Cheers@Weathercam. I have to admit, while it's been cool to get some decent videos and photos using this method, it has a big effect on my enjoyment of the ride. I remove the sticks and put the controller either in the top of my pack or down the front of my jacket (held up by the waist strap of my pack). While I've never actually had a problem, you're very aware that any accidental control inputs could easily cause the drone to crash or to fly out of range, especially if you were to take a fall. On top of that, you feel under pressure to ride the line as quickly as possible, both to look half-decent on video and to reduce the risk of the drone battery running low.
When you're riding challenging terrain and are maybe already a little stressed, the extra stress and the disruption of your focus really doesn't help. I've been unhappy with my own riding at times this winter (I may have been out as many as 100 days, but I've probably done fewer turns than I'd normally do in the first couple of weeks and I've really been feeling like I'm struggling for flow at times) and could really do without the distraction. Not getting to be insta-famous aside, it's a lot more fun to film a friend riding, then pack the drone away and enjoy the line yourself. Or claim that you need to go down first "to get a better angle"....
It would be really good to be able to lock the controller, so that no inputs are sent to the drone at all until you unlock it. That way you could put it away in your pack and forget about it. Seems like an obvious and easy-to-implement feature, but I guess I can see safety reasons not to have it. There are stick-lockers available from 3rd parties which physically block the sticks, but that still doesn't really solve the problem as jostling the controller could still easily trigger the return-to-home or auto-land commands or, god forbid, stop recording....
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@stevomcd, really nice video!
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
kitenski wrote:
bit of an epic fail from DJI Air 2S Active Track system!! 8 mins is probably the most interesting bit!
Thanks for that. No doubt the cold and polluted canal water makes him speak like Donald Duck. He lost his GoPro 9 diving to retrieve his dead DJI, an expensive day.
@stevomcd
Great video! Now dji 2s with 5k, and everybody expect mavic 3 to be 6k or 8k, so the panning will be more practical in term of field of view.
I had fly away case with dji spark, few years ago, I opened case with dji, uploaded all logs and surprisingly they sent me replacement (this all took about 2 months).
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@WASHOUT,
You may wish to check things furst, as cat skiing operators may not allow you to fly drones in their area. I've seen signs in USA or Canadian ski areas saying that their use isn't permitted.
Good point bergmeister. Tbh I think its more faff than worth but the trip would most likely be Eastern Europe so I would think less red tape there than north America.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Bergmeister wrote:
... You may wish to check things furst, as cat skiing operators may not allow you to fly drones in their area. ...
Covered on page one in detail.
After all it is free
After all it is free
My Mavic Air has stopped working. Something wrong with motor / propellor according to the error message. Goes up but then stops and drops like a fly. I was lucky not to lose it. Sent a message to DJI and waiting for feedback...
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
BobinCH wrote:
My Mavic Air has stopped working. Something wrong with motor / propellor according to the error message. Goes up but then stops and drops like a fly. I was lucky not to lose it. Sent a message to DJI and waiting for feedback...
I had this exact fault with my Mavic Air after a takeoff from a salty and dry car park - it was dust getting into the motors, I sprayed sparingly with compressed air and must have released the debris.
Mavic now back to normal but it took some time for me to get my confidence back in the drone.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Grinning wrote:
BobinCH wrote:
My Mavic Air has stopped working. Something wrong with motor / propellor according to the error message. Goes up but then stops and drops like a fly. I was lucky not to lose it. Sent a message to DJI and waiting for feedback...
I had this exact fault with my Mavic Air after a takeoff from a salty and dry car park - it was dust getting into the motors, I sprayed sparingly with compressed air and must have released the debris.
Mavic now back to normal but it took some time for me to get my confidence back in the drone.
Thanks for the tip. Shouldn’t be too dusty as has only been out in the snow recently but will try with the missus hairdryer. I knew there must be a good use for that overpriced Dyson
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
two years later and where are we?
Skydio have exited the market and DJI still hasn't got follow me to work well.
So I decided to play around with the HoverAir X1. A pocket sized (will fit in the back of a road cycling jersey) 125 gram drone. It is aimed at Vloggers to get a few extra establishing shots but using AI it will follow you around like a love sick puppy.
The drone ditches nearly all the intelligence of the DJIs to focus purely on tracking the subject. From getting it out of your pocket and getting it into the air takes a few seconds. There is no GPS, just a lidar to maintain ground altitude. There is also no collision avoidance, it relies on following you closely enough to not need it.
Will it work for skiing? possibly not given it is limited to 25kph top speed but decomplexifying everything seems like a good idea.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
@davidof, that drone looks great! I reckon it'd be fine for off-piste skiing at 25kmh and a minimum of faff compared to my DJI Mini 2.
Hopefully the snow gods will be generous this year and we'll find out!
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Yeah I saw the reviews of that HoverAir x1. Not bad, for what it is. Perhaps there's a future in that, but I still reckon it'd fail fast in a typical BC forest. But then most skiers will fail too, so there's that The footage is stabilized on the skier, so the background moves side to side as you watch it. It would I think benefit from external stabilization in post production, as you really want the skier to be moving left-right, not the background.
A 4k thing which was that easy to use may be... more useful/ less faff. One with a 360 camera would be better still.
Can't say I'm terribly surprised this is taking a while. Still, I took rides in Waymo driverless taxis the other week, and if we can do that... this is only a matter of time.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Yes, it is clearly another step towards the ideal follow me drone but I think a step in the right direction of less complexity of sensors. If they can do some avoidance via the camera it would be interesting for people in the woods.
I think that is probably showing the way these will go though. One of those with more obstacle avoidance and you'd be set, kind of. Add a 360 camera and you get more interesting shots from post production. You'll need a lot of obstacle avoidance to follow a snowboarder through a forest though - it's harder than following the bike down a relatively straight track.
Still, maybe I should get one of those instead of a DJI mini 4 or whatever it is that comes out tomorrow.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
phil_w wrote:
You'll need a lot of obstacle avoidance to follow a snowboarder through a forest though - it's harder than following the bike down a relatively straight track.
.
Yes, I doubt it is up to that. We'll need to wait for winter to see some more onsnow footage, I've only seen 1 real video with the X1.
I've always been frustated with the faff factor of the DJI drones.
I'm going to test your idea of stabilizing the X1 footage in post.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I found this Gamekeepers Gallows of dead drones out in the Tre Cime area of the Dolomites last week.
They are not allowed in the National Park areas in Italy, I don't know if they were shot or died of natural causes, so watch out dronesters.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
What does the sign say? I can see "Do not fly in the National Park" at the bottom
DONT fly with the drone in the Natural Park Tre Cime because th noisy and dangerous when flown close to the mountains
These drones CRASHED while flying and now they add to the trash behind in the mountains. These contain toxic materials, such as lit they pollute the mountains with plastic and toxic metals.
DON'T FLY IN THE NATIONAL PARK, as it is forbidden!
Please respect the rules-nature is a marvellous good we have and
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@davidof, Did you ever try the X1 skiing? I see DJI have the Neo out now to compete with the Hover X1.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
kitenski wrote:
@davidof, Did you ever try the X1 skiing? I see DJI have the Neo out now to compete with the Hover X1.
There’s a new HoverAir just released which succeeds the X1, the X1Pro and X1 ProMax. One of the improvements is a much higher speed when in Follow mode, quicker than the DJI Neo (even with the latest firmware speed bump).
After all it is free
After all it is free
WASHOUT wrote:
Are these allowed in ski resorts?
Not allowed within 2km of a heliport here in CH, which means pretty much all of our ski area.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
WASHOUT wrote:
Are these allowed in ski resorts?
Yes, provided you follow all the rules for sub-250g drones and observe any local No Fly Zones.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
@rob@rar, yes they seem to be having LOTS of teething issues and are considerably more than the Neo though!! What speed do they do vs the Neo? dcrainmaker reckons the Neo will follow up to 33 km/h with the update. Also when he tested the X1 skiing it failed miserably with the vertical drop & kept loosing him, which is then a PITA as you have to hike up to get it....jump to 15 mins for ski footage.
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads on Mon 11-11-24 19:04; edited 1 time in total
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
FWIW, a quick check shows that drones are not allowed at Whistler (Vail/Epic) Schweitzer (Alterra/Ikon) or Snowbird (Powdr Corp). Some of the fine print seems to allow them with prior notice, an escort from the resort and other hurdles which appear meant to discourage.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
@kitenski, I think it was rushed out to be launched in a similar time frame to the Neo, so the software is receiving frequent updates at the moment. The Beacon accessory seems particularly under-baked. Having said that there seem to be a small number of people making a lot of negative noises and some others who say it’s flying just fine if your expectations are reasonable. Unfortunately nobody has done an independent test of how it manages in a skiing context, so we’ll see this winter whether it does a reasonable job or not.
Follow speeds for the X1Pro or ProMax seem to be around 45kph sustained, and short bursts a bit higher than that. This seems like a sensible review (although all done on the flat, so not especially relevant to skiing) and there are some very impressive Follow Me videos of people MTBing through trees with the drone keeping up with them in very twisty tracks (although you have to accept they are going to have collisions from time to time).
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
@rob@rar, thanks not seen that one! Big think for me is that the neo is £169 and from what dcrainmaker days if I got the pack with controller I could probably use that to fly it down slope back to me if it lost tracking…but speed could be the issue!
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@kitenski, I saw the early reviews of the Neo and ruled it out, and even with the speed bump I think it was the right decision. I think there’s a reason it’s cheap, including a very poor camera.
It’s a complete PITA to have to get a full size controller out of your backpack to get the drone in the air, then re-stow the RC, ski a bit and then get the RC back out of your pack to retrieve the drone. I’ve got a DJI Mini 4 and the faff factor is just too much for me while skiing. But a foldable drone with excellent Follow Me capabilities which doesn’t need a full size remote control is something that I’d actually use. If you lose contact as a result of speed you can connect to the HoverAir with your phone or the Beacon, which is smaller than a pack of cigarettes and easily stored in your pocket (as can the X1Pro, unlike the Neo which doesn’t fold). I think there’s HoverAir team will get the software working well enough, and I’m hoping it will be usable for some kinds of skiing, although I don’t think it will be quick enough for regular piste skiing (but no autonomous drone is at the moment, AIUI).
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@rob@rar, iirc you don’t need the controller for the neo? It can be flown via phone? Isn’t it a 4k camera?
I’ve been watching and waiting for something autonomous I can fly from my hand and take walking, cycling, skiing etc! I had high hopes of the hover pro until,I joined the Facebook group!,
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
kitenski wrote:
I had high hopes of the hover pro until,I joined the Facebook group!,
No doubt there are plenty of people with significant issues, but plenty who are getting on with the drone OK. The team at HoverAir seem very responsive and are releasing firmware updates about once a week at the moment.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
kitenski wrote:
@davidof, Did you ever try the X1 skiing? I see DJI have the Neo out now to compete with the Hover X1.
No, I didn't. I'm not confident about an autonomous drone above ski pistes. I already pushed the envelope way too far.
It wouldn't be any good for piste skiing, at least not at the speed I tend to ski at. Maybe for ski touring.
If I were to lose it I would probably buy the neo as a replacement but the neo needs work - DJI don't seem to have nailed follow me in any of their drones but they may get there with the neo. However the fpv stuff I've seen looks really good. Speed is more like 30kph now so they are addressing some stuff. Pity the neo is less transportable than the X1. I've had a look at them at the DJI shop and the DJI ecosystem is slightly more active than Hover Air.
I'm not sure the camera is that bad, all the youtube stuff looks ok. After all I'm not Francis Ford Cortina.
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Tue 12-11-24 9:40; edited 1 time in total
@kitenski You can get the phone out though and fly the X1 back, if it is within range. It doesn't really like snow as it doesn't provide the sensors with enough contrast although I've not personally had issues flying over snow - but not following an alpine skier, as I said. It will follow an object downhill so no idea what Rainman was doing wrong.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Quote:
I'm not confident about an autonomous drone above ski pistes. I already pushed the envelope way too far.
When I googled this, it said that it is not permitted to fly drones over people in France. Google has been wrong before..... but France certainly seems more restrictive than the UK.
I'm not confident about an autonomous drone above ski pistes. I already pushed the envelope way too far.
When I googled this, it said that it is not permitted to fly drones over people in France. Google has been wrong before..... but France certainly seems more restrictive than the UK.
that's correct, you need a proper pilot's license for that kind of thing, there are all kinds of restrictions. geoportail website has a no fly zone for drones overlay as well.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Origen wrote:
Quote:
I'm not confident about an autonomous drone above ski pistes. I already pushed the envelope way too far.
When I googled this, it said that it is not permitted to fly drones over people in France. Google has been wrong before..... but France certainly seems more restrictive than the UK.
Rules are different for different classes of drone. For smaller drones (less than 250g) you are not allowed to fly over groups of people who are not involved with the flight. Unplanned flights over individuals are permitted but should be minimised. Many drones will not take-off if their GPS location shows they are in a No Fly Zone. It’s fairly easy to register as a drone pilot in France for the lower classes of drone operation.
I don’t think there’s a big difference between UK and French/EU drone laws, at least for flying small consumer-grade drones. But beyond what the rules say I think it’s important to be respectful of the people around you, so don’t fly too close to individuals, respect their privacy and don’t fly over groups of people.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Quote:
[drones are allowed in ski resorts] provided you follow all the rules for sub-250g drones and observe any local No Fly Zones.
That's not true in BC at least. And you can't rely on DJI's "no fly" support, which is insufficient in my experience (eg it doesn't support resort boundaries or even the UK flight ceiling, in my tests).
Last season at least Sun Peaks, Big White and Whistler all had similar bans.
This image is from 2022 but the bans were still there in 23/24.
If you're filming with a professional crew obviously you can get permission, but that's very different thing.
I'm not sure how many people would want to fly through a swarm of 249g drones, or whose insurance would cover that activity.
The liability issues are interesting. Both the resort and you presumably have a duty of care to everyone else.
The UK's CAA have a special caveat for "follow me" users, which gets around the "line of sight" rule, but doesn't get around any of the others, like them or not.
You couldn't expect to follow the minimum 50m distance rule (applies even to small drones) at a ski resort on an open piste.
As Nevis Range describe, the non-negligent way around that would be to agree a safe [written] flight plan with the resort in advance.
"..follow[ing] all the rules for sub-250g drones..." is quite complex, for good reason.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
@phil_w, sure, different in North America where resorts are in charge of the territory, often by way of leasing it, so they can set their own bans on drone use.
Mostly in Europe that’s different, with resorts/lift companies not having ownership or responsibility for setting rules about land or airspace above it. Obviously different rules apply in National Parks, No Fly Zones, etc. But you have much more scope to fly, within relevant drone laws, than you do in NA skies resorts.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Have been out (hiking, ski touring) with people with drones and while the photos/videos have been great, just didn't seem worth the cost/faff/weight. However, am actually tempted by the DJI neo. Yes I realise the camera is not the greatest, but I'm not looking for professional level quality. With the preset flight modes looks like I could just get it out at a pass/summit and do a "circle" or "dronie" about as quickly and easily as getting a photo on my phone which is the current method. That would be 95% of the use - with 5% being a little mess around with some trail running follow and filming others ski (not follow or anything too dramatic, just a nice overhead static position). What am I missing?
I did see it says not to use above 2000m altitude. I assume this is mostly just to cover their backs and it should work ok? I would mostly be using at 3000m. So if the 2000m thing is a hard limit it would definitely be a deal breaker.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
The footage is stabilized on the skier, so the background moves side to side as you watch it. It would I think benefit from external stabilization in post production, as you really want the skier to be moving left-right, not the background.
