Recent content by upthedowns

The props spin and effectively disappear, black or white. Because any coloured drone becomes a silhouette against most skys, the best approach is to make the unit physically bigger. Luckily DJI gives us a way to do this...prop guards. They don’t make a huge difference on the Phantom but every...

Good point. However, I find the voice reassuring...I’m usually taking off from my therapists couch ;-)

I use MapPilot from time to time so intend to test this. I usually open up in Go4 to run through my pre-flight checks. If you are opening up in MP, how do you cover off IMU and compass check? I would also look for home point setting within Go4. As I say, I don’t know if Go4, followed by MP...

Indeed it can.

Fascinating and useful video. However, I fly a regular, very simple orbit mission in Autopilot. On one occasion (and one occasion only, a couple of weeks ago the P4P just started to wander off course and away from the orbit. I paused the mission, took over to regroup then restated mid-flight...

I will only procure any parts either direct from DJI or from UK-based authorised distributors. It's part of my Ops Manual and based in standard aerospace maintenance traceability requirements. Over the top? Maybe. Safer? Certainly.

If I'm on a critical flight then, knowing that this is a potential issue, I strap the battery in with duct tape. Not pretty but the battery is staying put!

Unfortunately it was 35mph winds and the phantom was at a 45 degree angle lol, i managed to get a quick few snaps but want some peoples advice / opinions on these edits and what or how to improve in terms of camera settings, tips etc please... Im trying to really step up my game this year.. So...

I started out with an Inspire 1. Not crashing is about learning, taking your time, flying in an appropriate wide-open space and taking yourself through moves again and again until you've got them sorted. Turning it into a business though....that's the challenge!

Certainly a good lesson on not to just leave a drone to its own devices while you set up another camera. VLOS means more than just being able to see a drone, it's also about having the ability to take control if it in the event of mishap. You did well in this case to spot it and retake control.

Here you go

The company that trained me is run by an ex-military help pilot (U.K.). He was involved in an incident where his heli was hit by a seagull just after a night sortie. The seagull weighed about the same as a Phantom. How do they know? Because with the heli at 150mph the bird hit the cheek...

Why doesn't the OP just buy a couple of sets of props (from wherever since he clearly doesn't want to get DJI) and make a decent storage tube out of a a few plumbing pipes and blank ends? This should stop the horrendous damage to the props he is expecting.

During my CAA training course we were shown the result of a seagull strike on a military helicopter that was travelling blacked out on a night mission in Afghanistan. The seagul was an identical weight but much less dense than a Phantom. The result? The seagul smashed through the plexiglass...

The business part of the motor is brushless so no moving or wearing parts. However the bearings do move (quite fast) so these can wear. They are unlikely to fail catastrophically without warning. It's worth checking each motor after a flying session either by hand or with an IR detector just...