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Posted on Thursday, February 02, 2017
Flight @ the Farm
This was a test of the range and speed of the Phantom 4 drone over the
hay fields and Big Renoux Creek.
I managed to get the drone back safely on dry land, so., I considered it a success!
Posted on Tuesday, February 07, 2017
2nd Flight @ the Farm
I took the Phantom 4 across the creek and set it down in the hay field.
It takes a minute to locate the GPS satelites and memorize the location,
then the gyros spin up and it is ready to fly. I flew the drone above
the Mule, marked the Mule as a Point of Interest, then flew the drone
away from the point and lowered it to about 25 feet above the ground,
then started the automatic program to circle the Mule. I started the
video recording and watched. After the drone circled to the back of the
Mule, I stopped the Point of Interest programing and began the Follow Me
function. The drone followed along as I drove the Mule from one field to
another. It stopped and a Maximum Distance warning came from the
controller. It was too far away from the starting point. I had to turn
the Mule and move the drone back inside the 300' range limit. It took
several moves of the Mule before I was back inside the perimeter that
was set. Then I could try reinstating the Follow Me program. It
eventually returned to following me and I drove back to the original
fiield close to where I had started.
I'm learning how to use more of the Intelligent Flight features each time I fly the drone.
Posted on Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Grand Kids
Pauline had to make a trip to North Carolina to help another university
with their chemistry lab, so Brent drove her. Linda and Stacey went to
their house and stayed with Julie and Kyle. That way the kids could go
to school. P & B left on Sunday and returned Wednesday evening. Linda
and Stacey returned to the farm then.
Thursday, Brent called and
asked if we could keep Julie and Kyle because their school was being
closed for 5 days due to illness. We met them in Glasgow and picked up
Julie and Kyle, then returned to the farm.
Friday was chilly and the
kids played inside. We did take Daisy for a run though.
Saturday was
warmer, around 65 degrees and we headed outside early. The weather has
been so mild that the daffodils are up and blooming. Julie and Kyle
wanted to have a fire in the pit, so we hooked up the black trailer to
the Mule. We drove around the hay fields and they picked up dead limbs
that had fallen off the trees and landed along the trails. We took those
back to the fire pit and lit a fire. I let Julie and Kyle toss on wood
to keep the fire going all day. Julie and Linda raked up dried leaves
and burnt those during the day. They were damp enough to make lots of
smoke.
We
roasted hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire. It was a nice day, so
nice that Julie didn't want to go inside. We picked up some more dead
limbs along the creek bank and threw them on the fire which rekindled
the flames as darkness approached.
Pauline
and Brent came over on Sunday. Brent rode a 4 wheeler with Julie, while
teaching her to drive. Later in the day, I rode along with Julie as she
took her first solo ride back in and out of the 'holler' across from the
house.
We
had three fires in three day and only lit it once. Julie was really
proud of that and enjoyed being the 'fire manager'. Kyle played on the
swing, in the creek and on the pile of gravel by the pole barn. They had
a good time. We met Pauline and Brent Tuesday evening, returned their
kids to them and traded our Jeep for their Traverse. I'm taking it for
free service at Don Franklin Burkesville for Brent.
Posted on Wednesday, February 15, 2017
3rd Flight @ the Farm
I took the drone up to 1,000 feet in altitude while recording video. It
was a clear day and visibility was great.
Dogs Running @ the Farm
Linda and Stacey wanted to take Coco and Daisy for a run around the hay
field so I took the drone and made a video. There were several sets of
electrical wires I had to avoid and lots of tree limbs, so I wasn't able
to just use the Active Track feature. I had to constantly monitor where
the drone was flying and what it could possibly fly into. We managed to
make it about 1/3 the way around the field and I landed the drone just
after Coco attacked Daisy. No dogs were injured during the recording of
this event.
Posted on Thursday, February 23, 2017
Spur of the Moment Trip
We didn't have much on our calendar, so we decided to take a trip to IN
since the weather reports were for mild temperatures during the upcoming
week. We left Saturday morning arriving just before dark in Daleville. I
parked the truck, carried in a few things, then took a couple pictures
of the tax sale lot and the new electric meter and weather head that
Wilson Electric had installed. They had temporarily hooked up the power
to the old electric drop until the electric company could come out and
shorten the wire and connect it properly.
Sunday
morning, I took a picture of the new electrical panel that had been
installed in the basement. Linda took Stacey and went to Pendleton to
visit her Mom while I remained at the house. I removed the golf cart
from the storage barn and took a ride around town. After Stacey and
Linda returned from her Mom's, Imon & Linda K stopped to visit and we
all went to Bird's Smoke House for supper, then returned to chat longer.
Monday,
Lee Enterprise used a small tractor and drug the dirt a little smoother,
then spread grass seed and spread straw over the entire lot.They worked
on the gray house lot, taking down the persimmon tree with the track
hoe. Tim and Ed Bolton were interested as it looked like the tall limbs
might fall on their house. Nelson took his time and broke the tree down
without hitting anything.
Tuesday,
we went to the Indy Boat, Sport & Travel Show at the Indianapolis
Fairgrounds. We went during the daytime to avoid the crush of people
that usually show up during the evenings and on weekends. There weren't
many new trends or hi-tech improvements, it was mostly new colors on the
boats or bigger motors. The pontoon in the picture impressed me, it had
two 300 hp Evinrude outboards mounted on the back of a 27 footer with a
wing on top. It looked like it would literally fly! There was a bathroom
on board (in case the speed caused a person to shit down their leg I
guess).
When
we returned to Daleville, Lee Enterprise had placed large rocks at the
back property line as I has asked. Hopefully it will keep the bar
patrons from driving in the yard.
Wednesday, the electric company
showed up and disconnected the temporary hook up, shortened the wire and
reconnected the power. Linda's brother, Abner stopped in and chatted for
an hour or more. Later that evening, we went to Lapel to visit with Kim
& Kenny Bourke. Kenny cooked breaded tenderloins and French fries for
all of us to eat. They were delicious and the conversation was good too.
Thursday
we packed up and left the Daleville house, then stopped and visited with
Nana for over an hour. We left Pendleton and stopped in Jeffersonville
at KingFish for a late lunch, then on to the farm.
Posted on Friday, February 24, 2017
56 Chevy Ride to Sonic
It was a beautiful day, I had been working with the tractor, scraping
the debris out of the hay fields where the creek had over flowed. I went
inside and the girls were ready for lunch. Stacey wanted to go to Sonic,
so I mentioned we should drive the 56 Chevy. That plan was adopted, so
we drove the Mule to the pole barn and backed out the Chevy. The car ran
a little rough the first few miles, but once it warmed up, it began to
smooth out. I ran it up to 80 mph on a few open stretches of highway. We
pulled into Sonic, ordered our food and then sat at one of their patio
tables. The skate-tresses weren't working, so a waitress carried out our
order. It was a little bit windy, so we had to hold onto our napkins and
empty sack while we ate. We headed back to the farm when finished. The
ride was nice, just listening to the motor hum until I bumped the
shifter into neutral and coasted down the driveway to the pole barn.
