Building up coastal Phantom drones in Alaska.

[Carl Nostrand]

This group is a dream come true for me. I just got turned on to Phantom Pilots about a week ago. Looking to learning more about these versatile quads from China. Its great to see this advanced group of pilots and tech support on drones.

I just you average 62 year old x-commercial fisherman from Homer Alaska. I was lucky to work the decks of the Halibut Schooners, fishing for Halibut and Black Cod no less than 20 years. I'm not a young buck anymore and figure its time to fallow my aerial dreams. I started getting my pilots papers in my early 20's in Vermont. A bad ski crash too me out of the air. Its time to fly again.

I'm a sailor and traveled by small vessels (under 100 feet) around the world a bit. Seems to me that that tried and true Phantom drones are great boat catching drones for working near shore in Alaskan waters. I'm kind of a thrifty Swede, so I see a need to recycle these work dogs and build them up for our unique conditions up ice fields and such. We like rugged, tuff, and affordable. Phantoms seem to be the the logical quad for such conditions.

I had a Phantom 4 pro up in the air last winter for a few flights in Seward Alaska. I was fool and lost her. I have a chance again to jump into the Phantom world with a P2 Vision Plus with a vtx issue. I think she would be the very best $100 dollars I spent in a long while. I miss my old girl. I got a question for you pilots, do you guys think of your drones like a Lady? I always want to name my drones after women, kind of like boats.

The goal is to make her earn her keep doing long range trips above coast shore and such. I will study and make upgrades to this or other drones I stumble across for mountain ridge flights and remote rugged coastlines to explore. I sure do we had a drone on our Halibut Schooners seeking shelter from storms. Drones and boats sounds like fun, once we build up these rigs for polar conditions. Ok, I'm going to start on the Ice field across K-bay, once I feel confident again.

Kind regards, Coastal FPV

 

[dirkclod]

Welcome to the forum.
I hope you will find our site helpful and look forward to any input , photo's/video's you might post .
Don't be shy and ask anything if you can't find it by searching . ?

 

[Bernie C]

Hey Carl,
You are gonna capture some beautiful footage where you are. Be sure to post some photos. I too am a new Phantom pilot. I have a few hours on mine and can tell I already love "her". I have been following this group for several months. I get daily emails about current topics being discussed on the threads. There are many helpful folks here, always answering questions and ready to share experiences. I purchased the P4P v2, and hope to make some money with her. I also follow the Commercial Drone Pilots forums.
Can't wait to see some coastline pics from Alaska!
regards,
Bernie C
Maryland

 

[BigL]

You and KachemakDiver might have some tall tales to swap.

 

[Meta4]

Hi Carl ... you're in a great location for epic aerial photography.

I had a Phantom 4 pro up in the air last winter for a few flights in Seward Alaska.
I have a chance again to jump into the Phantom world with a P2 Vision Plus with a vtx issue.

The goal is to make her earn her keep doing long range trips above coast shore and such.

The P2V+ is going to be a big come down after the P4 pro.
It's definitely not a long distance performer and the kind of range you can expect is about 3000 ft on a good day.
It's camera delivers fisheye images like a GoPro and it lacks all the camera controls of the P4 pro.

 

[Carl Nostrand]

Hi Carl ... you're in a great location for epic aerial photography.

The P2V+ is going to be a big come down after the P4 pro.
It's definitely not a long distance performer and the kind of range you can expect is about 3000 ft on a good day.
It's camera delivers fisheye images like a GoPro and it lacks all the camera controls of the P4 pro.

I wish I could find a another p4pro! They are starting to be rare used birds up here. I hope to step up my game in the future. I want to do upgrades right away. I love the power of my P4pro, and the optics were very special. This P2Vplus will back 360's and gopros, and be a test be for learning Litchi missions. I want to film boats in action rounding the Homer spit at speed. The drones are a way for me to get more details of boat design and such.

I will continue to build up my drone collection. Mid Range FPV builds are in the works as well. The research and investment keeps me out of trouble, and challenges my tech abilities.

My friend Bucky would say, "You can only learn more never less."

Regards

 

[Carl Nostrand]

Hey Carl,
You are gonna capture some beautiful footage where you are. Be sure to post some photos. I too am a new Phantom pilot. I have a few hours on mine and can tell I already love "her". I have been following this group for several months. I get daily emails about current topics being discussed on the threads. There are many helpful folks here, always answering questions and ready to share experiences. I purchased the P4P v2, and hope to make some money with her. I also follow the Commercial Drone Pilots forums.
Can't wait to see some coastline pics from Alaska!
regards,
Bernie C
Maryland

Thanks for the comeback Bernie. Put Homer on you list, just bring your new bird. We have lots of open air up here, amazing aerial awaits. Carl

 

[KachemakDiver]

You and KachemakDiver might have some tall tales to swap.

@Carl Nostrand and I are neighbors in a very special, scenic beautiful area of the world.
We had a good talk a couple of weeks ago about these versatile unique flying cameras.
@Carl Nostrand will be a valuable member of phantompilots!??

 

[Capt KO]

@Carl Nostrand and I are neighbors in a very special, scenic beautiful area of the world.
We had a good talk a couple of weeks ago about these versatile unique flying cameras.
@Carl Nostrand will be a valuable member of phantompilots!??

Glad you had a chance to talk before his purchase. At least he has an idea of what he’s getting. I believe an upgrade to a P3 or 4 is in the near future. ?

Good luck, Carl N. You’ll notice that we are not a young bunch here. (On average) ? You’re a good fit. Have fun.

 

[Carl Nostrand]

@Carl Nostrand and I are neighbors in a very special, scenic beautiful area of the world.
We had a good talk a couple of weeks ago about these versatile unique flying cameras.
@Carl Nostrand will be a valuable member of phantompilots!??

KachemakDriver gave me the goods on this group, plus a couple of Phantom 4 led blades. Yea! I knew some one close by was a Pilot, but I wasn't sure who. I was just very happy to see another Drone in the air. This is fun stuff!

 

[Carl Nostrand]

I should of posted these links into our first nautical and aerial missions. We been building up our drone collection for about a year now. We got a Autel EVO, DJI Mini, and my treasured and lost Phantom 4 pro plus for about a year now.

To see our work please join or have a look:
Youtube- Alaskafpv
Facebook- Alaska First Person View

My work partner is the Administrator, Milan Mogar. Milan is supper techie with system integration, and control systems on vessel and such.

 

[Carl Nostrand]

Glad you had a chance to talk before his purchase. At least he has an idea of what he’s getting. I believe an upgrade to a P3 or 4 is in the near future. ?

Good luck, Carl N. You’ll notice that we are not a young bunch here. (On average) ? You’re a good fit. Have fun.

Nice vessel for aerial tools! Good on ya.

 

[Carl Nostrand]

Hi Carl ... you're in a great location for epic aerial photography.

The P2V+ is going to be a big come down after the P4 pro.
It's definitely not a long distance performer and the kind of range you can expect is about 3000 ft on a good day.
It's camera delivers fisheye images like a GoPro and it lacks all the camera controls of the P4 pro.

Thanks for the input. I have always learned the hard way. The P4 pro is a hard bird to replace. Experiential learner like to take things apart. These DJI drones are filled with cool tech. Fixing these birds and building them up is half the fun. Your very right tho. I would rather build up a ground station and keep with the power of the P4 pro, and all the other advantages built in. I may just hold of on that P2V . Best regards, Carl