Monitoring acreage?

[G8R]

Howdy from the swamps of Florida!
I currently do not own a drone.
We live on 2800 acres, and I'm trying to cut down on travel time checking on broken fences, trees that fall across creeks, culverts that get blocked due to debris, livestock, invading wild hogs, coyotes hunting or animals etc.
I spend my life in a truck or on a horse having to take roads to get to where I know the crow can fly to a heck of a lot faster.
I was considering buying a Phantom 4 to help with monitoring the ranch.
What say you folks in the know. Good idea or not?
We do have a lot on trees obviously, and a lot of open grazing land.
I as wondering how close I could get to the trees to see the creeks that run through the forested areas?
Our house is also in a wooded area. Will I need run out to a pasture to take off? How large a clearing do I need to take off, and land?
Any input is welcome, as I'm sure people with experience will know the answers to some questions before I even think of them.
Thanks,
Dave

 

[flyboy73]

I am not going to pretend to be able to answer all your questions. There are probably others here that might have answers to some of your questions. I live in Florida, and am wondering what part of Florida do you live in? It would be to your advantage, I believe, to see a demonstration of what you can see and what you cannot see from a drone. Today's drones, such as the DJI Phantom series are very easy to fly. However, there is a learning curve and many beginners get into trouble by attempting to fly too close to obstacles such as trees. A crash into a tree is very likely to break your gimbal an/or camera, which are the most delicate portions of your drone system. The camera uses a very wide angle lens, which means you have to be pretty close to an item to see details. I am guessing broken fences might be hard to see, trees across streams may be easier. Animals in open pasture are quite possible. In trees would be quite a bit harder. As far as trees, I always tell beginners that trees are not your friends. You don't need a very large area to take off from, but don't try to land in a tight area without experience. Have you looked at the DJI Mavic? It is very compact (for taking on a horse) and has good range. Hope I have given you some help.

 

[ServiceCall]

I have the P4 and P3P, I'm also in Florida (for what it's worth). You'll want a higher elevation for control and video feed over distance, with vegetation in the way. I routinely fly over trees and wet lands but I do it from the observation deck of my boat lift.

I can see quite well from 75 -100' in the air, People and animals.

Then if you find something that interests you, look around and slowly descend. But pay attention.

 

[BigAl07]

If you want to go forward you might consider a aircraft that can be upgraded to a ZOOM camera such as an Inspire1. It might cost a bit more but the ability to upgrade the camera to ZOOM might be exactly what you need.

You stated "wooded area" and "lots of trees". Unfortunately trees block the signal going to & from the aircraft so your control range might be greatly reduced when operating in and around the wooded areas.

 

[G8R]

Thank you for the replies, and the heads up!
Exactly the type of things I was concerned about. Primarily not being able to see the what's in the forest because of the trees.
And having my new helper (drone) escape after loosing signal. In that situation will they come back?

 

[BigAl07]

Thank you for the replies, and the heads up!
Exactly the type of things I was concerned about. Primarily not being able to see the what's in the forest because of the trees.
And having my new helper (drone) escape after loosing signal. In that situation will they come back?

Yes if Return To Home (RTH) is set correctly the aircraft will ascend to the preset height and make a straight line for the Home Point and land there (within a few feet).

Earlier you asked about takeoff and landing area. So long as you have an open corridor above you the aircraft only needs a few feet but I'd like to have a 10' or larger opening just to be safe. Same for landing.