New York City

Team BlackSheep0 HN recommenders · 2011–2013
2.3M views · demo · dated · Uploaded 2010-12-01

Team BlackSheep flies FPV (first-person view) model aircraft over New York City, past the Brooklyn and Verrazano bridges, lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. The flights stirred controversy in the RC community.

HN cites it as a well-known early example of FPV drone flight in drone and regulation discussions.

Watch on YouTube

4 comments from Hacker News

@tuomasb2011 · in “Weird, Birdlike Mystery Drone Crashes in Pakistan”

It's already possible for amateurs to use an RC plane/drone without a line of sight, it's called FPV(first person view) piloting. They have a videocamera onboard and transmit the video signal into their VR googles. Then they control their plane with a normal radio controller. [VIDEO] (this one made the news recently) [LINK] More recent designs involve head tracking: [LINK] Damn that looks cool. Wish I had money to start a new hobby. Since electrical systems already exist for driving servos and other devices, all you need is a detonator and some explosives to make a lethal and accurate flying bomb that can be remote controlled from a distance.

@bigiain2011 · in “Ultra-light UAVs employed to take aerial photos of the protest rally in Moscow”

Like this: [VIDEO] ??? (Note: that video caused a _lot_ of controversy in the FPV (first person video) and RC community.)

@bigiain2012 · in “How I Accidentally Kickstarted the Domestic Drone Boom”

This one caused a _lot_ of controversy in the FPV (first person view/video) RC community a while back: [VIDEO] if you don't have the time/patience to watch the whole 3-ish minutes, try this but: [VIDEO]

@truxs2013 · in “Unmanned drone buzzes French police car”

Since it's been shot atLeweb 2012 it's probably more of a demonstration than a stealth flight like they did in NY [VIDEO] Regarding the law it's a bit more complicated, owning one isn't a problem (Parrot is selling his stuff without troubles), but as for using it, you need to: - have a direct visual on it - no flight above 50 meters as for a fly by video: - Must be at least 15 Km between uav and closest airfield - only allowed above unpopulated zone - no flight above 50 meters [LINK]