Yesterday evening Vancouver Drones – Professional, Hobby and Sports met for the first time. Bob, the coordinator, has opened his conference room and brought together a group of like minded enthusiasts. It was a great experience.
Primary Purpose
Vancouver Drones focus is to promote the safe and intelligent use of small unmanned aerial systems. The sUAS category and rules covers remote controlled flying ‘objects’ weighing 0.55 to 50 lb.
Bob is providing an incredible setting for a small group of enthusiasts to meet and share experiences. I was able to gain exposure to new equipment and learn from other’s experiences.
Vancouver Drones – First Meeting Summary
Education is a clear focus. The format is each meeting being coordinated by one or two members presenting a predetermined topic. This started with a brief discussion of the airspace rules by Chris, a local professional that is flying in the area. He introduced us to what questions to expect, from whom, and how to deal with them. He also covered some fact about the local area that were useful.
We also had a chance to gain hands-on experience with the Brother AirScouter along with a real-life story. Chris was totally delighted with it. It clearly demonstrated it’s value to him on a commercial shoot. He was only reviewing the one he had but he had already put one into his budget plan. They start at around $700 so it is an investment. I immediately recognized it’s value because back in the day of film I shot with one eye on in the viewfinder and the other watching the action. I do remember that learning to focus on two views at once took time and effort but I’m happy to say you don’t loose it once you have it. After all these years it didn’t seem strange to me at all. In fact, it is what I’ve been looking for as a solution to many problems I’ve face flying my drone. Guess I have to put one in my budget too.
Wrapping it up
Bob knows how to run a good meeting. I like that we had an agenda and he did a great job of herding us cats. Bob wrapped it up close to on time with plans for the next meeting. It is really nice to have someone keeping things on track and focused.
Vancouver Drones – Next meeting
Vancouver Drones meets the Second Sunday @ Six. It is easy to remember, just think SSS. Space is limited so sign up on Meetup.com.
Our next meeting agenda Dave will be presenting some of his videos and others may participate.
I will be presenting an introduction to building drones. With several videographers in the room I should be able to get some good footage of the presentation to share. That is a video I’ve been wanting to create.
Summary
I believe Bob has provided fertile ground and planted a seed. He is providing the environment and structure and has offered a clear vision of what he is trying to accomplish. I look forward to participating.
These days drones are entering into everyone’s thoughts one way or another. It is up to drone users to keep those thoughts positive by flying safely and working hard to avoid being seen as a nuisance.
The initial meeting consisted of nine Part 107 Pilots, several of which are actively involved in the drone industry. It was a quiet place we could talk and interact without outside distractions, and it was focused. Bob did a great job keeping us on topic and on time.
Recreational pilots, racers, and Whoop flyers are all encouraged to join. The next meeting’s agenda is set by the members at the end of each meeting so topics are driven by the members. The first meetup was amazing.
