Disclaimer: this how to fly drone is based on what works well for me. I hope it will help you.

Pre-flight

• Check weather conditions a day before and on the day using this url: https://www.weather.gov/. Wind speed of <15mph and clear sky or full overcast would be the best conditions to fly.

During and after the flight

• Attach the iPad using the cord to the remote control and then turn it on (double push – quick first press then second long press) – should show dot lights accompanied by a ring.
• Remove the drone from the box and turn it on (double push – quick first press then second long press) – should have the green lights on accompanied by a ring.
• In the iPad, select DJI GO; click upper most left bar that says ‘dji Disconnected’ – it should show ‘Aircraft Status’ -> click ‘Enter Travel Mode’ to raise the drone into its flight position.
• Select and mark the flight area.
  • Open Pix4D capture -> PROJECT LIST -> Project xxxxx -> Open -> locate your area of interest.The location of the drone should appear on the map close to where you are, if  not check if the drone is turned on or restart the drone.Move the four corners of the flight polygon area and place white markers in each corner.
  • Save the project by pressing the save logo.
• You are now ready to fly:
  • BEFORE the flight, turn on the camera of the drone by connecting the iPad to the camera’s wifi: rededge1634139. Once connected, open Safari mobile browser and open the MicaSense Camera App by opening the URL: 192.168.10.254. Click the gear icon where you will see the ‘Basic Configuration’ and then press the START button. There should be a red blinking light on the camera/sensor.
  • Take a photo of the calibration panel before the flight.
  • Open the Pix4D capture Project xxxxx again and press start. Press NEXT until all the green check marks appear and you can start the flight mission.
  • Be aware of the battery level of the drone. One battery can fly up to 15 minutes depending on the wind speed. If one battery is not enough, return the drone to home when the battery level is 35% or lower depending on the last location of the drone.
  • After the flight, calibrate again by taking a photo again of the calibration panel.
• Return the drone to the box by going to DJI GO (‘dji Disconnected’ -> enter/exit travel mode to fit the drone into its mold in the box.

When flying, make sure to follow all the guidelines in the country you are flying your drone.

We went to an overnight camp last weekend in Lake Ogallala, NE, USA. I specifically mentioned where it was because it was my first-time camping in the US plus, this was a spontaneous trip. Unplanned. LOL. For context, I am not from the US and am more familiar with camping back home where there are a lot of sellers around the campsite so you will not need to go back and forth to the grocery store. Keep reading to know the list of things you need to bring and the lessons I learned.

The things that you will need will depend on what you and your companion/s want to do in your overnight camp. Do you want to do smores, stargaze, kayak, or paddle boarding? I went with one person and our goal was just to kayak, swim, and experience sleeping in a tent. And we learned a lot of things from that camping!

What did we have when we traveled? We brought 1L of drinking water, soda, charcuterie stuff, nuts, a swimsuit, a kayak, sunscreen, a pop-up tent, bedding, a blanket, a pot, plates, bowls, spoons, and forks. This seems to be a lot for an overnight trip, but we missed a lot and had to travel back and forth to the grocery and convenience store thrice which was 19 minutes away. Good thing we left earlier than we planned. The lake was an hour away from our house. We started driving at 9 a.m. We first stopped at a grocery store which was 19 minutes away from the campsite to get beers and before leaving, we realized that we did not have an insect repellant which is important especially when camping. Upon arrival, the kiosk in the campsite issues a parking permit but does not book your campsite so you can either reserve your area online or stop by the visitor center which is a 2-minute drive from the campsite. The good thing about heading straight to the campsite is that if that is your first time there you can see and locate first the location you would like to spend the night while booking online will let you know if there are still available areas. The downside would be you will lose time going back to the visitor center especially if it is not peak season.

Upon arrival, we got our parking permit which is good for both Ogallala and McConaughy Lake. Then we paid for our campsite at the visitor center and got our ticket that you need to clip in front of your area. We started inflating our kayaks and realized that we forgot the paddles and had to try the rentals, but they do not rent paddles alone, so we had to go to the grocery to get cheap ones. Then, we set up our tent. After that, we went kayaking for hours. We got hungry and since we brought charcuterie stuff without a cooler resulting in melted cheese and cooked the salami and prosciutto. LOL. It was not good, so bring a cooler if you are planning to bring those kinds of food and for your beers and soda so you will not drink warm beer and soda. LOL. After eating, we drove to Lake McConaughy to swim. You can bring some towels, toiletries, and bills for tokens when you plan to take a shower after swimming in the lake. They do not allow alcoholic beverages in the lake, so we had to finish the beer that we brought before going to the shore.

We headed back to our campsite because we forgot our towels and toiletries. There are shower rooms in Ogallala Lake that require tokens as well, so remember to have some bills to change to tokens in the changer in front of the shower rooms. Heading back, we realized that we finished our drinking water and we had to go to a convenience store which was a 9-minute drive just to get water so remember to bring drinking water.

Early morning the next day since we were so tired after all our adventure, we found some wood and a lighter and we made some fires to complete the camping experience. Packing up things is the same as preparing – make sure you are not leaving any valuables in your campsite and trash all garbage in the proper trash bins.

Even if you think that you are all prepared you may end up seeing yourself not bringing a thing or two. I am a spontaneous traveler and it allowed me to learn and relearn myself, but at the end of the day, a prepared spontaneous traveler is still better. Despite all the challenges and the things that we forgot, we still had fun and an overall good experience.

I DO NOT HAVE A CLUE HOW. LOL.

I’m not even kidding.

Right now I am completely confused.

Since the day that I get to realize the responsibility of being an adult I have never decided what I wanted to do in life.

I have been going with the flow since then.

And that flow never stops.

I graduated high school and when our teacher was asking what I want to be, I was clueless. So clueless that I even wrote the most farfetched dream I could I ever dreamt of that time- to be a medical doctor. A profession that requires money, time and effort which I do not have the luxury to spend given our struggling financial status back then. But then I wrote it because I needed to fill out my completion form for graduation. LOL. Lucky those people who know what they want at the age of 15.

Life was so magical for me after that high school graduation. I failed the entrance exam in my dream school but I still graduated in that university. I said I am done with school and I will start earning. But I do not know what I want in life still after college. So I worked in the academia where I was able to travel my own country for free, and it was a lot of fun. And then, I had to move to another research which was very slow so I decided to do graduate school and while working I finished my master’s. School gave me direction when I was not sure of what to do in life — it is well structured that I never planned for my life.

After my contract ended in the academia back home, I was given the opportunity to work in the US and that too felt so magical. Something I had never imagined will happen in my life. Then I got an offer for a PhD which was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I grabbed even if I was so scared. And it was one of the best decisions in my life — it has never been easy — but I have grown a looot since the day I embraced something I was scared of. It was a lot of tears, blood and sweat (literally and figuratively) to heal and grow from self-inflicted wounds and dormancy I gave myself for years. Then, just as fast as lightning, I am left with few months to complete and defend my manuscript and figure out what I want in life.

Early in my college years, I wrote in my diary that I wanted to have a job that is stable and will allow me to sustain my parents’ needs and buy them a new house and car which was paradoxical to what I was aiming for — which was to have a mundane job that the paycheck could barely pay my needs. And now, more than 10 years later, I still do not have the specifics of what I want in life.

I am clueless. The only thing I know in my heart was that I want a job that I will see problems and failures as part of learning and not stressful events and each morning I will get excited to get out of my bed to go to work. A side business that will be an outlet of my other creative side that I still have yet to discover. That in both streams of income I will be able to live my life to my full potential enjoying what I am doing while earning beyond what the bills require.

I have always assume that my life was like a basketball game wherein the basketball ring do not have a ring and has only the board, and getting a three points from my once in a lifetime shot was way too impossible. There was no ring and I am not a basketball player. But life has proven me otherwise — that I am more than capable of what I could imagine I can — that everything is gonna be alright in the end.