flying drone

by

The Risk Is Adding To My Confusion

I am so confused. I’m not sure if I can or if I can’t and I don’t want to risk taking a chance.

the risk is adding to my confusion

That first line may be confusing you, so let me give you some insight into my confusion.

Back in January I broke my drone. It was a careless mistake on my part … and a pretty sad day for me. I wrote about it here. 

For the last six months, I have not had a drone to fly.

However, for my birthday, I got a new drone. It has some better features than my previous drone, and one special feature I was looking forward to.

My new drone is below the weight classification that requires a drone license. That in itself is not a big deal because I already have a drone pilot license. But with this new drone I have less restrictions on where I can fly … or at least that is what I believed to be true. 

All the advertising videos I had seen had pumped me up about being able to fly right off the back deck of our house – legally!

Because we live within five kilometres of an airport, I could not fly my old drone in our neighbourhood. 

With my new drone, I no longer have to drive fifteen minutes to find a spot where I’m allowed to put my drone in the air.

Or do I?

This is where I got confused … 

You see, I was excited to take my drone out as soon as I got it. So once everything was charged, I popped over to the high school field a block away. I was going to fly my drone for the first time.

But when I went to fly it, I received a warning through the controller and my drone remained in a locked mode. 

To unlock the drone, I had to submit my telephone number. Ya, that’s right. “Big brother” is watching – watching where I fly my drone.

The penalty for flying a drone in a restricted zone is a minimum of $1000! 

I certainly was not going to give anyone an open invitation to fine me so I packed up and went home.

I was very disappointed to have the same restrictions as I did before. Not only was I disappointed, I was confused because I had thought I could fly it. 

What was the point of getting an under-weighted drone if I still face the same restrictions as someone with a larger drone? 

Then to confuse me even more, I got the NAV Canada Drone app. 

This app shows you a map of where you are and highlights any restricted zones in the area. 

When I plugged my drone info in the app, it showed that I was approved to fly. 

So do I believe the app or the drone controller? The drone app says I can, but my drone indicates that I can’t. 

I just don’t know. Do I want to take the risk?

Here’s the thing: There is a verse in the Bible that talks about the sin that easily entangles. Not all sins would be described this way, but you probably know which sins are easily entangling for you. Hebrews 12:1 tells us to lay them aside. In other words, consider staying clear of those sins; stay far from them. You don’t really want to take the risk of being entangled by them. The cost might be really high.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What unnecessary risks are you taking? Leave your comments and questions below.

Subscribe to my blog and receive posts like this one delivered to your email inbox twice weekly.

by

Everybody Wants Me To Be More Intentional

I have to be more intentional this year when it comes to flying my drone.

The other day I took my drone out for the first time in about two months. It’s not easy to fly it in the winter in Canada. You have to wait for the perfect day – a day that is not too cold and with not too much wind. 

Even then, standing almost still outside in winter for about 30 minutes starts to turn one into a human popsicle.

The other day the temperature was above zero and I had a little time. So I charged all my batteries and got all my gear together. 

Lily was willing to go with me, so we made a plan.

With new regulations for drones coming into effect shortly, it’s not as simple as going over to the nearby park or high school to send the thing up in the air. You have to know where you can fly your drone and the areas that are restricted.

I found a website that shows all the restricted areas in Canada. Granted all that is marked on this site are areas around airports and prisons … which covers much of Kingston.

I had to look outside the city until I found a great spot – just north is one of the locks on the Rideau Canal.

I thought it would be perfect. No one would be around. I would get to fly my drone and capture video of water rushing down over the rapids, possibly disappearing under the ice.

So with everything ready, we hopped in the car and drove about twenty minutes to the spot. 

As we approached, there were a lot of vehicles in the parking lot even though it was a Saturday, the lake was still covered in ice and the ground was frosty. 

I quickly realized that all the activity at the locks was by workmen. They are making repairs and doing it before the water starts flowing and boats want to make their way up the river system.

There were fences everywhere; the property was virtually off limits. 

… Even my plans and efforts to fly my drone were thwarted.

We got back in the car and looked on a map for another spot. 

There was a place I wanted to film – it’s an on-ramp to the 401 that they literally cut out of the rock. It looks really cool. But when we went to the spot, Lily thought it was too risky for me to fly there. 

I wanted to stand near the edge of a cliff above the ramp so I could see what I was doing but she didn’t like the idea of me being so close to the edge.

So we started randomly looking for a spot on the map. We ended up going to a place that will be the site of a new subdivision north of the city.  

It sure wasn’t the landscape I was hoping to film. 

This year flying my drone is not going to be random, but much more planned and intentional. 

Here’s the thing: How intentional are you in growing your relationship with God? Do you ask Him what He wants you to work on with Him? Or do you randomly attempt to work on some problem in your life that happens to pop up? Be intentional. If you ask the Lord, He will show you what you should be working on. The good thing is He works with you on it so you’re not on your own.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is the number one area of your life you need to work on right now? Leave your comments below.