Aren't there any RC aircraft hobbyists who'd like to visit OWS ?

[eppur_se_muova]

Lots of possibilities out there, for those with the know-how ...

https://www.google.com/search?q=RC+helicopter+camera&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1

http://www.amazon.com/3-5CH-Metal-helicopter-Camera-memory/dp/B005QSONW2

http://www.xheli.com/56p-icopter-adapter.html

http://www.xheli.com/fpvcameras.html

http://rcvehicles.about.com/od/rcairships/p/rcblimps.htm

[Xithras]

1. Check your local laws first.

In many cities, it's illegal to fly R/C aircraft over public parks and public streets, or over people. I just did a quick Google, for example, and discovered that it's technically illegal to fly R/C aircraft in any New York public park. I grew up in a town where it was illegal to fly them anywhere in the city limits (though the police would generally ignore you until someone complained). These types of laws aren't usually enforced, but you can bet that the NYPD would bring in a SWAT team if anyone with OWS tried it.

[MedicalAdmin]

5. A friend of mine designed an RC airplane that looked

exactly like a lawnmower.

Then he flew it around town. It freaked the heck out of lots of folks. Eventually the cops visited and politely asked him to stop scaring the old ladies to death.

[Xithras]

9. In a city near me...

...some local RC airplane owners started hanging colored LED's on the bottom of their planes and were flying them at night. It was kind of funny, because they caused several near-accidents as people stopped to watch them on the road, and generated a number of 911 "ufo" calls. The police finally caught them, and reminded them that flying RC planes within the city limits was illegal. In an urban area of nearly a quarter million people, with shootings and robberies to report every day, THAT made the front page of the local paper :)

[MedicalAdmin]

13. I'm telling you that lawnmower was just too cool for words.

He would fly it around about 8 to 12 feet off the ground. Imagine a toro heading down the middle of the street making a huge lawnmower sound at just over head height.

I find the RC guys more than a little strange, but then again so are the doctors I work with. Passion, no?

[Fire Walk With Me]

16. More than one person has done that; it's freaking hilarious.

"Then he flew it around town. It freaked the heck out of lots of folks. Eventually the cops visited and politely asked him to stop scaring the old ladies to death."

Am I a bad person if I want to really laugh right here?

[Fire Walk With Me]

2. It's brilliant, and would be yet another 1st Amendment collision as Kops say it can't be done

the minute they figure out it's occuring.

Some states won arguments that citizens could use radar detectors to avoid Kop speed traps, IIRC as a 1st Amendment argument.

[Chan790]

3. What are you trying to shoot aerial footage of?

It seems like a much more complicated solution to a problem that likely has an easy one if I knew what you were trying to shoot?

[kestrel91316]

7. Trying to get overhead views of OWS protests after the cops force media to leave.

[Chan790]

10. Wouldn't finding a nearby apartment with a sympathetic tenant...

and a window facing the park that you can shoot out of with a telephoto lens off a tripod or mount be safer for equipment, yield better film (because you'd be able to use better camera equipment) and less risky to the cameraman.

They likely would not know they were being filmed until the footage hit the 11PM news or YouTube. If you wanted sound, you just need an A/V mixing board and a long-distance parabolic mike.




Edit: tech error...that's a parabolic, not a shotgun mike.
Edit 2: While there is about $15000 worth of equipment in that pic, it can be rented in NYC or LA for about $200/day.

[Fumesucker]

4. The chances of hurting someone are definitely non-zero..

Any kind of hovering vehicle is going to have fast moving blades, even modest electric motors can give you a severe cut with a sharp prop on them.

Flying an RC air vehicle is hard under the best of circumstances..

[Xithras]

8. That's their justification for banning them, fwiw.

My son has a pretty nice electric RC helicopter (gyro stabilized, so any idiot can fly it), and he accidentally flew it into his little brother once. Understand that this thing has blades that are about a foot and a half across, and can cruise around at about 100 feet for 15 minutes or so. It's not one of those $20 WalMart cheapies.

My younger son (who was six at the time) ended up with a nice welt on his arm where the first blade smacked him, but was otherwise unharmed. The blades simply broke away (as they're designed to do) which prevented any serious damage. I certainly wouldn't volunteer to step in front of one but, unless it hits you in the eye, it's really incapable of doing any serious damage.

I think that most of the laws restricting R/C flight were written back in the 1980's, when all R/C aircraft were gas powered, heavier, and certainly more dangerous to be around (people were actually killed by them). Still, those laws usually don't differentiate, and in many cities the police can ticket you for flying in prohibited areas.

[Fumesucker]

11. By the time you have onboard video, transmitter, batteries to power the whole thing..

It's really going to require a powered gimbal on the camera too if you want decently stable video.

Your weight is getting high enough that it requires a dangerous power level to keep it up in the air..

Something that weighs a dozen or two grams is one thing, several hundred grams to kilograms is entirely another.

[Xithras]

14. But you don't need all that.

My son has shot some great HD video footage simply by duct taping my Kodak Playsport (a $150 impact resistant HD pocket camera with image stabilization) to the bottom of his helicopter. In theory, you could also strap a smartphone with a quality camera to a helicoper or RC plane and get realtime video using Qik, if there's decent 4G service in your area.

[eppur_se_muova]

15. Click on the links in the OP to see the size of those cameras ... nt

[Fumesucker]

18. I'm more familiar than most with the technology..

For one thing I've been flying RC fixed and rotary wing aircraft for over twenty years, I built my first camera plane in the late 80's..

Anyone who flies an RC craft above a crowd is being highly irresponsible, just one incident of even minor injury in a protest situation could well have dramatic negative effects on the entire hobby and if it's a cop or other official that's injured then there could well be lengthy prison time for the operator.

The tiny cheap cameras don't work well at all in low light situations and most of the evictions have taken place at night, anything capable of delivering reasonable quality video at night isn't going to be cheap, tiny or particularly light.

RC fixed and rotary wing craft crash, a lot, so much so that there's an ironic term for it, "re-kitting".

http://www.flyrc.com/top-10-definitions-you-should-know-581.html

Crash: A simple method of seeing inside a model airplane. Also, Synonym for "re-kitting" a model.

[eppur_se_muova]

20. I think I'd go with the dirigible ...

OK, maybe not.

[Missy Vixen]

6. Not the hobbyists part of a local flying club

I hate to be a wet blanket, but RC hobbyists already get hassled enough by local government and the FAA. Those involved in the hobby with any seriousness at all have dumped an astounding amount of money into equipment, etcetera, and must be licensed to fly.

Anything that would have the range to do what your links are suggesting is very, VERY expensive. There's a guy affiliated with the local club that flies a miniature jet, for instance. The only place he's allowed to fly the thing is the local air force base because of the sheer amount of runway he needs for takeoffs and landings.

If you go to one of the hobbyist sites and check it out, you'll discover the set-up is so expensive that nobody in their right mind would be investing that kind of money into something that's either going to be confiscated or destroyed by local law enforcement.

IMHO.

[Fire Walk With Me]

12. Santa Ana winds are coming into LA now...might preclude such things :(

[krispos42]

17. How about a basic helium balloon with a camera in it?

Put a camera with a long video tape time (or maybe it can be programmed to take high-res stills every couple of seconds} dangling from a smallish balloon. Tape a GPS-enabled phone to it.

When the cops move in, start the camera and release the balloon on a tether. When the cops get close, an OWS activest cuts the tether, sending the balloon and camera away.

Don't fill the balloon up too much; you're not trying for a high-altitude photo run. You just want enough to go up a couple of hundred feet and drift away on the breeze.

Maybe rig up a way to put a pinprick hole in the balloon so it won't go more than a couple of miles vertically.

Anyway, at some point the balloon/camera lands some place and comes to a stop, and another (un-arrested) activists tracks down the camera and retrieves the pictures using the taped-on phone GPS.

[hobbit709]

19. I was thinking along those lines too.

[B Calm]

21. I seen on TV where a guy was taking pictures of earth from a self launched balloon