"Must be nice flying toys all day" - sigh

dougcjohn · Aug 10, 2019

Fred Garvin said:
No camera.....doesn’t really need one, it’s a toy for in house flying.

I’ve got a tiny Hubsan Nano....the size of my thumb....buzzes like a bee and is a real challenge to control.....

Gotcha... the little red nose cap and clear center at quick glance looked like camera. My little toy has worthless camera, basically adds the FPV play experience.

Fred Garvin · Aug 10, 2019

Yeah, the toys don’t have the best cameras, if at all.....my SYMA X5SW’s camera, it’s not even laughable.... like .3MP and so blurry/laggy it’s absolutely useless.

dougcjohn · Aug 10, 2019

Like to see a Tello mini... about half sized.
Be a great performing toy!

Deltadave · Aug 11, 2019

BigAl07 said:
As well as:

Accountant

Attorney

Marketing GuRu

Industry Ambassador

Bill Collector

Mechanic

and..... (the list goes on.....)

....Interviewing contract employees
Legal contracts
Shipping all your gear across country and beyond
Hotels, etc.
Logistics of bringing a team in one place at one time.

I could fill a page, let alone just getting certified, which seems daunting if you've never been exposed to sectionals, a METAR, etc.

Just one rolling hard case is $500-$600 (times 3), add 12 extra batteries per unit, charging hubs, generator, vehicles, fuel.
Well, you all know the rest.

Kristina Fowler · Aug 11, 2019

R.Perry said:
My job at the college will end August of 2020 and at that point I'll be 72 ....

Man… You just made my day. I’m 68.5 and a bit self-conscious about it while on job sites with all those young grasshoppers looking at me like I just fell out of a tree!

DashSolo · Aug 11, 2019

BigAl07 said:
Same boat here. I used to fly "RC for fun" every single weekend and many evenings in the summer. Now my "fun" RC aircraft are all pretty much hanger queens. I fly RC plane/heli maybe a dozen times a year and most of those are for demonstration/show purposes now.

I consider myself very lucky. I've flown drones for over 15 yrs, long before the quads were even thought of. I started RC around that time and thanks to my grandfather I have a place on the lake in spring/summer/fall and fly my electric 87" wingspan Cessna on pontoons almost everyday without the hassle of traveling to a flying field. I literally walk 50 feet to the lake from garage to fly. (my best day was 20 flights, average 6 a day)

Back in the day before the 107, there was the 333 exemption which took me less than six weeks to get from the FAA. Once I got the 333 I took landscaping drone photos of the lake and mountains. After four years of doing this I've finally gotten a brand locally and have a high demand for my prints on metal. I have the best of both worlds thanks to my grandfather.

I love reading this forum. Keep up the great input.

BigAl07 · Aug 11, 2019

DashSolo said:
I consider myself very lucky. I've flown drones for over 15 yrs, long before the quads were even thought of. I started RC around that time and thanks to my grandfather I have a place on the lake in spring/summer/fall and fly my electric 87" wingspan Cessna on pontoons almost everyday without the hassle of traveling to a flying field. I literally walk 50 feet to the lake from garage to fly. (my best day was 20 flights, average 6 a day)

Back in the day before the 107, there was the 333 exemption which took me less than six weeks to get from the FAA. Once I got the 333 I took landscaping drone photos of the lake and mountains. After four years of doing this I've finally gotten a brand locally and have a high demand for my prints on metal. I have the best of both worlds thanks to my grandfather.

I love reading this forum. Keep up the great input.

Less than six weeks? You were the exception my friend. My 333 took 9 months to get processed.

R.Perry · Aug 11, 2019

Kristina Fowler said:
Man… You just made my day. I’m 68.5 and a bit self-conscious about it while on job sites with all those young grasshoppers looking at me like I just fell out of a tree!

I feel blessed that my health is good, I can enjoy life, work a little and remain active. A rocking chair just isn't for me. Wife's family are all farmers and I help out during the season, but no more crop dusting. I think it is critically important to keep the mind and body active.
As for my age on the job site, I've had a few comments but I guess that is to be expected.

Keep at it Kristina, it will keep you young at heart.

Midlife Flyer · Aug 12, 2019

Isn't it so. Toys, if the public only knew more. Forty-two years as a photographer, from the medical photographer at OSU, to Commerical work, Industrial, Corporate and Architectural. Now drone pilot. Like many here, it appears I'm earning a living just farting around with a toy. And like some here not many romantic photos, mostly construction progress, farms, architecture, homes, and schools. That said, I do at least attempt when I fly, to take advantage of the best time of day to add some lipstick to what might be seen as a mundane subject. At age sixty-nine, it's a challenge to remain validated as a professional when marketing to millennial marketing directors.

Balsimar · Aug 12, 2019

dougcjohn said:
Or the " ya got a camera on that thing, use could use it to spy".

I was in the middle of a roof inspection recently, and had someone following me around making comments like that. "If I had one of these, I'd be looking into windows!" ... "I bet you spy on people all the time, I know I would!" ... "Go higher! who is going to stop you, just do it?"

I just smiled, and reminded him that rules and regulations are a good thing, and that I intended to follow them. He eventually gave up and left.

dougcjohn · Aug 12, 2019

Balsimar said:
I was in the middle of a roof inspection recently, and had someone following me around making comments like that. "If I had one of these, I'd be looking into windows!" ... "I bet you spy on people all the time, I know I would!" ... "Go higher! who is going to stop you, just do it?"

I just smiled, and reminded him that rules and regulations are a good thing, and that I intended to follow them. He eventually gave up and left.

Yep, I can see that... like a regression back to elementary school days.
If ya have a Thermal on, show the screen & wink and say... "and I can look through walls!" and simile & walk away.

LUIS MARTINEZ · Aug 12, 2019

dougcjohn said:
Yep, I can see that... like a regression back to elementary school days.
If ya have a Thermal on, show the screen & wink and say... "and I can look through walls!" and simile & walk away.

Those X-Ray glasses are fake?

dougcjohn · Aug 12, 2019

Yep, as a youngster I always wondered about those.... I had this teacher... Dang!
But I wasted my money on the 007 6th Finger gadget... pen, gun, flash light,... Now That was a Hell of a Toy!

GadgetGuy · Aug 15, 2019

Ask any successful professional photographer, and you will find out that shooting is less than 10% of their work week, while sales and marketing and running a business takes up the other 90% arranging that 10%. The only ones who get to shoot all the time are contract photographers, who just have to show up and shoot for another photographer who can't be in two places at once, who has decided to expand by booking the jobs and hiring out the photography! The real money is in marketing and sales, but the contract photographer is the only one who just gets to exclusively shoot for money, leaving all other aspects to the business owner!