A Whole New World

By Ella Harrison

I’ll never forget driving on to Furman’s campus for the first time as a senior in high school. I was simply in awe of the beauty of the architecture as well as landscape.

Flying the drone for the first time on campus elicited the same reaction as my first time on campus. As a sophomore, I have grown familiar with campus, but seeing campus from above was a completely new experience. I was again reminded of the beauty I have the privilege to experience each day.

I know the technology used to fly the drone is complex, but for the user it is simple. However, there are specific rules you must keep in mind related to flying a drone. Here are just a few of the most important ones:

- Fly at or below 400 feet.

- Keep the drone within sight.

- Do not fly in restricted areas.

- Do not fly over cars or people.

The Mini Drone

We used Furman’s drone, and once you make sure the battery and the controller is ready, all you must do is download the DJI Fly App. Then, plug your phone into the drone controller and you are ready to fly.

The joysticks on the handheld device allow you to go up, down, left, and right. There is also a scroll button that moves the actual camera up and down. The hardest part of flying the drone for me was staying aware. I was so worried about crashing the drone, that I would forget not to fly over people. This was especially difficult because we were flying the drone during class change.

I am doing my mini documentary on an international student who is a tennis player here at Furman, and I think a wide shot of the tennis courts from above would be a great addition. The possibilities are truly sky high with the drone.

Screenshot From My Drone Footage

Flying the Drone