TL;DR Great competition, broad range of subjects, lots of Drone Scene locations added.
The long bit:
When the competition topics were posted I thought, ‘I can get some of those, it’ll be an excuse to fly the drone’. Once I’d got a couple of targets and a few points on the leader board it encouraged me to go for more, not with any aspirations of winning, but for the personal satisfaction of achieving something.
All my entries were with the Mini, but if I was doing it again I’d use the Mavic 2 for ones like ‘the highest point in my county’. The broad range of subjects and locations meant I was encouraged to get out more with the drone (I’ve flown more in the last few weeks than the previous year). It also led to a bit of interaction with ‘the public’ while out & about. In my case all those encounters were positive, with most people wanting to ask questions.
For me the only ‘complaint’, if you could even call it that, was that I thought a couple of items were too close to impossible (eg Castle with moat - there are none of these in NI).
One question no-one seems to have asked (unless I missed it?) was how the prizes were funded. If it came from a sponsor that could have been mentioned. If the GADC committee put up the cash, then fair play to them, but they shouldn’t be out of pocket for a fun competition. I’d be quite happy to pay an entry fee, though I appreciate that might put people off entering.
Finally :
I’m now actively trying to stop looking for mobile cranes, red or blue cars in a line and moving trains. It’s been great fun, I’ve enjoyed the banter, and getting out in the fresh air has been a bonus. Will I enter again next year? Hell, yes!