DJI Phantom 2

[Macman]

Has anyone here purchased a DJI Phantom before?

What was your thoughts?

I'm intending on using my Go Pro 3+ & Gimbal which I've bought from ebay. Recommend any picture/video settings?

If so, any hints/tips? I know the most common one such as restricted airspace i.e. Navy Bases or Airports etc etc.

Trying to take my photography/video to another level as I've heard these things can go ridiculously high?

Cheers

[Flibb]

I have had a quick go on a phantom 1, but I do fly a DJI F450 equipped with a Naza flight controller. I am also building a TBS Discovery using F450 bits and a 3D printed gopro gimbal (not my printer).

My advice is to really look at what you will be getting into, they are often seen as being fit the batteries and fly but even the Phantoms need a fair amount of setup, most people suffer a crash or 2, and a surprising number have flyaways, there is a support group for phantom flyaways on facebook. Yes they can go very high but its easy to lose track and get caught out by the wind, and if the GPS has a glitch you can wave goodbye to a grands worth of kit.

Once you get beyond the can I be bothered stage you then need to look at the various legal issues. If you are going to use a multirotor for commercial purposes (selling photos / film, or as part of any commercial enterprise) you need to be certified, this costs around £2k. The CAA have just started taking an interest and court cases have taken place against people have sold video footage but were not qualified. They have also prosecuted flyers who have flown over populated areas and uploaded to youtube, think one bloke filmed Alton Towers. So you really need to think about where you will fly, and will you want insurance? If you crash into somebody's green house its going to cost the price of some glass, what happens if you lose contact and it causes a car crash?

Here's a link to CAA publication covering flying around towns http://www.caa.co.uk/application.asp...detail&id=6208

Best advice I can give is to join one of the multirotor forums and do some reading, I am a member of http://www.multi-rotor.co.uk
which covers both commercial and recreational flying. Its a great fun hobby, but the technology is pretty new, and not 100% reliable yet.

[Flibb]

Heres a good example of a rather expensive ($65k), professional multirotor deciding it wants to do its own thing, in this case it wants a coffee.

[peterb]

Flibb has covered the details - I have been looking into this with the possibility of getting the DJI 550.

Basically, the maximum height is 400 feet AGL. You have to obey airspace restrictions, and if the UAV is equipped with a camera, it cannot be flown within 50m of any person or building 'not under your control'.

Recently a man was fined about £800 for overflying the nuclear submarine construction facility at barrow-in-Furness. It then ditched, was recovered and discovered that he had also flown it with 50 metres of a Road Bridge.

There have also been cases of cautions and warnings of people undertaking 'Air Work' without the CAA's permission - which is unlikely to be granted unless you ave insurance and a certificate of competency.

More info here: (Some Flibb has already referred to)

http://www.quadcopters.co.uk/guide-f...k-uk-146-c.asp
http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=1995
http://www.eurousc.com/pilot-qualifi...bnuc-std).html

[Macman]

Dang.. I've got my homeowrk cut out!