Recent content by chopperdrone

I have been operating my Phantom III in the Arctic, sometimes in sub-zero temperatures, for close to 2 years. The key is to keep everything warm then put the battery in and launch as quickly as possible. You'll be grounded if the battery gets cold before the flight. After takeoff the internal...

Maybe you accidentally flipped a switch on the controller... it's easy to do.

Enjoying the summer in Alaska

Native Village of Teller - threatened by climate change. Teller is protected from the ocean's furry by a natural barrier; the sand spits of Port Clarence. Storm surges still wreak havoc on this community. The sand spit in the top right of the photo is slowly wearing away.

One of the first drone photos I took. Teller is the only road accessible Native Village in our region. This portion of the community, located on a hill, is not threatened by climate change; the rest of Teller is. I hauled the drone in my car, located in the bottom left corner of the photo.

Hauled the drone on the back of a 4-wheeler to take the Shaktoolik photos.

A view looking inland from over the Bering Sea illustrates climate change related challenges. Native Alaskans get the majority of their food from the land and the sea, so the village is located close to good hunting and fishing. One of the earliest human habitations on the planet is located nearby.

Shaktookik is threatened by climate change. The ocean is on the left, wetlands are on the right. A seawall would need to be constructed around the entire community to protect it from flooding. Residents continue to what they can to protect their village with the resources available.

A selfie.. With temperatures hovering around 0 degrees F, our UltimaXx backpack kept the batteries warm enough to get this shot. So far, cold hands have been the biggest issue with low temperature shoots.

Loaded the drone on a snowmobile and went out onto the frozen ocean. The airport is visible on top of the hill behind the village. This is as close as geofencing would permit. Koyuk is spread out. It was difficult to get the entire village in the shot.

The Native Village of Gambell is located on St. Laurence Island in the middle of the Bering Sea. Gambell has a class 7 wind resource; one of two Northwind 100 wind turbines can be seen in the foreground. Gambell is a sought after by bird watchers. Once again, the school is the largest building.

Looking straight down on Little Diomede. The biggest buildings are the school. Local, state, and federal policy makers have wisely been investing in education throughout the Bering Straits Region. The school is often the largest and most modern building in a village.

Got up high enough to look over the top of Little Diomede Island. The US mainland, location of the Native Villages of Wales, can be seen in the distance. The top of Little Diomede is rarely seen.

Rotated the drone 180 degrees from the previous shot and took this one. Big Diomede Island is in the foregrounds; mainland Russia is out in the distance. This photo was taken from just on the US side of the international dateline. Quite a view!

Little Diomede Island is located less than a mile away from the international date line in the middle of the Bering Straits. This photo is looking back towards the mainland (hidden behind the island). Big Diomede Island (Russia) is behind the drone in this photo.