Aloha Toorboy,

     Nice video.  You should get in touch with Dr. Colin D. MacLeod.  He used to be at the University of Aberdeen, but I think he is now at St. Andrews.  He specializes in GIS and spatial mammology, particularly marine mammals.  He might have use for your considerable talents or you might have use for his.  Your type of videography is what is used for his type of research.  Everyone wants drones in their research these days.

Aloha and Drone On!

Cetaman Posted at 2016-5-3 00:42
Aloha Toorboy,

     Nice video.  You should get in touch with Dr. Colin D. MacLeod.  He used to be  ...

hi cetaman thanks buddy iv never heard of Dr. Colin D. MacLeod
the video is there for anyone that wants a look or wants to share cetaman
i had to use four batteries to get those shots starting with long
distance shots to let the seals get used to the noise and go between
both rocks and each time i was able to get closer with out scaring them
the p3 still scared two of them and when they hopped into the water
it was a close splashback nearly hitting the camera lol

Toorboy Posted at 2016-5-2 21:25
hi cetaman thanks buddy iv never heard of Dr. Colin D. MacLeod
the video is there for anyone that  ...

Aloha Toorboy,

     Well, keep an ear out for MacLeod on subjects regarding marine mammals.  He is quite prominent.  

     Your approach to the seals is exactly what they are looking for and shows in your video.  Do be aware that some places have approach limits for marine mammals, but a researcher like MacLeod will have permits to allow drone work around marine mammals - using your approach.

Aloha and Drone On!

Cetaman Posted at 2016-5-4 00:08
Aloha Toorboy,

     Well, keep an ear out for MacLeod on subjects regarding marine mammals.  He i ...

will do Cetaman have you had your p3 out lately? im not getting much done
with mine the now just at the end april we went back to more snow & high winds
I could not believe it lol still while the weather is pants am managing to save a few pound
for petrol money for next month when I do a run up to the north coast for a week &
I am still keeping the fingers crossed for good weather lol

Toorboy Posted at 2016-5-3 22:20
will do Cetaman  have you had your p3 out lately? im not getting much done
with mine the now jus ...

Aloha Toorboy,

     Right now, my P3 is getting an overall evaluation to get performance up for smoother videography.  I have been working in post production and the tiresome process of deleting sentimental footage.  (My 2 terabyte drive is full!)  We had a brief period of good weather and now the wind and rain are at it again.  And the VOG.  Supposed to show some friends how to shoot a community service drone video this afternoon but it looks like rain - bummer.

     However, I have been flying in tandem with a friend who just got a P3 Advanced.  That is fun.  You have to apply ten foot flight layers to keep from hitting each other!  He uses propguards and the visual angle of the propguards also help you see what altitude they are at compared to your own drone.

     Another new thing!  Since we have a 400 foot altitude limit, we figured out a way to climb the ridge behind my house in steps with resets of the home point along the way.  With one more landing pad, we might be able to look over the Pali into Central Oahu.  We call it climbing the mountain Kneepuck Style!

Aloha and Drone On!

Cetaman Posted at 2016-5-4 22:35
Aloha Toorboy,

     Right now, my P3 is getting an overall evaluation to get performance up for s ...

What's the 400ft limit?  The legal altitude limit?  I don't understand how that would be a problem flying over a ridge or high ground & how resetting helps.  Or is it near a NFZ?  Edit: I may have just answered my own question there.

nigelw Posted at 2016-5-4 12:22
What's the 400ft limit?  The legal altitude limit?  I don't understand how that would be a problem  ...

Aloha nigel,

     It is the FAA 400 foot limit for hobbyists.  The helicopters flying around here stay above 500 feet.  (Scenic area.)  So to climb up the mountain legally, I have to do it in 400 foot increments - Kneepuck Style!  (Plus the mountain is a very steep cliff face.)  The last pad is a barely accessible hike up to 500 feet.  My friend likes to camp up there, so he is going to clear a pad for landing up there.  Then 400 feet above that one, we may be able to look over the mountain.  Two stops and look over the mountain.

Aloha and Drone On!

Cetaman Posted at 2016-5-5 00:02
Aloha nigel,

     It is the FAA 400 foot limit for hobbyists.  The helicopters flying around here ...

That seems different to most height regulations I've heard of.  In the UK the height limit is also 400ft, but it's not relative to take off height, it's relative to the ground below the aircraft, which means you can calculate it using maps.  I suppose by resetting, you get the true height above the ground you take off from on the app each time, but it's not really necessary.  Also, if you take off at say 300ft & fly backwards where the ground falls away steeply, you're back to having to calculate the height again.

nigelw Posted at 2016-5-4 21:37
That seems different to most height regulations I've heard of.  In the UK the height limit is also ...

Aloha nigel,

     The height limit is 400 feet in England?  I thought it was 300 feet or is that in the rest of Europe?  I wish our limit was distance to ground, but I am limited to 400 feet above the HomePoint.  I have tested that one.

     As far as I know, I can disable the altitude restriction in the DJI Go app and just fly up, but that would then be part of my record.  If I had a problem where my flying history and record came into play, that removal of the height restriction would act against me.  Plus it is a nice challenge to overcome.  How high have you been able to fly?

     You are right about taking off and flying backwards over the void.  But if you know the altitude of each step, recalculating your true altitude is not so hard.  Plus, my house take-off pad is already 157 feet above sea level (I think), so the altitudes I deal with are all relative.  And I do not do that so well apparently.  I recently noticed that the first landing pad we used is just 60 feet higher than my house pad, not 75 feet like I thought previously.  I am just glad the helicopters stay 500 feet above the ground, not sea level.  I was once doing a waypoints mission elsewhere at 400 feet and a police helicopter flew right over my P3P.  It came out of nowhere!  But, the P3P was very stable and the video showed no evidence of just being run over!

Aloha and Drone On!

Nice one and like the hand catch at the end.  Just pluck from the air - that's how I do it.

What P3 do you have?

Cetaman Posted at 2016-5-4 22:35
Aloha Toorboy,

     Right now, my P3 is getting an overall evaluation to get performance up for s ...

hi Cetaman an evaluation? do you have the dreaded vibrations of FW1.5?
I did and I had to lower my gains on my bird to fix it & it still vibrates but not as bad as it was
I know what you mean about sentimental footage I have filled three hard drives & I need to buy
another one the weather here is mixed & the wind is not great but its gonna drop tomorrow
early morning so will be up & awaiting the dawn the only thing is going to work afterward
its a blooming long day lol   that's good you've picked up a drone buddy to go out with
I cant wait to see your next video I will keep an eye out for it

nigelw Posted at 2016-5-4 23:22
What's the 400ft limit?  The legal altitude limit?  I don't understand how that would be a problem  ...

hi nigelw how's tricks with you buddy have you been out recently?
two people at work told me there's a heat wave hitting the UK this weekend
& someone posted something about it on Facebook but from what I am
looking at on the weather website I would say someone is telling porkies lol

Toorboy Posted at 2016-5-5 15:02
hi nigelw how's tricks with you buddy have you been out recently?
two people at work told me there ...

hi talk2t_c yeh I always hand catch buddy every time I tried to land my FC40
it would always tip so I gave up landing the dam thing lol its a p3p I fly
buddy and I don't want to her to tip over lol so I always hand catch but I always
bring her back at 25% - 30% battery so if its windy I just take my time and wait
till the end of a gust and use my shaolin snake style lol

Toorboy Posted at 2016-5-5 15:02
hi nigelw how's tricks with you buddy have you been out recently?
two people at work told me there ...

I haven't been out for a couple of weeks at least.  I was struck down with almost man-flu symptoms last week so didn't do much at all.  Still recovering to the extent I haven't got the energy to climb the mountains where I prefer to fly.  I may get out somewhere this weekend depending on the weather.

Yes, it's meant to be hot, but there's a risk of being struck by lightning & getting a soaking as well, or at least there was when I looked yesterday.  As always though, the forecast changes almost hourly, so I'll wait & see nearer the weekend to make plans.  I'm off for the last couple of weeks of May so may even get up to the Highlands for a day or two soon.  I'm also still trying to decide when to do my PfAW course as well, so that might also happen in May.

Cetaman Posted at 2016-5-5 11:20
Aloha nigel,

     The height limit is 400 feet in England?  I thought it was 300 feet or is that  ...

Yes, 400ft in the UK above ground level, or up to 1000ft if you have a competent spotter with you.

That's weird about height above the take off point, it makes no sense since all the other aircraft work to height above ground level.  So, what do you do?  fly to a higher point, stop & then restart the motors to reset the altitude to zero?  In theory then your only height restriction would be your highest landing platform, even taking into account DJI's 500m limit.  Obviously you'd still have to observe any visual line of sight distances in force though.

nigelw Posted at 2016-5-5 10:17
Yes, 400ft in the UK above ground level, or up to 1000ft if you have a competent spotter with you. ...

Aloha nigel,

     Cool about the competent spotter.  Your rules seem to be much more matured than ours.  And yes to all the rest, as far as I know and have tried.  That is the Kneepuck Style!

Aloha and Drone On!

Toorboy Posted at 2016-5-5 03:55
hi Cetaman an evaluation? do you have the dreaded vibrations of FW1.5?
I did and I had to lower my ...

Aloha Toorboy,

     No vibrations here, although after reading Kneepuck's evaluation of the prop balancer, I am tempted to see if it will help improve precise IMU performance for me.  Right now, I seem to get more precise landings without the VPS.  But, I have to use the VPS for remote landings for the altitude readout.  My smooth efforts are regarding tilt speed and rotation steadiness.  The RC and MC settings can really help smooth it out.

     Got to get out and fly, the rain is gone and it is only partly cloudy!

Aloha and Drone On!

nigelw Posted at 2016-5-5 10:17
Yes, 400ft in the UK above ground level, or up to 1000ft if you have a competent spotter with you. ...

Aloha nigel,

     Sorry, bad time to take a month off.  So far we have been able to climb 1030 feet above sea-level up the mountain legally - Kneepuck Style.  I am processing the video now.

Aloha and Drone On!

love the scenery, it looks so nice

where is this place?