Every now and then we see some horrible pictures of people seriously injured after a sudden startup of motors during setup. Yeah, we all know that we should remove the props while setting up, but letś be honest: after the 10th time on the same night we get fed up and confident. That is when sh#t happens. Been there, done that...

I have seen some alternatives to removing the props, but this one is my favorite because it is quite simple and convenient: use a low amp 12v source instead of the battery. I am using a 1.5A 12v source that is enough to power the controler, but if any motor tries to start the voltage will drop and the controller resets. Even if it doesnt, 1.5A isnt enough to spin a prop to a point of hurting anyone.

It is simple because all you need is an adaptor (or solder your plug directly as I did). It is convenient because you problably have many low amp 12v lying around, and I actually prefer not to use my batteries so they stay fully charged to fly.

Do yourself a favor and just build one. :-)

Hold your fire! it did not fly over them. ;-)

This weekend we had the XVI International half marathon of Rio with a beautifull day, gorgeous location and 20.000 runners. As I am not into running, I thought it would be a great opportunity to experiment the potential of covering a big event from the privileged birds eye view of a multicopter and it surpassed my expectations!

On top of the nice images, I was really surprised to see the positive crowd reaction and interaction with the quad. They did not feel concerned or threathened by it - after all, it is smal, quiet and never flew above their heads. Instead, they were really excited as if they were playing with it and saluting it. I could even get the audio from their cheers over the noise of the props wash!

I am flying a XA x650 frame / Naza FC+GPS / Jdrones gimbal / Gopro. No post stabilization on this cut! Amazing what a $50 gimbal can do, despite some wind. Got to be really gentle on the sticks though. Gabriel2584 is flying a F450/Naza/Gopro/self-made gimbal. He had some servo jittering problem that required post stabilization.

Let me know your thoughts!

Cheers,

I don't usually post my FPV videos here, but I think this one is special and worth sharing.

I think I've been dreaming about flying around Cristo Redentor since I started FPV. Based on the comments I got, I was not the only one... But I began to plan it seriously when I moved back to Rio a few months ago.

The plan and wait was worth it: this was one of the most exciting flights I have ever done! The weather was great and I was lucky enough to find the right amount of clouds to make it more mystic without compromising the light.

About air traffic:
- I was authorized to take off by the helipad operator, after confirming by radio that no other aircraft was in the area. 

- The flight was very early in the morning, before air traffic begins. So the absence of aircrafts in the area was not by chance.

- I flew within 500 feet of the ground/mountain at all times, where manned helis and airplanes are not allowed to get;

The airplane is an electric foam Skywalker with GoPro Hero Camera, Eagle Tree OSD Pro with Artificial Horizon Indicator and emergency Return to Launch, Futaba PCM RC on 72Mhz, video link on 1.280Mhz and Fatshark video Goggles. I had over 200 successfull flights with this gear, before daring to go there.

Cheers!