Target for Tonight: Black Mountain Cacti!

HiloHawaiian · Jan 10, 2019

I just found this footage from one of my 1st Arizona flights in Sept. I did everything wrong. It was much darker than it looks, right at sunset. Black Mountain is much steeper than it looks. Flying up a steep slope is hard... My XSP was far out of my viewing range, about a mile upslope . I could hear it, nobody up there but bobcats, so I wasn't worried. Then, I barely noticed on the dark iPad screen that cacti were getting closer, then REALLY close, so I stopped, turned around to come home. BAM! Looks like the camera hit one cactus square-on -- not going very fast, the XSP recovered quickly, so I didn't notice. It gets dark super-fast up there, I couldn't see a thing on the screen a minute later. I hit RTH, and it came right back. A learning experience for sure...

KentA · Jan 11, 2019

That’s an impressive recovery. The XSP continues to amaze.

rkyleh · Jan 11, 2019

HiloHawaiian said:
I just found this footage from one of my 1st Arizona flights in Sept. I did everything wrong. It was much darker than it looks, right at sunset. Black Mountain is much steeper than it looks. Flying up a steep slope is hard... My XSP was far out of my viewing range, about a mile upslope . I could hear it, nobody up there but bobcats, so I wasn't worried. Then, I barely noticed on the dark iPad screen that cacti were getting closer, then REALLY close, so I stopped, turned around to come home. BAM! Looks like the camera hit one cactus square-on -- not going very fast, the XSP recovered quickly, so I didn't notice. It gets dark super-fast up there, I couldn't see a thing on the screen a minute later. I hit RTH, and it came right back. A learning experience for sure...

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Hey that was fun to watch. I am glad it turned out all right but it was still fun. When you get used to it climbing up the slopes is as easy as flying across a pasture. If you get time make that same flight in the daylight I always thought that style of cactus was interesting, If you dump it up there on that mountain be sure and wear your snake boots when you go to find it.

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UnRanged · Jan 11, 2019

WHAT?... If you slow it up you can clearly see the XSP knocked that cati right to the ground... lol. Still. Full contact... WOW, color me impressed. Prop guards?

HiloHawaiian · Jan 11, 2019

No prop guards... That kind of cactus is hard, long thorns. A prop must have hit first, right?? It looks like the camera lens did, but I don’t see how that’s possible?

HiloHawaiian · Jan 11, 2019

rkyleh said:
Hey that was fun to watch. I am glad it turned out all right but it was still fun. When you get used to it climbing up the slopes is as easy as flying across a pasture. If you get time make that same flight in the daylight I always thought that style of cactus was interesting, If you dump it up there on that mountain be sure and wear your snake boots when you go to find it.
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Black Mountain, along with a few other areas of close-by Cave Creek & Carefree are covered with Saguaro cactus, but then it abruptly stops. It’s kind of rare folks say, but I have some in my yard. 5 miles east, there’s none. I will go back and fly there, but do it much more carefully, LOL

rkyleh · Jan 11, 2019

HiloHawaiian said:
Black Mountain, along with a few other areas of close-by Cave Creek & Carefree are covered with Saguaro cactus, but then it abruptly stops. It’s kind of rare folks say, but I have some in my yard. 5 miles east, there’s none. I will go back and fly there, but do it much more carefully, LOL

You better keep a low profile. Those tree hugging environmentalists get a little cranky when people abuse cactus.