See my dilemma

Atv makes a big difference. You just zip around wherever you want. Especially since I’m always needing to go back and forth for tools or gas or whatever. You just need an atv trail. If it’s too steep just cut it across the hill diagonal.
 
Yea my trail goes straight up to the top, I'd have do some zigs and zags. lol
Plus it crosses the spill way for the pond, I need a small bridge.
 
I'd be lost without the ATV up at the lake. I had to take down a dead birch today that was leaning towards the house. If not for the machine it would have been brutal. It kept getting caught up in surrounding trees as it came down and the winch made it easier (and less suicidal) to pull it down.
 
Lol...that might get the job done in 2 scoops! :D

Maybe this fall when everything has died down I will make a video of going to the top of my wee mountain.
There used to be an acre of open land up there, but it has all grown over now.
I actually thought of fencing it in at one point and planting my fig trees up there.
But.....then id have to get water and fertilizer and stuff up there too.
 
A video would be cool. We need to get you a drone for a proper survey :)

How high and how far from the pond are we talking? 

FWIW, I never feed my in ground fig trees here. And if there are trees growing up there already..... they have to be getting water somewhere. 

Seriously, if there's space up there's I'd take a tree that's been in a pot for a few years and just stick it in the ground.... Just see how it does. Nothing to lose really. Just pick something known to be early and like the cold. Let it be and see what happens. Worst case it dies and you learn something. But yeah... I don't think this is something you want to be doing on foot....
 
Actually...I have a drone that has only been used once.
It will fly miles away...I'm not that skilled at flying it but no better time than the present.

DJI Mini2
 
DJI Mini 2 is a fine drone. Very stable even in fair winds. It's good that you have one because hiring commercially is price as licensing is needed and not cheap. It's a very good way to get a good lay of the land... Even handy for a roof inspection.
 
It's approx. 1/3 of a mile to the other side of the property.
My only worry is as the drone flies over the trees and out of sight...will it keep a signal.
I believe this one has a home function that will send it back to start in that case?

I really need to get it out and learn it.
 
If rules are the same you can go 120m (400 ft) above ground level.... and I think you can also display above sea level values so you can use your altitude to determine slope over distance. 

If you're not totally comfortable with it yet... avoid flying directly over the pond. They don't like water. Don't fly unless you have connection to at least 10 satellites. Less than that and you're position could be all over the place.
 
Well that put a small dent in my confidence. lol
I'll get it out soon and mess around the yard.
I'm not entirely sure how high the "mountain" is above my house.
In the range of 1700 to 2000 ft away and however high. (all the way to the other side)
 
It does have a RTH (return to home function) . It's important that you sent the home point from exactly where you take off. Also you need to set the RTH altitude to a height that will clear anything on the way back. So best to set it high..... 

Set your low batter warning for no less than 25% so it has lots of time to get back. 

If it's possible... best to do this with two people... one as the operator with eyes always on the control display and the other right next to you as a spotter with eyes in the sky on the drone at all times.... Keep constant verbal communication. This way you can focus on getting images without constantly looking up to find your drone in the air to see if it's safe. You'll burn through a lot of battery just doing that. 

You should do your best to never let it get out of sight of you or better, your observer. 

Don't launch unless the batteries are 100%. 

When you get to a point of interest. take your pic or if video... start rolling and wait a solid 10 seconds before you stop rolling and move to a new location

Once you're comfortable, switch to S (sport mode) to get to where you need to be quickly, then to normal or tripod mode to get your images. 

Take off from a large flat area... this way if you do need to return to home, you have some wiggle room.

I know... I have some time on drones.
 
That's where it gets sketchy, in order to fly it to the back of the property, I have to let it leave my sight.
All the land around me is higher than my yard.
The highest where I need to fly it...lowest behind my house.

So if I can't see it...I figure my signal to it would be broken the further I send it back.
The 4th pic down in my original post doesn't do the height much justice, the trees will block my view before it goes to the other side of the pond.
But it shows how far the opposite side of the property is.
 
With a mini 2, if you can see the drone and you have a decent amount of battery left, all you need to do is stop... take hands off and if you have the RTH set correctly just push the button. You'll be fine.... but yes... some time on it will help with the confidence. that's all it is. 

I'm going to try to find a video from a buddy of mine who flies FPV drones... crazy stuff.
 
Leaving line of sight should not be a problem as far as control. You only need to be confident enough to fly based on the view of your control. Some of this will be dependant on your familiarity with the ground. Set the RTH altitude as high as you can and don't drain the batteries too low and you'll be ok. 

I'e even had had my controller lose connection completely and/or reboot. during flight. If you don't get control back it (should) return home when battery is critically low. 

I'd recommend doing a bit more close, lower level flying in an open area... Wiggle it around a bit... then after a battery or two... send it right up high.... Get used to it being way up there. Take it right up as high as you can and hover for a bit. Look at the controls and get cozy with the camera movements.

The battery is the biggest weakness. You can get out of most situations if you have lots of battery life left. The Mini 2 should give you a good 20 min on a full charge.
 
Cool cool...appreciate the tips.
I have had this thing for probably 2 yrs and have used it once. lol
About time to learn it like I wanted to do 2 yrs ago. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top