Preppers that use Drones

[Vodin]

Consider this a remote control airplane with cameras. Or helicopter if your runway is 'captured'. You could launch and scout the area via video feed. The one limiting thing would be control distance.

What are your thoughts and ideas?

[Vodin]

Welp the idea has been created.

http://www.rangevideo.com/

But the possibilities are endless. My new endeavor after Aquaponics.

[Stormfeather]

I have a friend thats in RD helos and planes, hes done this concept before where he even mounted our gopro cameras t the plane and helo. Great footage but we didnt have the ability to zoom which was a pain in the ass. Apparently these guys are doing the full meal deal, so may be something to look into?

[Vodin]

The more I research this the more appealing it becomes. As for the distance issue you can place transmitters at certain points along the flight path. The distance you saw in the video was more than enough to recon the area. Fuel would then be an issue. But in reply after I complete the Aquaponic setups I will ponder this possibility.

I watched the Virgin spaceflight clips on you tube and am pleased to see there are still some innovators remaining.

[helomech]

electric flight would be the way to go. Gas models are way to noisy, I have been flying them since I was a kid. The newer electric ones can fly for about 10 minutes, and give plenty of power for flight and carrying small objects. Besides a few solar panels and you could charge one up with no costs.

[Stormfeather]

Obviously, in flight recharging wouldnt probably be a possibility unless you had an extremely large surface of solar panels, which at that point would render the recon aspect moot im "assuming". That is unless someone with more experience can help explain it better?

[helomech]

Obviously, in flight recharging wouldnt probably be a possibility unless you had an extremely large surface of solar panels, which at that point would render the recon aspect moot im "assuming". That is unless someone with more experience can help explain it better?

Not sure what you are asking here, but no way you could do in flight recharging or refueling. Most gas powered planes and helicopters only have about 10-15 minutes of flight time on a tank. So a 10 minute electric flight is not much of a loss. You could always add more batteries, but you would give up useable load. Why would it render the recon a moot point? I would think a gas powered one would be useless because they could be heard from a long ways away.

[Stormfeather]

I was asking about in flight recharging. I did the Raven drone training before, and the drones we used there are actually pretty quiet, you couldnt hear them from 100 yards away. I was talking about the recon point being moot if you had a drone covered with solar panels for in flight recharging. Im assuming the reflectivity of the panels would pretty much give it away. Hence. . .recon for it would be a moot point since you would basically be flying a reflective panel. I agree the electric aspect of it would be a better choice due to noise or lack thereof, but I was concentrating on longevity of flight time as the main goal.

[bacpacker]

A buddy of mine flys some electric planes. Any solar panel that would fit on the plane wouldn't charge the batteries quick enough to help. Plus you would loose payload for camera's etc. I'm not sure what kind of time he gets for a recharge, but I'm sure it would take a while.

[Stormfeather]

Yea, Thats what I was assuming, which is too bad, if only there was a way to do a fast recharge off of solar. . . .

[bacpacker]

Your best bet would be to have a bunch of battery packs and some way to charge several at one time. I will check and see what the recharge time is on a single pack.

[helomech]

I was asking about in flight recharging. I did the Raven drone training before, and the drones we used there are actually pretty quiet, you couldnt hear them from 100 yards away. I was talking about the recon point being moot if you had a drone covered with solar panels for in flight recharging. Im assuming the reflectivity of the panels would pretty much give it away. Hence. . .recon for it would be a moot point since you would basically be flying a reflective panel. I agree the electric aspect of it would be a better choice due to noise or lack thereof, but I was concentrating on longevity of flight time as the main goal.

Oh, I got you now. The difference in flight time between gas and electric is really minimal. And the benefit of the silent electric IMO outweighs the little time lost. And turn around time on an electric is way faster than on a gas. Also the electric is more reliable.

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Your best bet would be to have a bunch of battery packs and some way to charge several at one time. I will check and see what the recharge time is on a single pack.

That varies by how much you want to spend on a charger. Cheap ones take ours, expensive ones can do it in 15 minutes.

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Yea, Thats what I was assuming, which is too bad, if only there was a way to do a fast recharge off of solar. . . .

There is, just have a few solar panels on quick chargers and with enough of them you could fly for hours with just a quick battery swap.

[Stormfeather]

Yea, too bad I couldnt mount a few on the actual plane itself, now that would be the beez butt!