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Skier almost hit by camera drone in World Cup slalom

bbc.com

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Re: Skier almost hit by camera drone in World Cup slalom

#131

Post by kordless »

baddox wrote: post #125
shocks wrote: post #24

I used to fly remote control aeroplanes as a hobby. There's a really strong culture of having a licence and insurance before you're allowed to fly solo. You have to pass a test before you can get insurance, and there are more tests if you want to fly around spectators (stunt shows, etc). This seems to be completely missing in the drone community. I quizzed some drone enthusiasts about it and they responded with "meh"…

What remote control model aircraft license are you talking about? I'm not aware of such a thing in the USA.

AMA for one. It's more like a membership than anything, and they provide guidance and some basic insurance coverage for when things happen, which they hardly ever do. Most fields require you are an AMA member and that you have insurance. Most home owners insurance covers this as well, or at least it did a few years back.

Re: Skier almost hit by camera drone in World Cup slalom

#132

Post by kordless »

I'm a little outraged that the skier was outraged while being interviewed. He's in a sport that is very risky, and part of that risk is performing for an audience which wants to see things better and in more detail. Those drones are part of the camera network of an event he's performing at, so it's unlikely anyone did anything wrong, other than maybe they put in the wrong battery packs. You can't have it both ways.

Note that I'm not saying he can't have some emotional response, but public outrage is basically saying "this shouldn't ever happen and people should be afraid of this" which is stupid given shit happens when you are doing highly competitive and dangerous things as a performer - which includes the venue and staff filming it in new and interesting ways. The audience demands it, and you as an athlete and performer are part of it.

The older I get, the more the unnecessary spread of cognitive dissonance irritates me.

Re: Skier almost hit by camera drone in World Cup slalom

#133

Post by yohui »

at-fates-hands wrote: post #106
itgoon wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There isn't really a drone community. With RC, almost everybody involved was an enthusiast who would meet with other enthusiasts. Anybody interested, even for a few minutes, can get a drone. This is the RC world's "Eternal September".

>> This is the RC world's "Eternal September" I would liken it to the Wild West, where anybody with money can buy a fairly large quadcopter and go fly it without many consequences. I'm glad there is a push to get these registered. I think one of the reasons there isn't a greater push for safety (licensing and insurance) is you're not seeing the stories that would compel the general public to react and have a large ou…

> stuff like kids getting severely injured

A baby lost an eye: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-349367...

Re: Skier almost hit by camera drone in World Cup slalom

#134

Post by an_account »

kordless wrote: post #132

I'm a little outraged that the skier was outraged while being interviewed. He's in a sport that is very risky, and part of that risk is performing for an audience which wants to see things better and in more detail. Those drones are part of the camera network of an event he's performing at, so it's unlikely anyone did anything wrong, other than maybe they put in the wrong battery packs. You can't have it both ways. N…

He should be outraged! The drone operator was told that he "had to fly outside of the race track and follow the racer from a 15-metre distance." This clearly didn't happen.

If the cameraman on the side of the track suddenly took his camera into the middle of the track, it would obviously be outrageous.

Re: Skier almost hit by camera drone in World Cup slalom

#135

Post by bhickey »

dspillett wrote: post #17

I think the title should be updated a bit here. When I read "drone nearly hits" I imagined it flying by and getting to close on the way passed. The video shows it crashing to the ground with some force. It isn't clear whether this is under its own power (so an issue in directional control by either a pilot error or equipment fault) or due to loss of power (so it hit the ground due to gravity). Either way it could hav…

From /r/multicopter: https://www.reddit.com/r/Multicopter/comments/3xvrdh/drone_c...

The folks over there think it looks like the drone inverted and crashed into the ground under power.

Re: Skier almost hit by camera drone in World Cup slalom

#136

Post by hristov »

kordless wrote: post #132

I'm a little outraged that the skier was outraged while being interviewed. He's in a sport that is very risky, and part of that risk is performing for an audience which wants to see things better and in more detail. Those drones are part of the camera network of an event he's performing at, so it's unlikely anyone did anything wrong, other than maybe they put in the wrong battery packs. You can't have it both ways. N…

Skiing is already risky enough he shouldn't have TV stations adding to the risk. It is wrong to say "well it is risky anyways, so who cares about one more source of risk." This is like saying that someone is already rich anyways, so it is ok steal from them.

I can guarantee you that professional skiers are very careful about all the risks they undertake, and work hard to minimize those risks. It is very understandable this skier is angry to learn that a TV station just added a new way for him to die.

Re: Skier almost hit by camera drone in World Cup slalom

#138

Post by ChuckMcM »

protomyth wrote: post #100

Wired cameras have also had problems such as http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nascar/2013/05/26/coca-... It would be interesting to start comparing accidents per hour for wired and drones.

... and in football games : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5ji-S2Kj8k or one of my favorites when a camera fell off a skydiver http://wgntv.com/2015/04/08/watch-what-happens-when-gopro-fa...

but it's more trendy if its a drone.

Re: Skier almost hit by camera drone in World Cup slalom

#139

Post by pfortuny »

maaaats wrote: post #53

It's not just any skiier it's the guy winning the world cup total the last years! Wish my favorite sport was featured on HN in some better light, heh. From my experience in flying drones in wintery mountains, it could be a battery failure. Cold batteries suddenly drops in voltage, too fast for the failsafe mechanisms to trigger. Can explain why it drops like a brick and not slowly descends.

That is why true "failsafe" mechanisms tend to be mechanical more than electrical: less prone to failure.

Re: Skier almost hit by camera drone in World Cup slalom

#140

Post by ArcticCelt »

dbrannan wrote: post #129
GizaDog wrote: post #121

Really sad to see media trying to make UAV's look bad. Instead of investigating why it happened they just want to ban them. Governments can use real drones to kill people and still allowed to continue the death and destruction. People need to get some perceptive here. I've been flying over 11 years and not one issue ever!

It was most likely a licenced and insured pilot - looked like battery failure to me, but usually large unit (this was an X8) would have had dual batteries for redundancy. Being an X8 it would have dual motors and props, so if one failed it could still fly. The media shouldn't blow this out of proportion - if quads are banned they will regret loosing such awesome aerial footage.

The main problem, as stated in the article, is that he was flying right above the head of the competitors instead of from a distance as he was suppose to do. But that cameraman/marketing company decided instead to go for the better angle, ignoring the risk for the competitors.
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