Recent content by Huttcraft

I had to replace the yaw arm. Got everything apart and the piece replaced, but during reassembly I’ve run into a weird problem. I can’t get the screws to start in the backing plate. Two are slightly bigger and start no problem. The remaining three seem too large for the holes. I’m certain I...

I was able to save my P3S after a dunk in the lake 3 years ago. The drone was submerged completely for about 10 seconds, at a depth of about 4 feet. The airframe completely filled with water through the air vents, and water was visible in the camera body. I took out the battery before it even...

Hi Billie - sorry to hear about your P3S! It’s the ignominious end they all eventually reach though. A dramatic crash is way more respectable than gradual disintegration. This is the first I’m hearing of any need to maintenance-cycle a lipo battery. I’ve been flying with them for many years...

The Mini’s size, weight and portability dictate its use case. I’m a volunteer with an active Scout troop. The mini is perfect for our outdoor activities. For a couple of years I took my P3S on camps and hikes, but it needed a whole separate backpack and was often just too much. I need other...

I’ve had Litchi for a few years but haven’t used it much. This summer, however, I dusted it off to try several waypoint missions over a lake. I wanted to get some -90° down photos to build a panorama showing the shallow spots. I was trying to use timed photos between waypoints rather than...

[knocking on wood before typing this] I landed my trusty, age-worn Phantom 3 Standard safely on the rear hatch of my boat last weekend. It was breezy but I managed to track the deck and set her down, grateful I didn’t have to try a hand-catch. But after touching down on the deck with the...

Here's an interesting perspective on one aspect of the drone ministerial order I got from a guy in the Canadian Forces in a position to know. The order states in part that a UAV must be operated no closer than 75m from "spectators, bystanders or any person not associated with the operation of...

I like the NRC's website for airport zones in Canada: UAV Site Selection Tool - National Research Council Canada

Have to wonder how reports like this from pilots are corroborated, if at all. Hard to discern a drone from a seagull at 500kmh. The news reports are not offering any additional detail, other than the pilot saw a drone. At 7kms out, wouldn't the plane still have been at over 1,000m altitude? I...

Anyone else notice that the new DJI Spark leaked last week is expected to have an all-up weight of 250 grams (eg, http://www.wetalkuav.com/dji-spark-rumor-updates-video/)? I'm thinking that may not be a coincidence. A capable quad with a fully-stabilized camera in that size range would surely...

I think blackcrusader is referring to non-recreational UAV users in Canada, and in what circumstances they need to have a special flight operations certificate. The law of the land in Canada right now is as-described in the Minister of Transport's March 13 Interim Order. And it's definitely...

Here's the letter I wrote to the minister today, for what it's worth. I tried to cherry-pick only the aerodrome radius restriction to make it short enough that the policymakers read it. I also emphasized that the interim order paints my old foamy seaplanes with the same brush as my Phantom 3S...

Hi JW -- thanks for sharing your preliminary thoughts. Maybe they will help a few more of us overcome inertia and weigh-in on this issue. I've been rolling these issues around in my mind for the last few days as well. I'm planning to reach out to Garneau's office myself, but I think our...

I don't think we want to propose a regime in which the default is prohibition unless expressly permitted. That would be WAY more restrictive than what we're already facing. But the minister's office does need to give us some guidance on interpretation.

Seems to me there's little value offering our own alternative limits on drone use without dealing directly with the concerns giving rise to the new rules. There's no doubt Transport Canada is getting more reports of "drone incidents": wwwapps.tc.gc.ca. I put that in quotes because reports...