DJI Phantom 2 Vision Plus

[Staggerwing]

If you point that thing north or north-east, depending on where you are, you might be able to see my town from up there.

[TheCommandTent]

Those are some great pictures!

[Onion]

I was wondering the other day how much drones like this would be useful during a Search and Rescue operation. Are they currently used in that capacity? Seems like the hovering type would be more effective (and cheaper) than fixed wing military types. 

[GDS_Starfury]

[MikeGER]

excellent prank  ...now do this on a foggy eve  at a busstop near 'spooky side' (graveyard, old empty building you name it)  >:D

[GDS_Starfury]

dayum!

[Staggerwing]

That is way effing cool!

[Jarhead0331]

I wouldn't have had the balls to do that with my drone. I like my safe baseball field park just fine.

[TheCommandTent]

That was awesome but how in the world did you pilot that thing at night in a sky that kept getting lite up by the fireworks.  Do they have some sort of tracker, running lights or video feed on the drone?

[Staggerwing]

Depending on how sophisticated the drone is, I suspect the video feed would be a good bet.

[GDS_Starfury]

the video was done with the very same drone JH has.  Im guessing any live video feed is coming from the Gopro if there even is one.

[Jarhead0331]

That was awesome but how in the world did you pilot that thing at night in a sky that kept getting lite up by the fireworks.  Do they have some sort of tracker, running lights or video feed on the drone?

The drone, which is the same one I have, was undamaged during this flight over West Palm Beach, Florida.  It was filmed with a GoPro Hero 3 silver+, which I do not believe is the camera that came with my drone. I know this GoPro has enhanced low light capability, but I'm still uncertain how good visibility would have been through the video feed.  Perhaps the fireworks were so bright, it allowed for reasonable visibility. I've never flown mine at night, but I have had it powered on in the dark and visibility was extremely poor.

Kudos to this pilot. It is an outstanding film that really shows off how magnificent these little devices are.

[Con]

While that is very cool I have to start wondering what will happen when inevitably someone uses these drones in a fashion that is dangerous to others.  For example you will get some idiot who wants to try and fly next to a commercial jet when it is taking off or landing etc and gets the drone sucked into an engine.  I can probably think of a half dozen other scenarios as well.

I get the feeling that after the first incident there is going to be a heavy handed approach to trying to legislate or regulate these drones

Con

[Jarhead0331]

There already are significant efforts aimed at banning or regulating these kinds of commercially available drones, but almost all of the efforts so far are based on grounds of privacy concerns. I don't see these drones as being any more dangerous (they actually seem less dangerous) then model RC planes and helicopters that have been commercially available for decades.  The only difference is that quadcopters equipped with wireless and GPS capabilities are much more accessible because they are easier to pilot.

There will always be idiots who use and abuse, but I see no reason to regulate or ban with the current technology available on these aircraft. Of course, common sense almost never prevails where legislation is concerned.

[Con]

There already are significant efforts aimed at banning or regulating these kinds of commercially available drones, but almost all of the efforts so far are based on grounds of privacy concerns. I don't see these drones as being any more dangerous (they actually seem less dangerous) then model RC planes and helicopters that have been commercially available for decades.  The only difference is that quadcopters equipped with wireless and GPS capabilities are much more accessible because they are easier to pilot.

There will always be idiots who use and abuse, but I see no reason to regulate or ban with the current technology available on these aircraft. Of course, common sense almost never prevails where legislation is concerned.

I think you have nailed the key point versus RC which is the level of skill and commitment required to successfully pilot these types of planes.  With the new drones paired with streaming HD video literally anyone with enough cash can point these and go.  I suspect that as we see many more people playing with drones the number of idiots abusing them will likewise rise.

Con