07.06.11
4th of July Flight
Since getting into FPV I have always wanted to take video of 4th of July fireworks from the air. I just wasn’t prepared enough this year; my camera can’t record in the dark. Next year I will get them!
In the mean time, I was able to fly over the lake as the parade was going on. No shots of the parade itself, but lots of the carnival and people all around the parade route. The most exciting thing in this flight happened within 2 minutes of takeoff. Right after I had finished my first climb, two jets zoomed right in front of me! I actually spotted them in the camera before I heard them on the ground. For some reason, the HD camera didn’t pick up any noise from them, even though they were very loud. It did pick up sirens from the parade, so the wind wasn’t completely drowning everything out. Much worse, the HD camera was aimed too low to see them, so I only have SD video of them. But, very clear, clean SD video at least.
The wind was about 5-7mph on the ground and 12-15mph above the tree line, so the ride is a little bumpy. I’ve included some of the smoother and more interesting pieces. The song and editing were kind of thrown together quickly, next time I do a video I will take more time. Thanks to my father for introducing me to AVS Video Editor, which is quite easy to use.
For a much higher quality version of this video, please watch in HD on Vimeo:
http://vimeo.com/26049864