I just want to share this very interesting article on BBC about the large scale mapping of Chernobyl.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-48193866

Banggood is now taking pre-orders for a VTOL wing. It seems to be the holy grail of VTOL to me - no redundant motors, no extra servos, so it's a simple, reliable, and above all, efficient.

http://www.banggood.com/Arkbird-VTOL-Vertical-Takeoff-And-Landing-Electric-FPV-RC-Aircraft-Airplane-KIT-p-1138877.html?rmmds=search

Note that the link above excludes electronics, the Arkbird Lite 2.0 FC is required, along with the usual electrics.

Tridge..? :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQibL09skJ8

In the last 4 years of being involved with UAVs I’ve always lacked a good ground station, one that’s practical and quick to deploy.

So I started drawing up a list of requirements. I had to draw the line somewhere, or the cost and weight would run away, so I ended up with a shortlist of key requirements that I need from a ground station. I had a look around and could not find a good fit – most of the pro systems are for non-APM auto pilots and they start at US$ 11 000 with very little standard features.

I decided to build my own and after 4 major revisions, I ended up with a prototype that’s been with us for more than a year, working reliably day in and day out, through dust and rain, extreme heat, cold and wet. It’s been a life saver with work and demonstrations and makes the tricky job of UAV operations that much simpler.

I highly recommend anyone in the business to take serious the setup of a practical ground station. For those who do not have the time or inclination to DIY (it does take a surprising amount of time to develop), we can offer “Field Ops”.

Features:

• Internal lithium ion power pack capable of 8 hours’ continuous operation with peripherals
• Embedded in a Pelican case – crush proof, water proof, dust proof – VERY tough
• Thumbstick for controlling the aircraft or camera gimbals
• Secure on-off switch with key to ensure no accidental switch-off
• USB 3 Port
• LAN Port
• HDMI Output
• Wifi & Buetooth (Embedded 4G optional)
• Internal APM Telemetry 1/2 Watt radio (433, 868 or 915) or as required
• Wireless keyboard
• External DC (12-20v) or AC input with automatic charging of internal batteries
• Stowage for RC control accommodating space for external transmitter modules at the back of the radio (e.g. Dragonlink on the back of a Taranis transmitter)
• Intel i7 PC with SSD drive
• Super bright 10” HD screen for PC (Mission Planner)
• Super bright 7” FPV screen (Internal diversity 5.8ghz receivers, DVR, Aux Input via front console)
• Tough ABS Plastic panelling

To order, please contact us on info@airsecure.co.za. Our web site is on http://airsecure.co.za. Cost ranges from US$4 500 - US$ 5 500 depending on options and building takes about 7 work days.

Also feel free to email us to discuss options or ask questions on how to DIY.

It’s really strange that there’s been so much development in all other aspects of UAV Mapping, except one – the camera!

Currently most of us are using the Canon S100-120 or Sony Nex7 etc, running custom firmware or tricky wiring and triggers to fire the shutter in flight.

So over the years I’ve been working on a wish list of what my perfect UAV mapping camera would be like and decided to post it here, maybe someone knows of such a beast somewhere or can add to the wishlist and perhaps a manufacturer can build one for us!

For NDVI I’m using Tertracam’s great cameras, which are perfect for UAVs, so most of these points already exist for NDVI cameras.

• A light case, perhaps plastic
• A fixed 9mm lens, no zoom
• No flash
• No LCD
• Mounting holes
• Optional battery (less wires) or external power (lower weight)
• A built in intervalometer
• An external GPS unit
• A very large optical sensor – 1” or more for 20-30M pixels
• A way to trigger the shutter externally (from APM) for those that prefer this method
• 1/2000 sec shutter at a low F stop
• Permanent infinity focus
• Replacement parts – i.e. lens, board, case in case of “intendents”
• Sync on-board clock with GPS

Is there such a thing? Do you have any more to add to the wish list? Can somebody build this for us please?

A quick documentary of my FPV flight to Robben Island, where Mr Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years.

Back then I was very worried about flying over water...

This was before Cruize mode :)

About 16km and 35 minutes, safe touch down!

I thought I'd share my recent marine excursion to a drilling rig that's anchored about 5.2km offshore. I was testing my new ReadyMadeRC 8000mAh 3S batteries (awesome, light) and the new pan & tilt mount, from Flite Evolution (changed my FPV life). As I was cruising down the beach I noticed a drilling boat that I recently saw in the harbour, so I thought I'd pop over and have a look. It was upwind all the way there, crawled along at 15-20km/h ground speed. Some of you might notice I passed the the E Whale on my way there..

Beautiful views that I was able to take in at my leisure thanks to the Cruise mode of the APM and the pan & tilt.

I eventually turned around but got a shock to see how much ocean 5.2km is! Made it back in 3 minutes averaging 70km/h ground speed, thanks to the tail wind.

Enjoy.

A few weeks ago I visited a ship that's been anchored in Table Bay with my Swift II FPV.

After reading up on the crew's plight, I thought it might lift their spirits if I fly out to them and drop a few care packages (peanuts & raisins / crisps & a message encouragement) with my Skywalker & APM. I invited some friends to the occasion and Glen was kind enough to document it. Hopefully it helps to show the overwhelmingly positive potential of drones.

update: Another drop on the E Whale:

I'm back from a 3 week holiday in Namibia, I took my small Swift II FPV ship with!

What fun, I flew over Walvis Bay's lagoon, game farms, dunes, beaches, chasing quad bikes, kite surfers, fantastic landscapes and mountains.

I decided to compile the best few seconds of all videos into one and posted it. It's long (15 minutes) but there are some great moments. Youtube does not agree with my music selection, so please let me know if you're unable to view it.

Please excuse the video quality, I successfully destroyed my Horyzon HD just before the trip and was left with an iffy HK Wing Cam.

I'm now building the ultimate Swift II complete with expanded mid section (blunt nose), APM 2.5+ and MinimOSD.

I'm loving this setup, it's really a grab-and-go FPV dream.

I went out to Citrusdal to try to film a mountain bike race using FPV/Arduplane. It went really well and it could've worked, but I decided to relocate at the last moment and triggered RTL forgetting that I launched from the valley 350 meters below, so it dropped altitude while still over the mountain, smearing my Skywalker along a cliff face...

But we had fun and lesson learned.

I've been using a Skywalker for taking aerial maps. By destroying my previous camera, I've learned two things:

1. Protect the camera lens from dust upon landing

2. Protect the camera from batteries during rough "landings"

So I've come up with the solution in the video above.

It works incredibly well! A sample of a stitch while using the system:

Click here for the full-resolution (14MB) image: http://www.cde.co.za/share/Stitch2.jpg

Compared to Google Earth:

Fun with drones!

I'm experimenting with a downward-facing point and shoot camera for aerial photography & mapping.

I had a (very turbulent) flight with APM and called an early abort because of high wind. After looking at the footage, it seemed not bad, so I ran it through hypr3d:

http://www.hypr3d.com/models/4f5e4436219bac000100003f

Some awesome software they have there. My stitching effort using Microsoft ICE was also quite succesful:

Thumbnail:

Full Size: (Warning huge) http://cde03.cde.co.za/share/set1.jpg

Very encouraging. I just need to get the exposure improved and fly when there's less wind.