Drone Operating Excellence
We are operating a new service, creating 360° view virtual tours. And we have added aerial video as an add-on to the tours, either as a lead-in to the tour or simply as a rich media link out.
But that has given us the opportunity and necessity to practice drone flight operations. Although automated flight modes help get great video footage, a drone user should be able to handle safe flight operations without resorting to auto-pilot “intelligent flight modes”. How can you get good? Practice.
Try all of the following (all except the last are from http://fromwhereidrone.com/how-to-fly-a-drone-the-ultimate-guide/) without using any auto-pilot “intelligent flight modes”:
- Fly a box: Keeping the camera facing forward, fly a square or a box
- Fly a 180: Fly away from you, stop and yaw 180°, then fly back. Duck!
- Box with yaw: Fly a box again, but this time stop at each corner and yaw to face the camera in the direction of the next side of the box.
- Fly a Circle: Right stick forward and left stick to yaw
- Fly a figure 8: Fly a circle, then at the end of the circle just switch the yaw to the opposite direction
- Orbit: Fly a circle, but use opposite yaw to keep the camera pointing at the center of the circle. If you can do this, then you are a fairly good pilot.
Lastly, and the most difficult – The Pirouette:
- Fly in a straight line away from you, but have the drone yaw 360° as it continues flying away from you in a straight line. Good luck. It is not easy. And remember, no cheating! Don’t use any intelligent flight modes.
I would love to see a video of you flying the pirouette – even if you are struggling with it.
Post a video and share the link here.
