MACON, Ga. — This year brought some amazing stories, and for the first time we were able to bring you some views of the news you've never been able to get before with Drone 13.
Stories ranged from our sunrise snaps in Montezuma, Juliette, Milledgeville, and Macon's Coleman Hill, to places like Amerson Park and Rose Hill Cemetery, the courthouses featured in Suzanne Lawler's Hallowed Halls series, and local stadiums for our Tailgate 13 coverage.
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We also brought you views of breaking news stories you couldn't see any other place. Drone 13 and its pilot Raymond Tubb is behind it all.
It's an Inspire 1 quad copter drone. That means it has four propellers. It's battery powered so our flights only last about 10-14 minutes. The awesome pictures come from a high-quality Zenmuse lens mounted on the camera that sits below it.
We record on a standard SD card. You may have one in your own camera.
It's anything but your home drone though. When you throw in two electronic controllers with iPads, and all the other equipment, everything together costs about $10,000.
But we've seen some priceless footage from Drone 13 this year. Here are the top five most viewed drone videos for 2019:
#5
This is the first video we shot of the construction at the I-16/ I-75 interchange over the summer. We shot this one from the overpass at the River Walk. We've since shot a couple of updated videos showing the progress over around Hardeman and I-16 West, but this one remains the most viewed.
#4
Our fourth most popular is the video from the Georgia National Fair in Perry. Drone 13 gives a great feel for just how huge the midway and fairgrounds are.
#3
Number 3 on the list was drone shots of the crime scene where a University of Georgia professor was killed in Milledgeville. It happened at a pool on a wooded property several hundred feet up into the woods. Drone 13 gave us a look at the crime scene's layout and the Georgia Bureau Investigation techs working that we never would have seen by ground-access.
#2
At number 2 are the two historic homes that burned along High Street in Macon in April. Drone 13 gave a look at the damage and perspective on just how tightly the houses are packed in to the historic area that was impossible to get from the ground.
#1
Our most-watched video of the year was the Norfolk Southern train derailment between Perry and Kathleen in October. You can really get a feel for the massive crash scene with tracks and trees just gone in some sections. This site was about a quarter mile off the road, so again Drone 13 offered us the only way to see it.
Our Inspire 1 drone is limited to 400 feet high on most flights, and no more than 1,500 feet away from us.
Our pilot Raymond Tubb is licensed as a drone pilot through the Federal Aviation Administration. Whenever he pilots the drone, we always have a spotter who also controls the camera.
Without Carlos Stephens, Jaclyn Ramkissoon, Jesse Horton, or Taylor Drake, none of these great videos would be possible.
And we always love to hear any suggestions for things you'd like to see us get with Drone 13. Just email us at news@13wmaz.com.
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