Post by Dave on May 15, 2020 15:02:03 GMT
Broadsands Part Lockdown Eased 15th May 2020
It has been a very long time since I was able to get my drone up in the air. We went through what seemed like months of heavy winds and rain and just when you thought it might be OK to go out, we were hit by a killer virus.
Most members of the drone clubs I belong to took the view that during the lockdown they should not be out flying their drones, even while most were now not working and had the free time to do so. Sadly too many people distrust drones and have got all the wrong ideas about them, most drone owners who spend large sums of money on the very top drones, are only interested in getting great photos and videos.
I tend to get the drone up to the legal height of 120 metres and from up there, people are no more than dots and yet some still some think you are somehow spying on them. Most CAA registered drone pilots like myself, stick fully to the drone code and do not break the rules, we do not want to see further restrictions being put on our hobby we love so much.
I charged up all the batteries for the drone last night and ensured there were no new firmware or software updates and checked it all over, happy with everything I then gave some thought to where I was going to fly today.
As it was really only about being able to get it up into the air again and get used to flying it after such a long layoff, I decided where I went was not really that important. So I went to Broadsands a place I have flown the drone many times before, but flew from the back of the overflow car park due to the time of the day.
There were maybe 40 people down at Broadsands I just did not want anyone coming up to me and giving me a hard time, or asking if I was allowed to fly at all. If for one second I thought I was not allowed to, I would not have taken the drone out today.
During the lockdown I did recalibrate the drones IMU and also the controller so I was very keen to get the drone up and make sure everything was OK. She flew like a dream and behaved just like she should do, so now I need to give some thought of some new locations I can fly from over the coming weeks.
Being out at a place like Broadsands in wonderful sunshine makes you just for awhile, forget what is going on right now, just for awhile life seemed normal and good to be alive.
