norseman Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyO Posted November 16, 2014 SSR Team Share Posted November 16, 2014 Big issues with these things in the US legally but i have a Pal who has one in SE Asia that's i've used and a Pal who has one in a PNW State that he uses commercially although i'm not sure if that is legal, they are superb and amazing. I will be adding one to the PG scouting missions though i think and have wheels in motion to get one in the US that we can use, it will give a great insight to terrain and will save us some serious time, of which will be needed when and where possible.. The beauty of them is that they bounce too.. I took these in Asia of my house for me using my friends QC, i've got the same Camera (GoPro) already as i'm amazed with the resolution of these things, just need to do some more homework on the actual model to get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thermalman Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Agreeing with the legal issues. Up here in Canada, the aviation safety department, for one, is voicing and enforcing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWWASAS Posted November 16, 2014 BFF Patron Share Posted November 16, 2014 (edited) Basically they are like a helicopter but when you introduce more rotors your failure rate increases. Unless you build up your own or buy a really expensive one they are pretty much toys. While they are a useful platform they have two problems that I see. They do not have much endurance to stay up very long since that is a function of how much battery power they can carry. The second problem is that they are very noisy. Commercial use is getting the most attention. That requires licensing. Those that do it for a hobby can pretty much still do what they want away from populated areas below 400 feet. Same rules that apply to flying model airplanes. I nearly hit a winged drone flying through the Columbia River gorge. What it was doing at 3000 feet I do not know. But if I had hit it, I probably would not be writing this. Just because of that, I don't like the things. I was angry enough that I nearly went and bumped it on purpose like they used to do to bring down the V-1's in WWII. Of course one that could fly that high probably had government connections, and they would have come after me. Edited November 16, 2014 by SWWASASQUATCHPROJECT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norseman Posted November 16, 2014 Author Share Posted November 16, 2014 I think this one is very utilitarian, and about 800 bucks. http://www.bigboxsuperstore.com/DJI-Phantom-2-Vision-Quadcopter-with-Integrated-FPV-Camera/p-1487?gclid=CKWWv_30_8ECFSwSMwodrnQAOA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyO Posted November 16, 2014 SSR Team Share Posted November 16, 2014 DJI Phantom, i think that may be the one i used in SE Asia Norse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norseman Posted November 17, 2014 Author Share Posted November 17, 2014 (edited) The newer version 2 has a gimbal and it's own camera. Edited November 17, 2014 by norseman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigantor Posted November 17, 2014 Admin Share Posted November 17, 2014 I have one and the problems for using it to spot a BF are insurmountable at this time. 1) Is you must have skills to fly the thing, it's not as easy as it looks. 2) Battery life. You'll get maybe 20 minutes of flying time. You'd think you could just add more batteries, but then the weight increases and that affects flying characteristics tremendously. 3) It's loud. IMO, unless you purchase a commercial/military style drone, it's not practical for BF research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norseman Posted November 17, 2014 Author Share Posted November 17, 2014 Gig, is yours the 2nd version? And I'm not interested in research, but just the search. But in your opinion, flying it down one fork of a Y on a logging road to eliminate cutting a track way there and going down the other fork wouldn't save time? Or flying up a canyon and taking a peek? To me it should be eliminating some leg work for the owner? I'm only interested in shooting a Bigfoot, so I would be using it like a bird dog to cut sign or bump the creature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyO Posted November 17, 2014 SSR Team Share Posted November 17, 2014 I'm with Norse, it's not about spotting a BF with one of these, for me it's about scouting locations and "getting in" to places that would normally take hours upon hours. Scouting terrain, looking for game trails, examining the layout of a specific bit of land, maximizing the chances again and saving time hopefully whilst doing it. Time as always is the toughest part of all of this so if you can save some by scouting with these things, happy days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWWASAS Posted November 17, 2014 BFF Patron Share Posted November 17, 2014 (edited) Well I have the advantage there in that I can scout in my full sized airplane. It is amazing how different places look from the air. The orientation of places on the ground sometimes is not as evident or you have a completely different idea of idea of the lay out. So seeing a location from the air, does help you have a mental picture of what is around you. So using the drone for that purpose is a very good idea. I will say that unless you have a very powerful telephoto camera system and are very lucky, it is unlikely to actually see a BF from the air. Like I have said, with all my hours of scouting from the air, only once have I seen something that could have been a BF. Something upright, large and brown, walked around to the back side of a tree to hide when I came by at a very low altitude. It could have been BF or a poacher in camo out of deer season. I immediately made a turn to see the back side of the trees but could not see what had hidden from me. I will throw this out for those in WA and Northern Oregon. If there is some remote, inaccessible site, that you want to check out from the air, before you hike in, let me know. I would be happy to volunteer to take you for a look. The warning there is I would know where the site is but would agree keep it confidential and I cannot fly low over wilderness areas or National Monuments because of FAA restrictions. I have decided to look for evidence of lava tubes and caves from the air, so I can check them with a ground expedition. I think they are significant for winter survival of BF. After it snows, you can see large footprints from the air. If you can see footprints leading in and out of what looks like a cave or lava tube that would be a good area to check out. From the air you can tell the difference between bipedal and quadrapedal footprints. But the challenge is telling if they are made by bare feet or boots. Edited November 17, 2014 by SWWASASQUATCHPROJECT 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norseman Posted November 17, 2014 Author Share Posted November 17, 2014 I hear you on the plane!!!! If I had one I'd be in the selway bitter root and frank church wilderness areas every weekend. You can fly into those, and they make up the largest wilderness area in the lower 48. Maybe some day I can afford one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norseman Posted November 17, 2014 Author Share Posted November 17, 2014 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wLrZsac25Gc&list=PL9B2A0BF93D6E16BE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWWASAS Posted November 17, 2014 BFF Patron Share Posted November 17, 2014 (edited) Nice video! That is the kind of flying you need to do to have a chance to see BF. I actually think the further East you get away from the dense West Coast forests in really remote areas you have a good chance of seeing one. With trees scattered out, and more open ground between trees, you might catch one in the open that knows there are no humans on the ground in the area. Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon, Idaho, some areas in Montana all seem to be better terrain for that than here in Western WA with the dense rain forests. This afternoon, I plan on flying along some South West facing ridges and hope I can catch some of the big guys sunning on some remote ridge. Edited November 17, 2014 by SWWASASQUATCHPROJECT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norseman Posted November 17, 2014 Author Share Posted November 17, 2014 (edited) Well, much of it over here is dense as well, the western edge of the Rockies act like the Cascades. In fact in some areas we are categorized as the Inland Temperate Rainforest or ITR. I live on the edge of the Selkirks..... http://www.conservationnw.org/what-we-do/british-columbia/globally-unique-rainforest But we also have a lot of area that looks like Cle Elum, Yakima and Wenatchee too, like the Frank Church video you watched. And for sure a person could get lucky catching something crossing on dry south facing open slopes. What I dislike most about the Coast, is the people.....or the amount of people. It can be bad around the big lakes in North Idaho during certain summer months, but for the most part it's pretty vacant of people here. Our forest is also much larger than yours in total land mass, if one splits the forest from the coast to the Okanogan valley as "Cascade" and from the Okanogan valley all the way to Browning Montana as "Rockies". That is really the only break point in the north woods to the forest, is the sage brush arid valley of the Okanogan. Edited November 17, 2014 by norseman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts