- Joined
- May 2, 2015
- Messages
- 88
- Reaction score
- 16
- Age
- 54
Hi all,
I was in Chattanooga the other day, and wanted to fly my inspire from the top of Rock City on lookout mountain on the border of Tennessee and Georgia. Supposedly you can see 7 States from the top of the mountain. A drone being able to film 7 states in under 3 minutes? May be a first, if you ask me.
And for those who are going to get all hot-and-heavy about about rules and regulations,
I asked for permission beforehand, and was told "sure, just don't bother anyone else".
So, the trek begins.
I carried the inspire in it's case, my 2 canon 7d's, big lenses and all my other necessary camera gear (or so I thought) on the round trip.
There's an area called "fat mans squeeze", which is basically a very narrow space between 2 huge rocks (or 1 extremely huge rock with a cleft in it) that runs around 30' high and 45' long, and is around 20" wide at it's narrowest. I'm not too big (okay, about 20lb's overweight), but with all the gear I was carrying, I got just a little stuck in the space. I managed to extricate myself after jostling backwards and forwards for a little while.
So tip 1: Know what you're getting into (literally) before you take that step.
I then hiked to the top of the mountain, expecting to fly my inspire from the top of a pristine, natural, building-free zone on the mountain 1/2 hour before sunset.
I got there and it was more commercialized than Disney World (okay, so I'm exaggerating a little. But really, only a little), not the scenic location I was planning on shooting at all.
So, tip 2: Please see tip number 1 above: Know what you're getting into (literally) before you take that step.
In other words do your research beforehand.
At this stage, I'm on top of the mountain, with a huge drop-off in front of me (no clue how far down, but it was definitely waaaay more than my comfort level due to my ignorance). and I suddenly realize that I have no clue how the inspire measures altitude. From the ground under the inspire? Or from the home base?
At this point, I have no clue if the inspire is going to go over the cliff edge, and then drop below the height limit I've set (which is 400' and I really had no clue how far down the cliff went), and then won't come back up to me because I'm above the height limit, or, if it's all in my head and there won't be a problem.
So, tip 3: Please see tip number 1 and 2 above: Know what you're getting into (literally) before you take that step.
In other words do your research beforehand. On the location and the capabilities of your machine.
At the end of all of this (actually, in the middle, as I still had to walk all the way back), I decided not to fly at all, as I really wasn't prepared to lose my drone.
Long story short. I got fitter carrying everything and not using it, and now I'm hoping to strengthen my gray matter, by finding out how the inspire measures altitude.
Anyone have a clue?
I was in Chattanooga the other day, and wanted to fly my inspire from the top of Rock City on lookout mountain on the border of Tennessee and Georgia. Supposedly you can see 7 States from the top of the mountain. A drone being able to film 7 states in under 3 minutes? May be a first, if you ask me.
And for those who are going to get all hot-and-heavy about about rules and regulations,

So, the trek begins.
I carried the inspire in it's case, my 2 canon 7d's, big lenses and all my other necessary camera gear (or so I thought) on the round trip.
There's an area called "fat mans squeeze", which is basically a very narrow space between 2 huge rocks (or 1 extremely huge rock with a cleft in it) that runs around 30' high and 45' long, and is around 20" wide at it's narrowest. I'm not too big (okay, about 20lb's overweight), but with all the gear I was carrying, I got just a little stuck in the space. I managed to extricate myself after jostling backwards and forwards for a little while.
So tip 1: Know what you're getting into (literally) before you take that step.
I then hiked to the top of the mountain, expecting to fly my inspire from the top of a pristine, natural, building-free zone on the mountain 1/2 hour before sunset.
I got there and it was more commercialized than Disney World (okay, so I'm exaggerating a little. But really, only a little), not the scenic location I was planning on shooting at all.
So, tip 2: Please see tip number 1 above: Know what you're getting into (literally) before you take that step.
In other words do your research beforehand.
At this stage, I'm on top of the mountain, with a huge drop-off in front of me (no clue how far down, but it was definitely waaaay more than my comfort level due to my ignorance). and I suddenly realize that I have no clue how the inspire measures altitude. From the ground under the inspire? Or from the home base?
At this point, I have no clue if the inspire is going to go over the cliff edge, and then drop below the height limit I've set (which is 400' and I really had no clue how far down the cliff went), and then won't come back up to me because I'm above the height limit, or, if it's all in my head and there won't be a problem.
So, tip 3: Please see tip number 1 and 2 above: Know what you're getting into (literally) before you take that step.
In other words do your research beforehand. On the location and the capabilities of your machine.
At the end of all of this (actually, in the middle, as I still had to walk all the way back), I decided not to fly at all, as I really wasn't prepared to lose my drone.
Long story short. I got fitter carrying everything and not using it, and now I'm hoping to strengthen my gray matter, by finding out how the inspire measures altitude.
Anyone have a clue?