GH2 We've made a GH2 fly.

Benjamin Rowland

Benjamin Rowland

Member
My DP / Camera op, Will Wheeler, recently purchased a GH2. He hacked it, then we made it fly. Check out our Spring Reel along with some clips from a recent shoot, and check out our gallery for more. Hope you guys and gals like it. Thanks for watching. (Hack is Orion v4b, I believe.)


 
Man that shot of the girl walking on the dock is amazing. How do you lock on to her so well?

Fantastic work so far, best of luck with your new venture.
 
Jockomo said:
Man that shot of the girl walking on the dock is amazing. How do you lock on to her so well?

Fantastic work so far, best of luck with your new venture.
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Thanks. Flying the rig is a two man job, but that allows us to get these types of shots. I focus on the flying, and my camera op works the gimbal. And we practice, a lot.
 
Amazing visuals, I love how crystal clear everything is. Motion looks great as well, you should have no problem finding work.
 
Wow. Looks really great, from start to finish. Do you mind sharing the cost of the set-up (minus the camera)? What kind of clients are you getting?
 
Great Video with amazing shots......

Where can I buy a "KIt" like yours. I have been wanting to build one, and it yours looks very stable.

Thank you
 
woodcarver said:
Wow. Looks really great, from start to finish. Do you mind sharing the cost of the set-up (minus the camera)? What kind of clients are you getting?
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Clients have been pretty varied so far, which is nice. I built the rig, so that isn't accounted for in the cost, but I've still got well over $10k in the setup (despite having a lot of flight experience, I nearly had a heart attack the first time I flew it). The aircraft is actually only a fraction of the cost. It's not an easy or cheap undertaking. But it has been fun.
 
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I've only had access to smaller Xair copters used for GoPro footage so far but really want to get something like the Cinestar 8 or Droidworx for my GH2 when I can afford it. Amazing job guys!
 
I would Love to know how much work this will or is bringing in.... I want one... But I want to know if it will make money. Or just be an expensive toy.
 
For most folks, this ends up being an expensive toy (they're not really a toy). But if you're cool with that, they're a ton of fun. They are a ton of work though. The multi-rotor is only one part of the cost, not even half of your budget. There are a fair amount of accessories and tools that you'll need to keep it flying. A couple of pieces of advice:
- Start small.
- Start with something affordable (you will crash it or lose it in a tree / lake).
- Practice a lot!
- Buy a Hoverfly flight controller - they are easy to program and set up.
- Learn how to solder really well.

The most important thing is to fly safely. I could write a lengthy essay on that though. The props on these things are no joke - do a search for injury photos. The batteries can burn your house down if you don't handle and charge them properly (keep a fire extinguisher handy). Monitor your battery voltage in a couple of ways and land with power in reserve. Personally I always fly line of sight, never losing sight of it. And I fly pretty low - the high stuff is for real helicopters. A wide angle lens can make you look higher than you really are.

If you think you can just drop $15k on a "ready to fly" rig and automatically get amazing footage with clients lined up at your door, you're in for huge disappointment. You can't buy success. But you can earn it through hard work.

(If it sounds like I'm trying to dissuade you from your aerial DP dreams or be your dad, I apologize. I just want people to be safe. If you do think I'm acting like your dad, please send me a nice Father's Day gift - like a Porsche.)
 
I couldn't agree more, Ben. These things seem like toys and they are not. Was recently setting up and dialing in a small Xair system with GoPro for client using it for a reality tv show and during our initial test flights kept losing control of the copter. Several hard landings and prop replacements (fortunately nothing more expensive) later we finally found that it was nearby WiFi routers that were hijacking our control signal. You really never know what issues you will run into out in the world (wind especially can mess things up real fast) and the only way to deal with it is experience and practice practice practice!
 
loomis2 said:
I noticed that thread is over three years old. Any new info on any progress that has been made?
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I did some more digging.... Not good news for the moment. Basically, it is illegal to operate these for commercial use. Non-commercial hobbyist use is okay. Making money with it - for now - isn't. Congress passed and President signed the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, which prohibits the FAA from regulating model aircraft for non-commercial use. You can read the section of the law that exempts model aircraft below.

So, for now, flying one of these for commercial use is illegal. And apparently businesses that use them have been getting cease and desist letters.

On May 14, 2012 the FAA announced:
And later this year, the FAA expects to release a proposed rule that will establish policies, procedures and standards for a wide spectrum of users in the small UAS community. This class of UAS will likely experience the greatest near-term growth in civil and commercial operations because of their versatility and relatively low initial cost and operating expenses.
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That sort of identifies the problem they need to deal with. A lot of people will want to use this stuff for all kinds of things. That means a lot of inexperienced people.... Add in the incentive to make money and well.... The less you spend (time and money) learning and training, the more $$ you can keep, right? So some people may try cut corners and do things on the cheap. Not everyone (and certainly not the OP of this thread).

Contrast this with a hobbyist. Hobbyists spend a lot of time educating themselves on their hobby. That's kind of the whole point really. Learn it, love it, play with it, and learn some more.

Now one could (and probably should) make the case that to make money using this for footage, you NEED to spend time learning and training or else the footage won't be marketable.

But there are a ton of commercial uses for this technology, and not everyone will take the time to learn to use it safely. And of course, there are probably some pretty powerful companies (and local governments/agencies) who would like to see regulations promulgated that make it very hard for the little guy to use this tech commercially..... But now I'm really getting off topic.

So....

As a part of the rule making process, after releasing their proposed rules, the FAA will publish a Request for Comments and then accept comments for a short time. So, whether you like the proposed rules or dislike them, that will be the time to give them your input.

Here's the law as it currently stands on non-commercial use. Emphasis mine.

SEC. 336. SPECIAL RULE FOR MODEL AIRCRAFT.

(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law relating to the incorporation of unmanned aircraft systems into Federal Aviation Administration plans and policies, including this subtitle, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may not promulgate any rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft, or an aircraft being developed as a model aircraft, if--
(1) the aircraft is flown strictly for hobby or recreational use;

(2) the aircraft is operated in accordance with a community-based set of safety guidelines and within the programming of a nationwide community-based organization;

(3) the aircraft is limited to not more than 55 pounds unless otherwise certified through a design, construction, inspection, flight test, and operational safety program administered by a community-based organization;

(4) the aircraft is operated in a manner that does not interfere with and gives way to any manned aircraft; and

(5) when flown within 5 miles of an airport, the operator of the aircraft provides the airport operator and the airport air traffic control tower (when an air traffic facility is located at the airport) with prior notice of the operation (model aircraft operators flying from a permanent location within 5 miles of an airport should establish a mutually-agreed upon operating procedure with the airport operator and the airport air traffic control tower (when an air traffic facility is located at the airport)).

​
(b) Statutory Construction. --Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of the Administrator to pursue enforcement action against persons operating model aircraft who endanger the safety of the national airspace system.

(c) Model Aircraft Defined.--In this section, the term "model aircraft" means an unmanned aircraft that is--
(1) capable of sustained flight in the atmosphere;

(2) flown within visual line of sight of the person operating the aircraft; and

(3) flown for hobby or recreational purposes.
​
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So there you have it.

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Stating the Obvious: If this were legal advice, you'd have gotten a bill. You didn't, and it isn't.
 
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I'm guessing most local law enforcement won't know anything about these rules. I can't imagine them ever bothering you.
 
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