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oohrah wrote: ↑Thu Sep 17, 2020 10:46 am Then you must be in the mountains at an elevation of 6,100 ft.

oohrah wrote: ↑Sat Aug 29, 2020 9:39 am

nightmare69 wrote: ↑Fri Aug 28, 2020 11:05 am

oohrah wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 10:10 am

Archery1 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 04, 2020 9:44 am

oohrah wrote: ↑Tue Aug 04, 2020 9:33 am

KC5AV wrote: ↑Mon Aug 03, 2020 11:09 am And registration is only required if the drone is over 250 grams. The Mavic mini comes in a 249 grams.

But don't you still have to comply with the airspace and altitude rules? And how do you know those if you're flying an unlicensed drone.

As a pilot, I'm concerned about ignorant drone flyers causing a hazard if they fly too high or get in the wrong airspace. There have been reported incidents of near misses and possibly even a few collisions.

My Mavic firmware updates constantly, and the app identifies flying zones by color code and warnings, and I believe in some areas will limit operation in no-fly zones (never been in those zones). Still, I have helicopters fly over at well below my elevation limit (35 miles from airport). Sometimes, a local crop duster does his turnarounds over my property. You typically get enough visual warning in those cases.

That's good to know, thanks. I assume your software then restricts your altitude, etc.

WRT helicopters, they do not have the same altitude restrictions as fixed wing, and over "sparsely populated areas", any aircraft can fly as low as it wants, as long as it stays at least 500 ft from any person or thing. Not smart, but legal.

My DJI is restricted to 500 meters by the software. I am looking into hacking my drone so I can use it to it’s full potential. Videos I’ve seen they will go 12k-13k ft before loosing connection and returning to home. I see the restrictions as buying a Ferrari and the factory limiting it to 80mph. I want the training wheels off.

Yet, isn't that illegal (and irresponsible) - unless you can find a building 12.000 ft tall.

The Annoyed Man wrote: ↑Sun Aug 02, 2020 9:44 am

MadMonkey wrote: ↑Thu Jul 30, 2020 5:00 pm They'll be useful in the coming years if you take the time to learn about them

Actually... I’m very interested in learning. My next planned large purchase isn’t another gun—of which I have plenty—it’s a a drone. I’m thinking in terms of the latest Mavik Mini, which is supposed to have longer battery life than the larger models, while still offering decent video feed.

Have you ever considered offering drone flying lessons to the uninitiated first-time buyer? You might make some decent side -money that way. (I have copyrighted the idea, which of course I’ll license to you in exchange for free lessons. )

philip964 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 30, 2020 6:43 pm

Soccerdad1995 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 30, 2020 5:20 pm It should be legal, IMHO, as long as your rounds do not travel past your property line (including missed shots). But I'll rely on the advice of others here that it is apparently illegal.

On another note, and at the risk of thread drift, I've been interested in getting into drones since the technology seems to have improved quite a bit. Can anyone point me to a good resource to learn more about beginner drones?

I have two $100 drones. They are hard to control, easy to lose.

A friend has a $1000 drone Mavic, I think. You program where you want them to go on your phone, and they do it. But if you lose contact by radio they are still gone. Video tends to be kind of robotic looking. But the advances in the last few years are amazing. They sell them at Best Buy now, so you can see them and compare features.