Bladeslapper

Thought I'd drop a few tips... Tip 1, don't leave your LiPo batteries fully charged. It kills them. Use them, then leave at storage charge until the day prior to using them again. If you don't use them, discharge to storage. They will age gracefully then. Ignore this advice only if you like your batteries to puff out and suffer early death... hey, you have plenty of $300s spare anyway ...

For storage charge you want your battery to be 3.85 volts per cell.

Tip 2. Control Path.

In the olden days (6 months ago for UAVs), the Remote Pilot communicated with the Remote Piloted Aircraft via an analog, frequency hopping radio signal. This was not a secure link.

Now, we have a system from DJI (think apple of drones), called LightBridge. It is a digital, frequency hopping, multiplexing, encrypted data link. Military grade secure. It also allows you to stream high def video from the drone live.

It is fitted standard on the DJI Inspire 1 and Phantom 3. It can be retro-fitted to many other platforms.

Like going from horse and cart to the latest Maseratti...

Horse and cart to a ford falcon maybe. To much latency to call it a Maserati. There is another system entering the UAV scene that claim zero latency and that's the connex label. HD down Link is nothing new and been used in television for many years but extremely expensive for us mere mortals . I'm looking forward to what will come in the coming years.

Here is a question for any aerodynamics gurus out there... Are there any multirotor types out there that minimise the likelihood of Vortex Ring.

Most standard quads seem as susceptible as a conventional helicopter, so would a quad coaxial layout help?
I've also seen some multirotors such as the s800 which has all discs tilted inwards towards the centre, likely pushing downwash away from the machine at the expense of efficiency i'm guessing.

Absolutely mdav, an interesting space to watch..

Juzz, awesome question. On the DJI S800 Evo and on the Inspire 1 we see examples of the multi-copter version of Anhedral and Dihedral design for a number of stability related reasons. One improvement may be vortex ring onset control. But DJI have also created firmware corrections to limit rate of descent - 2m/sec

Despite all of this, keep lateral flow through the disc on descent (ie land into wind), and you will be safe from planting your copter in vortex ring.

Tip 3. TEM.

When you are doing the TEM, Risk Management, JSA or whatever is your preference to call it, add in an extra, redundant layer of safety. Drone operations are relatively new and in some areas we don't yet know what we don't know. The technology is advancing so quickly that it can sometimes catch you out.

So when you think you have enough slices of Swiss Cheese in place to stop the accident vector getting all the way through, reach again for the pack and add one more slice. One day, that slice that you definitely did not need, will save your bacon. Cheese and bacon... mmm... time for a sandwich...

We don't yet know what we don't know.

Reminds me of that Donald Rumsfeld quote...

"...there are known knowns; these are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know.

No dramas Murph, and thanks for the hospitality. .. this sure isn't the SuperSix1 meets Jenny Craig tour, that will need to come after ...

A black hawk is a lean mean killing machine isn't it???? Doubt you need a diet in the 412 anyway not like us bottom feeders in light turbines:)

Yes, thankfully an R22 ceased to be an option some years ago

Now, read this extract from CASR 101, and let your mind wander...

"101.090 Dropping or discharging of things
(1) A person must not cause a thing to be dropped or discharged from
an unmanned aircraft in a way that creates a hazard to another
aircraft, a person, or property."

Now if you were a properly licensed hunter, with the technical ability to undersling a firearm and set up an activation switch (not hard), what law, if any, would you be breaking by hunting with a drone? (assuming you didn't create aforesaid hazard).

There goes the neighbourhood...

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/business-boon-as-casa-set-to-relax-rules-for-lightweight-drones/story-e6frgakx-1227388688352

Yep, the UAV industry is pretty concerned too Juzz, this part of the proposed legislation is not well thought through. If you are going to put an aircraft of any description in the sky to make money out of the Australian public, the public has a right to expect some standards. I put a submission in saying that at least a controller certificate should be required for commercial ops, but thus far that seems to have fallen on deaf ears :/

SuperSix1, I just have a question that you may have the answer to.

Out of curiosity what rule/s are there governing drone operators flying over your house / property farm now and in the future with this new legislation. Does it fall under the legislation that the property owner have to be associated with the task? I don't know I'm just guessing.

The reason I ask is for invasion of privacy issues that may or probably will pop up into the future. I can imagine that if unwanted drones are popping up all over our neighbourhood then I can see property owners being armed with a shangeye, me included .

I'm just curious that's all, thanks in advance.

Bad news I am afraid Twistgrip...

None of us own the airspace above our properties in any way. If a drone operator complies with all the standard UAV rules, flight over private property is quite legal. As CASR 101 (and future amendments) actively avoid privacy issues, the privacy act is the only place to run, and under that act taking imagery isn't the crime, it is what happens with that imagery that potentially is. You could go to the environmental protection act (noise) but success here would not be likely.

Drones are a technology where the gap between community expectations and legislation is quite large, and the legislators have zero chance of the legislative cycle anywhere near keeping up with the technology.

You joke about a shangeye, but as part of my dronecommander.com.au business I teach tactical drone use for military / law enforcement / security and hunting etc. Some of the modules concern counter-drone operations and these attract the most attention by far. Not long ago we all lived in bliss that consumer grade drones had insecure control links that anyone with the motivation could go to Dick Smiths and construct a tx that would take them down. Now all of a sudden, consumer-grade drones have military-grade control links (secure digital, frequency hopping, multiplexing and encrypted). It is a bit scary. That is why we need a regulatory system that requires drone operators to be licenced, if not like fire-arms, at least like driving licences...

Thanks for the reply, I'm well aware that none of us own the airspace, it was just the privacy aspect which you've kindly explained. Thankyou.

Just like SS1 said the legislation is quite wide open at the moment.....

But, like a Venus fly trap when things go wrong, like a serious head injury, death, out of control drone hits a celebrity, God bless, then the trap will close. Then it will get heavily regulated and you'll have to know stuff and pass exams. So do it now.

On a slightly more serious point, if a drone is 'downed' on private property can the property owner claim salvage rights?

Cheers, Saucepan

Ironically I know much about this Saucepan, due to others property constantly ending up on my farm.

Firstly, jokes aside, if you do anything to 'take down a drone' you have likely committed an offence (unless you can prove you used reasonable force considering an apparent threat).

As for salvage, no, it fits into the same law as when my neighbours livestock wander into my farm and eat hay from my hay shed. I can claim compensation for damages, but I can't claim to own the livestock (although there is some provision for me to hold them until reasonable damages are paid). If significant time was to pass, possibly salvage law would come into play but this is a long bow to draw.

Technically, the owner of the drone must request your permission to recover their item, and if you refuse, they can give you 'reasonable notice' of intent to recover property, including whom and what equipment they intend to bring onto your property to do so. Further dramas will end up involving police, which is getting a bit silly, and I have seen silly concerning livestock, a massive waste of police effort.

But a point of interest. Most drones have a data logger in the flight controller. People like me can download this, and it is a treasure-trove of information on times, locations, altitudes, heights, speeds etc etc. For the less technically competent, if there is a camera attached, you'll soon figure out who owns it and what they have been up to...

I'm almost flattered SS1 that you managed to 'pronoun' me... But Saucepan is just fine.

With most things lawful you've used terms such as reasonable and apparent, very indiscriminate. Until the first case comes along where one lawyer does better then another.....then we're just waiting? Personally, if a drone was filming me in my garden, apart from wondering why, I would feel intruded because they get so close.

Also, how do,you know me through others property ending on your farm?

Cheers, Saucepan.

That is actually very funny, a bit of a stretch this time of night for complex english comprehension, but funny non-the-less