Chris from RC Today Show invited me to do a podcast to talk about all things RC. It is a great podcast and I would encourage you all to check it out. I talk about taking photos at Jaws, getting started in aerial photography, my Ebook, and lots of other stuff related to drones, RC, and FPV. Here is a direct link to the show or you can download it on iTunes. I learned a few things as well that I would like to share. Apparently (obviously?) Maui has some awesome slope soaring and I would love to get back into that because I did it a bunch when I was a kid with those indestructible flying Zagi wings. They also told me about an FPV race that is going to be happening in March in Austin - How cool is that? I have been wanting to do something like that for a very long time and even tried to get one organized. If anyone is in the Austin area and wants to race for DroneAbove, please let me know!
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I am always on the look out for stuff to do with my remote control toys, and I am sure many of you have discovered this one already but I figured I would make a brief post about one of my favorite things to do with my Hubsan X4 micro quadcopter - Exercising my dog. I have two dogs and one of them is a long distance jogger and the other is more like a football sprinter and refuses to even attempt to run farther than about 100 yards. However, he would gladly chase an RC truck like my beloved Revo until his legs fell off but the tires were getting a bit expensive and it was much easier for him to catch. This is where the little Hubsan x4 comes in - it flies and he can't catch it unless I mess up! It is only marginally more expensive than revo tires and adds to my RC skill set every time I fly. If you need to improve your RC skills AND exercise your dog, I recommend you get a Hubsan X4 immediately! In the following video, I thought he chomped it pretty good and broke it but turns out he did not, merely a flesh wound (and maybe a new plastic shell soon..). If you have any videos exercising your pet with a flying RC drone, please send it my way! Click here if you have not yet seen my pictures taken from my drone of Jaws! I loaded up my QAV400 camera drone and snapped it to my backpack and started out for Jaws (Peahi) in Maui. I really wanted to get some cool surfing drone aerial photographs and I could not think of a better place to try this than at one of the most famous big waves spots in the world. I was not sure how my equipment would hold up or if I would be able to get enough range to photograph the surfers successfully. I knew a crash or malfunction would result in the total loss of my rig as well as my previous videos because I only had one memory card! I flew three flights total and took over 1300 pictures to get 1-2 really good shots and a few more fairly decent ones. This picture is what I looked at for nearly 2 miles while hiking. This was the first thing I saw when I walked up. I took this with my iPhone and gives you an idea of how far away the surfers are from where I was able to fly! Regardless, it is an amazing view!! Always cool to take a picture of your gear on location. You can see some monsters out there! Here I am flying my QAV400 with Naza controller. I use the fatshark goggles and a 5.8ghz video transmitter from Immersion RC. I really love this setup and use it instead of the Phantom when I need to sequenced pictures because it has a separate FPV camera that doesn't blink out after a picture is taken. For aerial pictures of houses that delay is no problem, but when you are flying around something like this I need all the help I can get! This was the first picture I saw when I took off. These waves are so far away, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get out that far. On my 3rd flight, I decided to try and get a little bit lower. The wide angle lens makes it look like the wave is heading straight for my camera.. I start climbing a little more aggressively, but I was cutting it a bit close on this one! That wave was close. And probably time to head back and make sure this RC helicopter didn't suffer too much water damage. Drones and cameras really do not like being wet! One of the most challenging things about flying FPV is learning to fly in a new location. This was no different and the stakes were a little higher. On the way back, I had no idea where I was going. In this picture I was headed too far to the right. Luckily, I had some awesome spotters who I will introduce you too in the next few photos! Ahhh there is my Jaws landing pad. See that awesome 4 wheeler? That is the way to travel to Jaws in Style. It was badass and I enjoyed looking at it. Wish I had taken a picture of it. My awesome spotters! I am so thankful these guys were here and so willing to help me out. They helped time my flights and helped me find my way back home when I was lost. Without them, I might not have these amazing pictures. I forgot your names so please hit me up on mycontact page and send me your names! |
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June 2017
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