Since I now have a new GoPro camera I decided to get my old drone flying again. Took a while because the old batteries would not hold charge so had to buy a couple new replacements. Then had to find some odd attachment pieces to mount the new GoPro camera on the drone. I also needed a refresher course on how to fly the drone and found a good one on YouTube (of course).

I bought this drone in May, 2014 so its now 6 1/2 years old. This was the first of many models to come from DJI, the Chinese manufacturer. Todays models are super sophisticated but this old quadcopter still flies amazingly well. What it does not have is a gimbal stablizer mount for the camera or the ability for the operator to see from the drone’s eye view and thus control the direction and flight with much greater precision. However, the new camera provides dazzling image quality and it also has a “Hypersmooth” setting which provides incredible in-camera smoothing.

I recently took it out for some flights and video here on Fripp Island. The first video here on YouTube is a short 2 1/2 minute clip taken at the end of Porpoise Drive along the revetment wall. View mostly looking up the 18th fairway of Ocean Point Golf Course……

The next clip is about 4 1/2 minutes starting from behind our house on the 13th fairway of Ocean Point Golf Course. I take it up pretty high and the views across the Fripp Inlet toward Hunting Island are really great. The horizon seems to be crooked and I think the reason is the drone had to stay a bit tilted to keep from blowing off course in the wind. This one would be fixed with a gimbal mount for the camera…

I have a few other places on Fripp to go with the drone ……so I will post some more when I do.

Ronnie and Jim