A local kid, Matthieu, came round the other day with his super drone thing, to do some filming for us. Great piece of kit. A 'DJI Phantom', which he got for about 1000 Euros. He's doing a mechanical engineering baccalaureat at college and majoring in remote control stuff, so he's taking it pretty seriously.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DJI-Phantom- ... Sw2gxYrk3x
We're very happy with the results, which show the forest, our land, garden, horses and dogs etc from up to 200 metres high. The donkeys weren't very impressed. It did have a high-pitched whine to it, but not that bad. Matthieu set it up by telling the control unit where the fixed 'homing' spot was so that if the drone developed any problem or ran short of battery it would automatically find its way back there. It has a gimbal mounted camera which keeps everything steady and you can program it on the fly (literally) to do all kinds of clever maneuvers. It can even be trained to follow a motorbike at a fixed distance and altitude. Has anyone on ABR ever tried this? I had no idea how good these things are nowadays. Looks best in HD.
Droning on...
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daveuprite
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boboneleg
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Re: Droning on...
That barn looks huuuuuuuge, and the forest looks even bigger .
one-legged adventurer
Re: Droning on...
They are very popular now to the extent that every tom dick and harry that has one thinks they can fly over towns and around people which unfortunately tars responsible flyers with the same idiot brush.
They are a good tool when you use them for they're intended purpose
They are a good tool when you use them for they're intended purpose
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diggermanbob
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daveuprite
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Re: Droning on...
Yeah we love it here. It all takes a bit of looking after though. Always something going wrong in a big old place like this. Moved here 10 years ago. Bought it all for the same as a decent one bedroom flat in the Thames Valley! There's two bedrooms on the middle floor I haven't been in for at least a month! The barn is bloody enormous (28 metres by 13) and more than enough for all the stables, a big wood store and a vast area which we just dump crap in. There are boxes and boxes of stuff in there we brought with us from the UK and have never re-opened....diggermanbob wrote: ↑Sun Apr 22, 2018 2:36 pm Nice spot you got there Dave , you won't run short of firewood that's for sure
By the way, if you want any cobwebs we are the best local supplier by far - some of our two foot wide gothic webs have won awards.
What I love most is just riding straight out on to all the single track through the forest. Just when I think I know all the trails I find a new one, dug out by wild boar or deer. As you say, everyone heats with wood here. None of that horrid fossil fuel nonsense. Sometimes I just go branch scrumping and come back with a trailer full of rayburn-sized pieces to keep us nice and warm.
Last edited by daveuprite on Sun Apr 22, 2018 6:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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chunky butt
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daveuprite
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Re: Droning on...
Nope, not for sale. We just took advantage of Mathieu's skills and kit to get the place filmed. He was dead chuffed with 20 euros towards some drugs or whatever...
Re: Droning on...
daveuprite wrote: ↑Sun Apr 22, 2018 6:51 pmNope, not for sale. We just took advantage of Mathieu's skills and kit to get the place filmed. He was dead chuffed with 20 euros towards some drugs or whatever...
Re: Droning on...
He can get drugs for 20 euros ! 
. Good contact to have.
Nice vid , good to see stuff from above and gives a sense of how 'big' the landscape feels round here, don't always get that when you're just winding your way through the trees.
Yes would be fun to get some trailbiking footage though given that round here you'd be obscured by trees most of the time not sure how easy it'd be. Good for somehere like the higher routes in Pyrenees though.
I had actually thought of investing in one to complement my photograhy interests. The DJI Mavic is a compact fold up model which you could carry on a bike. However the battery only lasts 20-25 minutes so you have to think about spares and charging when off on a multi day trip and at the end of the day it's another distraction from the business of just riding the bike. I've got a gopro and you can end up with a lot of boring footage which needs editing down to make it half way interesting . I still haven't finished editing footage I took in the Pyrenees 18 months ago.
There was someone here on ABR I think who'd put together a good video from a Morocco trip which had some drone footage.
. Good contact to have.Nice vid , good to see stuff from above and gives a sense of how 'big' the landscape feels round here, don't always get that when you're just winding your way through the trees.
Yes would be fun to get some trailbiking footage though given that round here you'd be obscured by trees most of the time not sure how easy it'd be. Good for somehere like the higher routes in Pyrenees though.
I had actually thought of investing in one to complement my photograhy interests. The DJI Mavic is a compact fold up model which you could carry on a bike. However the battery only lasts 20-25 minutes so you have to think about spares and charging when off on a multi day trip and at the end of the day it's another distraction from the business of just riding the bike. I've got a gopro and you can end up with a lot of boring footage which needs editing down to make it half way interesting . I still haven't finished editing footage I took in the Pyrenees 18 months ago.
There was someone here on ABR I think who'd put together a good video from a Morocco trip which had some drone footage.
