Videographer Larry Arbanas prefers not to call his unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) a “drone.”

The word drone reminds him of military combat and surveillance missions, all of which his unit is not.

“I’m here taking pictures of critters, and maybe every now and then, someone’s home or business,” said Arbanas, owner of Earthwhile Films and Photography.

“It is the closest thing to flying like a bird,” said the hobbyist who lives in Fountain Hills.

He recently demonstrated the capabilities of his hexacopter, a six-propeller remote controlled device, in the town’s botanical gardens off Fountain Hills Boulevard. Arbanas has been flying the copter for nearly a year to take aerial photographs.

“My inspiration is to show how beautiful these shots can be and that this hobby is not at all dangerous if you know what you’re doing,” he said.

“As exhilarating as flying in a helicopter is, the high cost of renting, inability to fly super-low to the ground, and lack-of- flying-spur-of-the-moment,” expressed Arbanas.

“Thus the joy of having an ‘eye in the sky’, waiting to be snatched up from the dining room table whenever the need or urge arises.”

A professional filmmaker since 1986, Arbanas filmed promotional videos for home builders and real estate agents in Illinois.

“I was a Realtor struggling with really being a Realtor,” he recalled.

“Someone said you have the personality for it but I could never feel it. I was not the kind of guy who wanted to promote himself that way. It takes a special kind of person…you have to be a suit guy but it never really suited me.”

Then the Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred on March 24, 1989, in Prince William Sound in Alaska. The tanker spilled 260,000 to 750,000 barrels of crude oil over a few days.

“I watched animals being pulled out of the water covered with oil,” he said.

“Then I saw people actually taking the time to want to save their lives. I saw how devastated that area was because of the consequences of our foolishness. It made me so angry.”

That was the motivation for Arbanas to shift his focus from commercial real estate photography to nature and environmental projects.

Since then, Arbanas has shot footage or produced films for Public Broadcasting System, New York Historical Society, The Canada Museum of Nature, Maya Lin (designer of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C.), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, federal Forest Service and Audubon Society.

He has taken several filming expeditions for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. He has filmed nature projects throughout the U.S., Mexico, Central America and Northern Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic.

Affordable hobby

In recent years, technological advancements have reduced the cost to purchase unmanned aerial vehicles while significantly improving the quality of the aerial images.

“These have become affordable,” said Arbanas, displaying his copter manufactured by DGT. He valued his set-up at $2,500 but as little as $1,000 can equip a person. He is pleased with the model’s performance and lift power.

Arbanas braces his hexacopter on a plywood board to prevent collecting dust and sand on take-offs and landings. A recent purchase of a gimbal stabilizes the device from rolling and pitching.

“The gimbal takes any movement that the copter is in…from wind blowing or movement…and makes it rock steady. It is just stunning.”

A tripod holds a monitor so Arbanas can see the image through the camera’s viewfinder. Some individuals fly UAVs only using an iPhone.

His copter is linked to a dozen satellites before it takes off. The battery lasts for seven to 10 minutes; more powerful batteries can be added but Arbanas said there is a tradeoff with the weight of a heavier battery.

He tries to fly at least once a week or more often.

“I always try to keep it visible in my sight,” said Arbanas, preferring to stay within a mile from him. “I think some people get cocky with these things and push a little too hard and fly their copters out of range.”

In the future, Arbanas said he might upgrade the camera with a zoom lens. For the time being, his aerial photography is limited to wide-angle shots.

FAA regulations

The Federal Aviation Administration is pondering new rules that would require each drone to be piloted by an individual licensed pilot.

Arbanas doesn’t disagree with the decision.

“I’m OK with having to get a license. That says that I’m qualified. I don’t want some amateur flying who may have good intentions but messes it up for all of us,” he said.

Current regulations warn hobbyists to keep the unmanned aerial vehicles less than an altitude of 400 feet and not within five miles from an airport or air traffic, said Arbanas.