort of way. It can provide a more unique look.

Here's an example of someone experimenting with an electric 700 and a 7D: http://vimeo.com/10144960

This is apparently only his second flight with this setup, granted its extremely calm but I think he's on the right track. You might also be surprised by the number of people who are doing this and not necessarily to be in the "movie business."

Here are a few other examples of how far some of the electronics and mounts have progressed in the last few years.



What's interesting about this example is that it was shot in winds gusting to 18 mph!



Ryan, when I first started out in business there might have been 20 industries that were regulated, you had to have a license to practice law or be a doctor for example. Now more than 3000 industries are regulated, do you really need a license to paint someone's finger nails or build a picture frame? Pretty soon we'll have to have a license to take a crap.

I'm not getting political, but if you worry about what the FAA will or won't do you'll be paralyzed into non action. Most of these restrictions are supposedly in place to protect the public, in actuality most of them are in place to protect trade organizations from competition.

What will eventually happen is that people trying to earn an honest living will ignore these ridiculous restrictions and common sense will prevail. I know its hard to believe. If you've seen some of my car videos, as you might imagine, the local police have stopped countless time to ask me what I'm doing and if I have a permit. No I don't have a permit and guess what, as long as I'm not violating any traffic laws there's nothing they can do about it. I am very nice about it and all of the have been very gracious in wishing me a good day.

I'm not suggesting that people challenge the authorities in stupid or belligerent ways, but a little common sense goes a long way.

ChipG, I have checked that out but it is very expensive for what it is and has a very small payload, but I'm keeping an eye on their development. Thanks .
 
Ryan, when I first started out in business there might have been 20 industries that were regulated, you had to have a license to practice law or be a doctor for example. Now more than 3000 industries are regulated, do you really need a license to paint someone's finger nails or build a picture frame? Pretty soon we'll have to have a license to take a crap.

I'm not getting political, but if you worry about what the FAA will or won't do you'll be paralyzed into non action. Most of these restrictions are supposedly in place to protect the public, in actuality most of them are in place to protect trade organizations from competition.

What will eventually happen is that people trying to earn an honest living will ignore these ridiculous restrictions and common sense will prevail. I know its hard to believe. If you've seen some of my car videos, as you might imagine, the local police have stopped countless time to ask me what I'm doing and if I have a permit. No I don't have a permit and guess what, as long as I'm not violating any traffic laws there's nothing they can do about it. I am very nice about it and all of the have been very gracious in wishing me a good day.

I'm not suggesting that people challenge the authorities in stupid or belligerent ways, but a little common sense goes a long way.

I totally agree. I guess I was generally commenting on it if you were doing it as a business for paying clients at locations not of your choosing with a significant investment in rare equipment...all the while talk of potential restrictions. Personally, I couldn't agree more about the massive regulation of everything. And frankly, I don't really know too much about what the FAA will or won't do.

But yeah, I'm a total newbie to the realm of real RC helicopters. Fun to sit by and watch and I hope to be doing some myself sooner than later. Little by little.
 
Its fun to research I hope people find this thread interesting and add more to it.
Good luck with your flying..
 
Back
Top