First (serious) flight

I’m legal. The drone is legal. Time to fly.

As I don’t yet have my permanent certificate number, I can’t use the FAA’s app to request clearance to go above 200 feet. Outside of regulated airspace, it wouldn’t be an issue. But I live just a little too close to the downtown airport. No big deal. The 200 foot ceiling is plenty.

I lucked into some excellent light, too. Uneven clouds were blowing through, leaving puddles of brightness all over the landscape.

Felicette

In addition to getting certified myself, I also had to register the drone itself.

One of the blanks on the form asked for the drone’s name (and it couldn’t be left blank). I’m assuming that they’re expecting something like “Bob’s Aerial Imaging Drone #4.” But as I just have the one drone – and my name isn’t Bob – I decided to get a little creative with it.

The first cat that ever went into space was named Felicette, or Felix for short. She was launched into temporary orbit by the French and was quite the celebrity for awhile. So in her honor my drone now bears her name.