Hi all,

I was wondering is anyone here has used their Phantom to film a building implosion? We have a building locally being imploded tomorrow morning and I was thinking of filming it with my Phantom. I'm not sure if our weather will cooperate or not. The forcasted winds look like it might be a no go, but if they are calm enough to fly I wanted to know if the blasting shock wave would have any effect on the P3. I would imagine it wouldn't be a problem since I planned to be back away from the building at least 500' or more .  Anyone have experience with this?  

Oh jeeze, I can see the headlines now:  "Drone causes building collapse!"  

You just know there would be some idiots that would draw a correlation between a UAV flying nearby and the building falling down.

On a deadly serious note I would get approval from someone in authority.  Even if you're 500' away I suspect they would delay the shot if your Phantom (or anybody else's' UAV) is seen hovering around.  Sure, it would be a great video but I see a high possibility of arrest, confiscation or worse.  At the very least they would likely grab you for flying above the crowds of people that will be watching.

Check the FAA temporary non fly zones listed to see if the airspace is restricted. (quick google search for FAA site) Once you have an OK from the demo company, (get their name) make sure there are no local ordinances that don't allow for flight.

The demolition company may want a copy of the video for promotional purposes. If you donate to them I don't think you run a risk of running afoul of not being licensed.

As mentioned above, make sure you're not flying over people that could be gathering.

man that's a tough one, believe me I say go for it that would be some awesome footage, but also you gotta think a lot of security and if not any news helicopters around possibly if anything I would try to ask permission from demolition team worth a shot.g

Get permission from the authorities.  Perhaps offer to give the Demo company a copy of the video for free.  They can use it for ads etc.

Let the Hurricane take care of it.

I already have talked to demolition contractor, so that base has been covered.  I just wanted to know if anybody has done something similar and if there are any ill effects on the Phantom regarding the blast.

I would recommend speaking with the contractors that are actually providing the blasting services. The blasting is controlled by a computer, so the complication may be signal issues that your receiver/transmitter send out during the actual blast. You will see signs that no transmitters, cell phones, 2-way communication units are to be used within (1,000-2,000 feet) of the site. It varies by contractor.

Alan Z. Posted at 2015-10-2 22:17
I already have talked to demolition contractor, so that base has been covered.  I just wanted to kno ...

Excellent first step. You just want to protect yourself with the authorities prior to the flight. I can't imagine if you are 300 meters from the blast and above the blast that you will have any concussive effects on the P3. Generally the blast is lateral, not vertical so I'd fly at 200' above the actual  height of the building and approximately 300 meters from the building.

What did the demo contractors say?

Cant wait to see the footage....!!

Alan Z, are you in Buffalo? I was also planning on filming the demolition with my P3P. Maybe we can meet up beforehand?

They didn't have any objections to me shooting the implosion.  Josh, it isn't looking good to fly tomorrow. Winds are forecasted 28mph+ and possible rain.

Josh, Yes I'm in Buffalo

Nice! Yea I've been watching the weather pretty closely. It doesn't look like rain should be much of an issue that early, but the wind is what I'm watching out for. I've flown in ~12mph wind before without issue, but right now the forecast is 16mph according to the weather channel. I'll probably go out around 6 tomorrow and scope it out. Worst case scenario I still get to watch a building implode

joshcox Posted at 2015-10-2 20:30
Alan Z, are you in Buffalo? I was also planning on filming the demolition with my P3P. Maybe we can  ...

Hopefully the two of you will be able to grab some neat Video. Please post your footage?
Thanks

rodger Posted at 2015-10-3 08:58
Hopefully the two of you will be able to grab some neat Video. Please post your footage?
Thanks

If I'm able to fly you'll definitely see my footage up here tomorrow!

I use uavforecast.com to determine if I fly or not.

Saturday 2015-10-03: sunrise 07:14, sunset 18:53
Time        Wind. Temp        Wind Chill        Precip %         Cloud Cover         Visibility  Visible Sats  Kp. Est. Sats Locked Good to Fly?
07:00         24 mph         46°F        39°F        0%.          98%                        9 miles           19                         4               17.2                           no
08:00         25 mph         47°F        39°F        0%           97%                        9 miles           16                         3               15.5                           no
09:00         27 mph         48°F        40°F        0%.          94%                      10 miles           18                         3               16.9                           no

Alan Z. Posted at 2015-10-3 09:12
I use uavforecast.com to determine if I fly or not.

Saturday 2015-10-03: sunrise 07:14, sunset 18: ...

Ooof that's unfortunate. Well hopefully the weather is so poor that they reschedule for Sunday then.

I just keep thinking that shrapnel may be a problem. Well, knowing my luck my drone would get hit with a flying projectile no matter where it was hovering! :/

This may be a moot question if the weather isn't miraculous tomorrow, but I was wondering earlier today if it'd be better to film the implosion in 4k @ 30 fps or 1080p @ 60fps. My original thinking was that the loss in resolution would be worth the higher fps because it'd allow for smoother slow-mo. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

This storm is going to be around until Wed. Your project may be postponed for a bit?

josh, nice job. might want to edit out the last part where you pan down.

joshcox Posted at 2015-10-3 09:12
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVJodVmvmE0

Nice job and great positiioning yourself up wind. Watch the charges go off on the ground floor through the windows.

Great film.  So still, then boom!
Perfect framing and safe distance.  Great to see film like this.

I'd try to find some dramatic music, slowly building up before ending in an almighty bang (and as Alan suggested, get rid of the pan down).