Great way to get drones banned ..

Drone Crashes at Whitehouse CNN


http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/2 ... ice-secret-service/

damn I guess the prop guards do help. that thing looks like it should still be operational.

What was someone doing flying a drone near the White House at 3 AM!  I read that the pilot reported it was an accident but come on; a little common sense; flying at 3 in the morning.

The guy said he wanted to test it in bad weather. It was a Phantom

Capt. Bill Posted at 2015-1-27 07:51
The guy said he wanted to test it in bad weather. It was a Phantom

It did not have a camera mounted either so he can't say he just went up to video the night lights.

I'll bet the lights of the white house at 3AM would have LOOKED awesome... still a dumbass stunt.

Now the news reports says it was a government employee that was flying the Phantom.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/ne ... h-earnest/22338781/

Gerry1124 Posted at 2015-1-27 08:24
Now the news reports says it was a government employee that was flying the Phantom.

http://www.usat ...

Yeah there were some great comments.

We got a shout-out from the NY TImes article and reprints of the article:
http://www.ndtv.com/article/worl ... -white-house-654047

from the article:
"A hobbyist website, DroneFlyers.com, lists "micro"-sized drones that can fit into the palm of a hand for less than $35 and "prosumer" models that are 2 feet wide and include live, high-definition video cameras. One such device is currently listed at Amazon.com for $2,899. "

droneflyers.com Posted at 2015-1-27 10:40
We got a shout-out from the NY TImes article and reprints of the article:
http://www.ndtv.com/articl ...

I wonder why it crashed?

It's to bad this happen, it only makes it hard for every one. Also, this is not the first time something like this has happen, some are reported and others are not. I do not know if everyone know, but there is a 3 mile NO-FLY around the White house. Also there is a band on drones in ALL National Parks http://news.yahoo.com/drones-ban ... arks-130432721.html

All I can say is, "be safe out there and have Fun"
.

Jeep -- it crashed because the Phantom was smarter than the guy trying to control it and it was trying to get away from him!  

Man, I don't know which demonstrates his abject stupidity more, this obviously brain-dead motherfracker casting doubts on the intelligence of all government employees by flying anywhere near a national landmark at 3AM (ESPECIALLY the White House!) or calling up the Secret Service afterwards and acknowledging "duhhh.. yup, that was my quadcopter".  

I wonder if this guy ever posted anything on the Phantom 1 forum?

Anyone seen the FPSRussia clip with the hexa equipped with a machine gun?
The sad reality is that it is only a matter of time before some whackjob straps a few kilos of HE to the likes of an S1000 and and flies it into lord only knows what. It's sad, it's scary but it's inevitable.  For sure there is no shortage of targets or crazies wanting to take 'em out. Pretty soon after that event it will be time to find a new hobby.

trailtec.email Posted at 2015-1-27 21:49
Anyone seen the FPSRussia clip with the hexa equipped with a machine gun?
The sad reality is that it ...

You aren't the first person to believe that was real ......

Not the point mate, the point is it could be done with a bit of effort (magna ported .22 cal MG = light weight and no noticeable recoil) and there is no issue with a few kilos of PE plus a FPV system on an S1000 sized drone.

trailtec.email Posted at 2015-1-27 22:08
Not the point mate, the point is it could be done with a bit of effort (magna ported .22 cal MG = li ...

all manner of RC equipment has been available for decades which could be used for the same

but they haven't ........

if something does get strapped to a flying machine it will just be another sign of the times, not the availability of new methods of delivery

And so it begins: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/2 ... s-fareed/index.html

Yeah! can't have just anyone flying drones around or invading people's privacy - leave that to them, they do it better.

So I think I figured out dumb dumbs defence for how is drone went astray!
So, first dude like I was sitting on my balcony and had a few beers and decided, gee, I should fly this thing tonight, it's nice and quiet at 3 o'clock in the morning.
So then I started it up, and dude, as I get ready to take off I realized, oh crap, I probably had too many beers so I should just turn it off and go to bed and leave it till tomorrow when I have a clear head.
And I totally gapped it at this point because I shut off the controller first and that's when the shit hit the fan.
The bird just took off and flew away on its own, I didn't know what to do, flip the switches on the controller and nothing happens, there she went, bye-bye Birdie! So all I could do was watch...I cried for hours...and then went to bed hoping I could find it later.
When I woke up the next morning with a clear head I realized what I had done and was like oh crap, my last GPS lock was about 100 miles away from here (in a safe and legal to fly location of course) so when I shut off the controller the bird went into RTH mode and it tried to go home..
Damn..if only I knew what RTFM meant...I should have set a new home point...and if I could RTFM I wouldn't of been flying in the first place at that time of night in a highly populated city near the freaking WhiteHouse..where it is totally illegal to fly in the first place!
Sorry FBI, NSA, FAA and anyone else I put out.

sean.moore.esq. Posted at 2015-1-27 22:39
all manner of RC equipment has been available for decades which could be used for the same

but th ...

Yes of cause it has but that's not how it will be seen when it happens is it? The blame will be laid squarely at the feet of drones because it will be a drone that's used.

Why? Drones are an easier alternative. They are compact, don't need a lot of space to take off (an RC fixed wing big enough for a decent payload is going to need a football field size strip at least), quiet(er) and easy to fit FPV gear to as well as having a far better payload for a given size. A drone can be launched from the bed of  pickup truck in a matter of seconds with a good chance that no one will even notice and has a far lower radar signature than a comparable fixed wing.  It is also far harder to spot visually in flight and harder to shoot down.

Drones have already been  identified as a major source of concern by anti terror groups, a large swath of the last terror briefing I attended was devoted to a possible drone incursion into a certain temporary high security area that was our partial responsibility at the time.

Someone will inevitably use a drone as a weapon of terror and my guess is sooner rather than later, they are just too attractive a proposition. When it happens everything changes.

Northofthe49th Posted at 2015-1-28 02:38
So I think I figured out dumb dumbs defence for how is drone went astray!
So, first dude like I was  ...

LOL, looks like you were correct mate: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/2 ... -service/index.html

I thought they would either not take off, or just land if they entered a no fly zone, as long as they were on GPS, not altered and fully updated.
DJI seems to have gone out of their way to insure this didn't occur.
Looks like someone was being a real Ricardo Cabeza.

kelly.visyon Posted at 2015-1-28 13:00
I thought they would either not take off, or just land if they entered a no fly zone, as long as the ...

DJI has only 2 classes of airports programmed into their logic, which does not include anything else.  The Fort Drum bomb range up here is not programmed into it.

but does that even matter if you take off in atti mode?  i though the no fly zones would only be used if it was actively using gps coords.  not saying he didnt use gps, just asking from a general standpoint...

gnixon2015 Posted at 2015-1-28 13:11
but does that even matter if you take off in atti mode?  i though the no fly zones would only be use ...

Atti can fly anywhere you want it to,  It doesn't rely on GPS.

Gerry1124 Posted at 2015-1-28 13:03
DJI has only 2 classes of airports programmed into their logic, which does now include anything el ...

I'm sure that being drunk at 3 am and dumb enough to fly a Phantom from a few blocks of the White House isn't a factor.  I'm sure it was just another simple case of a fly away caused by one of those @#$% ESC failures! :-)

Too bad he didn't have the GoPro on it.  That would have been a priceless video of all the Secret Service guys standing around gawking at the white, blinking thing wondering what it was going to do next.

NO more flying in Washington from DJI

http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/ ... washington-flights/

slash_nash.emai Posted at 2015-1-29 03:06
NO more flying in Washington from DJI

http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/28/dji-drone-update-bars-wash ...

True but it appears the firmware update only applies to the phantom 2 and not the phantom 1 (ironically the one that crashed the white house) so hopefully I can continue to fly my P1. I'm in Northern Virginia right within the 15 mile no fly area and will now have to get in my car and drive a few miles west to fly my P2's. Hopefully I will never have to update the firmware.

Gerry1124 Posted at 2015-1-28 13:14
Atti can fly anywhere you want it to,  It doesn't rely on GPS.

Ive never taken off in ATTI mode but doesnt it also require a home lock before you take off? Wouldnt that determine whether you could start the motors? Anyone know?

no, you can take off in manual or atti mode totally without any sort of lock.   you can take the thing off in a cave underground if you want to, nothing prevents that.

gnixon2015 Posted at 2015-1-29 03:25
no, you can take off in manual or atti mode totally without any sort of lock.   you can take the thi ...

Ive flown in ATTI mode before after taking off in GPS mode. If I take off in ATTI it will have no home lock correct? The reason I ask is sometimes on a cloudy day my phantom blends in with the sky and I have to switch to home course lock to have it fly straight back to me. Do you know if I take off immediately in ATTI mode that it will not have a home lock and I wont be able to use that function? Is there also a greater risk of flyaway taking off in ATTI mode?

rdc44444.email Posted at 2015-1-29 03:55
Ive flown in ATTI mode before after taking off in GPS mode. If I take off in ATTI it will have no  ...

You can take off inside a building with NO sats.  You just won't have any RTH or home lock.  None of your switches will work.

Well I have a phantom 1, two FC40's and two P2V+.... Is it safe to assume I'll still be able to fly in GPS mode on the P1 and FC40's because thay dont have no fly zones?  Its only the P2's that wont be able to fly in GPS mode within the 15 mile radius? Is that correct or will the firmware update effect P1's as well? Anbody know?  

rdc44444.email Posted at 2015-1-29 04:17
Well I have a phantom 1, two FC40's and two P2V+.... Is it safe to assume I'll still be able to fly  ...

I think you would have to inquire with DJI for that answer if they incorporated the "no fly zones" in the other machines or get an answer here from someone flying those machines.

rdc444, if you take of in atti mode and never put the switch into gps mode, you will never have a homelock nor any RTH capability.  the only real 'flyaway' concern is with wind drift coupled with losing orientation on the phantom at a distance.  those two things together can DEFN cause a flyaway because if the wind takes it past the RC range then it has not homepoint to go back to and the wind can take it wherever it wants.  but if you take off in atti and then switch to gps, you can get a lock and then fly normally if that makes sense.

gnixon2015 Posted at 2015-1-29 05:16
rdc444, if you take of in atti mode and never put the switch into gps mode, you will never have a ho ...

Okay thanks.  I don't like flying without a home lock because I have lost FPV, orientation and sight of the phantom on several occasions and had to use home course lock to bring it back.. I'm never updating the firmware and hope I'm not forced to update the firmware when plugging it in to the computer.

So if you never update the Vision Assistant software and disconnect your computer from the internet before you run the Vision Assistant software your Phantom should never update.

I would never use ATTI unless I am indoors and well it's pretty defined on where the copter can go.  I always home lock and use the function many times, get tired of flying it, cant really see it too well, sun in the way......turn off the remote for a few seconds and RTH function works great on my Vision 2.  My V2 plus had some initial issues but after DJI repaired it twice, it had dropped satellites but it works great now, heck I can go get another beer as it returns (that was a punch at the current events).  All reality, Home lock NEEDS to be done every time if outside, fire up the motors, let it warm up and flick that S2 6 times, and the pretty green lights will blink,  all is set then and life is good and if you want, set the RTH altitude (up to 400 feet) on the DJI Vision and it really won't fly away.

As for additional fly restrictions by software, I really don't mind that, I am occasionally on a flight team and although I really doubt a phantom will take a plane or helicopter down, but it will cause damage.  Now a 1000 or the big multi-rotors have the weight and build to really do damage and take a plane down.  Any strike will ground a aircraft and cause a FAA investigation, someone will be fined or jailed, and then we lose the hobby.  

I live within 3 miles of the airport and have the "fail safes" enabled in the assistant software including max height of 400 feet, guess what, I ended up at 683 feet before it alarmed and started RTH.  So the point is they can try to put in no fly zones and other safety and anti-stupidity measures, but they don't always work.  Just fly safe and responsibly.  Fly well everyone.