Please select Into the mobile phone version | Continue to access the computer ver.
More bad press for our hobby today...
1715 26 2015-6-25
Uploading and Loding Picture ...(0/1)
o(^-^)o
JtrJr-UAV Pilot
Captain
Flight distance : 4341 ft
United States
Offline

As firefighter planes get delayed because of a civilian drone. Man, we've got to be more careful!

http://www.latimes.com/local/lan ... 20150625-story.html

Jerry
2015-6-25
Use props
nrgwise
First Officer

United States
Offline

Are people just stupid?   I mean really?  You have an emergency situation and that is when you have to fly?  Obviously to the detriment of those most in need of the services and you have to be there?  Huh?  I don't get it.
2015-6-25
Use props
srtgray

Switzerland
Offline

I'm guessing the pilot wanted footage of the fires, rather than simply "had to fly" right then
2015-6-25
Use props
fwickeha
Second Officer
Flight distance : 173455 ft

United States
Offline

I did hear a report that autonomous mapping of the fire area was being conducted at that site.  Sounds like it could be another instance of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is up to.
2015-6-26
Use props
Michael Starley
Second Officer
Flight distance : 2812 ft
United States
Offline

When interviewed the pilot stated that he was just filming .

If I ever meet an operator that does this , I just might be the first person to defend himself in a drone related court case . I will be in court because I Will not resist the urge to accidentally trip and fall onto an idiots bird .
While doing so making sure to render it useless . I mean useless . If in court I find myself , I will claim concerns for others well being and safety .
Maybe the fine will not be too big .

To all humans that own a drone and think like this idiot I make one plea.

Get That Head Out of That Ass!!   
2015-6-26
Use props
gary.ok
lvl.4
United States
Offline

Yes I would be the first to agree with all the sentiment here.  The guy was an idiot and should not have been doing what he was doing, but don't ya think the fire service and media over reacted just a tad?  The shut down of all fire fighting operations because somebody thought they saw a drone.  A four pound piece of plastic that to date, has not even produced damage to much less downed a manned aircraft.  Makes for lots of bad press and a good "boogyman" type news story, but hardly justifies the grounding the entire operation.  Still I would want to smack the UAV Pilot.  He didn't do us any favors.  I have an uncle who is a want-a-be airline pilot.  Flies them little Cesna's that are always all over the place not doing what they are supposed to be doing.   That community is all up in arms looking for a public hanging of this guy.  Way too much fuel on this fire.   


2015-6-26
Use props
grangerfx
First Officer
Flight distance : 817713 ft
United States
Offline

gary.ok@hotmail Posted at 2015-6-27 01:39
Yes I would be the first to agree with all the sentiment here.  The guy was an idiot and should not  ...


Normally I would agree that drones are not much risk to big planes. There are exceptions. This is one of them.

I have a personal story that relates to this news topic. I fly a DJI Phantom 2 Vision+. I also write 3D mapping apps for iPads and iPhones. It is a hobby project that I have been working on since the mid 1990s (ran on a Powerbook 170 back then). The apps are designed to be used where there are no cell phone signals while displaying the best resolution terrain data available in 2D (top down) or 3D. It turns out that the apps have been widely adopted by aerial fire fighters. Later this year I plan on adding the ability to define a region or a series of waypoints which was requested by a couple of different aerial fire fighters. I hope to use the same feature to create waypoints for safely flying my drone over terrain without having to guess relative altitudes. In other words, the work I do to help fly drones will also directly benefit aerial fire fighters.
2015-6-26
Use props
JtrJr-UAV Pilot
Captain
Flight distance : 4341 ft
United States
Offline

grangerfx@gmail Posted at 2015-6-27 02:59
DC10 Fire Drop
Normally I would agree that drones are not much risk to big planes. There are excep ...

I knew you were a cool dude Granger! No plug for your stuff?

Jerry
2015-6-26
Use props
gary.ok
lvl.4
United States
Offline

grangerfx@gmail Posted at 2015-6-27 02:59
DC10 Fire Drop
Normally I would agree that drones are not much risk to big planes. There are excep ...

That was really cool video but what is it I just watched.  I don't see the where the drone factors in here.  The assumption is that if a plane like that hit a drone it would be over for the plane, but would it?  Maybe if it hit just right, but you could say the same for birds too.  I am not at all advocating for this reckless pilot.  The firefighters that do this kind of work should get nothing but our complete and total cooperation when it comes to their safety.  No argument there.  It's just this sentiment with the public that someday a drone is going to somehow take down a big o'l plane I am having a hard time with.  Public sentiment is often the first step in getting something banned or regulated, so allowing these false and fear based stories to go unchecked is a "shame on us" to all who enjoy the hobby.   
2015-6-26
Use props
JtrJr-UAV Pilot
Captain
Flight distance : 4341 ft
United States
Offline

gary.ok@hotmail Posted at 2015-6-27 04:13
That was really cool video but what is it I just watched.  I don't see the where the drone factors ...

I agree with you Gary. We're on drone overload, they're going to take over the world. Rarely anything but the negative. Certainly not all the good that UAV's could provide, especially in regards to safety.

Jerry
2015-6-26
Use props
nrgwise
First Officer

United States
Offline

JtrJr-UAV Pilot Posted at 2015-6-27 06:48
I agree with you Gary. We're on drone overload, they're going to take over the world. Rarely anyth ...

I just wish the term drone would go away for our hobby.  We fly quad-copters.  The military flies drones.  Enough said I think.
2015-6-26
Use props
JtrJr-UAV Pilot
Captain
Flight distance : 4341 ft
United States
Offline

nrgwise Posted at 2015-6-27 09:29
I just wish the term drone would go away for our hobby.  We fly quad-copters.  The military flies  ...

I hear you Chris, I've gone a step further per the suggestion of another poster on this forum. I fly UAV's!

Jerry
2015-6-26
Use props
JtrJr-UAV Pilot
Captain
Flight distance : 4341 ft
United States
Offline

nrgwise Posted at 2015-6-27 09:29
I just wish the term drone would go away for our hobby.  We fly quad-copters.  The military flies  ...

OFF TOPIC:

Chris,

Did a big video for a friend (1 of 2, a real friend, no compensation involved) the other day with the P3. I'm uploading it to YT for the past 4 hours with about 2 more to go. It's of his place and it's long, even edited, about 16-17 minutes. I need you to watch it in 1080p so I know what he can expect before I send the link to him. The file is over 4 GB. I won't re-edit it, I just want a real user experience before I send it to him. You up for that?

Jerry
2015-6-26
Use props
grangerfx
First Officer
Flight distance : 817713 ft
United States
Offline

JtrJr-UAV Pilot Posted at 2015-6-27 03:34
I knew you were a cool dude Granger! No plug for your stuff?

Jerry

No plug. Here to learn and share not to sell stuff. If you must know, search for GrangerFX on the iTunes App Store and you should find them.
2015-6-26
Use props
grangerfx
First Officer
Flight distance : 817713 ft
United States
Offline

gary.ok@hotmail Posted at 2015-6-27 04:13
That was really cool video but what is it I just watched.  I don't see the where the drone factors ...

I was thinking more about those pilots not needing any distractions. Dodging a drone could be bad news and you know the damn thing would be hanging right over the fire line directly in front of that drop.
2015-6-26
Use props
gary.ok
lvl.4
United States
Offline

No more than birds are a distraction right?  I hardly think they would be spending any time dogging a single drone in all that air space. Did you notice the report now says the drone was at 12k feet?  The fire fighters are not at 12k feet.  That's over 2 miles up. What RC control is going to allow for operation at that altitude. This whole thing was shutdown because somebsody thought they saw the boogie man. More bad press for sure, but now they are just makin this stuff up it seems.
2015-6-27
Use props
Raybro
Second Officer
Flight distance : 11099 ft
United States
Offline

The FAA has stated new rules for UAVs will be in place by 2016.
2015-6-27
Use props
nrgwise
First Officer

United States
Offline


Jerry,
I will check your channel now.
Chris
2015-6-27
Use props
Raybro
Second Officer
Flight distance : 11099 ft
United States
Offline


From your other friend........you need to be careful. Someone will want to hire you. Man, what a spread! Lots of outbuildings, also a fruit orchard? Nice video Jerry. You're really becoming a pro at that.
2015-6-27
Use props
JtrJr-UAV Pilot
Captain
Flight distance : 4341 ft
United States
Offline

Raybro Posted at 2015-6-27 20:36
From your other friend........you need to be careful. Someone will want to hire you. Man, what a s ...

Ray,

Did you watch the new one? The 1080p version? I'm going to take the 720p down once I know the new one is solid. I can't take the other one down until I send the link for the new one to my buddy.

Thanks,

Jerry
2015-6-27
Use props
nrgwise
First Officer

United States
Offline

JtrJr-UAV Pilot Posted at 2015-6-27 20:41
Ray,

Did you watch the new one? The 1080p version? I'm going to take the 720p down once I know th ...

Jerry,
Check email.
Chris
2015-6-27
Use props
JtrJr-UAV Pilot
Captain
Flight distance : 4341 ft
United States
Offline

nrgwise Posted at 2015-6-27 20:43
Jerry,
Check email.
Chris

Got the note Chris, than you! Sounds like a busy day for you. I'll catch up with you later.

Jerry
2015-6-27
Use props
Raybro
Second Officer
Flight distance : 11099 ft
United States
Offline

JtrJr-UAV Pilot Posted at 2015-6-27 20:41
Ray,

Did you watch the new one? The 1080p version? I'm going to take the 720p down once I know th ...

I'll check it out. The one I watched looked pretty damn good. BTW, I missed it last night. I have about 10 reminds. Not even going there.
2015-6-27
Use props
JtrJr-UAV Pilot
Captain
Flight distance : 4341 ft
United States
Offline

Raybro Posted at 2015-6-27 20:51
I'll check it out. The one I watched looked pretty damn good. BTW, I missed it last night. I have  ...

Ray,

I already pulled the 720 version. Took 10 hours to upload the new one. The file was 4GB and I've got slow internet upload speed. Last night would have just been a waste of your time. Thanks for checking it out.

Jerry
2015-6-27
Use props
grangerfx
First Officer
Flight distance : 817713 ft
United States
Offline

gary.ok@hotmail Posted at 2015-6-27 19:48
No more than birds are a distraction right?  I hardly think they would be spending any time dogging  ...

That's news reporting for you. The quality seems to go down every day. I don't in any way disagree that the original story didn't blow up the true threat of drones beyond all reason but I think that video demonstrates the kind of risks aerial fire fighters take even without any drones around. If we agree that drones should not be flying over airports then they should not be flying over forest fires either as much as we would all love to.
2015-6-27
Use props
Michael Starley
Second Officer
Flight distance : 2812 ft
United States
Offline

grangerfx-Just read your response to JtrJr-UAV Pilot . Specifically here to learn, not to sell . Much Respect .gary, I fully understand your irritation . Be patient . You can show a stranger a piece of paper with only the tip of a ball point pin sized dot on it. Ask him what he sees and 100% of the time he will only focus on that dot . In doing so he will not see all of the useful blank space around it . Human nature . Time heals all wounds .

My question is what brand of UAV flies safely at 12k' ?? I feel dumb right now but I can't think of a consumer UAV that has the range or flight time . Local government ?? If not , somebody better get that behind in the backyard and start digging up all of your mason jars . The FAA would like to speak with you sir .
2015-6-28
Use props
Cessna172
Second Officer
United States
Offline

Some things are protected by Amendments.  

There is no such protection for drone flight.

I do feel we are going to see some bad things done by very irresponsible people and the usual over reaction from the legislatures.
2015-6-28
Use props
Advanced
You need to log in before you can reply Login | Register now

Credit Rules