Pete Pilot

What the heck? Was he coming or going? ?

Wow Geoff, cool reflection of your time here. Most of what you say still holds true, though I think booze is more acceptable now, beer is at grocery stores and most areas have a liquor/wine store. So cool about the hedgehogs, never even seen one… As I mentioned in a previous comment I built this drone specifically for mountain exploration, and so far I can get out 6-7km (4miles) no problem; this was after months of making and testing several antennas and batteries. It's an amazing thing to look off at a distant peak and then minutes later be looking back from the top. I do most my test flights later at night or very early morning because the light is so nice at this time, also there generally isn’t much wind.

Haha! Yes, Norwegian officials loves taxes and hate alcohol. I’m from the US originally and find it very hard to justify the cost of alcohol, I started making beer and wine a few years ago simply from a budget stand point. ? But the country itself is beautiful and has been great for flying RC planes and drones around. I got sucked into building FPV drones this year, and have been having an amazing time exploring those mountains you see in the background. Truly unbelievable experience to just fly up there…

Hi Geoff, Sound like a great trip, traveling cheap is often the most entertaining way honestly, and yes, it’s 100% a different country now, after they “invented oil” in the 70s everything changed, except the mountains of course. Isle of Man TT you’re talking about? If so, I’m dying to go to that event, hopefully I can attend next year. Two years ago rain ruined it, last year Corona, so fingers crossed for next year. Thanks for watching and sharing your experience. Cheers!

Just a 60 second clip highlighting the beautiful late evening sun, fresh rows of grass, forest treetops and distant mountains. (Sound On, and HD is best, but the embedded browser maybe doesn’t allow HD… hmm) Happy to have captured this footage, and wanted to share. Cheers!

Hey guys, last week I Range Tested some new FPV DIY Projects and couldn't be happier with the results, and surprisingly, the footage!1) A Helical Antenna literally made out of trash that works unbelievable.2) A 2500Mah Li-Ion battery really improved flight time and range capabilities. (Just built a 4200mAh I’ll be testing today)- Range Test Goal: Determine maximum video range and trip distance. (And for those curious) Here’s the How to DIY Li-ion battery video. Li-ion could be very useful for lowering weight and extending flight times in model airplanes as well, just need to figure out your Amp requirements. If you have any questions just let me know. Also if you enjoyed the videos please Like on YouTube, helpful for my channel. Cheers! -Pete

Thanks JD, appreciate the compliment. I’m just an innocent bystander at the moment, but have been discussing techniques and systems with the farmer recently as a result of this video.

Take a deep breath, cause it's mucking' season! Got some great/fun footage of the local farmers last week. Who here enjoys these smells every year? Cheers guys! -Pete

And 2 days later winter was back. Here’s some practice highlights, if you guys have any editing or flying tips they are welcome. Cheers!

So usually I fly (err, crash) planes, but secretly I've been building a few FPV drones with a goal of exploring the forest and mountain areas around us. After a lot of testing and tuning I finally achieved a confidence inspiring setup and decided to go for a test run up the mountain! The TX and VTX signal were both decent the whole time but could still use some further adjustment. If you have any questions about the setup let me know, and I hope everyone is holding up well during these awkward pandemic times... Cheers, -Pete

Thanks Graham, appreciate it. I’m constantly trying to improve my video editing skills (another hobby), so any critical feedback is welcome as well. Swimming? I know, who was I kidding... I don’t even swim here in the summer. I just saw it drifting away and the sun was going down quickly, desperate times. But as you said, nope... Beautiful place for sure, I moved from the USA a few years ago and the views never grow old.

Yea, so last week I went out for a gentle sunset flight to test a new GoPro 8 in low light conditions. While flying around I decided a nice shot would be a big loop over the water between the 2 mountains... and well the 1st attempt was ok, but my 2nd attempt resulted the following mini adventure: Cheers, -Peter p.s. Don't know if I posted this incorrectly or what ... but it looks huge! I'll blame it on the new site ?

I’m 38, so not young per se, but by the standards of the hobby I’m on the young side..? Kids now a days (see, I am old) have this push button mentality, meaning if it requires more than a button push it’s too hard. Companies have tried to cater to this by creating all these automatic self leveling planes, but inevitably the plane still crashes and the effort required to fix the plane is too much for most. After which the kid says, well I flew RC planes, what’s next? This may partially be because kids aren’t saving up to buy their first planes, but instead getting them for free and therefore having no investment in the plane. Can we change this? Can we make the hobby cool? Not sure, but this year I started creating YouTube videos of my experience with RC planes, highlighting the fun, excitement, crashes and funny moments in the hopes that it may inspire others, specifically friends and family members to gain interest in the hobby. My friends/family do think it’s cool and interesting but none have ran out and bought a plane yet... A new hobby in a similar category that does seem to be getting the attention of young folks is FPV racing drones. I think it’s because it feels like a video game, and because people see incredible videos shot with these drones and want to do that themselves. However if you know anything about FPV drones they require a decent amout of money ($500 minimum), soldering, computer and troubleshooting skills, and then learning to fly takes a lot of practice. Add this to the host of new laws everywhere and this hobby is going to shrink before it grows. What can we do? I guess keep enjoying the hobby, share fun stories, pictures and videos often, and invite people to join whenever possible, especially children and grandchildren. That’s my two cents, or maybe a bit more... -Peter “Live to Hobby” Edited By Pete Pilot on 27/01/2021 22:18:56 Edited By Pete Pilot on 27/01/2021 22:19:17 Edited By Pete Pilot on 27/01/2021 22:19:30

Yea, definitely classified, but we’ll crack the case someday... Had a nice flight again today to test out a new GoPro Hero 8. It takes very nice footage and is stabilized so looks very smooth.. Might drive up the mountain behind our place to find an interesting place to fly up there sometime soon. Today’s flight started with poor camera positioning, which resulted in a severely nose heavy plane and ending in a hot landing into the side of a rock... so a couple repairs and tweaks are in order before any future flights. Sorry most of you can’t currently fly.

Hey Eric that was quick! What a great photo, I asked my wife where in Norway this is, and she said based on the trees and grass that she has no idea. 😆 I googled the Focke Wulf 189, it’s a pretty funny/strange looking plane. Glad you have a copy of this photo now, really a neat piece of family history.