08-Aug-2019, 06:52 PM
So I have several quad related flights on my bucket list. One of them is to fly from my backyard to the mountain in the distance, 18 miles away. This mountain is a few feet short of 12000 feet and I will be flying from 3000 feet. So you have linear distance and elevation gain as well. Quite a challenge and clearly requiring a fixed wing FPV vehicle of some sort.
Another bucket list item is to fly from our RV parked in an RV park and fly to a significant destination and then back home, all the while sitting outside the RV in the park.....Well, this spring I did just that. No video or pictures will be posted now, for plausible deniability and prosecution protection......and yes, the rule here on the forum is if there are no pics or video it didn't happen....but in this case I'm ok with that sentiment.
We were in Moab Utah at a mountain bike event. We parked near the event festivities with our RV, doing what is called dry camping. I ended up flying from that location to the Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, through the Arch twice and then back home. I made the flight in the early morning, but under full light. But, I really didn't fulfill the bucket list requirement because I had to take off about 100 yards from the RV due to the lay of the land and where the RV was parked. The RV was in a low point creating a blocked RF view for the flight. Also we weren't in a true RV park.
Talk about stressed out. I wanted to fly early enough that the amount of people at the site would be few. It's a popular destination and it gets huge numbers of sightseers. That creates a risk of injury to people if things go wrong. So when I left on the flight, I knew I might not be able to complete the flight due to too many people being there. As it turned out I got to the Arch and only two people were there that I saw and they were well away from the Arch. I flew through one way, and turned around and flew back through and then back to the RV.
Fun stuff and I probably lost a few years off my life due to the stress. My hands and legs were shaking so bad I could hardly fly. But what a cool experience.
Once the Statute of Limitations has expired on the law violations for the flight, I likely will post the video. Trust me, it's pretty awesome!
Just in case you don't know what the Delicate Arch is, below is a photo of the Arch.
Another bucket list item is to fly from our RV parked in an RV park and fly to a significant destination and then back home, all the while sitting outside the RV in the park.....Well, this spring I did just that. No video or pictures will be posted now, for plausible deniability and prosecution protection......and yes, the rule here on the forum is if there are no pics or video it didn't happen....but in this case I'm ok with that sentiment.
We were in Moab Utah at a mountain bike event. We parked near the event festivities with our RV, doing what is called dry camping. I ended up flying from that location to the Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, through the Arch twice and then back home. I made the flight in the early morning, but under full light. But, I really didn't fulfill the bucket list requirement because I had to take off about 100 yards from the RV due to the lay of the land and where the RV was parked. The RV was in a low point creating a blocked RF view for the flight. Also we weren't in a true RV park.
Talk about stressed out. I wanted to fly early enough that the amount of people at the site would be few. It's a popular destination and it gets huge numbers of sightseers. That creates a risk of injury to people if things go wrong. So when I left on the flight, I knew I might not be able to complete the flight due to too many people being there. As it turned out I got to the Arch and only two people were there that I saw and they were well away from the Arch. I flew through one way, and turned around and flew back through and then back to the RV.
Fun stuff and I probably lost a few years off my life due to the stress. My hands and legs were shaking so bad I could hardly fly. But what a cool experience.
Once the Statute of Limitations has expired on the law violations for the flight, I likely will post the video. Trust me, it's pretty awesome!
Just in case you don't know what the Delicate Arch is, below is a photo of the Arch.