[Rhodes22-list] Drone video of Fretless

[Olivier Hecht]

Hi Mike,

I just shared all the details in an earlier reply. What I didn't mention there was the massive interference in the video link to my phone.  The drone was never more than a few hundred yards away so the signal should have been perfect...it usually starts to drop out around a mile without obstructions. I didn't have time to deal with it during this first flight, but I'm thinking it's either something like the VHF frequencies in use or  the fact that the "home point" was left far behind as the drone and controller were moving. This shouldn't impact the signal, but I did notice that the "horizontal distance" from the home point was more than a mile about halfway through the flight. There's a way to set the home position as the controller instead of the takeoff point that I might try next time to see if it helps. 

Olivier

> On Jul 3, 2016, at 6:14 PM, Michael Weisner <mweisner at ebsmed.com> wrote:
> 
> Olivier,
> 
> I picked up a  DJI phantom 3 pro last May.  I have been wondering about using it on the Rhodes.  I have been practicing taking off and recovery by hand since there is no safe landing area on a Rhodes.  We saw a sailboat race photographer using a drone that he landed in a net on a powerboat. Can you elaborate on you technique?  Nice video.
> 
> Mike
> s/v Wind Lass ('91)
> Nissequogue River, NY
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rhodes22-list [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Olivier Hecht
> Sent: Sunday, July 3, 2016 3:50 PM
> To: The Rhodes 22 Email List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Drone video of Fretless
> 
> We had our second sail on Fretless yesterday…a perfect sailing day on the Rappahannock and we had the whole family including the dog this time…everyone seemed to enjoy it.  It was a tough start and finish to the day dealing with a broken trailer jack before we launched and a flat trailer tire when we retrieved her.  Fortunately, some improvisation with the car’s jack, wood blocking, and extra tools I had decided to bring at the last minute allowed us to still enjoy the day.
> 
> I even managed to get the spinnaker (Doyle “UPS") up during a more calm period on the water, and it was really easy to deploy and worked very well.  I think we hit ~7 mph for a little while on a reach…that was exciting!  I also managed to get her “wing-on-wing” for a few minutes while running, although that was pretty hard to sustain!
> 
> Here’s a quick video I was able to shoot from the drone (nice to have an aerial scouting vehicle on board to check weather or what’s around the next point of land, etc.)…launching and retrieving it from a moving sailboat crewed by novices was definitely exciting and a little nerve-racking, but we got it done.  The camera work is not great, either, since the video link to my phone was full of interference for some reason…possibly the VHF traffic…I had to fly and frame the shots without really being able to see what the camera was pointing at…
> 
> https://youtu.be/PyG78xToiVM
> 
> Olivier
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