Drones !!!

[Lomac]

Picked up a Phantom 3 Standard a couple weeks ago. First real drone I've owned, apart from one of those cheap $50 helicopter things. Just a little sad that I haven't had much of a chance to fly it yet, due to high winds and plenty of snow up this way. Already looking to modify the controller to adapt my iPad Mini 3, though.

[godwin]

It depends what you are trying to achieve.. I suggest building a drone from RC kits.. then upgrade the controller to a DJI A3 series once you are comfortable with flying a drone.

That way:
1.you are not tied to any parts designer when the drone inevitably crash and break things.
2.you can upgrade as you go, better propellers, motor, batteries etc.
3.you can carry heavier cameras, gimbals etc.

The flight physics will be the same.. the thing I like about the DJI A3 is the flexiblity and potential.. DJI has partnered with Nvidia to put in the Tx brain (the same processor used in the Tesla).

However there are a lot of good deals on DJI Phantom 3 this Christmas.

[MadMax]

Just picked up my Mavic Pro Fly More package yesterday. They're backordered everywhere and ordered mine through B&H last month. I decided on a whim two days ago to call locally and found Candrones in Burnaby. I called, they just got in a delivery of Mavic Pros and the Fly More combos so if you want one now, go get one. You can order on their website, pay with Paypal and go pick it up. Now I have to find time to read the manual and learn to fly this thing.

[RFlush]

The DJI store has them in stock now with 7-10 day shipping.

[TOS'd]

Anyone have info on fly/no-fly zones in Vancouver(+surroundings)?

[MadMax]

Apparently Richmond is a no fly area at all. Sucks to live in Richmond as a drone owner (says the new Richmond drone owner).

[jackmeister]

Originally Posted by MadMax

Apparently Richmond is a no fly area at all. Sucks to live in Richmond as a drone owner (says the new Richmond drone owner).

I live in Vancouver but work in Richmond in the industrial part of town. Both places are within the zone so I understand. I work in a place with a warehouse so I was lucky to fly it there but that's about it. I also unfortunately crashed and destroyed all the propeller blades on the racks .

There's a map online somewhere that maps out where you can't fly. Roughly speaking you gotta go out to the far part of Richmond close to starlight casino before you can fly.

Can't wait for vacation time!!

[twitchyzero]

this is a rough map

https://www.dji.com/fly-safe/category-mc?www=v1

it does not cover pitt meadows airport, nor many helicopter pads and seaplane ports

also, the more remote you are the more likely you are to see prop planes breaking their 500ft AGL rule...just stay below the 90m rule and fly within line of sight and keep your wits and you should be fine

anyone on the fence about getting in the hobby should be prepared for Transport Canada requiring liability insurance and knowledge test this year

[$_$]

My brother bought a phantom 4 and only flew it a couple times so I just got him to send it to me and I've been flying it nonestop ever since. Here are some of my thoughts on it:


Pros:

-This thing is incredibly easy to fly. Three or four years ago (?) I bought another full sized drone at a convention show that was around 600$ USD, and that thing was a bitch to fly. It was RC and drone, and the drone was miscalibrated and would constantly drift after takeoff. The guy didn't explain how to recalibrate the thing and was basically useless to my afterwards. The P4 after calibration is a breeze - on screen commands, sensors (which I haven't had the balls to test yet) and other cool features. It hovers stably despite in windy conditions. I was able to teach a girl how to fly it within 5 minutes she was zipping around in it

-Modes are cool and work mostly as advertised. Set up the modes on the phone and away you got.

-In sport mode, this thing is FAST. Where I live there isn't much restrictions on where you can fly, I've flown it taking videos of cars taking off traffic lights and I can keep up quite well

Cons:


-Out of the three batteries I had for it, one of them died. Returned to DJI and they have since returned a fresh one that works to me

-Since I just started flying it, I never did any range testing. The range is supposed to be between 3-5KM. I've started running some longer range tests on it and I've only been able to get about 1KM. I contacted DJI about it and have shipped it to them for diagnostics. Will see how that goes

-This thing is bulky as fuck and I need a giant styrofoam suitcase just to bring it around to where I want to fly it and shoot videos. It's pretty heavy

-Drone attracts way too much attention anywhere I am. I have people constantly crowding me when I fly and I am always a little sketched out about it falling out of the sky and hitting someone (like the gopro karma video)

I've also pre-ordered the Mavic, shipping is expected to be by end of January. I'm really looking forward to that because that's much more portable and won't be such a bitch to bring around anymore. The video quality is really secondary to me, as I mostly have fun just flying around in it.

[ForbiddenX]

Originally Posted by RFlush

The DJI store has them in stock now with 7-10 day shipping.

If you order from their store to you get hit with taxes and duties once it gets to Canada?

[twitchyzero]

no taxes
my friend didn't get hit with duties...but possibly ymmv

[ForbiddenX]

Originally Posted by twitchyzero

no taxes
my friend didn't get hit with duties...but possibly ymmv

Great thanks, might order one off their site today. $1300USD for the fly more package seems like a good deal? Even after the conversion, saves tax pretty much.

Is it worth it to get their DJI Care Refresh? Seems nice since it covers accidental water damage

edit: Just placed the order! Now to see how long it takes to ship

[pb.kidz]

Originally Posted by ForbiddenX

Great thanks, might order one off their site today. $1300USD for the fly more package seems like a good deal? Even after the conversion, saves tax pretty much.

Is it worth it to get their DJI Care Refresh? Seems nice since it covers accidental water damage

edit: Just placed the order! Now to see how long it takes to ship

Not sure how buddy got it without taxes but when it goes through customs (especially if its shipped through UPS/fedex) you will get boned for duties and taxes.

[ForbiddenX]

Originally Posted by pb.kidz

Not sure how buddy got it without taxes but when it goes through customs (especially if its shipped through UPS/fedex) you will get boned for duties and taxes.

Only option was to ship through DHL. Read some forum posts and some Canadians were reporting that they didn't get hit with either.

[MadMax]

Did my first flight test today but since I live in Richmond I decided to head down to Ladner and wound up in Delta on River Road. I pulled over into a park/boat launch area and several federal officers were there, presumably game/wildlife officers. I asked one about flying my drone and he was clueless, just told me to refer to the Transport Canada page and knew nothing about Delta or Ladner regs, which I didn't find any. He told me to have fun, so I did.

I. LOVE. THIS. THING!

[Peturbo]

My Mavic finally got shipped. Pre-ordered on sept 28th from best buy.
ordering directly from DJI is definitely the way to go.

[v_tec]

Originally Posted by MadMax

Did my first flight test today but since I live in Richmond I decided to head down to Ladner and wound up in Delta on River Road. I pulled over into a park/boat launch area and several federal officers were there, presumably game/wildlife officers. I asked one about flying my drone and he was clueless, just told me to refer to the Transport Canada page and knew nothing about Delta or Ladner regs, which I didn't find any. He told me to have fun, so I did.

I. LOVE. THIS. THING!

While you could have probably gotten away with it, Delta's River Road is quite close to within 9km radius of Boundary Bay Airport. Tsawwaseen probably your safest bet.

[RFlush]

Some unedited raw photos from my Mavic:

[twitchyzero]

man i loved flying in HK
they didn't have as many rules as in korea/japan

[RFlush]

Originally Posted by twitchyzero

man i loved flying in HK
they didn't have as many rules as in korea/japan

Well looking at the rules between all three locations, seems like HK is similar. Technically in HK we can't fly above 300ft (which is even lower than Korea), can't fly over the harbour, only during day light, and not above people. That said, no one follows the rules and no one seems to enforce them. I basically break all those rules, except I won't fly near the airport or over the harbour.


How was Japan? I'm heading to Okinawa next month, seems like it will be hard to fly due to the many airports and military bases. I'm guessing they are quite strict

[pb.kidz]

Originally Posted by twitchyzero

man i loved flying in HK
they didn't have as many rules as in korea/japan

Rules or not don't be stupid, keep it under 300' and do not fly over people. Its this kind of attitude that will fuck it up for everyone when you collide with an airplane or when your drone hits someone in the head.

On another note, I fly the inspire 1 x5r commercially..

Was out at Joffre lake on Sunday

[twitchyzero]

yeah i would put manned aircraft and lives in danger when I'm abroad
when i said rules i meant outright ban which is the case for most of seoul and all of tokyo
dont know about okinawa...yes i encountered backlash even in an open area while staying within their local regulations

wow you snowshoed up with the inspire?

[MadMax]

Originally Posted by v_tec

While you could have probably gotten away with it, Delta's River Road is quite close to within 9km radius of Boundary Bay Airport. Tsawwaseen probably your safest bet.

Never even heard of that airport. Jesus, they really don't want to make it easy to fly. The 9km radius even overlaps into Richmond with YVR. Based on what I'm seeing now even Tsawwassen is off limits except for South near Point Roberts and out toward the ferries. In Delta, Westham Island is clear and is further down on River Road.

I used this website to figure it out...

https://www.freemaptools.com/radius-around-point.htm

Should the DJI app not tell me I'm too close to an airport?

[twitchyzero]

like I said DJI app isn't 100% reliable for smaller airports/airstrips etc...at least that is my experience in the Vancouver area.

got the mavic out of the box, didn't get to fly it yet, only took a douchey photo

Spoiler!

[LuHua]

Originally Posted by MadMax

Never even heard of that airport. Jesus, they really don't want to make it easy to fly. The 9km radius even overlaps into Richmond with YVR. Based on what I'm seeing now even Tsawwassen is off limits except for South near Point Roberts and out toward the ferries. In Delta, Westham Island is clear and is further down on River Road.

I used this website to figure it out...

https://www.freemaptools.com/radius-around-point.htm

Should the DJI app not tell me I'm too close to an airport?

I've been using this: Canadian Airspace Viewer

Just search for airspace under 700' and most spots should be covered, but it doesn't seem to show helipads