P3 pushed to limits

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This is an example of a full flight of one of my mountain videos using Dashware. It was a bit of a torture test of the P3. First I descended over 1000 feet of altitude and down 1.5 miles to the base of the canyon. Then turned around and flew almost 3 miles to the summit of the peak 1800 feet higher.

Positioning myself about halfway between the two end points makes this otherwise impossible flight possible. With mountainous terrain I needed to scope out a position about half way between the two end points that had an unobstructed view of the entire path. Google Earth helped me there.

The video flying into the Sun isn't great. The shadow of the props against the camera made some nasty flicker.

The extraordinary range of the P3 makes this type of video possible.

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Thanks!
I used home made "windsurfers". They make all the difference when dealing with these extreme distances.
Hi again Chris,

A question. How do you rationalize the the actual distance of your P3 from the rocks at the very end of your travel? I noticed that you fly very close to the feature and this must be well out of eye sight. With the very wide angle lens on the P3 you have to get very close for that effect. Do you experience much video lag to RC?

I get a little nervous relying on the video feed as it seems as though there is a little lag time and always find myself pulling up sooner then I need to!! But better safe then kissing a rock.
 
Hi again Chris,

A question. How do you rationalize the the actual distance of your P3 from the rocks at the very end of your travel? I noticed that you fly very close to the feature and this must be well out of eye sight. With the very wide angle lens on the P3 you have to get very close for that effect. Do you experience much video lag to RC?

I get a little nervous relying on the video feed as it seems as though there is a little lag time and always find myself pulling up sooner then I need to!! But better safe then kissing a rock.

It takes some practice to judge distance. The wide angle lens doesn't help. I plan my flights ahead of time on Google Earth and I had flow over this same area a few weeks before so I knew pretty well how high I need to be. Also, when flying I use the horizon as my guide as to if I will clear something or not. If I keep the mountain top slightly below the horizon I know I can clear it. How much below is a judgement call and so far I have been lucky. I got to within about 5 feet of the rocks on the summit on one flight that you can see near the end of the video below with the shadow of the P3 against the rocks.

I fly my P3 hard and I do take risks with it. I know that going in. I know each time I fly like this I may not see my P3 again. But I didn't get it to leave it on top of my shelf. I never hot dog it or take stupid risks but I do want to capture dramatic scenery and some calculated risks are necessary. I also don't fly over buildings or people when I fly like this so if something does go wrong it is just my loss and not someone getting hurt or property getting damaged.

You can see my edited together video here:
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It is the edited together version of 5 flights that day.
 
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It takes some practice to judge distance. The wide angle lens doesn't help. I plan my flights ahead of time on Google Earth and I had flow over this same area a few weeks before so I knew pretty well how high I need to be. Also, when flying I use the horizon as my guide as to if I will clear something or not. If I keep the mountain top slightly below the horizon I know I can clear it. How much below is a judgement call and so far I have been lucky. I got to within about 5 feet of the rocks on the summit on one flight that you can see near the end of the video below with the shadow of the P3 against the rocks.

It is the edited together version of 5 flights that day.

Hey thanks for your insights Chris, very good piloting. Love your vision.

And yes I see that if you can just see the horizon, then you should clear the obstacle you are targeting. But I'm sure it takes practice to get so close as you say, and I bet your still holding your breath every time as you go soooo close.

You seem to be able to hold signal when orbiting the Needle? Or are you varying your controlling location and then cutting vid together?

Super place for you to be able to fly. And great to see an area where there is no sign of roads/tracks or even trails.

Cheers and all the best Mate:)
 
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