Drone View of Napa Earthquake

Kudos to pilot Evan Kilkus for his coverage of the Napa earthquake damage. In this article, he outlines the care he used to be safe to humans and tells how he he asked permission to film. He also took time and effort to promote this kind of positive and safe use of aerial videography, both to the article's author and in the text at the beginning of his film. Well done!
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-m ... story.html
 
They showed the video on our local news yesterday. The newscasters made several comments how cool the footage was and said that although they can't use drones as a news station you can share it with them. They said they really want to see this kind of thing to use on the news.
 
I was just shooting the big waves hitting Newport Beach from Hurricane Marie today.

Another quadcopter pilot that I had met before said a news station wanted to use his footage from the day and asked if I wanted to give mine to them as well.

I figured they could at least plug my YouTube channel and it would be cool to see my footage on TV, so I said yes.

But then the news guy told us that corporate said they couldn't use the footage even though it was "free" from "amateurs" due to the FAA. :(

I felt bad for them, because the news guys all seemed really excited to see our footage.
 
I tried to get down to the Wedge Weds and it was a zoo. How many drones were flying AndysAdventure? Buddy said he saw 2 Tuesday evening.
 
FredMurtz said:
I tried to get down to the Wedge Weds and it was a zoo. How many drones were flying AndysAdventure? Buddy said he saw 2 Tuesday evening.

There was the one guy I've met before in Laguna with his Discovery, another quadcopter that I didn't recognize, and also at least 3-4 Phantoms both days I went.

There was usually only 2-3 drones in the air at a time due to battery changes and pilots not flying any more due to using all of their spare batteries.

It was crazy down there. We drove on Tuesday but rode bikes over on Wed. & Thurs. due to the lack of parking.
 
Hi there. Evan Kilkus here, the guy who made the Napa Earthquake Quadcopter Video. I am glad you liked the video footage, and noticed that i made sure to be a positive representative of Phantom pilots. It wasn't easy flying to begin with, but what made it stressful was the fact that the media was all over and i knew they would have a fun time talking about a guy crashing a drone, so i knew i couldn't do that! Needless to say, i was very happy it all worked out with no problems.

I made the video because I am an editor for an Eastern Napa County Newspaper, so i wanted to report to my neighbors. But i also wanted to use this new, durable, lightweight, and safe tool to see what it could do to help in this sort of situation. I was happy to be able to show so many people one great use of this tool.

If anyone has any specific questions, feel free to ask.

Evan Kilkus
Napa, CA
 
Yes.? I don't see why not. I am not a licensed pilot, and I was technically a "hobbyist" that day. I gave my footage out to the news stations for free, and my intent was to see how the device could be used as a tool, and essentially use the footage for education purposes.
 
That's the idea, unfortunately anyone can buy a drone and sometimes they fly it where they are not supposed to and creates a bad reputation for the ones that know. The rules hopefully will come soon by the FAA.
It is simply a fantastic tool that it was impossible or very costly that now it can be done in seconds. I shot this video yesterday just to practice. https://vimeo.com/106190575
take care,
felipe
 
Yea i hope the FAA comes up with some basic common sense rules soon. For now, we do have to be careful. Which is why for example you won't see me downtown Napa today flying around these buildings and over a bunch of tourists. I grew up racing Jet Skis in the 90's/early 2000's, and know all about representing a sport/hobby that people are trying to attack, so I know to be very careful. Nice video... and a nice day for a flight.
 
yes it is great. next week we travel to curaçao to shoot another show and i am shooting with the drone, its great!
good luck to you have fun!
felipe
 

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