Showing posts with label Flying. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Flying. Show all posts

Sunday, August 13, 2023

Various rambling on a Sunday afternoon while watching the Chiefs and thinking of what to share...

I sit here on a Sunday afternoon watching pre-season Chiefs football and wondering what happened to the summer. Seriously, it feels like I blinked and the summer is over. Students move in next week on campus, classes start soon, and before we know it the year will be over. The post today is going to be more of a rambling post on a Sunday afternoon, so bare with me as I jump around on various thoughts.

Carrie leaves for Houston this week for about a week. I will hold down the fort and probably do some grilling. I need to start planning what I will cook while she is away. You may recall that last year Carrie went out-of-town and I did some grilling while she was away (see post) and I plan to do the same this time too. Last year I did grilling every day while she was gone. She will be gone about a week this time, so I might only grill on the weekend when she is gone... I have not decided yet. You might also recall that the last time she went to Houston on her own, she came back with COVID and I got sick too with COVID. Hoping that does not happen this time as that was horrible!

As we look to the fall season, we are hoping to find some time to do more camping. Ideally, I would like to get at least two more camping trips in before it gets cold. Last year we went out to western Kansas and had a great time, but it was also really cold at the end of October. We have King Biscuit Blues Festival coming up the first part of October, so hoping to get a camping trip in September in and then maybe one more in October. Sad we have only camped twice this year.

We have Washburn football that will be starting up soon too. Tailgating and we are thinking of traveling to watch the Ichabods on the road for at least one game. Fun to have this starting up again and I am looking forward to spending afternoons out watching football at Washburn University. It is always a fun time out on the campus following the game and catching up with friends. I am hopeful to have large gatherings at our tailgate spot this year and we might even break out the Firedisc a time or two.

Changing topics a little, my reading of books has slowed some. I am still reading at least once a day although some days it has only been a page or two. I need to pick up the pace and reading through the day. Right now, I tend to read only when I go to bed which means I am tired and can barely make it through a page before I put down my Kindle and call it a day. I am almost done with a book I have been reading for a few weeks now. It has taken me longer to read this one for some reason, so I plan to go back to some of my book series after I finish this current book.

I continue to fly my drone some days but with the heat we have had the past few weeks, I have not done nearly as much as I was after I first bought my drone. I continue to learn how to fly and how to respond in situations such as when the wind picks up and carries it away from me. I have not take many pictures with it since I initially bought the drone as I am learning how to fly and do so safely. I am also not taking it up high above the trees and instead keeping it at eye level as I learn to fly. Yes, I did lose one drone and quickly purchased a replacement, so it is a learning experience.

As we look at the semester starting, football season starting, and the weather starts to cool, I starting thinking about leaf cleanup for the fall. Thinking ahead, I bought a pack of bags for leaf pickup. The past few years I have called to have someone come out and do our leaves. I am planning to do this myself this year and I have purchased ahead of time the needed bags so I can get an early start once our leaves begin to fall. Not yet fall, but I have noticed some trees are starting to lose their leaves.

Enough rambling for a Sunday afternoon. Look for some posts next weekend about my grilling. Hoping to do some fun things while Carrie is away and it is always a learning process when I grill. Until next time, have a great week and I will talk to you next week.


Saturday, July 15, 2023

I Bought My First Drone and Learning How to Fly

Drone Photo of our House and Oliver
Drone Photo of our House

What did I do on Prime Day 2023? Well, I finally got myself a drone. Certainly not high end but I think it will work out well for me. It arrived on Friday afternoon and I was so excited to start using it that I tried it Friday evening but in the house. Yes, it was raining when it arrived, so I tried it in the house first. I have no idea what I am doing, so I flew it into the TV, the couch, etc., and quickly decided I better do this outside.

I purchased the NEHEME NH525 Foldable Frones with 1080P HD Camera which was selling on Prime Day for half price. I got it for about $50. It is labeled as beginner or for kids. Well, I might be both of those categories as I am having fun with it on Saturday morning. It comes with a joystick or I can use my phone to fly. I have tried both and have much better control it seems with the joystick. However, I am unable to take pictures, or video, with the remote for some reason. It was working fine when I tested it Friday night, but nothing today. So, I can only take pictures using my phone and the app.

More Test Drone Pictures of Our Home
More Drone Test Pics of our House

The drone does scare Oliver who is not sure what is happening. I am sure it did not help that I was flying it in the house, crashing into the couch or the TV, so he is not sure what to think about it. For a little device, it does make a good amount of noise.

I would like to take it out to an open field where I can use it as our backyard is not the best. Yes, I did get the B4UFLY app to check if I can fly in our neighborhood and I was happy to see that I can fly without restrictions. I do still need to register the drone through the FAA, but I have not looked at that process at this point. I am hoping I can get the joystick to take pictures with the one button click or I need to learn how to fly with my phone.

The plan is to take the drone on camping trips to take pictures of our camp site, us while we are camping, or of other interesting sites while we are camping. Of course between now and our next camping trip (probably in the fall), I need to train and test flying. 

Drone Picture Front of House
Drone Picture Front of House

The drone came with two batteries which allows for about 10 - 12 minutes of flying time for each battery. Not bad and overall I think the pictures look pretty good. I did take a test video while flying in the front but it is very shaky. Possibly some of it to do with my inexperience of flying but also the drone is constantly repositioning or correcting even when I am not doing the controls which makes for a jumpy video. I think with this low end drone, I will primarily be taking pictures.

I am sure you know this means there will be more pictures and more posts with the new drone. Hopefully as I get better flying, and taking pictures, these will improve and I will be ready to take pictures of our next camping site when we go in the fall.

Until next time, have a great weekend and I look forward to sharing my drone journey over the coming months.