Drones arrive at world-class Santa Cruz surf break, Steamer Lane!
FORTUNATELY, not carrying Hellfire missiles….
Eric Cheng, using a radio-controlled “quad copter” equipped with a GoPro camera, created a video (about 5 min, 21 sec) of the lengendary Steamer Lane surf break. Cheng is an underwater photographer and drone hobbyist!
“The aerial stuff is another view into the ocean, which is what I’m really interested in,” said the photographer, Eric Cheng. “I’m often thinking, ‘Man if I could just get an aerial shot of this right now it would be the whole story.’ ”
“It was a well-known spot with a lot of action on any typical day,” said Cheng, who was looking to make a surf video. “And it’s pretty close to shore so I could stand and see the quad copter. It’s really a perfect location.”
Filmed July 21, the video was shot using what is essentially a souped-up toy helicopter, equipped with a GoPro tricked out with a stabilizing gimbal, pitch control and a monitor allowing Cheng to see what he’s shooting.
Don’t expect to see drones, especially “independent” drones at surfing contests, however, since surfing contests are commercial ventures. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has had rules for model aircraft for over 30 years:
An FAA spokesman said as long as Cheng’s copter is kept below 400 feet and away from critical infrastructure such as airports, and the footage is noncommercial, he is well within the law.
Since Cheng posted the video on Vimeo, he has had numerous contacts – for commercial ventures 
EVEN a call from organizers behind the Mavericks Invitational!
“Basically the FAA needs to figure out how they’re going to license commercially,” Cheng said. “There’s a huge amount of interest. Since this video went out I’ve gotten dozens of emails from people saying, ‘Hey, we’d love some aerial footage.’ “
The FAA recently gave approval for two types of unmanned aircraft systems and expects to release a set of proposed regulations later this year, paving the way for commercial drone use.
Take a look at Eric’s video and see why my wife and I love Santa Cruz! Since the technology is not proprietary, I imagine that Eric will have a lot of competition, once the FAA gets its act together.
-Bill at
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