Where to fly - Orange County, Southern California
- Thread starter yawnalot29
- Start date
I have always thought of doing a drone footage of another drone, that will be so cool... but nevertheless that needs somewhat expert control... so should meet up with our arsenal to try some time..
I've tried this a couple of times. It's not as easy as it would seem, and the results were unimpressive because the drone is too small, and most pilot don't want to get very close to each other, fearing crashing into each other. Hence I haven't tried it recently. Keeping the other drone(s) in view can be difficult unless both pilots take things easy and slow. So far my pilot partners were too impatient to take things slow. Pre-planning the choreography of each shot is needed I think, reviewing and rehearsing the shots with all pilots before flying the mission. I haven't tried that yet.
Have you seen Dirty Bird's Litchi missions in Baltimore, having multiple drones (up to 3) follow each other on 5+mi autonomous flights? It's pretty incredible, and they don't crash into each other.
I can understand... it won't be as cinematic as we hope considering the limitations, I will check the video you mentioned. I guess I saw some random videos which made me yell "How did they do that!!!"
@LarBear360 and I met at Rooster Cafe today in Costa Mesa, then walked to the DJI store across the street. I learned the owner has basically rebranded Aerial Media Pros, and now they are an official DJI store at a new location. It's very nice, looks like an Apple store inside, much like other DJI stores I've see photos of. They had all the new stuff on display (except the X7). They have the monster M600, an M200, Inspire2, Obsidian Phantom 4P, Cendence controller, Crystal Sky displays, as well as Mavic, Phantom4P and Spark. It was worth the visit to see this gear. They have a nice indoor flying cage also, but I wonder if they can even take off, since they are 1 mile from John Wayne Airport runway (I forgot to ask that question).
One of the main questions I had, they had no definitive answer. My question was, can Crystal Sky play 4K video from from the SD card and send the video out the HDMI port. It seems these guys had never tried to play SD cards in the display, so they really didn't know. They "think" it will play 1080, but I got the impression they were guessing. I haven't been able to find any literature that covers that subject, neither could they apparently.
One disappointment I learned was their purchase policy. If they sell you a defective drone they won't exchange it, they send it to DJI for warranty repair, and you wait. This is a disappointing policy, given the number of defective drones DJI ships, as a result of no outgoing inspection, apparently. The sales-guy himself admitted they see a good number of defective drones out of the box from the factory, but they won't exchange it like Apple will. I informed him that motivates customers to buy from others at lower prices like B&H with free shipping and no sales tax, or Amazon, both with 30 day exchange options for defective product. He didn't have an answer for that. That's a serious problem for them to succeed IMO.
This location is an authorized repair station for DJI. They don't do warranty work, only DJI does that in Cerritos, CA. However, if you crash your drone while under warranty, this location can repair it for a price quicker than DJI (because you can bring it in and pick it up), AND the warranty from DJI is still good after the repair. If a NON-AUTHORIZED repair shop repairs your drone while in warranty, you lose the DJI warranty no matter how old it is.
Here are some photos of the store. They claim it's the largest in the US. It's very nice, I hope they do well.
One of the main questions I had, they had no definitive answer. My question was, can Crystal Sky play 4K video from from the SD card and send the video out the HDMI port. It seems these guys had never tried to play SD cards in the display, so they really didn't know. They "think" it will play 1080, but I got the impression they were guessing. I haven't been able to find any literature that covers that subject, neither could they apparently.
One disappointment I learned was their purchase policy. If they sell you a defective drone they won't exchange it, they send it to DJI for warranty repair, and you wait. This is a disappointing policy, given the number of defective drones DJI ships, as a result of no outgoing inspection, apparently. The sales-guy himself admitted they see a good number of defective drones out of the box from the factory, but they won't exchange it like Apple will. I informed him that motivates customers to buy from others at lower prices like B&H with free shipping and no sales tax, or Amazon, both with 30 day exchange options for defective product. He didn't have an answer for that. That's a serious problem for them to succeed IMO.
This location is an authorized repair station for DJI. They don't do warranty work, only DJI does that in Cerritos, CA. However, if you crash your drone while under warranty, this location can repair it for a price quicker than DJI (because you can bring it in and pick it up), AND the warranty from DJI is still good after the repair. If a NON-AUTHORIZED repair shop repairs your drone while in warranty, you lose the DJI warranty no matter how old it is.
Here are some photos of the store. They claim it's the largest in the US. It's very nice, I hope they do well.
Last edited:
I visited the store a couple weeks ago and got similar answers. The only value I see is being able to see and feel the equipment prior to purchase and out of warranty repairs. Another disappointment is you can't even get DJI credits with purchases! It's really a shame... I guess I'll keep buying from B&H, Advexure or DJI online.
This location WAS my go-to practice field. Alas, the earth movers have taken over and they finally fenced it off.
I can confirm El Dorado Regional Park in Long Beach permits radio-controlled gliders, helicopters, quads and racers. Areas are kept somewhat separate, however, I can attest I had a couple of fixed wing gliders soaring above and below me!
Badges? We don't need no stinking badges. All are welcome. There are no AMA, FAA, or AAA memberships required.
$6 at the gate. Cash only.
Badges? We don't need no stinking badges. All are welcome. There are no AMA, FAA, or AAA memberships required.
$6 at the gate. Cash only.
That sounds like a good place to fly. I started flying RC gliders when I was 13yrs old, 50yrs ago! I still have 3 gliders in my attic that I made in '82. Are you interested in Top of the World tomorrow? I might go there, my TRAM trip has been postponed.
Unfortunately, I'm grounded Saturday but I still have Sunday, Monday & Tuesday vacation. I'm still interested in those areas around Irvine Lake. Not over the lake! I may head out there.
I'm going to try Top of the World again in a couple of weeks after the tourists leave and everyone else goes back to work.
Went back out to Oak Park/Irvine Lake area Sunday. So much open space. Unfortunately, everything there is private property and as such, locked, gated, chained, you name it.
The "members only" area at the Great Park in Irvine has got to be the ugliest flying are in the country. Not for long though as I hear they are losing that site in March to make way for more park improvements. So much open space available there that would be better suited.
The search continues!
The "members only" area at the Great Park in Irvine has got to be the ugliest flying are in the country. Not for long though as I hear they are losing that site in March to make way for more park improvements. So much open space available there that would be better suited.
The search continues!
Oh wow, that's too bad. Last time I was at Irvine Lake was about a year ago. This map below shows where I parked to fly, marked with the star in yellow pinpoint. The green area marked "TestFest" is really Oak Park when you get there. I think Google mixed up the labeling in their map. Is Oak Park gated closed now?
Yup, I took that map from an earlier post.
Blue Diamond Haul terminates at the Orange County Modelers Assn site. Big planes there. If you go left it leads to the road you mapped out, however, it's gated. All of those parks are marked private property.
I forgot to look for another location along Black Star Canyon Trailhead. Maybe this weekend if it doesn't rain.[/QUOTE]
Blue Diamond Haul terminates at the Orange County Modelers Assn site. Big planes there. If you go left it leads to the road you mapped out, however, it's gated. All of those parks are marked private property.
I forgot to look for another location along Black Star Canyon Trailhead. Maybe this weekend if it doesn't rain.[/QUOTE]
Yes this does suck, but you can still walk to the area and over the hill. You just can’t park around there.
I may try this open area. It’s nothing but dirt right now. Only problem is it’s not as isolated. You can park on the other side of great park blvd.
I thought of parking in that inlet just outside the fence and scale that incline up to the site. I'm also going to drive around south of Ridge View as you outlined. Great idea, thanks!Yes this does suck, but you can still walk to the area and over the hill. You just can’t park around there.
I may try this open area. It’s nothing but dirt right now. Only problem is it’s not as isolated. You can park on the other side of great park blvd.
The FAA has no jurisdiction inside structures and dwellings. Local competitive quad flyers regularly hold races inside parking garages at UCI, which is in the Class C airspace—if flying outside. I believe that CSUF parking garages also host some of these races.
