Target for Tonight: Black Mountain Cacti!

[HiloHawaiian]

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]

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

 

[rkyleh]

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...

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.