Here are a few scenes from a recent "spring" trip to Sakonnet Point. A sunset trip in late March with the temperature around 32 degrees and the winds steady at 20-25 mph made for a cold time standing exposed to the elements.
I still managed to get the Mavic Pro2 drone in the air, which I was somewhat surprised about since these winds are the most I have flown it in. Of course, that didn't stop me from getting all kinds of warnings from the controller, not just for high winds but for warning me the obstacle avoidance systems were temporarily inactive.
The video footage is worth noting from something of a technical standpoint. The ground based video was shot with a Nikon 200-500mm mounted to a D4S body. The D4S is a phenomenal camera for shooting stills - a true workhorse - but about the worst thing to shoot video with. I was manually focusing on a relatively small (these days) screen that does not articulate at all. Still, it happened. And while the Mavic struggled, at times sounding several alarms, the footage is amazingly steady, even if there are times in this video when you can see the horizon slanted somewhat as wind hit it broadside, forcing it to lean into the wind so much to hold its course that the gimble could not completely account for the roll.
But all good in the end and the few pictures and video made it all worthwhile.
