CT phantom owners Check in here.. Meets/tech support/ events
- Thread starter capodrone81
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Down by the shore is great for distance runs on days that don't have wind.
Since you are in that area, I recommend the flight club at Waveny Park.
New Canaan R/C Society New Canaan R/C Society | fly safely! You need an AMA membership to cover insurance, and a there are dues. I get pretty decent shots with my P3A. Other racing drones fly there as well as fixed wing on Sunday mornings. Most information is on the web page. (If nothing else, check the Tree Service tab for companies that retrieve equipment).
New Canaan sanctioned one park for flying fixed wing, helicopters, drones etc. There are rules and specific locations in the park for certain aircraft but at least you don't have to continually look over your shoulder, and it is nice to say " I AM flying in the designated area"
I live up in Shelton, and it's a ride, but you don't get sideways looks from law enforcement. And everyone is usually happy to answer any questions. I stumbled across Waveny Park after an event, or school, or other locations were taken up or off limits because of proximity to airports.
Since you are in that area, I recommend the flight club at Waveny Park.
New Canaan R/C Society New Canaan R/C Society | fly safely! You need an AMA membership to cover insurance, and a there are dues. I get pretty decent shots with my P3A. Other racing drones fly there as well as fixed wing on Sunday mornings. Most information is on the web page. (If nothing else, check the Tree Service tab for companies that retrieve equipment).
New Canaan sanctioned one park for flying fixed wing, helicopters, drones etc. There are rules and specific locations in the park for certain aircraft but at least you don't have to continually look over your shoulder, and it is nice to say " I AM flying in the designated area"
I live up in Shelton, and it's a ride, but you don't get sideways looks from law enforcement. And everyone is usually happy to answer any questions. I stumbled across Waveny Park after an event, or school, or other locations were taken up or off limits because of proximity to airports.
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New to site ....
Glenn Derbyshire
Naugatuck , CT.
ham radio operator- call sign KB1UCO
Registered Drone Owner
Drone: Phantom 4 Professional
looking for an active drone club to join or startup in my area....
Glenn Derbyshire
Naugatuck , CT.
ham radio operator- call sign KB1UCO
Registered Drone Owner
Drone: Phantom 4 Professional
looking for an active drone club to join or startup in my area....
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Howdy all. Had a phantom 1 which I crashed and burned years ago. Got a Mavic earlier this year and my P4 Pro arrives tomorrow. Many many hours on my Hubsan x4 too. 
Excited for the big camera upgrade.
In Tolland, CT out in the woods. But I fly all around the area, always looking for new places to fly.
Excited for the big camera upgrade. In Tolland, CT out in the woods. But I fly all around the area, always looking for new places to fly.
A local!
I find that most flyers tend to be tight lipped on less common flying areas as no one wants it to become oversaturated with quads and drones and then the signs get put up saying "no drones allowed". That said, assuming there are no games going on, the practice field on RT 133 in Brookfield has been a good place for shakedown runs of new firmware, etc.
Welcome aboard.
I find that most flyers tend to be tight lipped on less common flying areas as no one wants it to become oversaturated with quads and drones and then the signs get put up saying "no drones allowed". That said, assuming there are no games going on, the practice field on RT 133 in Brookfield has been a good place for shakedown runs of new firmware, etc.
Welcome aboard.
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Welcome! The local area here is kind of quiet I find - but we can always change that.
So good news if you weren't aware - as of July 1, 2017, CT state law prohibits towns/municipalities from passing rules that regulate the operation of drones.
AN ACT CONCERNING MUNICIPALITIES AND UNMANNED AIRCRAFT.
Caveat is that it is technically applicable only to those w/ an FAA unmanned pilot license. That said, even if you don't have one I suspect that 1) it will prevent many places from even trying to regular b/c licensed vs not enforcement might be a PITA and 2) you may be able to talk your way around it if you aren't licensed.
I have a copy of the regulation printed and laminated as part of my flight book myself - though I do have my license, even if you didn't, sometimes just appearing prepared is enough to make someone not bother you further. For places to fly, during the summer the schools were great places! Many have sports fields, they are all public/town property so the aforementioned rules are fully applicable. I have not tried going over to any of my local schools since classes started (just got back from an eclipse photo/drone road trip!) but I'd think that one weekends at least they may still be fine. Similarly, less popular town parks can be good.
So far I've had only "ooh is that a drone!" sorts of reactions. I'm overly cautious about not flying for fun and there's people around. I usually sort of intentionally set up sort of methodically when I fly around other people - that gives people a chance to see what I'm doing, they can come wander over if they want, and aren't all surprised when a noisy drone (the P4P is really loud!) takes off.
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Welcome! The local area here is kind of quiet I find - but we can always change that.
So good news if you weren't aware - as of July 1, 2017, CT state law prohibits towns/municipalities from passing rules that regulate the operation of drones.
AN ACT CONCERNING MUNICIPALITIES AND UNMANNED AIRCRAFT.
Caveat is that it is technically applicable only to those w/ an FAA unmanned pilot license. That said, even if you don't have one I suspect that 1) it will prevent many places from even trying to regular b/c licensed vs not enforcement might be a PITA and 2) you may be able to talk your way around it if you aren't licensed.
For places to fly, during the summer the schools were great places! Many have sports fields, they are all public/town property so the aforementioned rules are fully applicable. I have not tried going over to any of my local schools since classes started (just got back from an eclipse photo/drone road trip!) but I'd think that one weekends at least they may still be fine. Similarly, less popular town parks can be good.
So far I've had only "ooh is that a drone!" sorts of reactions. I'm overly cautious about not flying for fun and there's people around. I usually sort of intentionally set up sort of methodically when I fly around other people - that gives people a chance to see what I'm doing, they can come wander over if they want, and aren't all surprised when a noisy drone (the P4P is really loud!) takes off.
That's an outstanding find DaRana thanks! I just printed it and will add it to my flight bag as well. Completely new to the Drone game having just got my P4P this weekend. All Batteries are charged, all firmwares are updated, my eyes are bleeding from the number of videos I've watched on first-flight how-to's...but I'm going out today...somewhere here in Norwalk...hopefully!
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Bookmark State Drone Law Archives - - he's a lawyer he's focused on Drone Law and he is keeping a solid database of state-by-state drone laws up to date on the site.
How were your first flights?? I'm so excited the foliage is finally starting to turn - been waiting all summer for it! Tinged by some frustration b/c my P4P is currently out of commission ... but my Mavic is still flying. After getting used to the camera on the P4P, though, it's def not the same.
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That's a bummer, what happened to your P4P? I haven't been in the air much as the KP Index has been hovering around 4-5 but I see sorties picking up moving forward. I've had her on a couple maiden flights but I'm a little trepidatious about letting her go! I'm thinking about picking up a Mavic as a backup and for it's portability. Just to hold me over until I grab my business-use unit (either a Matrice 210 or a Yuneec H520) having trouble picking between the 2 as there are many pros and cons with each...
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Long story short re: P4P, I was stupid. Classic example of why ADM is so important as a string of mistakes in judgement led to P4P meeting tree branches just enough to then 15' fall to the ground. My own post-incident review was painful - but better to face the mistakes and learn from them than pretend they did not happen and repeat them.
I love everything about the Mavic (except the camera!). I mean, it is a great camera for a consumer drone, but as a photographer it is just good enough to be a tease of what it be, espec. after using the P4P camera which compares favorably to even my Canon 5DMKIII in some metrics. But otherwise it is such a wonderful little drone, and is pretty big for its size in terms of performance! It's held up just fine getting hit with high 20s mph gusts, the range is fantastic, biggest benefit by far, though, IMO, is it is so much quieter. I did some testing with a DB meter after I got the P4P b/c it was so much louder. - at takeoff it was ~12db quieter, at 150' directly overhead it no longer registered on my db meter (bottomed out at 50db), whereas the P4P never came close to that even at 400'. There are times I will fly the Mavic I wouldn't fly the P4P b/c of the noise/disruption the latter would cause.
Would love the M200/210 with an X5S, personally. As a photographer the larger m4/3 sensor and interchangeable lens options would be great. The far broader support with 3rd party software apps like Autopilot etc would be nice, too. Then again we're at probably 2x the H520 + E90 price point already with that so that's probably a consideration, too.
Not sure I could justify any of them until they improve their camera capabilities further, though, since that is my main usage. Not just specs but software stuff, like adjustable bracket spacing?Oh, you may know this but a higher KP index is only going to be an issue for the GPS. Worst case just failover to ATTI mode. With a KP of 4/5 I wouldn't hesitate to fly personally, though I might hesitate to fly to a distance where I couldn't instantly see the drone and its orientation. If you haven't got a ton of time on drones, though, one other suggestion is to pick up a mini drone. I have a Hubsan X4, paid like $35 for it, little tiny thing, indoor only, but it's great for getting lots of stick time w/ a low "worst case scenario" threshold!
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LOL, you're right! I had my daughter take this picture of me while I was taking a picture of an Isle of Skye landscape in Scotland. It's the closest I've ever been to being on the Moon! So, I've been getting more flying in, really concentrating on stick work vs. camera work. I still run the camera while flying (just set on auto for now) so I can generate a little catalogue of files I can begin working on in Premiere Pro. It's all very complicated stuff but lots of fun nonetheless! Yesterday though I had a weird situation wherein I could not get my bird to fly above 93 feet nor would it fly out that far. Almost like it was in beginner mode...but wasn't. Have you experienced anything like that? I was flying in Veteran's Park in Norwalk, as a point of reference.LOL I just noticed our profile pics are pretty similar.
