Stay connected during return-to-home

We will definitely be telling the grandkids about how we survived the pandemic of 2020, and drones have been capturing images that will help illustrate these stories for future generations. The empty streets drone video is officially a thing.

If you’ve already got hours of footage on your hard drive that you promised yourself you’d do something with as soon as you found the time, you might find an audience out there. The internet is also ready to give as well as take. In fact, the ever-spinning wheels of social media are more valuable and important than ever. While online content quality can vary, there are still many, many quality resources available to keep you in action, even virtually.

Why social media and online resources?

Social media and online resources for drone operations are plentiful. If you are indeed in the position of having some downtime at home, it creates the perfect opportunity, in lots of ways, to learn, and even hone your flying skills.

You may be wondering what, exactly, you can gain from just browsing online and reading posts in drone forums. Well, here are a few tips to help you spend your time positively and productively:

Learn: Personally, after flying drones for quite a few years, I feel pretty comfortable in the knowledge I’ve accumulated over that time, but I still don’t know everything. And I never will! Even if you’re a veteran remote pilot, you can probably learn a trick or two from how-to articles like this one, or create content of your own to help others.

What about the recreational operators who have been wanting to pursue an FAA Part 107 remote pilot certificate? This may just be the break to study that you have been looking for. AOPA and the FAA both offer handy collections of online resources.

Engage: Many times, the best way to learn is by sharing real-world information with others. While there are plenty of remote flying model clubs and organizations out there, they are likely taking a break right now, too. That doesn’t mean the online communities are shut down, though. Actually, it seems so far that more people are actively engaging online than ever before.

You can find great conversations and threads spanning lots of shared information on popular online community sites such as MavicPilots, AutelPilots, and CommercialDrone-Pilots.

Of course, there are endless pages and groups on the usual social media sites. But, a word to the wise will tell you to take information from unofficial sources with a grain of salt. This holds true of any social media content, so be diligent about fact checking and verifying information you may not feel sure about.

Explore: As we all know, the tech world rarely slows down for an instant. (Even Microsoft is working from home these days.) In the past six months or so we have seen the release of groundbreaking new technology, from companies like Skydio, with its next-level obstacle avoidance system, to newly announced models.

Autel is on the verge of releasing the updated Evo II and even new designs such as ZeroZero’s V-Coptr Falcon two-rotor design are promised to be right around the corner. Better obstacle avoidance, 6K and 8K cameras, and other important advancements are all part of the learning curve to keep you up to date. Study!

Practice: We may be physically separating from other people, but you can still fly a drone alone, even in your own backyard. If you spot a particular kind of shot that you’ve never tried before in a drone video, you can try it yourself for practice. Again, the internet is your friend and AOPA also has resources, such as this AOPA Drone Minute video.

Look around online for ideas, then give them a try. It may be a new camera setting or a tip to learn a new maneuver; whatever it is, keep it simple so you can run through it several times or more to get comfortable with it. Make a list of these mini-lessons and work through one every day or so and before you know it, you will have translated these little tidbits of info you have found online into your own library of flight skills.

Professional organizations rely on social drone resources

It’s no secret that professional use of drones covers many areas. If you have followed some of my past stories you are aware that I also work in indie film production as director of the Drone Cav at Romero Pictures Indie Brigade.

While the Indie Brigade provides tons of resources to independent filmmakers all over the world, the Drone Cav is the social online resource for filmmakers wanting to learn how to use drones properly, safely, and legally on movie sets. As a mentor here as well, there is one-on-one interaction online, in addition to the usual social media videos and blog posts.