Another Puerto Rico Thread.... LOL

autopilot · May 2, 2012

I will be visiting Puerto Rico from 17th May - 22 May doing some aerial video. Basically, you take a RC plane and put a camera on it, and a video transmitter and fly it around. You get to see real time images from the plane relayed back to you on the ground... yeah yeah yeah yeah, I know - geek stuff - but it's fairly simple.

Setup the plane...

Get the ground station ready

Grab a seat

then fly (this video is from Destin, Fl).

VIDEO --->

So while I am in a chair with my video goggles on looking like a dork, the plane is miles away recording HD footage. I have some amazing sites planned to fly, but I also want to have some downtime and relax. I've got my trip broken down 17 - 19th May eastern half of the island, and 20th and 21st out west.

If anyone has any suggestions on areas that would be pretty epic scenery please post it up.

also -if I'm in your area and you wanna ride my passenger goggles while I fly let me know... it's the most fun you can have with your clothes on.

J

bhergh · May 2, 2012

links to buy equipment? looks interesting

wr · May 2, 2012

autopilot · May 2, 2012

Originally Posted by bhergh

links to buy equipment? looks interesting

Oh - well I wouldn't start by buying stuff - LOL. I'd start by reading ... but if you can play a video game you can easily fly FPV (First Person View). The sponsor section here is a good start (fpvlab.com) - there is also pilot training threads and video threads so you can kinda see what we do.

J

thunderchunk69 · May 2, 2012

DOPE

tried to read everything you typed while on the phone and it made no sense.
hung up, played the video and my mind is blown, lol

autopilot · May 2, 2012

Here is one of my cloud flights...........

Well- you see this is in HD, so this is a separate camera that's on the plane. But what I actually saw while recording that HD footage is this:

This is because you can't transmit HD footage via the video transmitter... okay, well you can - but HD video transmitter/receivers are about $10,000.00 - LOL. So we fly analog video, and have an additional camera on the plane to record in HD.

It sounds complicated but it's as simple as...

* in the air *
plane, camera, video transmitter

* on the ground *
video receiver, chair (lol), some way to view the image (video goggles, laptop, or small monitor)

dauldierce · May 2, 2012

ay man nice video. cool stuff. post the video when u finish it. pr woman

btw
do u have to inform anyone that ur flying something ? idk i just thought they'll shoot it down or something... i'd be freaked out seeing something flying n dk wat it is.

autopilot · May 2, 2012

Originally Posted by DaulDierce

ay man nice video. cool stuff. post the video when u finish it. pr woman

btw
do u have to inform anyone that ur flying something ? idk i just thought they'll shoot it down or something... i'd be freaked out seeing something flying n dk wat it is.

Naah you don't have to call the FAA or anything - haha. But there obviously is the need to make sure you know what you're doing if you want to fly far and high. Most people are not shooting down RC planes

- and they are too slow and small to be pickup up by radar anyway. But with that said, you DEFINITELY won't wanna fly over military installations... you'll probably have a bad day if you try that and spend some time in a little room with no windows - haha.

autopilot · May 2, 2012

By the way - once you've been playing with UAVs for a while you can build some pretty capable systems... here's a "short-range" flight out to 10 miles.

20 mile round trip

The distance is in the center of the screen at the bottom (to the left of the circle compass). Altitude is top right. Obviously you're not gonna just waltz into this hobby and fly 10 miles anytime soon - LOL. But that's great, bc the most fun flights are the ones where you are at point blank range anyway. Range flights are long and boring.

dabottom305 · May 2, 2012

I just watch a few of your other videos. Pretty cool.

I wanted to do this with an RC helicopter but I wasn't of a decent camera, the helicopter's range isn't too big, and the flights do not last as long as I want.

How far can the plane go from where you're positioned?

syxth element · May 2, 2012

This is pretty dope. I've seen a GoPro mounted on an RC airplane at the beach. I was

at first but then I realized that everyone that the plane was flying near was filmed.

autopilot · May 2, 2012

Originally Posted by DaBottom305

I just watch a few of your other videos. Pretty cool.

I wanted to do this with an RC helicopter but I wasn't of a decent camera, the helicopter's range isn't too big, and the flights do not last as long as I want.

How far can the plane go from where you're positioned?

The guy with the long-range "record" did a 1 way trip to 86km (53 miles) and landed remotely in a field. The out-and-back record is 71km out, and 71km back (44 miles out, and then 44 miles back).

As far as being filmed on the beach... you're filmed at the gas station, ATM, every traffic intersection, schools, and every building you go in. Better get used to that idea unfortunately.

Generally FPV pilots aren't filming "people" in the sense that the government is. We are filming locations, generally site-seeing spots.

The average flight is less than a mile and just quick flights after work bc the long-range stuff is pretty ^&%%^$ boring. In this video, I went to a school by my home in Atlanta and just bashed around for a minute. Nice stress relief after a long day.

Be sure to check out the run at 3:30 (LOL) :

autopilot · May 4, 2012

Ok - I see that it's hurrican season? Has it been raining there a lot?? I don't wanna get rained out.

autopilot · May 12, 2012

knightngale · May 12, 2012

I thought hurricane season was in the summer or late summer months. Go check wiki or something.

This is very interesting. I'll have to check some more videos out.

k2theablam · May 12, 2012

SO SICK!! that's amazing man... have fun on your trip!

koudie from brooklyn · May 12, 2012

atlien seeko · May 12, 2012

My boy is about to go into business with UAV's. Cool videos.

dwyanewadeog · May 12, 2012

very cool.

what kind of liability issues do you deal with?

What if your plane crashes and hits someone/something.

autopilot · May 13, 2012

Originally Posted by DwyaneWadeOG

very cool.

what kind of liability issues do you deal with?

What if your plane crashes and hits someone/something.

For paid gigs I have insurance - for leisure flights I don't. Autopilot takes over if there is a control/video issue. Otherwise you just don't hit stuff.

autopilot · May 13, 2012

My buddy Trappy :

knightngale · May 15, 2012

You ever fly over nude beaches?

autopilot · May 15, 2012

Originally Posted by knightngale

You ever fly over nude beaches?

I can neither confirm nor deny said activities

autopilot · Feb 7, 2013

I flew San Juan, Old San Juan, Levittown, Rincon, Crash Beach, Ponce, Naranjito, Arecibo and a 100 other spots. LOL. I did night flights, deep urban - buzzed some cruise ships - valleys - mountains... bridges... long range... you name it, I did it. It will take some time before I can get to the video edits as I seem to always be prepping for the next trip.

Stay tuned for the edits.
Here are a few from my trash reel ( I'll store the unedited 1st El Morro footage due to clouds not giving me a break - that's where these shots are from. El Morro flight 2 on an another day the views were epic - no clouds)