I’m not even sure what to write for May. As I recall, May was almost exactly like April.
I, like many people, was still learning how to work in a world full of precautions prescribed to prevent perpetuating the COVID pandemic (what a hell of a sentence). But those who were not learning how to Zoom or sanitize everything and anything, were probably out of work and more worried about just making a living.
In my personal world bubble, the weather was starting to get a little bit more pleasant. I saw more of my neighbors out walking. I went hiking for the first time this year in May. It was a 10 mile section of the North Country Trail in PA. The NCT is a little boring in western PA and this 10 mile stretch did not disappoint. I will admit, the stretch through McConnell’s Mill State Park is very nice and I would get out there later in the year.
I got a new drone, the DJI Mavic Mini. About a year ago I volunteered to become a licensed drone operator so that we could have an FAA registered drone pilot explore the potential of drones for bridge inspections. It may, or may not, surprise you to learn that the FAA doesn’t care if you can actually operate a drone. They just want you to know how to read maps and understand the weather. I kid, there are some other aspects of flight operations that you need to understand, but the skill of actually flying a drone is in no way a part of becoming a commercial drone pilot. So I got a Mini to practice.
Picking up the “how-to” part of flying is relatively easy, especially for someone with a reasonably sound base of experience playing video games. Getting good at flying drones, like anything in life, takes a lot more time. I started off with a few flights around a local soccer field complex. These were all vacant because youth sports leagues had been shut down, for the most part. In addition to my own personal flight time, I began logging hours with the drone that work acquired, the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom. It’s actually quite remarkable how different the two drones handle. But it’s also remarkable that these little devices even exist.
I know at one point in my youth, I became very interested in RC airplanes. Of course, I was also interested in the space program. Almost every kid that grew up in the 80’s and 90’s had some desire to go to “space camp.” I never actually got an RC airplane or went to space camp. But being able to fly a drone as part of my job is something that an 8 year old me would have thought was pretty awesome.
PPG Building at sunrise on May 16, 2020.