UAV video test - Phantom 2 Vision Plus

Looks good! Is that the built in cam or the gopro?
I am getting better and better with my little trainer. Can't wait to step up...if the FAA gets things sorted. I was talking to a helicopter pilot friend of mine yesterday and he said he heard that the FAA was going to require a helicopter license for anyone wanting to use a quad for commercial purposes. Have you heard anything like that? Seems like a bit much to me.

The Phantom 2 Vision Plus has the built-in camera and integrated FPV. No other hardware is required to get the on board view from the camera through the smartphone, tablet, or googles like the FatShark or the Epson Moverio. The video stream in flight is low res but serves the purpose.

You can add datalink hardware to have a full HD video stream whille flying.

The Phantom 2 base model can be ordered with a 3axis gimbal for the Go Pro Hero 3' but without the integrated FPV. That requires additional datalink hardware.

I like your nice slow, steady guidance.

I have been tempted to get one, but I think I'd want to use it in a "look down" mode rather than "look ahead" mode. I think this would be really useful for recon photos for development projects, ALTA surveys, etc. And with over lapping image frames you could probably stick them in a stereo viewer and get a stereo perspective while examining them. Has anyone tried this?

Hey Dave,

You can change the pitch of the camera in flight from 0° (straight forward) to -90° (straight down).

On my next flight, I am going to take a series of overlapping images looking at the ground. I'll share the results here.

In addition I have installed a Flytrex Core 2 module to record flight parameters that can be saved in a file and imported into Google Earth.

Protecting the turf (keeping out the little guy)

JB,

It takes little imagination to believe the power players in the high dollar aerial imaging business world will do everything in their power to keep the little people (individual small surveyors) out of their sandbox. These guys have millions invested just in the cameras. No way they are going to simply lie down and roll over.

I wouldn't be surprised at all to see some very onerous regulations/requirements making it exceedingly difficult for the individual small surveyors to get into "the game". Requiring a manned helicopter pilot's license ought to about do it. Oh, and make that a commercial manned helicopter pilot license. Yes, that ought to about do it provided the little guy has a doctorate in aerospace engineering, together with a PE license if he/she is going to be involved in commerce.

So, I fully expect to see all kinds of pressure placed on "the government" to protect these power people, er...I mean to make sure the "public is protected" don cha know. Makes as much sense to require a General Contractor's license for your kid to build a doll house. I've been into this "hobby" for 10 years now, and requiring me to have a helicopter piloting license, commercial or not, is not going to make any more sense than to require I be an air traffic controller, a meteorologist, or an ophthalmologist.

Maybe you can tell I'm a bit skeptical of whatever way works to keep out the competition is what's important. Hope I'm wrong.

ubenhavin(?)

> .... the Fail Safe feature... I powered off the RC controller mid flight and it immediately flew back to the home point that I had set and landed.

Does that feature activate itself if the aircraft goes out of signal range?
My fear would be I'd get lost it in the moment of flight and keep on going and forget the thing needs to "come back home" and I'd never see it again.

What sort of coordinatea do you give it for a "home point". That would be super cool - and maybe little scary to some - if I could give it the "home point" as my front yard. Take it to the park and let it lose me. Come back to the house and there it would be sitting in the front yard waiting for "Daddy to come home". 🙂
E

You guys with these things ought to get a pilot's log book and keep up with your flights. Specifically "hours logged".
I say that because in the future someone may want your services. A prime (if not THE prime) indicator of a pilot's experience is hours logged and on what aircraft with what equipment onboard.
It would also look cool on a resume - it would sure get my attention.

I recently completed a UAV ground school course with http://www.ccuvs.com where the importance of maintaining pilot logs was discussed. While not a requirement, the regulatory agency in Canada will consider a pilot log detailing the hours of experience with a particular aircraft when reviewing an application for a Special Flught Operations certificate allowing commercial operation.

The course included the examination for a Restricted Radio Operators License - Aeronautical.

You have to be a little realistic in expecting the "fly home mode" to save the day. The quad will try to return to it's starting place, but as I have read, it may not understand that there is a building, power lines or trees between it's location and home base.
There was a recently a Craigslist posting in lost and found where a guy lost one of these downtown. Seems he flew it around a tall building and lost lock. When it tried to go home it hit a building and crash landed on a ledge or something. Might be awkward to ask for the building owners to call in the window washing crew to get it back for you.
When these thing really hit their stride will be when you can program a flight from your office to a site and have it fly a pre-programmed grid and then return to the office. That will require some pilot level knowledge of flight planning and FAA charts.

As far as the licensing goes, I think that if you keep it under 400' (that could be built in like a governor), and it's in direct control of an operator, the FAA should just let it go as a the recreational RCs do now. From 400' you can do most anything. What's the difference if I fly around a house for free, or for a fee?

The fail safe mode kicks in when there is a loss of radio link between the controller and the aircraft. If you try to fly outside of the maximum wi-fi range or the signal is blocked by an obstruction, the fail safe will engage.

Once back in radio range you can re-establish the link and control the aircraft directly.

You set the home point to be coincident with the initial take off point. It requires that you have a minimum of six GPS satellites locked. The home point is initialized on the RC controller prior to flight. There are instructions for doing so.

JB's comments about being aware of obstacles between your aircraft and the home point are legitimate. Here is a spectacular video illustrating the concern:

A primary mandate of the FAA in the US and Transport Canada is public safety. To that end, maintaining a Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) with the aircraft at all times is a requirement for commercial UAV operations up here. There is also a requirement for a second person as an observer to assist with ensuring safe operation in the area (obstacle alerts, crowd management, etc) while the pilot concentrates on the aircraft.

UAV video test - crash & found

Now that was great!!! Wow. What a fall. I'm surprised the video kept going.
Too bad no audio. I wonder what them fellers on the ground were saying. Probably not good for public consumption. 🙂

Reminds me of that SNL thing with Steve Martin and Bill Murray staring into the TV camera asking "what the hell is that?"
A classic - too funny!!