This is some of the footage taken with the mavic pro in -30 of the british base, Halley6  on the brunt ice shelf antartica.
home to 60 people in the pursuit of environmental science. this is where a british scientist first discovered the ozone hole.
If your concerned, it is getting smaller, so what we do in the world is helping.

ricci

Very Interesting, what was the temperature?

Looks cool, did you have good gps? I heard on the poles you mostly fly in atti mode. I was on antartica in 2014 , unfortunately didnt have a drone then

Thank you for the video. I guess we can fly in the coldest windiest place on earth

And exactly where do I sign up for the "Fly your drone at Antarctica" program? Thanks for letting us live vicariously through you mate. Also good to know that the MP can handle -30 and still fly. I'm guessing battery life was a bit truncated?

What an amazing place ! Thank you for sharing with us

dronybaloney Posted at 2018-8-13 11:47
Looks cool, did you have good gps? I heard on the poles you mostly fly in atti mode. I was on antartica in 2014 , unfortunately didnt have a drone then

hi,
had more sats there than Europe

Paul_IA Posted at 2018-8-13 11:59
And exactly where do I sign up for the "Fly your drone at Antarctica" program? Thanks for letting us live vicariously through you mate.  Also good to know that the MP can handle -30 and still fly. I'm guessing battery life was a bit truncated?

Hi,
I had about 25 mins most days, actual problem was the iPad in the cold but the Cristal sky worked great

Amazing it handled the cold. We are hell bent on destroying this planet. I hope we do something before it gets too late to recover.

Thank you very much for sharing this fantastic video with us!

Awesome and very "cool" video.
I think the first piece of music in the video was excellent - the last one I could easily do without, but that's just me.

Wow really nice. Awesome video. send me the sign up sheet as well.
The Mp reliable even under the toughest conditions.

Interesting and nice opening footage.  

Q: What is power source(s)?  

Q: Is main section on skids for towing?

Q: Are sections anchored to take high winds?  

Awesome video! thanks for sharing.

Very interesting views!

Very interesting well done

Very cool place to be.  Take dedication for sure.

HedgeTrimmer Posted at 2018-8-13 19:57
Interesting and nice opening footage.  

Q: What is power source(s)?  

hi
re the questions,
power is from four 120kw gensets built into the modules, and five mobile sets. we have an average  load of 150kw at any onetime due to the hvac systems and 3 phase kitchen equipment, it  runs on avgas, jet fuel because of the low temps (-70) out there.
yes, it is all on skids that lower and raise to get out of the snow, two years ago it was transported 25km to avoid a huge ice crack 80m wide. It took six months to move the station one year and six months to move the labs and storage modules, this was due to only having daylight for six months in summer.
The modules weigh over a 100 tons each so they don’t need fixing down plus every year the complete site has to be lifted 2m to account for the snowfall. It is an aerodynamic shape designed to allow the fine dry snow to pass under and over and not form snow tails but if you look at the central bridge it has a huge mound behind it, and this is due to the lack of aerodynamic profiling. There is one major problem with the snow there and it is because of the lack of humidity, 0.3%, not a typo, its like ultra fine sand and the wind whips it up like a sand storm and leaving behind mounds of deep power snow that you just fall into because the vis is so bad some days. Halley 6, is almost the centre of the ozone hole so the uv is 100% all the time, day or night, which means you have to cover yourself in sunblock because within 20 mins you have very bad burns. it may look amazing but its a very dangerous place if you take your eye off the ball for a moment, we have had cases were members have lost all the toes through frostbite and trench foot, but in most cases accidents happen when people ignore the rules of this place. British Antarctic survey do an amazing job with providing equipment and training so we can come back after a tour safe and well. I guess that goes for all the countries out there however the Russians seem to love using old Cold War dozers and planes, they work but need some serious looking after. We still use old DC3’s to travel across from bases, they have better engines now but not pressurised so 6, hours at 15000 ft gives you a mighty headache for days
I have a picture if anybody want to see it.
Hope that answers a few questions you may have and if you can view the BBC player they had a documentary about moving Halley6.
The only problem I had with the drones and thermal cameras was steaming up and I started to use ND filters but found the colour had a yellowish component which was a bugger to take out and colour match to B-roll with no ND so stopped using them.

ricci

ricci2 Posted at 2018-8-14 07:33
hi
re the questions,
power is from four 120kw gensets built into the modules, and five mobile sets. we have an average  load of 150kw at any onetime due to the hvac systems and 3 phase kitchen equipment, it  runs on avgas, jet fuel because of the low temps (-70) out there.

Thanks for reply.  Very interesting.  

Those are big generators, having in past worked on similar size.  Except motors were electric.  Weird, I know.

One positive thing about Antarctic, you don't have to worry about being Polar Bear food.  

ricci2 Posted at 2018-8-13 12:25
Hi,
I had about 25 mins most days, actual problem was the iPad in the cold but the Cristal sky worked great

I am surprised Mavic Pro took to flying in -30 F temps.  I could foresee plastic becoming brittle (blades snapping), and trouble with moving parts (like motor bearings seizing).  Although CrystalSky should be right at home...

Spent some time in cold north of U.S., and on extreme days tires would have flat spots (whop, whop, whop, whop) till tires warmed and rounded out.  Had to run engine before changing oil, and keep new oil warm.  Aha, good old days...

HedgeTrimmer Posted at 2018-8-14 08:11
I am surprised Mavic Pro took to flying in -30 F temps.  I could foresee plastic becoming brittle (blades snapping), and trouble with moving parts (like motor bearings seizing).  Although CrystalSky should be right at home...

Spent some time in cold north of U.S., and on extreme days tires would have flat spots (whop, whop, whop, whop) till tires warmed and rounded out.  Had to run engine before changing oil, and keep new oil warm.  Aha, good old days...

Hi
There is one saving grace the lack of water in the air, 0.3 %humidity means so little water vapour nothing is corroded, nothing rusts or rots, wood can be left in the snow for years with no detrimental effects.
I suspect longterm fatigue on plastic parts if exposed to the outside will make them brittle but we have 22º in the modules to normalise equipment. At the end of the season we dig big holes 10m by 10m by 3m deep and put  the 30+ skidoo’s and other equipment in them, it only gets to -20 with a wooden lid and snow to insulate when the outside is -68ºc or -90ºf. we don’t use water to cool any engine we have a special synthetic coolant that can’t freeze until -100ºc, all the heavy plant machines are pre-warmed for one hour before use with oil heaters. One amazing thing we still use in the field is pressurised Primus stoves and Tilly lamps  running on kerosene, because they work at -70ºc still and can heat a tent in a very short while.
Here is a crazy thing too, the water is so pure it will not conduct, plays havoc with our sensors and means we have no ground, every metal surface gives you static shocks despite special designed flooring and footwear. People in the outside world think its just another white oasis, its a killing machine if you don’t know the dangers and how to navigate them.
ricci

ricci2 Posted at 2018-8-14 15:07
Hi
There is one saving grace the lack of water in the air, 0.3 %humidity means so little water vapour nothing is corroded, nothing rusts or rots, wood can be left in the snow for years with no detrimental effects.
I suspect longterm fatigue on plastic parts if exposed to the outside will make them brittle but we have 22º in the modules to normalise equipment. At the end of the season we dig big holes 10m by 10m by 3m deep and put  the 30+ skidoo’s and other equipment in them, it only gets to -20 with a wooden lid and snow to insulate when the outside is -68ºc or -90ºf. we don’t use water to cool any engine we have a special synthetic coolant that can’t freeze until -100ºc, all the heavy plant machines are pre-warmed for one hour before use with oil heaters. One amazing thing we still use in the field is pressurised Primus stoves and Tilly lamps  running on kerosene, because they work at -70ºc still and can heat a tent in a very short while.

Here is a crazy thing too, the water is so pure it will not conduct,  plays havoc with our sensors and means we have no ground, every metal  surface gives you static shocks despite special designed flooring and  footwear.

Non-conductive water!  No worries about TVs in showers or hotubs...  


Grounding can be a pain, even under prime conditions (45% RH).  Especially with equipment / systems that have separate chassises, which are connected together via data cables that fail overtime due slightest difference in voltage potential.


Know all to well about static issues.  Specially designed ESD flooring, and cleaning of rails.   Along with shoes, smock, and wrist strap designed to slowly disipate static charge.  

Can't imagine trying to keep equipment working in such a dry (0.3% RH) environment with mobile static generation devices (aka humans wearing clothing).

Too Cool! Wish I had my Mavic or P4 when I was stationed at McMurdo in the 80's.

Hey Ricci, great background music.  Title please?  Or where can I find some other music like this?  Cheers, M.

Has to be the most fantastic video I have seen.
I can't believe that people can survive in such a desolate place. You did a marvelous  job with the video. Great editing and nice choice of music.
One of my favorite scenes was around frame 2:00 with the reflection of the MP.
If you have more videos from there it would be nice to see them posted.

B1houdini Posted at 2018-8-15 11:44
Has to be the most fantastic video I have seen.
I can't believe that people can survive in such a desolate place. You did a marvelous  job with the video. Great editing and nice choice of music.
One of my favorite scenes was around frame 2:00 with the reflection of the MP.

Perhaps a inside fly through?
Maybe open doors on a ''''warm day''''...   

thank you chaps for your kind words, I have lots of unedited footage I will put together when I have time and post.

ricci

IslandHopperz Posted at 2018-8-15 10:48
Hey Ricci, great background music.  Title please?  Or where can I find some other music like this?  Cheers, M.

I write my own music and use this company,
https://www.audionetwork.com/bro ... culate-rhythms_2155
Hope that helps.

ricci

That is so cool. Literally

Hope you get some more footage and post it up soon.
On YouTube you've got this video set to 'unlisted', so no one can see it unless you direct them there with the direct video link.  Just double checking that's what you wanted?

Look forward to more of this.....
Cheers
Ian in London

Hi Ricci,

Great video.

Did you have any issues flying in P mode due to the extreme magnetic declination/inclination?

Cheers, Dan.

Wow, it is impressive that your mavic can still fly at that temperature.

Master. Posted at 1-14 17:49
Wow, it is impressive that your mavic can still fly at that temperature.

Hi Guys,
I had more satellites than in Europe and no magnetic interference and the cold had a marginal effect on the battery life. The issue I had was high altitude wind, the matrice 600 could withstand the wind but the mavic took a 2.5k hike on its own due to the gusts. I undertook experimental thermal inspections of the 80m wide crack in the ice at max hight not 500m and despite using return to home it was swept away. we had skidoo’s  so could chase it, and it still had enough power when the wind dropped to descend to a hover long enough for one of the lads to spot it. we retrieved the data and found it flew in -54º for seven mins and at wind speed above 60kph. It landed in a snow bank and popped one of the rubber gimbal supports. This is the only damage it suffered in the six months of experimental filming.  Dji said it wouldn’t fly there, what do they know?????

5 hours in a dc3

This is a DC3 we had to fly in for 5 hours at 15000' with no oxygen, had headaches for days...such a smmoth takeoff and landing on the snow.

ricci

Thanks Ricci -

Yes, i've flown in a Basler (DC3) on the McMurdo to Casey "hop" (via Dome C) before - thankfully they learned from their mistakes and provided is with oxygen (nasal canula!). No altitude sickness for me!

Cheers, Dan.

Truly an interesting video, and to read Ricci2 comments about the environment was not only surprising for a City dweller, but made me appreciate what you folks are doing in that neighborhood.  Did not see any critters in the video?  Stay safe, and thank you for sharing.

Loved this video. I want to go to Antarctica some day, on my bucket list, probably won't happen but you did an amazing job shooting that footage.