Awesome footage, such a different perspective. Thanks for sharing.

From what I read the battery life is around 10-12 mins for quad copters, do you just bring it back and change batteries regularly?
What is the learning curve like for flying the copter?

Cheers

Thanks guys.

Jafa this is a DJI Phantom, the battery life is around 20 mins although sometimes down around 15 mins depending on the flying. Yep just bring it back and swap over battery when it is running low.

Learning curve is quite easy with this model as it has great stabilisation features. I have only flew it a couple of times and would be comfortable taking it out in the surf. You can change the settings to make it harder to control but add manoeuvrability however I think the default settings are pretty good for filming. Dave who is flying it in this video has it on the default settings using a FPV setup.

Awesome..

What is the camera set up?, GoPro

Yeah nice really enjoyed that. Cool music too.

Thanks for posting it up. Can't wait for the next one.

I heard the FAA has regulations on these things in terms of proximity to people which makes it questionable whether they can be used for filming someone paddling. Anyone know what the story is there?

30 m from people, 50m from buildings 4.8km from airports and not over 102m is the rules I got. I wanted to do a video of the HMAS Sydney memorial up here, thought it would be a good project. approached the council and they have no idea. they reckoned I had to file a flight plan and contact the police and CASA.
Guess it will have to be a clandestine operation now.
W