Lights in sky demystified

GENTRY - Fireworks weren’t the only lights in the sky at Gentry’s Freedom Festival Fireworks on July 4.

Red and green lights that hovered, then zipped erratically back and forth, left spectators at the city park wondering if visitors from outer space showed up to watch the display.

The lights were a UFO - until the flying object was identified as a remote-control quadcopter equipped with a GoPro camera operated by Shane McNair, owner of Flying Lens Visuals. McNair used the camera to film the fireworks show from above.

McNair, of Gentry, has been using the technology to take aerial photos and videos for about six weeks. So far, he’s used it to record several fireworks shows,races at the West Siloam Speedway, and to take panoramic photos of downtown Gentry and Siloam Springs.

The small white DJI Phantom Quadcopter is designed in the shape of an “X,” with a rotor on each corner. Its shipping weight is six pounds, according to manufacturer’s specs. Remote-control quadcopters, with four sets of rotors, are more stable and easier to fly than helicopters with one rotor, McNair explained.

McNair said the thing he has enjoyed the most about taking aerial photos and videos is seeing things from a new perspective.

“It’s fun and interesting to see things in a way I’ve never seen them before,” McNair said.

McNair’s wife, Vanessa, said she never realized how many trees were in their neighborhood. What looks like a housing addition from ground level looks like a forest from above, she said.

McNair said his favorite things to take photos of have been the fireworks shows. They have also discovered some land features they never noticed on his father’s farm, such as rock ridges that were once part of an irrigation system.

McNair started buying video equipment and making movies as a hobby. He was telling his friend, Tim Reed, who owns Riverside Fireworks, about the video capabilities of quadcopters. Reed decided to give him the investment money to buy the equipment in exchange for filming his fireworks shows and entertainment venues, McNair said.

The quadcopter has a GPS device and auto pilot that corrects for wind.

Flying the quadcopter is pretty easy, “just like playing a video game,” McNair said. If the operator does nothing the device just hovers. If the battery gets too low or it gets out of range, the quadcopter returns to the spot from which it took off.

McNair has modifi ed his quadcopter by adding a GoPro camera hung from a gimbal that keeps the camera stable and upright no matter how the quadcopter moves. He added a transmitter to the GoPro, and a receiver and small screen to the top of the quadcopter’s remote control so he can see in real time what the camera is seeing.

The quadcopter has a five-minute battery life. McNair said he isn’t sure how high or how fast the device is capable of flying because it’s hard to tell from the ground or from the pictures, but he’s working with a friend to test it.

When McNair flies, the device attracts a lot of attention.

“Little kids run from every direction to see it land,” he said.

At first people think the quadcopter is a drone or a UFO. But once they know what it is, they start waving when the camera flies by, he said. Adults like to stop and ask a lot of questions.

When McNair started flying the quadcopter, people started approaching him with ideas of how the technology could be useful and asking for a business card. The interest prompted McNair to start a business offering aerial photography and videography at lower prices than traditional methods.

McNair has thought of a number of creative ways the technology could be used, from filming real estate to inspecting commercial buildings - even taking footage of public events.

While many people think of the quadcopter as a drone, McNair said he doesn’t intend to use it in any way that would invade people’s privacy. The camera on board doesn’t have any zoom capabilities, so in high-altitude shots people look like dots. At lower altitudes, the quadcopter sounds like a loud bee, so it would be hard for someone to not notice they were having their picture taken. McNair said he makes every effort to be respectful of other people’s property.

“One thing I’m confident of, there will be no pictures of any kind of detail where nobody knows they are getting their picture taken,” McNair said.

More information about McNair’s business and examples of his work are available online at www.flyinglensvisuals.com and on the Flying Lens Visuals Facebook page.