All this talk of drones has made me rethink my current setup. I've had a DJI Mavic Pro for about 5 years and it's less useful now since the regs changed on heaver drones. I will be trading it in for an EDC camera, as that will get a lot more use. I was never a confident flyer and was into it as a flying camera rather than the actual flying skills bit. The original one auto landing in the sea didn't help with my confidence! If I need that capability, one of the various DJI Mini models should be suitable for a similar quality of photos and video as I had before
I got the mini 4k and managed to get it flying a bit in Scotland a few weeks ago. Hell of a drone for not a lot of money.
Heard a loud "THUD" on the roof of the shed. Sent the drone up to investigate: Half-full bottle of something thrown in from the ginnel behind. Sadly, the drone is very much observe-and-report, so I had to go get a ladder and the clothesline prop to push it off the edge LIKE A CAVEMAN. Bah. Also, OH MY GOD the gutter's a JUNGLE. Need to do something about that this weekend!
...the one with the stupid cyberpunk goggles? ...the second-generation, more expensive one with the stupid cyberpunk goggles?
New drone get! And I had to design a new Operator ID label, 'cos... Yeah, there's no way my other sticker was fitting on any of this thing's surfaces. It was too big even to go on the battery - plus then I'd have needed three! This one's just got the Operator ID, no contact information. Good enough for the CAA. EDIT: Printed some longer ones with just my name and mobile number on, so if it flies off someone can call me when it lands! They fit on the batteries nicely.
First (brief) night flight, pretty much just straight up to capture a nighttime panorama and then back down again. I see DJI has two new drones out, too - direct successors to my Mini 4k: the Lito 1 and Lito X1, with 360-degree obstacle avoidance and in the case of the X1 a forward-facing lidar too. Twice the price of mine, though you do get the proper all-in-one RC2 controller instead of the one I have that you need to clip your phone to. I'm not going to bite, though - obstacle avoidance isn't that important when you're not allowed to fly beyond visual line of sight anyway, and I'm saving my pennies in case I need to upgrade come the new Remote ID rules in 2028. Oh! I did pick up a bag for the other drone: It arrived from AliExpress disappointingly squished, but it's better than keeping everything in the box! Still can't believe DJI doesn't give you a bag for the thing - the Mini 4k came with one!
There was a big factory fire in BD4 last night, and Ceri was curious as to whether we'd be able to see anything from BD13. Turns out no, but I did get the moon in the panorama this time!
Using Google Maps' 3D globe mode, which is super fun I mean seriously why did I even bother buying a drone, it looks like it's probably this: Only lit up, presumably so small aircraft don't run into it.
