Not this time, alas. Remember that research I bragged about yesterday? Well, it had a fatal hole in it.
I planned this trip long before the Phantom was even released. When I got the drone, I just assumed it would fly wherever I put it up. When I came here, my test flights at Mono Lake were flawless. I kind of assumed that Mono Lake was at an altitude of maybe 5,000 feet and the lakes were somewhat higher, perhaps at 7,000 or so.
Wrongo. I discovered my awful error when the Phantom went up at Big Virginia Lake:
At high altitude, there are barely enough molecules of air for the propellers to provide lift. That's why helicopters have trouble in high-altitude rescues. If the helicopter descends even slightly into its own turbulence, it is called Vortex Ring state, and the copter immediately displays the aerodynamic characteristics of a stone. It falls into dead ducksville.
You see, I was wrong about those altitudes. Mono Lake is at 6,372. Alpine Lake is at 7,303. Lundy Lake is at 7,858. And Big Virginia Lake, shown above, is at 9,770.
And so I launched the Phantom from a hill above Big Virginia and sent it up over 10,000 feet!
It ascended perfectly, hovered to shoot the material, but as I gently brought down in the falling leaf pattern, it swooned into a Vortex Ring state. I won't talk about the dead duck part. It was gruesome to watch, but the tough little drone somehow survived its near-death experience...
On to more pleasant topics. Today was magnificent! I only have room to show a few tidbits. The colors were coming out in many groves as I drove about:
Ellery Lake was like a mirror!
And Walker Creek up at 10,000 feet in Tioga Pass was exploding in color.
Lundy Lake had broad patches color along its banks;
Even driving back to my cabin was a color riot!
One more gorgeous weather day here, then the long drive home via Mount Whitney and Death Valley. Much to do, with over 70 gigabytes of material--so far!
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