Flying out of line of sight

[Cookedinlh]

Thanks for the strobon link. I wonder how effective it is in the real world. Found it hard to see in the video when zoomed in. Our eyes don't zoom, so it will be harder to detect. I often fly 300 to 400m away, so it would have to be very bright vs the mavics leds. If I lose sight, I can usually locate by spinning the mavic to find its lights.

Yes they are not very useful in bright sunny conditions. . . a dark tree or buildings background helps. They are most effective in overcast conditions and I have seen them out to a rage of about 400-500m. At that range I find them brighter than the Mavic LEDs. I sometimes put 2 on with velcro . .they last over 8 hours per charge.

 

[Cookedinlh]

My very first flight was to a distance of about two miles. Before anyone pounces on me, please be aware I have loads of experience flying other quads, when I launched my MP for the first time, it all felt very natural. My intent was to see if I could reach a park about two miles distant; it was a "litmus test" for my MP and needless to say, I didn't waste any time seeing if it would comfortably fly that far.

I live on the outskirts of Las Vegas where no building is higher than two stories, so that wasn't an issue. I did my homework and set my RTH height sufficiently before flying.

The very reason many of us gravitated toward the MP is its incredible range. Yes, it's illegal to fly outside of LOS. But I would humbly suggest that POV flying is half the fun.

Other silly laws: The US government makes us register drones. But here in Nevada, you can have as many unlicensed, unregistered firearms as you choose. Which thing do you think poses a greater safety risk?

Ok Here's a question: If you have a legal gun, why would you need another license "Carry" it remotely? . . something about "Shall not be infringed" . . I wonder what the NRA would say? Makes you wonder how far they can push that argument.

 

[TheWolfen]

Thanks for the strobon link. I wonder how effective it is in the real world. Found it hard to see in the video when zoomed in. Our eyes don't zoom, so it will be harder to detect. I often fly 300 to 400m away, so it would have to be very bright vs the mavics leds. If I lose sight, I can usually locate by spinning the mavic to find its lights.

I recently installed one Cree white strobe on my Mavic and the strobe is invisible beyond 800 feet in daylight. I'm not sure multiple strobes would help a lot, either, but who knows?

 

[leenanj]

So if I had a huge drone, lets say 10 feet wide and could see it one mile away it would be considered VLOS and legal.

But my little Mavic I loose sight at 500 feet so I am no longer VLOS.

No, I'll stick to flying through the camera and at a safe altitude.

If I'm in close and requires technical maneuvering than VLOS.

Common sense to me!

 

[rydfree]

So if I had a huge drone, lets say 10 feet wide and could see it one mile away it would be considered VLOS and legal.

You would be breaking the FAA requirement of not being over 55lbs so VLOS would be a mute point

 

[leenanj]

You would be breaking the FAA requirement of not being over 55lbs so VLOS would be a mute point

I have seen RC aircraft with over ten feet wingspan and well under 55 lbs.

But for us hobbiest its not so much what the FAA thinks anymore since they have been shot down.

 

[Mavic 57]

No problem flying 1, 2, or 4.5 miles legally, my mate drives his convertable, I fly from the passenger seat LOS no problem, how far ? till the battery gets critical. Always do a recky in the car before the long range flight. Fly safe - Happy days.

Keeping to the rules, not through towns or cities, but out in the quiet country areas.

 

[Markewing]

I live on the edge of National Forrest land with no homes or people and very rarely any aircraft. I have been out a max of 3 miles before I have to return due to low battery. It is hard to stay line of sight with something with the capabilities of the Mavic .

I fly to pub 6kms away see who's cars are in car park before going there

 

[Tom w]

New memberI also out in the sticks and fly like that all the time..Thats why I got it in the first place..
I know we will get some bad feed back but you are alright..If I was in town I would not but being where iam at there no problem..

 

[gnirtS]

Let's not forget why VLOS is in place. It doesn't mean simply being about to vaguely make out where the thing is. The whole point of VLOS is you know (i) where it is (ii) the orientation of the craft and (iii) are able to visually scan for hazards and other traffic in the vicinity. You're essentially operating a flight under visual flight rules.

If you're unable to judge the orientation you cant safely fly it in the event of a video disconnect and so on. If you can make out a tiny dot 600ft away then what about traffic another 600ft away from the drone in that other direction - you wont be able to see it, judge distance, closure rate and so on. Watching a video from a fixed mounted camera on a tiny phone screen gives you pretty much no situational awareness.

(in terms of orientation, i REALLY wish the mavic came with correctly colour coded navigation lights to help judge port/starboard).

 

[FlyGuy8675309]

You would be breaking the FAA requirement of not being over 55lbs so VLOS would be a mute point

LOL. Please to explain what a "mute point" is.

 

[Cookedinlh]

Let's not forget why VLOS is in place. It doesn't mean simply being about to vaguely make out where the thing is. The whole point of VLOS is you know (i) where it is (ii) the orientation of the craft and (iii) are able to visually scan for hazards and other traffic in the vicinity. You're essentially operating a flight under visual flight rules.

If you're unable to judge the orientation you cant safely fly it in the event of a video disconnect and so on. If you can make out a tiny dot 600ft away then what about traffic another 600ft away from the drone in that other direction - you wont be able to see it, judge distance, closure rate and so on. Watching a video from a fixed mounted camera on a tiny phone screen gives you pretty much no situational awareness.

(in terms of orientation, i REALLY wish the mavic came with correctly colour coded navigation lights to help judge port/starboard).

I'd say it's virtually impossible to have ANY depth perception at 600ft . .
You have reasonable angular acuity but that does little for avoiding another drone or manned aircraft

 

[gnirtS]

I'd say it's virtually impossible to have ANY depth perception at 600ft . .
You have reasonable angular acuity but that does little for avoiding another drone or manned aircraft

Which was my point - just because you can just about "see it" doesn't mean it fits with VLOS definitions.

 

[dewster]

I've flown out two miles over a marsh. I think I was more worried about bird attacks than the Mavic falling out of the sky. It was wide open space.

Key point to think about is recovery of your craft if it crashed. Is the area accessible? Is it over private property? Will your signal be blocked by obstructions? I've seen videos where people will orbit a tall building and lose connection when the craft reaches the other side. Return to Home kicks in and it's hit or miss if your craft can navigate its way back without crashing into an obstruction.

 

[FlyGuy8675309]

At night with CREE STROBONs, you can tell the orientation of the Mavic up to about a mile when the colors start to fade and all you can see is a flashing light. You can go out another couple miles and still see the light but it's dim -- like a distant star.

I put different colors on each side (front=red, port=amber, starboard=white, rear=green) so it's easy to navigate using the colors -- I have another thread on the procedure here somewhere -- but it's common sense.

Just some tips for safe long-distance flights: Find your self a high area where you can see the sky in 360*.. I call it "open sky country". If you find a nice dark area at night it's easy to easy approaching aircraft,

There's also websites and apps that will show you in real time aircraft in your area.
I keep that up on long-distance flights to help mitigate any problems.

 

[Mavic22704]

I live in a heavily wooded area with eighty foot pine trees. Flying line of sight seems impossible, that's why I got into quads and goggles so I could do some flying in this area without having to see the quad. I don't really find anyone around here that wants to be a spotter either if they are not into the hobby. Back when we had a flying club even planes were never much of a spectator sport.

 

[BradinLae]

Ahhh the joys of living in the 3rd world, no laws on the subject that I know of. I had a chat with the helicopter pilot that I know and he says he won't go anywhere near where I usually fly at an altitude I would have to worry about. We have a 108m obstacle here at work that all pilots keep well clear of. RTH is set at 120m so it will clear the tower as I live not far from work. The tower seems to cause no interference at all and I can go within 1.5m of the broadcast panels (586 to 618Mhz). Great for inspections, I have been up, but would rather risk the Mavic than my neck if not needed. Line of sight would be nice but not as much fun, and as it is not illegal, I can. The whole lifestyle here is that you need to take responsibility for everything you do. Want to put 20 people in the back of a dirt dump truck and drive them 5 hours up the highway, no problem with the law, if something goes wrong, big problem for the owner and the driver from the families of the victims.
If I fly away from line of sight and the bird goes down, it will be stolen with no hope of return. Take responsibility for your actions, I can't blame DJI, even if it is a software glitch.

 

[CC Rider]

The rules are the rules, plain and simple. Some have a penchant for saying rules are made to be broken. I guess in the end that's up to the individual, their run of luck, and how much weight they give to the rules of the sky as written for drones. Me, I try to observe them in order to stay out of trouble.

That being said, no one is going to get 100 percent from their Mavic unless they push the envelope. VLOS is established for a reason, one already understood by most drone pilots. One risks losing their $1K Mavic when flying beyond VLOS as well as posing a risk to others. That's a given. And the liabilities of such occurring could cost you your home.

But that open sky beckons, and the Mavic's abilities make it sooo accessible. It's hard not to cut loose and see what it will do. But keep in mind everything that hangs in the balance if things don't go your way and you find yourself on the wrong end of an investigation or responsible for another's damages due to negligence attributed to you.

 

[toad007]

"I fly it over the bush, around lakes and rivers, down cliff faces and around the sea. Pretty much everywhere I fly it I can only see it for the first couple of hundred meters. If I lose it, I lose it. That's life, I'm ok with taking that risk. If you're afraid of not being able to recover it, I can totally understand that as well. It's not a cheap toy."

Yes that is what I do, rivers and coastal. Gives me a kick to do that. No danger to anyone, darkest Suffolk and the Highlands, no one about. Mavic always comes back, so far !! Just watch those 3 phase power lines in Scotland. It it goes wobbly when you take off, bring it back immeadiately.

 

[Yogi053]

"I fly it over the bush, around lakes and rivers, down cliff faces and around the sea. Pretty much everywhere I fly it I can only see it for the first couple of hundred meters. If I lose it, I lose it. That's life, I'm ok with taking that risk. If you're afraid of not being able to recover it, I can totally understand that as well. It's not a cheap toy."

Yes that is what I do, rivers and coastal. Gives me a kick to do that. No danger to anyone, darkest Suffolk and the Highlands, no one about. Mavic always comes back, so far !! Just watch those 3 phase power lines in Scotland. It it goes wobbly when you take off, bring it back immeadiately.

Or it might just be drunk 'hic'!