I picked up a Solo a Best Buy on Tuesday and have had a couple of successful test missions as of today (Friday).
First let me say thanks to the contributors on this forum. I wouldn't be flying today if not for the info gleaned scanning the thread history over the last week. I hope it continues as 3DR makes their transition into a software-only company. Here are a few basic observations.
Packaging: holy cow. I'm sure this has been covered here but man these guys went out of their way to design fancy packaging for this. They took a page straight out of the Apple playbook. I can't even estimate how many little custom pieces of foam. cardboard. plastic, and paper came off this thing as it unpacked. wow. I can see how they burned through $100 million now ;->
Updates and installs. This was quite a regime of software and firmware and app updates to get all this rolling. First iPhone needed latest iOS, then the app, then firmware, WiFi setups, then the GoPro, then it's firmware update. I'm in software so i get why this happens, but man this would scare off plenty. At the end of all that, I still couldn't get the app to see the video feed. Finally had to reinstall the app and re-eneter all the info to finally get a feed.
First flight. This was when I finally realized how amazing this thing is. The way the thing just autopilots itself when you're starting out was quite a comfort. I'd never flown one before yesterday, so that was a big relief to realize this ain't so hard. (I have visions of my college buddy repeatedly crashing his RC helicopter in 1990s ... not pretty or cheap.) Before long I was cruising, diving around, shooting up to 150 feet elevation. I must say that it was kind of a thrill to see a thing so high that you are responsible for and controlling. Can't wait to take it even higher.
So here are my questions:
1. If I want to use Orbit to take a series of still photos around a building (say a every 10 degrees or 36 shots all the way around) for purposes of creating a 3D model, is that a GoPro setting? I have the Hero4Black.
2. Any tips on flying at higher altitudes? I'll be doing some tests at increasing altitudes over the next few weeks; just curious about how high an altitude people have launched these things. Are there hi-performance props that might be expected to do better?
3. How's the backpack? Worth the money to buy? The cardboard box is actually pretty functional but won't do for the location work I have planned.
Thanks again for all the help so far and any additional insight.
-- Airman Chriskin
First let me say thanks to the contributors on this forum. I wouldn't be flying today if not for the info gleaned scanning the thread history over the last week. I hope it continues as 3DR makes their transition into a software-only company. Here are a few basic observations.
Packaging: holy cow. I'm sure this has been covered here but man these guys went out of their way to design fancy packaging for this. They took a page straight out of the Apple playbook. I can't even estimate how many little custom pieces of foam. cardboard. plastic, and paper came off this thing as it unpacked. wow. I can see how they burned through $100 million now ;->
Updates and installs. This was quite a regime of software and firmware and app updates to get all this rolling. First iPhone needed latest iOS, then the app, then firmware, WiFi setups, then the GoPro, then it's firmware update. I'm in software so i get why this happens, but man this would scare off plenty. At the end of all that, I still couldn't get the app to see the video feed. Finally had to reinstall the app and re-eneter all the info to finally get a feed.
First flight. This was when I finally realized how amazing this thing is. The way the thing just autopilots itself when you're starting out was quite a comfort. I'd never flown one before yesterday, so that was a big relief to realize this ain't so hard. (I have visions of my college buddy repeatedly crashing his RC helicopter in 1990s ... not pretty or cheap.) Before long I was cruising, diving around, shooting up to 150 feet elevation. I must say that it was kind of a thrill to see a thing so high that you are responsible for and controlling. Can't wait to take it even higher.
So here are my questions:
1. If I want to use Orbit to take a series of still photos around a building (say a every 10 degrees or 36 shots all the way around) for purposes of creating a 3D model, is that a GoPro setting? I have the Hero4Black.
2. Any tips on flying at higher altitudes? I'll be doing some tests at increasing altitudes over the next few weeks; just curious about how high an altitude people have launched these things. Are there hi-performance props that might be expected to do better?
3. How's the backpack? Worth the money to buy? The cardboard box is actually pretty functional but won't do for the location work I have planned.
Thanks again for all the help so far and any additional insight.
-- Airman Chriskin