Over Your Dead Body
November 8
Early in the morning, I drove to a film set to observe a professional drone operation and help with battery swaps onboard a boat. The weather was calm, with fog lifting off a nearly crystal-clear lake, creating ideal flying conditions. We used a DJI Inspire 3—it looked intimidating at first, but the controls seemed to be very familiar.
Flying drones from boats comes with its own set of challenges. Calibration usually needs to be done on land, and metal surfaces like boats can cause compass errors. Reflections from the water can confuse collision sensors if they’re enabled. Also a drifting boat means your home point is constantly changing, something that can get very expensive in an emergency. It’s high risk, high reward. We wrapped up and left the set as dusk approached.
