freedom in air

Another work trip, this time to Vegas. Was stoked to dive some mountains but two things stood in my way. Heat and proximity. It was dangerous to fly due to the heat on my one day I could fly, and the heat never broke. As for proximity, I forget how far away big majestic mountains are. My joke-of-a-long-range setup could go 1.8 miles before needing to turn back. The closest I could get to the big mountains without trespassing was three miles. I know the music doesn't fit, but I was just glad to surf some kind of geological feature. Of topic, what is the deal with all these states that charge admission to all their parks? Back on topic, this was longy's last trip on the #Xilo frame before being swapped out for the #Falcon7. The new frame also sports a new VTX, #racedayquad's #mach3, which works surprising better than the TBS 5g8 HV on the Xilo. Music is "Positive Day" by Alex MakeMusic via Pixabay.com

"longy", my work-in-progress long range FPV drone, went through surgery this week. I recently ordered #FalconRad's #Falcon7 frame. Not the newest version, but I like the lower and further forward fpv camera and HD plate just above. There's a huge difference in perspective for both cameras. My old frame was a #JoshuaBardwell #Xilo #Phreakstyle 5" kit. It was slammed, a mistake I later regretted because I kept running out of room to mount stuff, but at the time I liked the look of the low profile top plate. The Xilo was eventually modded with 7" arms and GPS but was not able to carry a large enough battery to do any serious, meandering cruising. This video is a couple clips from the one of the first flights after moving the Xilo guts to the Falcon7. The video is uploaded in 4K and is unstabilzed. The craft needs more tuning but it flies well enough and any weirdness will be quickly corrected by Gyroflow. FalconRad's frame looks mean and flies like a beast. It cruises at 50-55mph without breaking a sweat and the low camera mounts allow for crazy visual proximity to the ground, really giving a sense of the speed in flight. Music, "This Minimal Technology Pure" by Coma-Media, and Sound Effects can be found on Pixabay.com.

By no means has perfection been achieved, but lining up waypoints sure is fun. Flying with the @JacuzziJay #Luma30 build. Music by Coma-Media from Pixabay

From a month or two ago. It's the Jacuzzi Jay Luma 30 build. I haven't named the drone yet but I like how it flies 100% more than my Squirt 2. Working on hitting more gaps and tracking subjects from the side which this drone doesn't like to do for some reason.

The title says it all. This is my cinewhoop build, the @Luma30. Saw it on @JacuzziJay's Youtube channel and couldn't have agreed more with his critiques of other cinewhoops. Music: "Tropical Summer Beach" by Alex_MakeMusic via pixabay.

This was the range test flight I mentioned in the last video. The test was the first after I installed my ELRS 915mhz receiver on my long range drone. I made the turn back at 1.2 miles because my RSSI alarm was still set for the 2.4gig link and I got tired of watching it blink at .75 miles. Music is PianoMoment by ZakharValaha on pixabay.com

In an attempt to find a Linux distro that works on my T2 Macbook Pro I accidentally wiped the drive containing all my archived drone footage since I started flying. It is gone, so now I begin the process of starting over. Music by madIRFAN https://pixabay.com/music/id-13318/

Last of the archived uploads from Odysee and the second from my time at the PGA Championships in Kiawah, SC last year. I got back in time to fly the sunset just outside downtown Charleston, SC.

The first of two videos of some flights I took during the PGA Championships last year in Kiawah, SC.

More montages of Shenny in action. The last video was not The Metro Classic, it was still HSBB. This video is, however, The Metro Classic

This was from a couple months ago when I finished building my Shendrones Squirt V2. It has since been retuned and further tweeked for better performance and handling though I've still decided to build up another cinewhoop style build for the type of flying I'd like to do with these makes. Footage was shot for ESPN's coverage of The Metro Classic, a high school basketball tournament in New Jersey.

Supporting musicians protesting the President and his policies.

Flights around the midwest last July during the time period of Independence Day.

I worked the world feed at the Ryder Cup in Wisconsin last year and was able to get out early at the course. I *did not* fly the tournament course, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

Silent movie of scenic flights used during ESPN's coverage of the SoCon basketball tournament in Asheville, NC this year. Drones used were the Shendrones Squirt V2 and Mavic Air 2.

These videos are in no particular order. Over the past year I've been trying out Odysee, have given up on it, and am now moving to Rumble to give that a go. These are my favorite flights. This is from a week I spent in Memphis.

My little Beta85X V2 got a Caddx Peanut so it needed testing.

Giving Rumble a try. Looking for a searchable platform capable of playing back something requiring halfway decent quality. Hate youtube and Odysee is a workflow mess seemingly incapable of accepting any kind of quality upload (I can handle 720p, but not 5Mbp/s) nor accurate search results. My 7" long-ish range drone is another step closer to being completed. Just a flight across some streets.

Sometimes you've just got to test stuff out. This is my spare quad with a nightly build of Betaflight 4.3 from a week or so ago ...maybe.... Tuned the quad on horrible props but still have some quirkiness due to, I believe, the 2405 Xing2 1800kv 6S motors. But, I found my Hero7 mount (which was hiding in my closet under my dress shoes) so no more Runcam 5 Orange...at least on this quad.

The first GPS chip met an unfortunate fate following a flight test. This test went much better.

Bridges, Boats and Playgrounds. Also one of the last flights before I installed a GPS rescue chip on my long range rig, and what probably made my Hero 7 stop charging (darn you GoPro). At least the rest of it works, but I lost an ND filter and $15 to Amazon for a charger.

My own freestyle build finally put together. It is now in the tuning process which, I believe, is being thrown off by the iFlight Xing2 2405 1800kv motors. Kind of an odd motor size for 5" freestyle, but I wanted torquiness without being overpowering like the ECOII 2807s I tried before (and the ECOIIs couldn't take a crash without getting messed up).

This Civil War earthen fort outside New Orleans didn't see much action during the conflict. The state of Louisiana is letting the Gulf of Mexico take it back. There is a sister fort on the other side of this bay that is completely grown in and unmarked, though the battlements can still be found. The one-take flight is made with a Mavic Air 2 whose control surface I have grown to not be overly fond of as the sticks are too short and stiff for me. The sound design is my own doing from a royalty free library. My apologies to any purists out there.

Found a few minutes to skim the beach in Kiawah, SC.

Playing around with high frame rates and ND Filters at sunset on a recent work trip to Charleston. Threw a quick sound design at it.