Podcast - Adam Savage Project
Flying Multirotors – 2/10/2015
Adam, Norm, and Will discuss flying Adam’s new quadcopter, multirotor safety, and some common sense things any flyer can do to be more safe.
Comments (64)
Adam, Norm, and Will discuss flying Adam’s new quadcopter, multirotor safety, and some common sense things any flyer can do to be more safe.
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I think the audio podcast on iTunes doesn’t match up. I think u upped “potpourri” from weeks ago
The audio podcast on iTunes doesn’t match up. I think u re-upped “Potpourri” from weeks ago. Srry bout the double post. Mobile does wierd things.
+1 audio episode is mixed up with “potpourri”.
My curiosity takes over: What are the thermos you guys use regularly?
I try to follow this checklist when I am out flying my gear.
http://wiki.openpilot.org/display/WIKI/Preflight+Checklist
zojirushi thermos. Comes wirecutter recommended.
Focus is off, Norm. But I’m guessing you probably already know that.
+1 “Potpourri” leftovers on my droid!
Thx
Looks like the podcast you guys (or somebody) uploaded on iTunes for the episode today is the same recording from a couple weeks ago when Adam was talking about his ghost-hunting tweet-storm. FYI.
Is this filmed on a different camera than the GoPro ? Looks more cinematic for some reason 🙂
As a good friend of two EAA pilots, this is all sounds spot-on. Practicing engine-out landings on a two-seater low wing Sonex with a Volkswagen engine is an awesome experience and absolutely necessary. Engine-outs are something you need to be prepared for. I once flew from St. Louis, MO to Grand Rapids, MI with one of them, we took a somewhat odd route in order to fly over other airfields, avoid forests/urban areas, and stay FAR away from bodies of water. Quite a bit of planning went in to a three hour flight.
I don’t know who is more of an asshole Adam or Will… Adam for forgetting the last name of “the third guy” or Will for saying he would slip in the name in post editing and then not actually following through.
Audio only version is from last week.
You guys mixed up today, 2015/2/10, with 2015/1/20
Definitely a past episode uploaded for audio listeners… 🙁
Well said guys, this episode should come in the box with new multirotors as a PSA
if you could post that list Adam mentioned about flying checklists, that would be great.
This episode of ‘Still Untitled’ was very much like the commercials that were aired during the Super Bowl this year; a real downer. 😌
Next week, how about something fun? Like a new Spoilercast? 😊
Not only that, but as the podcast closes in on the last five minutes, the audio seems to play at an accelerated pace.
Discussing the flying checklist reminded me of a little saying I heard once: “In close approach navigation (or aviation in this case) there is no such thing as too slow.”
FWIW, I found the ‘Blade Nano QX’ much easier to learn on than the ‘Estes Proto X’ nano-quad. Also: the Blade is Bind-N-Fly compatible so can associate with and be flown by your full-size controller instead of having to use the one that it comes with (you can actually buy it without a controller, as well).
I disagree, this was fabulous and an exploration of a fascinating subject. I am constantly in awe of the fact that this technology is this capable, and this inexpensive.
To be fair, I purchased a little Estes Proto X Nano on Sunday because I’ve been thinking about the technology and wanted to spend some time with my own quad, but didn’t want to drop a thousand bucks on a DJI or similar off the bat.
If you are at all interested in quads, from what I can tell the little $40 [CAD] Nano is a fabulous starting option. I can fly it around my house, up and down stairs (not well) without significant danger (The 3D printed blade guard is a nice addition). However, it is teaching me, even in the two days my control is miles better, and when I screw up, when it hits a wall (or the ceiling, or the table, or the cupboards), I occasionally push a propeller back on and keep going. If I do something really dumb, the price of failure is cheap.
I’d love to see Adam’s checklist and more flights… I’m curious to see what he does with the GPS flight paths. Hay If you ever have the Gopro die during a podcast just show some of his flight footage… Or norm feeding baby ducks or something.
they can’t all be shits and giggles. Multirotor regulation is a controversial debate at the moment and Adam’s perspective is worth sharing. As is will and norm’s, for that matter.
I sail small and big boats and the checklists and general emphasis on being prepared and always having backup plans mirrors what I think of as proper voyage planing.
Even if it’s just for a quick daysail. Check the weather, check your boat, check yourself. If you go out, better make sure that you can get back in one piece. The coasties have bigger fish to fry.
I’m learning the ropes with a Hubsan X4, so far so good. Once I have that down ill move onto something with a camera.
What Adam mentioned I believe is pretty good alternative for the FAA, people who want to do commercial or more semi-pro flying is built up and/or bystander rich environments join a flight club where they can take part in a few safety courses under supervision. But in the end its always up to the individual not to be an idiot.
Guys, you know what I would love, and maybe Norm could do this on one of his solo Videos… I would really enjoy a welcome to the basics on multirotors. Maybe a split screen of the UAS and one of the controls so we can see how they are controlled. One of my big concerns, is the learning curve. I’d like to see how many separate controls I will need to master for the basic flying skills.
Also, are the controls mostly universal, have they pretty much settled on a standard set of controls for the majority of builders, etc?
Thanks!
MrPepsi (SF)
Yes, please.
I read through the checklist you pointed to. I’d add a couple of things:
–All of the Hardware/Equipment checks should be done BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE HOUSE! That’s where your full toolkit lives, the superglue, the epoxy, the battery charger, etc. Once you’re out in the field it’ll be -very- tempting to say, “Oh, I guess it’ll hold together for one more flight…” Make your repairs when you return from an expedition, while you remember what went wrong!
–Repeat the Hardware/Equipment check out in the field as well– hopefully, only things requiring minor tweaks will be found– things you’re equipped to fix away from home.
–Paul E Musselman
Following the freeways is called VFR (visual flight rules) and the licence is much cheaper 🙂
We fly helicopters occasionally at work, and in a recent bout of bad weather we couldn’t get an aircraft, not because the weather was so bad, but they only had 1 pilot with an instrument rating, and he was away.
I fly light aircraft, and all the stuff about check-lists and constantly thinking about where you will ditch if it all goes horribly wrong is _exhausting_. i have never worked so hard in my life!
I think that this has some of what you’re looking for:
http://mdvip-tested.md-staging.com/art/makers/466372-how-get-hobby-rc-learning-fly-quadcopters/
And yes…the controls are the same for pretty much all multi-rotors. The difference comes in how each aircraft responds to those inputs. Some of that is design-related, but your specific radio settings are the biggest factor.
I’ve been meaning to get into flying multirotors for a while now, but I have no experience at all. So what would you suggest I start with? Maybe this topic has been covered, but I would appreciate if you could help me out.
So during the ad promo thing I noticed the fox taxidermy cuddling the tribble in the background. Was wondering how many pieces of taxidermy does Adam have? Does you only have mounts or do you have a soft mount piece?
You guys should do different camera angles to make it more interesting
exnasaguy
That is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for.
Thanks!!!
Oh I agree. I check after each flight. With a quick recheck before the next flight. But it is one of the better lists I have seen out there. Hopefully it can help people who don’t want to start from scratch, they can use it as a base and add their own points and notes.
Adam, I would suggest that UAS pilots check into the Academy of Models Aeronautics organization. They are actively attempting to teach safe operation of the copters. If you join the AMA you also get liability insurance as part of the membership. Keep up the good work. We need to self police flight activities to keep under informed law makers out of the process.
I thought there were never going to be ads if you were a premium member.
I would rather banner ads at this point! Can ad-block that shit.
Technically what they are doing is plugs not ads. If you really don’t like them that much, it’s not like they last very long, just skip 30 seconds to a minute to the actual podcast.
I’d like to know this as well.
Is that Jeremiah Johnson?
I am sure the burger in question is delicious, however let me direct you to the best burger in the country which resides in Atlanta at Holeman and Finch.
Hey guys, just a heads up, I use the “public radio & podcast” app for android and the newest episode is your potpourri episode from a couple weeks ago mislabeled.
The 15 dolar quadcopter they where talking about is probably the Cheerson CX-10. I got a week ago and it is apparently the smallest quadcopter there is, and it’s a lot of fun to fly.
the commercial is very professionally done, guys!
Okay good to know i’m not going crazy. i was listening to this like “i swear i’ve heard this before.” i thought i was experiencing very vivid deja vu or it was a duplicate podcast. guess i don’t have a future in fortune telling
04:38 David “The Third Man” F*ck, what a brilliant name!
BTW they should name an asteroid “Eleven”, so that if there’s ever a rocket launch to it, you could say it’s going up to Eleven 😀
IFR = I Fly by Roads…. (;
I am personally fascinated by the safety stuff. I read somewhere that Dennis Quaid started talking about safety in the medical industry, including the need for checklist systems, after one of his kids was injured by a medical mistake – the article said he was influenced by his experience as a private pilot.
or I Fly by Rails. It’s also lazy and inefficient flying undertaken by those who haven’t bothered to do proper pre-flight planning.
I use an iPhone based logbook for my commercial flying called LogTen Pro, it’s possibly a little complex for multi rotor/hobby flying but it’s got some cool features and if you do intend to go to the FAA it’ll generate a complete log book that you can print out.
The way you guys talk about this hobby and the hobbiest’s responsibility reminds me of the way many of us gun hobbiest talk about our past time.
I think Adam’s logging is funny.
I’ll log my time, having no formal training and go to the FAA and say that I know what I’m doing! <-- That's what I got out of it.
I just listened to this episode today. Great topic, as my Inspire 1 arrives any day now. On my own I’ve been working on my own flight checklists and safety considerations. Great to hear you guys talking about this. Adam (and everyone else), here’s my checklists so far, created in Evernote. It uses actual checkboxes and I’m thinking I might make an instance of the whole Note for each flight and let that be my log. Best of all, I can fire up Evernote on my iPad and do my checklists right from the controller.
Evernote Inspire 1 Safety Checklists
On this subject, anyone interested in the deep power of checklists to revolutionize what you do, check out the book The Checklist Manifesto.
i totally agree with your comments My hobby is car racing and i run the ” Economy Type:” road race series where no racing experience is needed to start, so you get lot of people doing a dangerous sport with no idea what they are doing.
“Don’t be stupid” gets said a lot.
“Shiny side up, Greasy side down” is my motto.
any updates on that check list?
I’m sorry, but there appears to be a gaff early in the episode; when referring to his honor the correct form of address is: “The Right-Honorable Baron Haden-Guest”. 😉
PS – Just think of that next time you see “The Lady Haden-Guest” in a yogurt commercial.
I hate to say it but your vocabulary could use some improvement. Your on camera casual swearing is diminishing your professionalism and credibility.
Would someone mind explaining a couple of things from the beginning of the podcast to a foreigner?
1. ) Is what Will mentioned in the commercial at the beginning true? You can’t just pick razor blades off the shelf in the US, but have to instead ask a clerk to get them for you?
2.) How does this “garbage day” thing work over there? (Here in Finland you just leave your trash in a bin that’s somewhere near your driveway and the garbage truck comes to empty it once a week. You don’t have to do anything special on that day.)
1. it depends on the neighborhood. Neighborhoods with lots of crime lock up the statistically most stolen items. This usually includes packs of razors, but can also include hair dye, and other small package/high priced items. There have been instances where someone comes in with a cart, and just dumps all of the dozens of razor blade packages (sometimes worth $30+ ea) so they can resell them at a fleamarket.
2. Garbage is collected weekly on a certain day of the week, usualy in the morning (different from neighborhood to neighborhood). However, Adam & crew have been in situations in which someone forgot to take out the trash before the scheduled pick up time, so when they hear the garbage truck picking up their neighbors garbage, they have to race to wheel out their garbage bins outside before the truck gets to their house.
This is the part that confuses me. Why do people need to wheel out their bins? Where i live the bins are always at the pickup spot and you just carry your garbage bags to the bin every day. It needs to be in the bin with the lid closed when they come pick it up of you have to pay for two bins.
Hilarious. I had no idea they were married.
People usually store the garbage bind on non-pickup days somewhere in their sideyard/backyard as to leave the curbside more open for parking.
Here people usually either have a small bit of fence that hides the bin from view or even a locked shack (and give the recycling company a key).
Thanks for the inspiration Adam. I’m now tracking more flight details. http://drewt.ca/2015/03/becoming-a-better-pilot/