Here's some flyover footage taken just north of Abiquiu, New Mexico.
I was head-down on the FPV monitor, really happy with the shots I was getting, and didn't notice that I had flown behind the cliff. Lost video signal, and control, and ran quickly down the parking lot where I was standing hoping to regain control before anything untoward happened. I wasn't quick enough to avoid the return-to-home mode kicking in, but I was definitely lucky enough that the line back to home was just clear of the cliff. I figure I must have missed it by five feet or less, and a crash would have left it about 250 feet or so on a ledge, and essentially unretrievable. A great shot I wouldn't have consciously attempted at this stage in my flying career.
Not to glorify my own inattentiveness, but take this as a good case study in maintaining LOS on your aircraft at all times. I wasn't aware exactly how lucky I was until I saw the footage, and was kind of in shock about it.
Anyway, enjoy!
http://vimeo.com/102577349
Other technical bits:
- I have a GoPro Hero 3+ from the production run with the infinity focus issue, which I'm working to get resolved/replaced.
- Still messing with settings on the Warp Stabilization VFX filter in AE, and between the swimminess that that generates in combination with a still-unresolved jello issue, it gets a little wiggly in spots.
- Music is "Delerium" by Euphoria.
I was head-down on the FPV monitor, really happy with the shots I was getting, and didn't notice that I had flown behind the cliff. Lost video signal, and control, and ran quickly down the parking lot where I was standing hoping to regain control before anything untoward happened. I wasn't quick enough to avoid the return-to-home mode kicking in, but I was definitely lucky enough that the line back to home was just clear of the cliff. I figure I must have missed it by five feet or less, and a crash would have left it about 250 feet or so on a ledge, and essentially unretrievable. A great shot I wouldn't have consciously attempted at this stage in my flying career.
Not to glorify my own inattentiveness, but take this as a good case study in maintaining LOS on your aircraft at all times. I wasn't aware exactly how lucky I was until I saw the footage, and was kind of in shock about it.
Anyway, enjoy!
http://vimeo.com/102577349
Other technical bits:
- I have a GoPro Hero 3+ from the production run with the infinity focus issue, which I'm working to get resolved/replaced.
- Still messing with settings on the Warp Stabilization VFX filter in AE, and between the swimminess that that generates in combination with a still-unresolved jello issue, it gets a little wiggly in spots.
- Music is "Delerium" by Euphoria.
