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Traveling with Drones

Happy New Year!  We hope you had a wonderful time over the Christmas & New Years holiday.  We escaped to the snowy mountains and had a blast!  Head on over to our AerialScope YouTube page to watch our new Vlog series and watch the latest video while up there!

So, traveling with drones is what we are chatting about today.  We figured, since we are out of town what better way to talk about this subject! You have two options when flying on a plane with drones.  Checking bags (in which a hard case is recommended) or carrying baggage on (a soft case should suffice).

Let’s talk about the heart of our drones, the batteries.  Lithium Ion Polymer batteries CANNOT be checked and they should be drained around 30-40%. Regardless if you check your drone or not the batteries need to stay with you. Some people like to cover the battery terminal with tape for added protection, up to you.  If you’re not sure, just check your airline regulations/TSA to verify.  Another thing with batteries is getting a good plan in place for battery management.  Always have extensions cords with you and have a plan for how you want to charge your batteries.  There isn’t always a place to plug in so keep that in mind.  Lots of dronies use generators as their supply so they don’t have to go very far.

We like to have a small repair kit with us when we travel.  Honestly, you should have this on you at all times anyway – you never know when you might be needing to make some quick repairs!

It’s also a good idea to pack extra propellers – this is good practice for anywhere you go you just never know when you are gonna need new props.

It’s always a good idea to see what the FAA recommends in terms of flying with your drones. To read what they suggest click here

Happy flying!

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Favorite Apps

Happy Wednesday!  Today’s post we are going to highlight some of our favorite apps.

Editing:

  • Snapseed is one of the best photo editing apps out there.  It has so much to offer packed into a little tiny app!
  • Instagram is great to edit images/videos and also add text & gifs.  Once you edit a picture or video in Instagram stories there is a down facing arrow that if you click it saves the video to your camera roll! Easy as pie.  Once you save it you don’t have to post it – you can delete it and utilize the saved image/video in your camera roll for whatever you like.

Weather:

  • UAV forecast is our first app we open.  It gives us the KP index (an external force that can possibly reduce your satellite signals, it also measures geomagnetic storms caused by solar activity) which is super important to check before you fly every time.  Even a hobbyist should be checking KP index for the day to avoid a flyaway or possible crash.  (To read more about KP index click here for a great website called Space Weather Live.  They dive deeper into the science behind KP index and they also go through what the numbers mean.)
  • Second weather app is Dark Sky, this one seems to be super accurate and very up to the minute in terms of their information.  NOAA Weather app is also ok but if you don’t pay for their PRO I don’t think the free is updated as much and it does crash a lot.
  • The last weather app is Carrot – and we just like it because she delivers sarcastic funny weather. Sometimes you just need a laugh, especially when dealing with unpredictable weather!

Office:

  • CamScanner is a great app for on the fly if you need to create a PDF of something.  You can take a picture of a document and then email it as a PDF (or several other types of files).
  • MileBug is a great app for keeping track of mileage
  • Evernote is an alternative note taking app where you can add pictures, links etc.  It is a great way to digitally organize your thoughts, ideas or lists

3D Models:

  • Sketchfab! We love using Sketchfab to house our 3D models.  You can follow other people and get some great ideas for models as well as look at some awesome work people are putting out there.

Thanks for reading through some of our favorites and we would love to hear some of yours!  Comment below and let us know which apps you can’t live without!

 

*We are in no way associated with any of these apps/websites or paid to talk about, review etc.*

 

 

 

 

 

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Being Intentional

Hope this blog find you all well.  I wanted to share about being intentional and setting goals for yourself.  We are coming up on the time of the year when people start to evaluate and make changes for the new year ahead.  I’ve never been a big resolutions at new years kind of person, I’ve always done them throughout the year.  How?  By being intentional.

First, you need a journal or somewhere you can write things down.  It is always better to be able to see your goals and dreams written out.  Flip charts are an awesome thing to use because you can stick them on the walls and always have your goals & dreams visible.  We like to map it out by doing a column for 3 months, 6 months & 9 months.  We set reasonable goals for each section and then we like to include 1 or 2 huge big dreams.  Once (or if) we complete the goals we get the satisfaction of crossing it off!  That feels so good!

Because there are 2 of us we create business goals together and then we have some quiet time to set personal goals as well.  Separating personal from business is important, especially when you own your own business.  I encourage people to find what works for them.  Get on your goal setting today – even if it’s for the end of the month!  Finish 2018 strong!  Also, don’t get discouraged if you set goals on your 3/6/9 months that don’t happen.  Keep those sheets and let them help you determine your next 3/6/9 goals!  We have tons of sheets we’ve saved over the past year and we love looking over to see how far we’ve come.

Bottom line, you can do it – but you have to want it, and you have to start somewhere.  This is your wake up call so get busy!

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Vlog

To vlog or not to vlog – that is the question in 2018!  Well, we went for YES! We’ve started a vlog to tell our story.  It may not always be glamorous and edited but we want to be able to deliver real videos on what we are going through.  Maybe our story will encourage someone! Maybe our story will help give ideas, or maybe it will just offer some laughs!  Who knows.

Go ahead and check it out on YouTube!

Thanks for joining us on this wild ride!

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Winter Tips for Tech Devices

Happy Wednesday! Today we have some tips for those of you who live in a colder climate.  When the temp starts to drop we need to be aware of how cold our technology is becoming!  If you let your devices get too cold they can malfunction or worse yet – break!

Laptops:

  • Don’t keep laptops in the car when it’s not running – if you must keep it in the car wrap it in a blanket or sweater.  Or, you can invest in a laptop warmer (which do exist!)
  • Bring your charger because cold air sucks battery life like nobody’s business!
  • Turn it off! I know what you’re thinking ‘but isn’t it working and staying warmer if it’s on??’ short answer yes – long answer – if you are moving around and active you *could damage the computer’s data.
  • Don’t turn your computer on the second you walk in the door – let it warm up a bit as to not encourage condensation 

Phones:

  • Like laptops, phone batteries can drain easily in the winter so have a charger on hand
  • Keep your phone warm by keeping it in your pocket, purse or backpack.  You may even put it in a wool sock for added warmth!

Drones:

  • Fully charge your batteries
  • Hover 30-60 sec before you fly
  • Keep batteries warm!  When on location, we keep our heat on in the car and throw the batteries up on the dashboard

Hope these tips were helpful!  We love our winter weather up here in New England and we also love our technology! Stay safe and warm and keep your gear in check!

 

 

(some laptop tips taken from Popsugar)

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3D models…?

What are 3D models? Why are they useful? How in the world did you do that?? These are all questions we receive on a regular basis, and we love being able to explain!  Let me break it down.

What are 3D models? 3D models are an interactive digital space.  They can be used for marketing, construction, surveying (with licensed surveyors), video games, I could go on!  We recently did a 3D model for a golf course and in that model, you can literally walk through the entire course from the comfort of your own home without setting a foot outside.

Why are they useful? 3D models help increase your digital footprint, they provide cutting edge technology for you and your clients, and they can help generate business and widen exposure – just to name a few.

How in the world do we do it?  We create 3D models through the use of photogrammetry.  That is a big word, but simply means the science of making measurements through the use of photos.  So, when we create a 3D model we are taking several photos (by several I mean anywhere from a couple hundred to thousands!) and we stitch those photos together to create the 3D model.

Still have questions about 3D models? Ask below or reach out to us! You can look at some of our 3D models here:  AerialScope 3D Models

You can also watch a YouTube video on our channel where I navigate through one of our 3D models and help you figure out how to use it:

3D Model Navigation Video

 

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Youtube weekly live Q&A

Happy Wednesday!

We teamed up with GM6 & Quad Axis for a weekly live Q&A on YouTube!  We will be discussing a new topic and answering live questions on the air!  We love sharing how to work smarter not harder within the industry and partnering up with these other great companies is such an honor!  We all bring a unique set of skills to the table.

So, where can you find this event? RIGHT HERE! Click the link to view where the live chat is housed and join us on our next live session!

 

 

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Georgia Google Gravity Games

This past weekend we went down to Georgia to film the Google Gravity Games!

These Georgia Gravity Games took place in Douglasville, which is a suburb of Atlanta.  There were a few streets closed down for the GGG and on the main street is where some popular movies & tv shows have been filmed.  Among those popular tv shows are Stranger Things and MacGyver.  Pretty cool to be filming around the same areas as these popular shows!

This was our first GGG in Georgia and it was great to see how GA does it!  The boxcars were awesome  and the kids did a magnificent job of building them!  This GGG also featured Science Street, a tent where kids and adults could learn about all things science.  We partner together with Locomotion out of North Carolina to film the Gravity Games and each one we do we have a blast!

Special thanks to Locomotion Media & Innovation for partnering with us on this!

 

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Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

We’re dressed up over here and crossing our fingers for some trick or treaters!  We’ve never had any before so I can’t imagine why we would have any now, but one can hope!

Stay safe everyone and don’t overdose on candy!