I am my own Bad Influencer

[Troll]

I have the DJI Mavic 2 and the FPV quad copters. They have been excellent! The Mavic only has got one operational battery left. The two others have stopped charging. It still is a great camera ship but I do more fun flying in the FPV. The goggles in the FPV are good enough and the FPV as a concept is a really cool Quad.
I’ve spent the last week in Oslo, attending Norway Cup with my daughters soccer team. We’ve been staying at a hotel in downtown Oslo, not too far from the DJI store. I went in there to have a look at the DJI Neo mini quad. The seller didn’t have to use too much force to convince me to look at the Avata 2, with its “Fly More” combo of three batteries, FPV Goggles and hand controller… And when he offered me to try it out inside the store, he pretty much sealed the deal.

The new goggles has got adjustable lenses with built in eye correction, better resolution, head tracking and see through cameras.

So, now I have 3 quad copters
I need to put up the Mavic 2 and FPV for sale, or maybe donate them to the Ukraine…?

[MiG21bisFishbedL]

If you donate it to the Ukis, be sure to include some Mudspike swag!

[schurem]

@Troll

donate them to the Ukraine…?

This of course! Slava Ukraini!

[chipwich]

Congrats Troll. You are going to enjoy that Avata 2. I absolutely love my Avata 1 and fly it more than the rest. After years of flying with a traditional RC controller setup, I admit that the DJI Motion controller is revolutionary. Together, with headtracking in the Goggles and high def low latency video, it’s an amazing flying experience.

I’ve also got a Mavic 2 Pro that is collecting dust, but since DJI future in the US is questionable atm, I’m going to hang on to it in the short term. But I really like the idea of sending it to Ukraine.

[MiG21bisFishbedL]

And so, Mudspike Air Delivery just became real. Aannnnd it became Air America for the 21st century, smuggling weapons in.

And I think I want a new job.

[NEVO]

@Troll

or maybe donate them to the Ukraine…?

not fan of this , maybe I should look for other more civilized place , maybe moon or mars … loosing faith in humanity

[PaulRix]

You will be hard pressed to find a more civilized corner of the internet than what we have here at Mudspike @NEVO .

[Harry_Bumcrack]

I think @NEVO is referring to leaving planet Earth rather than Mudspike to look for a more civilised place?

He isn’t exactly wrong, but I take a more pragmatic approach. Human nature being what it is seems to ensure that violence is inevitable, in which case I will choose a side and in this case fully support anything that tips the scales in favour of Ukraine.

[Troll]

@NEVO

not fan of this

I removed my post out of respect for Nevo.

That said, I fully support anybodys right to defend themselves from oppression.

[Victork2]

Unfortunately, we are all from different points of the globe and personal ages. There is bound to be some conflict of opinion. Doesn’t mean anything in the grander scheme of things to us

[Troll]

So, evidently skins is a thing with quads these days… One skin in particular caught my attention, so I ordered it.

Bought it with my own money directly from the designer, Decal Designs.

This is the Simplified version. They have a full version too, with even more decals, covering almost the entire quad.

Preskinned Avata 2. Props removed to make the decal application easier.

The decals are printed on vinyl and peel off easily.
One must of course be careful with cleaning the surface with some alcohol or other degreaser, placing the decal where it should go and smooth it down. Warming the decal with a hairdryer softens both the decal and the glue, making it easier to stretch and rub it in place over compound surfaces.

Three batteries done!

The underside has a number of skye blue decals, covering enough of the framework to get the point across…

The top side has fewer, but larger, decals. They look scary, but careful alignment and using a hairdryer to soften them up, makes the job easier.

After all decals were applied I went over them again with the hairdryer and rubbing them down with a finger, aided by a q-tip and a wooden toothpick, where my finger proved to be too clumsy.

So now my Avata 2 identifies as a Spitfire.
I added a little touch of yellow on the propeller tips, for effect.

One could leave the underside alone to make it look like a Lancaster. It has got four props, after all…

Now, why put decals on a FPV quad? You will never see them from the camera anyway…?
Because it looks cool! You should know better than asking me silly questions like that!

[Victork2]

That IS cool

[smokinhole]

That it is so ridiculously nonfunctional is what makes it so cool. I love it!

[chipwich]

Oh dude, those are cool. In the US, we have to have our FAA registration visible on the Avata 2, so perhaps a custom skin would be the ultimate way to do this.

[keets]

That is cool. I love the yellow on the prop tips, it’s genius.

I’ve now gone down the rabbit hole looking for a skin for my Mini 2, that I didn’t know I needed until now

[Troll]

@chipwich

In the US, we have to have our FAA registration visible

Same here!
I made a QR code of mine, printed it on clear tape and put it on the bottom. QR image has been spoofed in the picture.

Decal Designs provides custom made stickers for this purpose.

CAA Operator ID Stickers

[chipwich]

In other drone news, I passed my Part 107 Remote Pilot SUAS test yesterday. Was harder than I imagined, but it’s been 38 years since I took my last FAA written

The experience was largely unchanged though, other than the electronic device pat down they give you. Same room, computer, testing supplement, scratch paper and pencil, and I think the same person is writing the questions. At least one of them had no correct answer.

[Troll]

@chipwich

I passed my Part 107 Remote Pilot SUAS test yesterday.

Well done!
I’m not sure of the regs in the US but here everybody wanting to fly any UAS (RC aircraft, heli, quad) must take an online course and pass a test. This will give you an operator ID and give you permission to fly in the open category.
You will also need to buy 3rd party insurance.
Recently the Norwegian Model Airplane Association managed to convince the Norwegian CAA to allow members to achieve automatic open category permission based on that the model aircraft handbook, that they publish and every member has access to, covers these regulations. Members are also automatically covered by the collective insurance agreement.

To be able to fly larger (25Kg and above) Drones, one need to take the course and test for the special category. I will find time to do this soon… Might be a good idea as the industry is growing rapidly.
I guess that this is something similar to the test you just passed?

[chipwich]

In the US, it’s also relating to commercial operations up to 25 Kg. In other words, if someone is getting paid for the use of the drone, then the PIC needs a 107. Autonomous flight still needs to be in VLOS of the PIC or visual observer (VO) and with a 107 PIC who can take control if necessary. And at or below 400 ft AGL unless over a tower or obstruction, for which they allow an additional 400 ft. All airspace rules apply, so probably going to be difficult getting authorization within a Bravo. There were a number of tower inspection inside of airspace and under airspace shelf questions.

[smokinhole]

@chipwich

The experience was largely unchanged though, other than the electronic device pat down they give you. Same room, computer, testing supplement, scratch paper and pencil, and I think the same person is writing the questions. At least one of them had no correct answer.

Congratulations! I did my Helicopter CFI written last week. It was a bit more formal than I remembered from 30+ years ago. The FAA contracts with a company called PSI to conduct the test here. It was a rather formal process. You are right though. The questions still stink. Are you planning to do commercial work (photography, inspections, etc)?