OriginalDirtyBird

Harm City (formerly Baltimore) Independence Day Fireworks Display - 2019. No Baltimore fireworks again for the second year in a row so this will have to do. This is the complete show, captured live in real time, recorded at Harm City Inner Harbor by the Mavic 2 Pro "Pulsar". These days a drone is the only safe way to visit. For some odd reason there was no finale' as is generally the case for such events. It just sort of ended leaving everyone scratching their heads.

Phantom 3 Standards "Miss Ruby" & "Darth Videous" take to the foreboding night skies above Baltimore for a game of "Cat & Mouse." The mission runs 39,773' (7.53 miles) & was recorded in 1080 x 30 fps in Full-Auto. Sadly, the Hardrock Cafe guitar appears to have blown a fuse.

EXPERiMENTAL Accelerated Version (9 mins vs 23 mins for the real-time flight) - This mission could have been called "Far, Far Away"! The Phantom 4 "Night Fury" catches the sunrise on a 55,101' (10.436 mile) early morning autonomous Litchi mission. The bird launches from Fort Armistead, passes Fort Carroll & Sparrow's Point, then flies over Fort Howard before returning home. The aircraft is a stock "Special Edition" P4 with a high-capacity battery. She returned with 19% remaining. I had full contact until about half way between Sparrow's Point & Fort Howard where my altitude dropped to only 26'. I am amazed that signal was regained 5.25 miles away as she flew above Fort Howard at the furthest point of the mission! Aircraft & RC are stock but I did have a WindSurfer on the remote. Grab an adult beverage, enjoy the music, pucker up, & imagine your bird way-way out there! Recorded March 25, 2017.

The Phantom 3 Standard "Miss Ruby" takes to the air for a sunrise Litchi flight from Glen Burnie to Pasadena & back. The mission runs at 30 mph for a total length of 40,813' (7.73 miles). Total flight time was 19:01​ & the bird returns with 15% battery remaining. This video is presented in real-time so you can experience the same sphincter-puckering thrill as I did awaiting Miss Ruby's return! Recorded January 29, 2017.

From the "Ultimate Litchi Series" comes the Night Edition of "Stadium Shot," an autonomous 7.47 mile drone flight over Baltimore. The video includes incredible aerial views of the city under an interesting low cloud deck, all choreographed to an epic score. Recorded April 13, 2017.

A short video commemorating the official arrival of the Mavic 2 Pro "Pulsar" to Baltimore! Phantom Force was fortunate to secure one of these second generation birds for fleet service. Still going through the paces on her shakedown flights, she is performing well & will be a fantastic addition to the fleet. The Mavic 2 Pro produces incredible night time footage & the RC range is phenomenal. I flew miles out over the city with zero connection issues as long as I maintained a clear line of site to the aircraft. Video was recorded in 4K x 30 fps, Normal profile, full-auto. There was no post processing to the video other than fitting it to the music. Soundtrack: "Trailer Cat" by Kári Sigurðsson.

The Mavic "Proteus" again in the skies above the Texas Quarry in Cockeysville, MD. Watch for the birds around 5:30​ as they become increasingly inquisitive about the tiny motorized intruder. Looks like they sent up an entire air wing to investigate! Recorded February 24, 2017.

This is the "Summer Edition" of a 74,099' (14.03 miles) autonomous Litchi mission above the Loch Raven Reservoir in Dulaney Valley, MD. The flight was performed by the Phantom 4 "Night Fury". Real-time footage runs nearly 30 minutes, so the video is presented at 2x speed to reduce it to ~15 minutes. I achieved the long flight length by creating the full mission, then separating it into two segments. The end point of the first segment is the start point for the second. The two were spliced together in post. The video was recorded in 1080 x 60 fps with the camera set to full auto. I used a Polar Pro Cinema Series ND16-PL filter during the flight with no post color correction. I plan on returning in Fall to record the mission with the trees sporting their Fall colors. Recorded July 3, 2017.

The Phantom 3 Advanced "Poop Chute" completes the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Run. 3.91 miles one-way. Recorded April 17, 2016.

An early Sunday morning flight at Sunset Park Elementary by my first drone, the now ancient Phantom 2 Vision+. Weather was partially overcast with breaks. There was a high layer of clouds, with a lower layer that the bird was able to surmount in this video. My Vision+ is stock, but she achieves excellent range....usually one mile or more. This far exceeds the 800 meter specification. Flight notes: Up, up, & away! High altitude flight with a nice transition through & above the cloud deck. Sights include Sunset Elementary, Sunset Park, Stoney Creek Bridge, Stoney Creek, & Nabbs Creek.

Sometimes things happen during testing. On this mission the Phantom 4 "Nemesis" experienced a mid-air collision with another Phantom 4 during joint flight testing. This was a one-in-a-million collision where there was no crash, no damage, nor even a visible sign an impact had even occurred were it not for the video evidence. We first noticed something was amiss while reviewing video from the second P4. Seeing a video "hiccup" we initially thought it had experienced a gimbal glitch as occasionally occurs with a P4. It wasn't until reviewing the video from "Nemesis" that we realized there had been contact. "Nemesis" engaged RTH after recovering, narrowly missing the railing & antennae atop the World Trade Center. The other P4 continued on &, if you look very carefully, you can see it off in the distance completing its spiral as "Nemesis" climbs to RTH altitude. What happened: The chase bird is flying the identical Litchi mission, only the start point has been moved back 25', each waypoint altitude has been increased +10', & the bird is generally pointing straight ahead to keep the lead bird in view. Meanwhile the lead bird was flying the normal mission panning towards POIs along the route. Two things conspired to cause this "bump." First panning & spinning slows down the aircraft. This allowed the chase bird, flying straight ahead, to catch up. Second I inadvertently missed adjusting +10' on ONE of the 75 waypoints. It just happened to be the one where the birds met up! At any other waypoint this probably wouldn't have become an issue. Learned from this for future "chase" missions were: 1) All birds must be doing the same yaws to keep speed consistant. 2) DOUBLE-CHECK ALL WAYPOINTS!

"The Baltimore Run - Lightning" executed by the Phantom 4 "Nemesis". The autonomous Litchi mission was flown on a warm & muggy summer night amid the backdrop of an extremely active lightning storm off to the Northwest.

Phantom 3 Standards "Miss Ruby" & "Darth Videous" team up once again in another joint Litchi mission over Baltimore's scenic Inner Harbor. The pair approaches the harbor via McHenry Row & Silo Point. Look for the helicopter search lights circling around @ 8:10​ as Stacy Keach ironically announces "Completely lost due to incompetence!" Be sure to watch the very end for an "Oops! moment" out take! :)

The Phantom 4 "Nemesis" flying the "Harbor Shot" autonomous flight mission. Recorded August 7, 2016.

The Phantom 4 "Night Fury" captures the Carnival Pride as she returns to her home port in Baltimore, MD. Recorded April 9th, 2017.

Baltimore's Independence Day fireworks display at the Inner Harbor, as captured by the Mavic Pro "Proteus". Recorded July 4, 2018.

From the "Ultimate Litchi Series" comes this advanced, long-range, early proof-of-concept mission flown by the P3 Standard "Miss Ruby". This was the fist run for the mission. The flight is fully autonomous & created with the Litchi flight app. It is 7.47 miles in total mission length, covering Baltimore's stadiums, downtown, & Inner Harbor. A work in progress...

An afternoon free flight of the Mavic "Proteus" above Canton in East Baltimore. Recorded January 9, 2017.

A Mavic Pro patrols the foreboding skies above "Harm City" (formerly Baltimore). These days a drone is the only safe way to visit! Recorded October 10, 2018.

The Mavic Pro "Proteus" explores the sights above Millersville, MD. Millersville is a lot like Hooterville, only lacking a famous pig.

A Mavic Pro surveys the sights above the interchange of Interstate 95 & I-695 near Rosedale, MD. Recorded 7/26/2018 Music: "Fifth Column" by Kari Sigurosson

The Mavic 2 Pro "Pulsar" completes a pass above the Texas Quarry in Cockeysville, MD... Audio - "Unknown Forces" by Two Steps From Hell

Advanced Litchi missions require good reconnaissance. This is RECON footage obtained from a manual flight for a future Litchi mission. Manual flights allow me to obtain accurate object height data, as well as explore camera angles, field of view, & interesting flight vectors. These are the best scenes from this RECON flight. Recorded with a Mavic Pro.

Captain Rick's departure on the Carnival Pride. The ship was scheduled to depart at 5:00 pm but was delayed until nearly 9:00 pm due to a "medical emergency." Smooth sailing to the Captain & his Lady! Recorded April 24, 2017 by the Phantom 3 Advanced "Poop Chute".

A trio of Phantom 3 Quadroceptors are on routine combat air patrol when an equipment malfunction puts the entire mission at risk. Only courage, cool heads, & team work allow them to make it home & save their young flight leader from certain death in the frigid waters of the Patapsco river. Ride along & experience first hand the incredible true story! Recorded April 15, 2017.