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Recent content by JMaeding

  1. J

    Going In House

    No kidding! Its like getting paid to fly RC planes. Then we get to come back and manipulate 3d models....whooo hooo! The good stuff kids go for.
  2. J

    Going In House

    That is what I have seen, most drone pilots get into it while employed by some company that needs it. General photos/videos is one thing, anyone could get into that without engineering background. The mapping side is different though, as the civil world wants "TIN" surfaces, not point clouds for...
  3. J

    Flights over roads

    For those that do mapping flights, how close to busy roads do you allow your flight plan to go? The problem is most sites have roads along some edges, and you are supposed to get a full flight line beyond the edge of a site for photogrammetry to work decently. I guess most just fly over the...
  4. J

    Potential Near Miss with Aircraft- suggestions?

    Very good post IMO, I have similar questions. Besides drones, manned aircraft stay on the radio and have radar and messaging systems (sqawk I believe) and so on to tell each other what's going on. Drones....nothing yet. I feel like if I hit a manned plane in an unexpected situation, I would not...
  5. J

    Anyone used a home made drone that passed for gov work (Blue list)?

    I am on a long project that introduced the Blue List requirement in the middle. Its a complete joke, of course, as the idea of someone stealing the images as you fly is so much harder than just flying the site themselves when you are not looking, or hacking into where you store the results using...
  6. J

    Phantom 4 battery failures

    You can decide what is a lot or not, I don't care. It still remains the one thing you cannot control with a P4P. Its factory equipment, and careful people. I'm actually glad to hear experienced people saying its not significant. Other things could fail too, I just have not experienced them so...
  7. J

    How to check for Part 107 currency?

    Oh, I see the new stuff is recorded there. Thanks for explaining that. I guess my previous recurrents are not available anywhere except by contacting FAA. Good enough, just thought I might be missing some link on the IACRA page. thx!
  8. J

    How to check for Part 107 currency?

    Wait, I am asking a specific question - how to do it online. You are talking about how to do it other ways which is a different subject. What if I lost my paperwork? There are any reasons to want to check on an organization's website, if they think you are current or not. thx
  9. J

    How to check for Part 107 currency?

    Hi there, not an expiration date, but a currency status. Many clients and agencies require I prove my status. Also, other people tell me they have their 107 and I want to look up if they are current. thx,
  10. J

    How to check for Part 107 currency?

    I have my 107, did recurrent test a couple years ago, and expected IARCA site to show that. It only shows Part 107, which does not expire, I know. Is there a way to look up someone's currency status online? I have my paperwork and know my status, but wish the IACRA site showed it too. thx
  11. J

    Phantom 4 battery failures

    I concluded "a lot" because when I went to buy batteries, I saw several reviews mentioning the issue. Just now, I searched amazon, and looked at 1 star review for: failures You may say that is the third party battery fault, and I can't argue its not, other than saying these same failures happen...
  12. J

    Phantom 4 battery failures

    Good advice, thanks.
  13. J

    Mission in red Restricted zone

    Hi Jim, Read on how chutes work, they are not hooked to the main drone brain. My original point was of all the catastrophic things that could go wrong, that battery failure is the big one I have personally seen. I know hitting cranes and trees can down the bird too, but they are way less random.
  14. J

    Mission in red Restricted zone

    Oh, you are correct that the certified ones are expensive, say $800 from what I saw. The battery thing is a phantom 4 issue I believe, which the OP has as I recall. Its not a battery care problem. I just want to be able to face anyone who asks, after a crash, did I take reasonable safety...
  15. J

    Phantom 4 battery failures

    My team had a battery failure mid-flight a couple months ago, exactly like this one: crash The thing dropped from 150 ft up, breaking off the camera and ruining the frame. The battery had maybe 70 flights on it, and we take good care of equipment. We had DJI fix the drone for far less cost than...