I have not posted in months and months, i have so much going on, however i found this Dutch news article just now, and had to post it.
I definitely plan on writing much more over the coming weeks.
Birds vs Drones
Category: dji phantom 3
An Act of Stupidity?
Skip to about 11.30 and you will see this Pilot fly his Phantom directly over the heads of these Firefighters, not a great idea as they are busy putting out a house fire.
The Firemen are clearly not happy about the Quad flying so close to them, not sure if it a privacy issue, they are annoyed with being filmed, or maybe they are concerned about safety?
Well their solution, is to try to shoot the Phantom out of the sky with a hose pipe! Ridiculas!!!
Skip to 12.01 minutes to see the hose pipe in action.
I know how safe a Phantom is, and there is no reason for it to simply fall out of the sky, and Pilot had demonstrated 11 minutes of relatively ‘safe‘ flying. Had the fool with the hose pipe actually hit the electronics of the Phantom it could have caused a fly away or crashed onto someones head.
What on earth possessed him to do it? I have had a few concerned members of the public approach me when working, unsure of how safe or legal my UAS is, but no one has actively tried to ground it!
TU!
Source – http://www.popsci.com/drone-films-firefighters-gets-soaked
‘Unstoppable’ Fun!
Isn’t it funny, how, when a hobby becomes your job, it can lose some of its fun?
I found this years ago playing basketball, and now, more recently, flying my UAS.
This time last year, any break in the clouds, would have seen me out flying my toy UAS. Now because i’m working and flying everyday, when the weekend comes, i just want a break from the Inspire.
VS 
Why? well i think its down to my platform; The Inspire 1, it is an awesome work tool….but is it as much fun to fly as say a Phantom or similar smaller rig?
NOPE!!! I sold my Phantom to a friend a few months ago, and didn’t realise how much i missed it. We took it out over the weekend, and i had so much fun with it. Of course it isn’t as responsive or quick as the Inspire, but it so nimble and because it doesnt cost your right arm to buy, you can be more adventurous. If i crash my Inspire i’m out of work for a while!
And i guess that is the crux of it. My Phantom was a bought as a toy. My Inspire was bought as a business investment.
Well if like me, you are looking to buy a new UAS for ‘fun’ and ‘weekend-warrioring’, maybe this is what you’re looking for……..
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2017062404/b-unstoppable
Looks cool right? A Tank Quadcopter – awesome! This is at least the forth UAS crowding funding campaign i’ve blogged about recently. And if you are quick you can pick one up for the bargain price of £55! – UPDATE – These have all gone. Next price is £59. Still so cheap. So much so, i’ve just backed them too!
Yay – First time, i’ve ever crowd funded before. I’ll be back with my own personal review in October…. right now they have £19,785 of the required £49,000 total.
TU B-Unstoppable.
Phantom Wedding Fail
Just a quick post, as i’ve been raced off my feet, these last few weeks…more on that this weekend.
This video is a must watch for anyone planning on filming aerial wedding shots.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmBEwlGCwPI
The pilot must be wounded. Not sure how someone who gets a wedding gig is clumsy enough to fly his Phantom into a tree?!
Till the weekend
TU!
“Attack Drone”!!!
You have to watch this video! Its only 90 seconds, but its hilarious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0GBeOnxA4M
The lengths people will go to, to create funny videos always amuses me. Videos that involve a DJI Phantom, attacking two jokers with Roman Candles, and scoring a hit on them both, is just taking it to the next level of amusement!
I guess now is a good time to say, don’t try this at home, but would you anyways!?!
Hahaha
Thumbs Up Jokers!
How much is DJI Worth?
A few months ago a wrote about DJI annual and quarterly profits, and how difficult it was to get any real numbers. Well, here is a number $10 billion for you.
I meant to post this a few weeks ago, one of my oldest friends is a trader, he was telling me that his firm was thinking of backing DJI. I told him it was a no brainer, even though the new 3DR Solo looks like it could take a chunk out of the Phantom 3’s market, DJI have a bright future ahead of them.
VS 
DJI is currently looking to raise money from investors for a a $10,000,000,00 or ten billion for a stock market valuation!
Not bad for a company that didn’t exist ten years ago. They now employ over 3000 staff with offices in America, Germany and Netherlands, and distributors all over the world, its not a bad investment if you have the cash!
Well done Frank Wang (CEO), who set the company up while at University, i barely even made it to class!
TU!
PS – how sweet does the new solo look. Looking forward to seeing that in action!
New DJI Updates!
DJI have just released details on the next set of up-dates for the DJI Inspire 1… and the one we have all been waiting for…..
GROUND STATION!
Yes, DJI have finally got round to giving us what should really have been launched, Ground Station control. Which will allow you to autonomously plan and navigate your flight plans. YouTube streaming will be available. Which is great for me, as i’ve just set up a YouTube Channel and this will cut out having to upload to my MacBook first. Sweet.
Their is brief mention of the new Inspire Gimbal, but there is still no mention as to when Home-Lock and Point of Interest will be released.
Come on DJI, stop giving us new updates for the Phantom3, lets get what people have paid a fortune for, sorted first…… stop being like Apple!
Not sure when over these updates will happen but ill keep you posted!
TU!
A New UAS and a Thank You
So 12 days ago a friend in the know contacted me, and told me that he was reliably informed that DJI would be releasing unveiling their latest addition to the Phantom range.
This wasn’t going to be another upgrade to the Phantom 2/Vision etc, it was going to be a completely new model, the Phantom 3.
I hadn’t heard anything about it. I googled it, found nothing. I posted it. A few others posted too.
I did see a few Facebook groups and forums talking about, ‘fake’ and ‘hoax’ rumours of a new DJI Phantom UAS, but as it happens my friend was 100 percent right. To the letter.
Now, i have a huge rant about the Phantom, that needs to be let out, but i’m going to save that for the weekend, when i have a good few hours to properly formulate my rant!
Oh, DJI you are fast becoming my new Apple, a new love hate relationship. More frustration actually……save it for the weekend, Nathan.
This post was simply to thank my friend for taking the time, to keep me so well informed, and in the know.
Thank you Phil.
TU Sir!
http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-3
DJI set to unveil new Phantom range?
The DJI Phantom is by far the most widely recognised and popular UAS in the world. Thinking of buying one….. you might want to wait a few weeks.
I have it on good authority that DJI are about to release details of a new addition to the Phantom range!!!! My source informs me that, “within the next 14 days DJI will launch a new product, or rather they are launching a range of possibly 3 new products each with different spec and a price range to suit”.
Somewhat predictably, the range will go under the “Phantom 3” title.
Additionally; The Phantom 2 vision range is being discontinued and consigned to history!
The Phantom 1 was a game changer. The FC40 improved and for many, myself included, the Phantom 2 was the best of the range thus far. The option to use a GoPro, made it the Quadcopter of choice.
In my personal opinion, the next two models, the Vision and Vision 2 Plus had better features and improved Ground Station function, i have been frustrated with how easy the camera and gimbal can be damaged, such a delicate camera, with no zero protection, the CAA imposed restriction of 120 meters VLOS, due to the 5.8ghz transmitter is also another frustration Vision Plus owners face.
So maybe a new addition to the family makes sense. A Phantom 3 with the quick set up of the previous models, but with the option to attach multiple camera models, improved App support, brining it more in line with the DJI Pilot App for the Inspire also makes sense.
There is as of yet, little info about this story online, so you heard it here first, lets see if the launch takes place in Lag Vegas @ The NAB Show, 11 to 16 April.
http://www.nabshow.com/news-releases/nab-show-feature-new-aerial-robotics-and-drone-pavilion
I would like to thank my Source for the heads up!
Thumbs Up!
UPDATE – DJI are set to release another new Firmware Update for the Phantom in the next few weeks. Giving more credibility to this report!
Unmanned Aerial Systems - A Beginners Guide 