I have found my sUAS (the FAA term for this style of drone) very helpful on inspections. I’ll offer that a range of 50 feet is incredibly short, especially when the peak of the roof can be 30 feet up and you are standing far enough away from the building to maintain line of sight with the sUAS. Slant range is what you may need to consider.
The flight time of 15 minutes is also very short. My battery life is advertised as 30 minutes. That is under no wind conditions (not realistic for 90-plus% of the flight conditions you’ll likely encounter). I’ve never gotten more than 23 minutes of flight time, while leaving enough battery reserve (typically 10 to 15%) to recover the sUAS and land. Depending on the size of the structure, you will likely need 10 to 25 minutes of actual flight time for a residential structure. This drives either higher capacity sUAS capability or multiple charged batteries on hand.
There are many other factors, features, and requirements to consider. If I can help, please let me know. Best of luck!
I don’t take any still photos with the drone. Supposedly it can NOT take a snapshot during video.
I just grab screenshots out of my video. By the time I print my reports to PDF the resolution is chopped down anyways.
Btw, I only run the video at 1080 - I haven’t even bothered to take it to 2.7K since 1080 looks so good.
Photographers supposedly “hate” the Mini because its only JPG and not RAW files. I couldn’t care less.
This is a good point. I also never bother with high res photos, since I’m reviewing them on spot. However the snapshots, pulled from drone video might need zooming, which usually requires extra resolution.
If possible I’d rather use lower FPS with higher res.
I will say one issue I have with ALL drones is the difficulty seeing the screen during normal daylight operations. I’ve considered the big tablet with the shade tent but right now I just make sure to get a complete video of each roof and review at home. I can pick out most issues onsite but there is always some little issue I notice later in the video.
Just like thermal - its not a magic bullet. Its a tool like any other with limitations.
This Xiaomi can be ordered from China far cheaper, than the local market. The virtual goggles are solving the problem with the sunglare. I have very good experience with the brand and the parts are easily available. The only thing is that for some of the products the software comes first on Chinese and i had to wait for english update, but those were small/cheap gadgets. This is a massively sold product.
Darned autocorrect…
Sounds like a good platform. Without obstacle avoidance it’s a pilot’s uav. It’s just a matter of training, and determining your escape maneuver ahead of time.
I fly for fun, and take some vids with my Q500 4K. If I’m going to get very close to something, I consider what stick motion will get me out if the wind kicks up. I don’t really have to work out what my move should be - I just do it. If it takes more than one stick vector to get out, I’m even more cautious.
If I go 107 for commercial use, I think I’d have a bit more concern. Liability risks rise quickly.
I’ve got that same uav Randy. Not having sensors pointing every which way has never been a problem. It is really important to know how to manually “fly” these things, not just depend on the software and sensors, particularly if you are being paid to fly them.
My worry is if the “return home” function kicks in a moment whenever there is a branch, wire, or the house itself on the way back. The obstacle avoidance might save a lot of expenses.
Generally, the return home routine will take the drone up to a preset height, then move it laterally time a position above the original launch point, and then bring it down to a landing.
Unless it is under something when it initially rises, you should be okay, as long as you first set the RTH altitude high enough, and launch from a clear area in one of the yards, with no trees, structures or lines above.
You would need to check with the specific drone model to see if obstacle avoidance is active during RTH.
The major models (along with tons of toy versions) are covered by Captain Drone on YouTube.
The link I shared offers a decent review. Sounds like a decent unit for the price!
