My DJI Mavic Mini drone was sitting in its case while we were sitting in our apartment during most of our two-week COVID-19 quarantine. The weather has turned delightful and we are now free to use New Westminster's Pier Park as long as we follow the current 'distancing regulations'. It seems a little weird being wary of our neighbhours and keeping at least six feet away during these unusual times. Nevertheless, we went for a nice walk and I got to try out my newest toy.
As this set me back hundreds of dollars, I treated the device with the same care I would when transporting eggs. It was a bit windy down by the river, but the technology is simply amazing for it stayed rock steady if I let go of the controls. I am really going to enjoy these new experiences. Today, I had to calibrate the drone. My phone sits on the controller and the app software stepped me through the process of turning it over and around vertically and horizontally. Today was fine and I had more than 15 GPS satellites locked. I didn't venture far away or high. I just wanted to get a feel for the controls.
I mistakenly started the video recording for the whole flight, rather than just shooting as though it were an ordinary video camera. The turns were enough to cause dizziness when watching it back at home. I did cut out this one-minute clip when it was just hovering, pointed at the Fraser River. Drone laws allow me to fly up to 120 meters but in this clip I was at just 19 meters. This is going to be better than a barrel of monkeys. Prepare to see a lot of drone videos and pictures around here this summer.
One-Minute Drone Video Clip from Pier Park in New Westminster, BC