Apple Mountain and Dow Gardens by drone

I don’t have any particularly exciting narrative, other than Chinling and I thought it might be fun to checkout the newly fallen snow and enjoy a little lunch date eating Japanese food in our car. It’s not quite the same as dining our, but the company was fabulous. πŸ˜‰ We decided to explore a couple nearby locations. Apple Mountain is a restaurant , conference center, … Continue reading Apple Mountain and Dow Gardens by drone

Drone flying as a COVID-19 family fun activity

I must give credit where credit is due because my wife taught me the fun of scouting photo shoot locations. Sure, it was for her growing photography business, but I just enjoyed having an excuse to get outside and explore new places. Sometimes it involved hiking in the woods, sometimes it involved discovering new cities and towns, sometimes it involved going to familiar locations and … Continue reading Drone flying as a COVID-19 family fun activity

Novice impressions of the DJI Mavic Air 2

So the process was a little bit complicated due to 1) the whole living near an airport thing, 2) the fact that there wasn’t much time after work and before dark and, 3) it was a windy 37 degrees out. However, we officially were airborne today! For the record, I was not at all disappointed and would have happily gone through all three batteries if … Continue reading Novice impressions of the DJI Mavic Air 2

Do you really need a license to fly a drone?

So, I didn’t necessarily need to get a pilot’s license to fly a UAV in the United States. You do need to register any drone that weights over 0.55 lbs (this is very much what drove the design of the DJI Mavic Mini). And, of course, you have to follow all FAA regulations. However, you don’t need to be a registered pilot, unless you are … Continue reading Do you really need a license to fly a drone?

Pilot Dreams

We’ve all had our COVID-19 hobbies, right? Perhaps it is a little mid-life crisis-y, but I have distinct memories of watching a documentary of about ultralight airplanes when I was a kid. I thought that they were fascinating machines that were simple and minimalist enough to have a bit of purity, but powerful enough to provide people with superpowers. It was something that I thought that I would do one day. Continue reading Pilot Dreams