Droning on

by Jeff · March 2, 2019

It has been pretty cold weather here in the Pacific Northwest. Normally I would have some serious flight time under my belt but with the temperatures and precipitation being off the wall I haven’t gotten any flight time in at all.

I am champing at the bit because I have new tools to try out with flying.

First is my RUGO lights from FOXFURY. I got to fly some night time training flights with Sundance Media Group in September and immediately ordered the lights for flying once my night waiver is approved. The lights come with everything you need tucked away in a sturdy package. The light and basic battery along with the mounting shoes for camera use or other shoe mounting is in the package, along with a charger and embroidered equipment bag. My extras included the handlebar mount (for use with my Inspire) and the flashing battery pack which is an optional battery pack that fits the requirement by the FAA for flashing lights for night time flight. I have played with them at night on the ground but am waiting to be able to do a full review in the air. The cost of these little gems is not prohibitive and you get a mount which would also fit a range of other tasks such as a hot shoe for camera work and even straps to mount on bike handlebars or walking stick shafts. Maria at FOXFURY (twitter@MariaCugini) https://www.foxfury.com/ is an absolute gem to work with and everyone that I have met or spoken with in connection with her family run business has been very knowledgeable and helpful. Definitely check out their company and say hi to them.

Second is my Epson Moverio BT300 glasses https://epson.com/For-Home/Smart-Glasses/Smart-Glasses/Moverio-BT-300FPV. These are an android based augmented reality tool that was originally designed for online meetings and other face to face A/R settings. They take the place of your phone or tablet as a screen while flying. The glasses provide a perfect solution for FPV/VLOS flying while giving you a heads up display and real time down link from your aircraft without having to take your eyes off the bird. The first time flying with these is a little disconcerting as you get a little disassociation feeling from having the down link video displayed right in front of your eyes while seeing the real world around and behind the display. Once you get over that feeling of disassociation though the display becomes second nature. The first time I flew with them on I wound up being seated and made small circuits in a field to get used to the double view. If you choose, you can just look over the top of the glasses and give a quick look down to the screen to start with. The glasses come with dark lens covers and these are an absolute necessity when flying outdoors in any kind of daylight. They keep the screen from being washed out. There is an absolute feeling of freedom to have your entire heads up display in front of you instead of having to look down to your device and then up to reacquire your bird! These little gems will set you back around $800.00 though. An extra added benefit is that they are Android based and can acct as a tablet would with the screen being right in front of your eyes! There are even earphones so you can listen to your favorite movie, YouTube video or any other item on the internet you wish to access.