AtlantikSolar's 26 hour autonomous drone test flight - amazing technology!

Watch this video - very impressive!

The 26-hour solar-powered Search-and-Rescue flight performed by AtlantikSolar AS-3 from July 19th – 20th 2016 demonstrated exactly that, and is therefore the first-ever flight world-wide to combine:

• Perpetual flight: 26-hours of solar-powered day/night- and thus energetically-perpetual flight
• Full aircraft autonomy: No pilot stick moved within 26-hours of flight
• SaR payload: The aircraft carried a 10 Watt 300g payload (1 Color camera, 1 Thermal Camera, 1 ODROID onboard computer with WLAN) and performed victim detection from the air during day and night.
• Environment-aware: The aircraft performed automatic thermal updraft tracking for increased energetic efficiency and to speed up the battery recharge.

Article from SUAS News: Read full article here

I want my Mavic Pro!

Here is a copy of the email I got from DJI today:

Dear DJI Customer,

We owe you an apology for our delays in delivering the new Mavic Pro. We want to thank you for your patience and also advise that we are looking into improving our order process and systems, based largely on your feedback.

When we announced Mavic Pro and began accepting pre-orders, we expected to deliver the first units in mid-October. However, ramping up production to full speed at top quality took longer than planned. Prior to our scheduled shipping target, we encountered an issue integrating a part into the Mavic Pro. We resolved that within a week. On top of that, the excitement for the Mavic Pro beat our expectations. As a result, we are working diligently to ramp up production to meet the higher-than-anticipated demand for the Mavic Pro.

We have been shipping for nearly two weeks, but even with round-the-clock production, we unfortunately cannot give specific delivery estimates for many orders moving through various global sales channels because of this demand. For Mavic Pro orders received before November 3, 2016, we will do our best to clear them all within the next seven to eight weeks.

Some of you waiting for your Mavic Pro also expressed concern about our immediate billing of pre-orders. We've heard you and are examining potential alternatives with our payment provider.

DJI exists to put amazing technology and innovation into your hands, and we're sorry it's taking so long with Mavic Pro. Our internal systems haven't kept up with the enormous demand for our products, and your enthusiasm for our newest offering is spurring us to improve. We appreciate your understanding and are doing everything we can to get Mavic Pro to you as quickly as possible.

Sincerely,

DJI

God, I hope I get this thing before Christmas!!
JS

How to decide between DJI Mavic Pro and GoPro Karma

What a great problem to have, trying to decide on which new drone to buy, the Karma or the Mavic Pro. They both look like amazing drones packed with power and innovation, in small packages. I appreciate the detailed reviews that are already out there, comparing all the technical specs against each other, honestly half of them I don't even understand. For me it came down to a few basic questions I had to ask myself when comparing the DJI Mavic Pro and the GoPro Karma:



1) Size: both have compact fold-up arms, with the Mavic Pro decidedly smaller than the Karma. Does size matter that much to you? For me it does, the smaller the better, to a point. If a drone becomes so small and lightweight, it is difficult to fly outside in a windy conditions. From everything I have read about the Mavic Pro, it is quite capable in difficult conditions, so no concern there.  Score 1 point for Mavic Pro.
SCORE: Mavic Pro 1 : Karma 0

2) Battery Life: Flight time of 27 minutes for Mavic Pro, 20 for Karma. Chalk one up for Mavic Pro.
SCORE: Mavic Pro 2, Karma 0  

3) Range and Speed:  Big difference in range, Karma less than 2 miles, Mavic Pro over 4 miles. Speed: again it is Mavic Pro over Karma, 40 mph to 35 mph. another point for Mavic Pro.
SCORE: Mavic Pro 3, Karma 0

4) Cool Features A: Such as Collision Avoidance and Follow Me, only on Mavic Pro. Do I care about these features a lot? Not really. But it could save your drone from being bashed and Follow Me sounds like something fun to try. GoPro is offering the Passenger App, where friends can view your flight and control your drone (careful with that one). I like the Mavic Pro here, 1 more point.
SCORE: Mavic Pro 4, Karma 0

5) Cool Features B: Now this is where it gets interesting. If you already happen to have a GoPro camera compatible with Karma, you can save a few hundred dollars by not having to purchase one. Would I love to have a detachable GoPro camera that I can also shoot video with and pop onto GoPro's upcoming Karma Grip for more uses other than droning? Hell yes I would! Don't forget about all the GoPro camera Accessories available, you can mount their camera to virtually anything! These are big pluses for Karma. So if you have a GoPro camera or can spend the extra cash for one and the Karma Grip, big score for Karma, 3 points!
SCORE: Mavic Pro 4, Karma 3

Karma Grip

6) Controller:  I like the look of the Karma radio, don't  those knobs look a little too big and clumsy though? Flying the Mavic Pro with your phone is totally acceptable also. And since DJI is coming out with their own Goggles soon (that is the way I'm going), I'll call this one even, a point each.
SCORE: Mavic Pro 5, Karma 4

7) Intangibles A: Patriotism. Do I want to support an American company?  Yes, I am an american.
That is worth something. You may not care at all, or be from another country (I like to entertain dronies from all over the world). Purely a feel-good here. 1 point for Karma.
SCORE: Mavic Pro 5, Karma 5

8) Intangibles B: Experience making drones....goes to DJI hands down, they are dominating the drone world, GoPro is a newbie, but not to be taken lightly.  I would be shocked if the Karma didn't deliver everything they promise and innovate rapidly. But Mavic just has more history in it's DNA. Mavic Pro scores 1 point.
FINAL SCORE: Mavic Pro 6, Karma 5

So there you have it...I have decided which one I am going to buy, how about you? Perhaps you don't agree with something in sections in 1-7, so simply adjust the scores as you see fit. Maybe this will sway you over from one to the other. Personally, my goal is to have them BOTH. I already purchased one of them...details to be released Soon. Good luck drone shopping, tis the time and the season to make a dronie happy!

Hubsan X4 FPV Brushless review - great until disaster struck!

So I got my Hubsan X4 FPV with a lot of anticipation and expectations of a great bargain quadcopter with a lot of features for the money. At around $250, you can't go wrong, right? I have owned a few drones from Hubsan, namely the smaller H107C mini for around $65. It has stood the test of time, been bashed on numerous occasions, a fun little indoor and porch flyer. I haven't been able to destroy or lose it yet. 

The H501S comes with GPS Hold, Follow Me and Headless Flight features. I really wanted a drone I could put way up there, and have the ability to return it home safely should I lose sight of it. This has happened a few times with some non-fpv,  fly by sight drones of mine, and is getting expensive. The only thing extra that I bought was a 2nd battery. 

What a cool looking quad, an ergonomic design, with no frills, very Hubsan like. 

It measures about 12 inches from prop to prop, quite a bit bigger than baby brother H107C.

Out of the box it was easy to fly, once you get it calibrated by spinning it by hand in a few different directions, it synchs with the controller. I liked the GPS mode right away, it will hold steady when you let off the sticks, which is nice if you are trying to do other things (like watch my dogs) at the same time. It will hover where you leave it, and then you can resume flying when you are ready. The speed and sensitivity are drastically slower when in GPS Mode compared to Manual Mode. After flying a few times in GPS Mode, I was ready to fly manually. I had to keep it within sight, as I struggled occasionally with orientation when flying manually and relying on the smallish fpv screen on the controller. 

With some Fat Shark goggles the FPV flying was really fun. I started in GPS Mode, kind of like learning to fly the drone all over again. The goggles are really the way to go, you are so immersed in the flying. My plan was to stick with the GPS Mode using the goggles, then something strange happened. The quad rocketed away just like that, I became disoriented on where it was, it seemed as if I had lost another drone! My quick thinking friend (who was flying FPV also and had no idea where it went) noticed on the controller the GPS coordinates displayed, so we entered them in his phone.
We started walking towards the google maps marker, and voila, there she was a couple of hundred yards away from us in the weeds. Broke a prop, no big deal. 

The next time flying with the goggles, I had her looping around slowly in GPS Mode again, and the same thing happened. Luckily this time I had a spotter, he pinpointed a tree about a 1/4 mile away.  I went to the owner's house and apologized before explaining I needed to go in his back yard and retrieve my drone. He was very nice about it, even helping me by lending a big ladder, and holding it steady while I tried to poke it out of the tree. It didn't fare so well this time, a couple of motors were fried, the front end bashed in and battery door snapped off.  

I'm guessing the GPS lost signal during both these incidents. Was it really my fault? I will send it back to Hubsan explaining what happened, but I'm not expecting anything from them, they probably get this all the time.

Not the review I had expected, but sometimes the unexpected does happen when flying....would I buy this drone again? Lets see what Hubsan says.....stay tuned.