Although most volcanoes are dormant for a long time, often for centuries, a drone captured a stunning video of volcano eruption on Iceland’s Mount Fagradalsfj all for the first time in about 800 years. Large numbers of people traveled the 20 miles from Reykjavik, the capital, to witness the spectacular, sizzling view. It is not surprising that first person view (FPV) pilots are taking advantage of this very rare occurrence by producing stunning videos.
Even though the site was shut down to visitors at times due to high levels of noxious gas, drone operator Bjorn Steinbekk captured some incredible footage of a lava river. A government official put it, “The eruption is considered to be small and due to its location, there is no threat to any populated areas or critical infrastructure.*”
Scientists used the heat from the molten rock to cook hot dogs. Ulvar Kari Johannsson, a 21-year-old engineer, told AFP, “It’s absolutely breath-taking. It smells pretty bad. For me what was surprising was the colors of the orange — much, much deeper than what one would expect.”*
It is extremely dangerous to get close to a volcano that is spewing lava, and this is the reason that most footage of a volcano has been taken by a photographer on the ground with a very long lens, or possibly from a helicopter, whose flight would be limited by flight restrictions.
A first person view (FPV) drone is able to monitor what the drone is seeing. The FPV means using an on-board live video camera system to assist in remotely controlling an aircraft by presenting the camera view in front of the aircraft. This allows visual determination of the unmanned aircraft’s flight path, location, orientation, and height. The innovation of FPV flight was developed to give the operator the perspective of the aircraft within the airspace, despite flying behind and around objects that would otherwise inhibit safe flight of the drone.
Future
Thanks to a drone, Iceland’s Mount Fagradalsfjall volcano was captured on video, a volcano that erupted for the first time in about 800 years. Understandably, large numbers of people traveled 20 miles from Reykjavik, the capital, to witness the spectacular, sizzling view. Fortunately, because of the innovation of first person view (FPV), pilots were able to take advantage of this very rare occurrence by producing amazing videos.
