Skyjib Africa

[Michael Dalton]

Hi everyone.

Like many people here, I saw a clip of a guy running through the woods being followed by an octocopter and was blown away. So much so, I started researching into getting a craft. I had the perfect project and the funding so thought what the heck. My partner was also willing. So since I had no experience flying one of these things, I thought I would share my experience with my fellow Red users.

I decided to get a turn-key system, I like building things, but as a director/producer/shooter, I have no time to tinker and get this right. I looked at Microcopter in the USA, but stumbled apon Infinite Jib http://infinitejib.com , a Canadian reseller of Droidworks airframes, but who put a lot of extra love into their crafts. Lets face it, turn key systems are expensive, but the hand holding and training I got has got me up to speed quickly. It turned out they were 45 minutes from Toronto wear I live most of the time. The experience from Jeff, John, and Deborah at Infinite Jib has been amazing. The remind me of Red.

I originally went with the eye droid-8, but mid way through construction got cold feet. No problem, they cancelled it, and started on a Skyjib. They're Red version has a lot of modifications. Extra re-informents, better plattenberg motors, and just all around sturdy construction etc, etc, etc.... Being that the craft is destined to be based in Tanzania, it needs to work right.

Now everything that people say about these crafts are true, they require a lot of skill to fly with a camera. While my craft was being built, I was given a small MXQ blade, and later an Eye Droid-4 to practice on and quickly got up to speed. From there I jumped into using a simulator. Flying the thing is not so difficult, which is good because you don't want to crash them. At over 20k, plus and epic or scarlet onboard, you want to work out the bugs in your flying, and gain the confidence needed.

In addition to flying, I was given a course on maintenance, so I could tear down the craft and put it back together if I had a crash (which I did after letting my partner have a flight)

Last week we had it in the Rift Valley and the Serengeti. The stuff I'm getting is amazing. Like others have mentioned to get great, you need a lot of practice, and I'm getting there.

If anyone has any questions about jumping into one of these, please ask, and I'll be happy to answer them.

Here is the infinite Jib 8 in action with my epic or scarlet. I'll post some video at some point but my connection here in Tanzania is not the best.

 

[Bob Gundu]

Nice! Sorry I didn't hook up with you before your trip. You're in the perfect location for such an invention. You'll be giving that guy with the hot air balloon there a run for his money. Best of luck and I look forward to some killer footage. Remember to increase your shutter for sharper images and it will make it easier to stabilize in post.

 

[Michael Dalton]

Thanks Bob, yeah sorry, just very hectic before leaving. I originally bough the scarlet for flying on it, but must say that the epic on 48-60 fps is pretty smooth. It's not for everything, but I'm getting great results. Will try the higher shutter rates though.

BTW, I know the guy who made the Ballon films here. His name is Alan Root, a true legend. He is a mad man when it comes to being inventive. I may get a chance to show him in a month or so when I head up to Kenya. However I'm not sure I'll send this thing over kilimanjaro. A bit too far for my range.

Also, the red mote has been great. I set the lens to infinity and set all my other stuff via the redmote. I never hook up a monitor. This craft is configured for one or two pilots. The power for the epic is drawn from the flight batteries. The difference with the camera off is 40 seconds, so no much of a difference. I'm getting flight times of just over 8 minutes before the low voltage warning.

 

[Clark Dunbar]

Michael - Looking GOOD! Looking forward to see more!