- What is up guys?
Let's talk about traveling with your drone.
(techno music)
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Alright, so we're talking drone and traveling,
two things I love, I love drones, and I love traveling.
But people always ask me what kind of cases I use
or how do you travel with a drone,
like how do you check things?
So that's the topics that we're gonna go into in this video.
Okay, so I've narrowed it down
to eight things that you need to think about
when you're traveling with your drone.
Alright, the first one, and this is like the biggest thing
that I try to tell people all the time,
and that is know the rules and regulations
before you go into a country.
Before you even step foot on a plane, wherever it is
that you're leaving from going to somewhere else,
make sure you know the rules and regulations.
If you've seen some of the other videos on this channel,
you'll realize I've had my drone taken at customs
in Nicaragua, they took it and it really sucked.
I'll put a link the description
to that video so you can check it out,
the whole story behind what happened there.
You don't want that to happen.
Let me tell you, it is the worst feeling
when customs agents are sitting there with your drone
and saying, you can't take this into the country.
And they put it in a box and that's it.
Well, there goes my drone.
You don't want that to happen.
There's plenty of information on the web about
country's laws and regulations and all that good stuff.
Just go into Google and type in drone rules and regulations
in Nicaragua, and you'll see a ton of stuff pop up.
Just start going through the different listings
and see what information is out there
on the country you're going in.
Usually you'll find it pretty quick, if not,
go into some forums, check out what other people
are talking about flying in different countries.
Don't wait 'til last minute
when you're trying to figure this out.
Give yourself a week or something.
And if you're in the US and you're flying somewhere else
in the US, I would say do the same type of research.
Where it is that you're going,
you might not be able to fly a drone.
So if you're flying somewhere to go check out
a national park, well guess what, you can't fly.
So what's the point in bringing your drone
unless you're gonna be outside the park
doing something else, but if you're going
just to go see like Yellowstone, there's a good chance
that there's no reason to even bring the drone.
Okay, the next tip I have for you
is have protective cases for all your gear.
So I put my drone in hard, protective cases.
I like the ones that are really snug
and fit right around the drone,
because that way I can pack it in my bag with other things.
Some people will have just a case
that has all the parts in the case.
For my Spark I have that.
For my Mavic I have the individual cases.
I'll put a link in the description
to the ones I use for my Spark and my Mavic.
Personally, I love having a smaller footprint with my drone
because I'm working with a bunch of other gear
and I want to be able to just slide it
in my bag with some other stuff.
So I don't know where I'm gonna be when I'm traveling,
I don't know the situation, having a big drone case
doesn't necessarily always work,
so that's why I go for the smaller cases.
Backpack is super important.
So when I had the Phantom 3, I had a special backpack
just for the drone, and I could fit some stuff around it.
With the smaller drones, which is why I suggest
using like a Mavic to travel or a Spark,
you can pack it in with your other stuff.
The bag I use is an ultra light camera bag from F-Stop.
They have some great backpacks,
I'll put a link to that one below.
Guys, I don't need to keep saying it,
if I'm talking about a product, I'll put in the link below
just so you guys can take a look at that.
I like an ultra light backpack, I like something
that's not gonna be super heavy,
something that has a frame so it sits well on my back,
and then also I like modular systems.
So I don't like backpacks that have like,
the predefined cutouts for everything.
I would rather build my own layout.
So with the ultra light that I use,
I have things in different bags.
And that's what I'm saying with the drone,
the protective cases, there's small little protective cases
so when I put 'em in the backpack,
I could fit things in differently
depending on what gear I'm bringing for what trip.
So if I'm bringing my stabilizer,
multiple cameras, a ton of lenses,
or if I'm just bringing like a couple things,
then maybe I'll put a jacket,
water bottle, and some other stuff in there.
Something to keep in mind, you really just gotta
find the backpack that works for you.
It's taken me years to find a backpack
that I'm really happy with.
And actually this one is pretty awesome,
I think I'm gonna be using this bag for a while.
Okay, another big tip when you're traveling
is carry all your drone stuff on you.
The last thing you wanna do is put your drone
in like a checked bag and then have it disappear
or have it broken when you show up at the location.
So that's, again, why I say I use smaller drones,
because I can pack it in my backpack
and keep it on me wherever I'm going.
And even if it is bigger, say like the Phantom 4,
you can put that in a hard case
or another type of rolling bag
that you can put in the overhead compartment.
So I like to either have it on my back,
my backpack, or I bring a second rolling bag
and that has other gear in it and that goes in the overhead.
You just don't want to check things if you don't have to.
There's only certain situations, I would say,
you'd check something, but for the most part,
always have your camera gear, your drones, all that,
on you when you're going through the airport
and going to another country or another state
or wherever it is that you're going.
Okay, another important one for the safety of your gimbal
is use some sort of clamp, either the one
that came with your drone, but if you're like me,
and you accidentally threw that away a long time ago,
buy a replacement, get a clamp on there,
so that your gimbal is not spinning freely.
You're gonna be throwing your backpack on, off,
you're getting on and off planes.
If your connection is tight, you're gonna be running
through the airport, you might get hit.
There's a lot of things that are gonna happen with your bag,
so you don't want your gimbal flying around
and to get broken in transport.
Alright, when you land, before you start flying,
I have a couple things that I suggest you do
before you get out there and start
getting those awesome shots.
So you're gonna wanna reset your gyro and your IMU.
So basically those are the things that keep your drone
stable in the air, that keeps it from drifting, tilting,
doing all that stuff, keeps it super stable.
Things may happen when you're traveling.
It may go out of whack by the time
you get somewhere and you start flying.
Just a precautionary thing, get there,
reset your stuff, make sure that everything's
good to go before you start flying.
Okay, the next tip goes right along with that.
You need to do a test flight.
So you need to turn on your drone,
make sure everything's connected,
make sure the GPS is working, all that good stuff.
Then take it up, let it sit there for 20, 30 seconds,
bring it back down, land it, and then turn it all off,
because you want to do a test flight.
Basically, the test flight makes sure
that everything's working properly,
that you're not gonna get a flyaway
as soon as you take it up in the air.
What happens if like 20 seconds into your flight
you loose connection and it takes off?
So you just want to make sure
that things are working properly.
I had an issue when I was in Ecuador.
I actually did not do this, and I took it off
and it went flying right away, and within 15 seconds,
I lost connection and the drone went crazy.
It was like flying all over the place
and smashed into a brick wall.
It sucked.
Take it up, let it sit for a little bit, bring it back down.
You know everything's working, now you can start flying.
And it's just one of those things
when you're traveling and you're moving a lot,
you just gotta make sure everything's in working order.
Drones are a highly technical piece of gear.
There's a lot that could go wrong, it's not just a toy,
and a lot of people treat it like it's just a toy
that they just take it up and fly and get a cool picture.
But there's a lot going on, so just make sure
things are in working order before you fly.
Okay, and my last tip is be smart and be safe.
If you're feeling a little sketched out where you're at,
maybe it's the people, maybe it's the location,
don't fly, don't do it, just wait,
maybe there's gonna be a better opportunity to fly.
If you're traveling internationally,
you don't know if the locals are gonna be hostile.
So if you're getting a bad feeling about something,
I just wouldn't take the drone up,
'cause you're gonna draw more attention to yourself.
You know, most of the times when I travel,
I never have any issues, and usually the locals,
wherever we're at, will wanna see what's going on
and hang out, watch the drone, do all that.
Some people just don't even care.
But there are situations where you start getting looks,
you start having people talking
amongst themselves and walking over.
You just don't want to get in a situation
where something bad is gonna happen.
So just be aware of your surroundings, be safe, be smart.
Think about it, if you have a bad feeling, just don't fly.
Alright you guys, so those are my tips
for when you're traveling with a drone.
Have fun, be safe, and also don't let your drone take over
your entire vacation, wherever it is that you're going.
Don't make everything about flying your drone.
Take it up, get some cool shots,
but then also enjoy the experience.
And this is something I tell people all the time,
is that when you're traveling,
you wanna be there in the moment,
you don't always wanna be sitting behind technology.
Get those shots, make the awesome film,
do whatever it is that you're doing with your drone,
take a step back, put it away,
put it in your backpack, and enjoy the moment.
Because you'll have a much better experience
when you take a step back from always shooting
and always being connected.
Alright guys, that is it.
Make sure you hit that subscribe button if you like
this video and you wanna see more videos like this.
Like I said, I'm doing 31 videos this month.
All of December, a new video every day.
It is a lot of work.
There's a lot I'm putting into this.
I am also traveling this month.
I am shooting a ton of these right now,
I'm actually shooting like,
I've shot like a bunch in the last few days
because I'm jumping on a plane to New Zealand.
I need to get a bunch of these uploaded
because I have no idea what the internet situation
is gonna be, I don't even know
what I'm doing in New Zealand yet.
But we're jumping on a flight in a couple days,
so I'm gonna put a bunch of these ready to go on YouTube
so I don't miss a day, but then I'll pick back up
and start shooting more of 'em as I get into New Zealand.
And I'll shoot some awesome footage while I'm there
that I can use in these filmmaking tutorials.
There's some cool stuff coming,
I got a lot of awesome videos ready for you.
So make sure you hit that subscribe button
and turn on those notifications so you don't miss one.
Alright guys, so if you haven't already,
head over to Instagram, checks us out at wanderworx,
and I will see you on the next one.