By James Hanlon
Leader Staff Writer
Sometimes it helps to take a bird’s eye view of things. Take for example Timothy Metcalfe, a drone hobbyist who has been tracking the M-24 construction project through weekly YouTube videos since this summer. The videos help visualize the big picture of what an undertaking such a project is.
“I’ve lived in Oxford for just about 5 years and really enjoy it here,” Metcalfe said. “I’ve also enjoyed seeing the progress of the M-24 project and how our town was getting even better, and thought it would be good practice for me to get some experience flying a drone and editing videos. It was interesting to me to see the progress and I thought others might be interested as well, seeing it from a unique perspective. Another project of this magnitude isn’t going to happen to Oxford for quite some time, so I wanted to capture it while I could.”
The 6-7 minute videos offer stunning views of downtown Oxford and the surrounding landscape of North Oakland County. Metcalfe uses his Mavic Air 2 drone to film anywhere from just above the ground up to 380 feet. (400 feet is the maximum altitude allowed without a waiver.) “I tend to stay around 200 feet when I film the M-24 Construction videos,” he said.
Last summer, Metcalfe took a helicopter ride during the airshow at Oakland County International Airport, which sparked a renewed interest in flying. “I had taken some flying lessons many years ago in an airplane. Soon after the helicopter ride I took a few more flying lessons in an airplane, even attaching a GoPro to the outside of the plane to document the flights, but soon realized it was going to be quite costly to continue.”
He enjoyed watching the video footage and recognized he could get similar footage with a drone. He was also able to use his knowledge of airspace, weather and regulations by getting his unmanned aircraft certificate through the Federal Aviation Administration.
Expanding his hobby into an aerial photography side-gig, he has set up the website OaklandDrones.com. Recently, he is filming Christmas light displays.