3DR Solo Night Flyby - LDS Oquirrh Mountain Temple

Having received my gimbal a few months ago, I have had a chance to play around with more of the settings that allow me to control the GoPro while in the air via the Solo's Controller. Daytime flying is a breeze, and the ability to change settings without having to land is extremely helpful.  The one thing I hadn't tried yet, was shooting at night.

Here is a short video attempting to test out the night shot "mode" on the GoPro Hero 4 Black, using my 3DR Solo Quadcopter Drone and Gimbal. Still need to tweak a few settings, but the foggy night and the lighting of this beautiful structure were too great to pass up.

The actual "Night Mode" toggle was not available (the option was grayed out) via the in-flight controls, so the video is a bit more grainy than I would have liked.  But not bad for a first attempt.

I didn't actually mean to get as close as I did at the end of the video.  After shooting various angles of the temple, I was satisfied with what I had captured, so I gave the command to the Solo to "Return Home".  Typically this works great, the drone goes up to gain altitude to avoid hitting trees or buildings, and returns to where it took off from. Apparently I need to add some additional altitude to that particular setting, because it definitely didn't get high enough to clear the statue atop the steeple (Moroni), and flew VERY close to it during the return flight... but it sure was a great shot!

3DR Solo - Drone Tooth Pull

We had faimly over this week, and my Nephew had his first loose tooth. He was pretty excited about the Solo, and when I jokingly asked if he wanted me to pull it out with the Drone, he was all about it.

After verifying that it was loose enough to proceed, we tied floss around it, and took off!  Video of the shenanigans below.

Still waiting for the Gimbals to ship for the Solo, but until then enjoying just flying around and doing fun (although un-stabalized) videos like this.

3DR Solo - Unboxing

I have my SOLO!  The original Best Buy pre-order still hasn't even shipped yet, but I was able to walk into a local store and pick one up, and then promptly canceled the pre-order. Was also able to grab a spare battery, and some props. No Gimball or Backpack available yet.

Also sold my previous DYI quad on Craigslist.  There were a lot of people calling about it, generated more interest than I thought it would. 

And now back to the SOLO. Here are some juicy Unboxing pics...

 Solo, extra battery and props.

 Temporary "travel" case that comes in the box.  Not too bad, but I have a hard foam case coming as well.

 The inside is put togeher pretty well, good presentation.

 Here is the "Smart Battery" showing its current charge level.

 Solo from the front.  The gimball hasn't been released yet, so using the standard frame to hold the GoPro for now, shakey video and all.

 Top shot with all the Quick Release props.  Seriously easy to take on and off, no tools required.

 Shot from the front with the GoPro Here 4 Black in tow.

 Solo, props installed, ready to FLY!

 Controller /  Transmitter.  Can hold smartphones or 8in tablets.

Using my Nvidia Shield tablet for FPV and flight control.  Update process for both controller and drone was really using the SOLO app.

 Decided to go with the PadHad Hybrid Mini as a sunshade / hood when flying in direct sunlight.  Fits the Shield perfectly, and does a great job keeping the glare off of the screen.

Everything is charged, updated, and ready to fly... but I had to go out of town to work. Super excited to fly back home and put the SOLO through its Maiden Voyage!

Will be posting  that video soon. Thanks for stopping by.