night flight.. need your feedback please

[bucefalo]

again we just went out of topic.. why every time someone ask one information (technical) someone else comes up with "law"? in my 1st Msg I simply asked a couple of things.. is not in my intentions to fly around..! is not advisable to fly by night above all for the low visibility of the drone.. beside that all the other rules are the same!

 

[kennedye]

One thing you might consider is adding a STROBON or similar light to improve visibility (just don't stick it in front of the camera). Otherwise, you should be fine.

Oh by the way you might also consider taking some photos closer to twilight just to get a different lighting perspective. Do you have a spare battery? That might come in handy for the extra pictures.

 

[Rabid Machina]

I don't think thats true. It says No Person Shall fly at night. Pretty straight forward to me.

There is a difference between SHALL and MAY, as the is a difference between MUST and WILL.

The guidelines provided say MAY not operate a SUAS at night.

On-topic though; nice shots on the first page. That round about although a little blurry looks pretty cool. The harbor pics look incredible.

 

[Strafe1]

This isn't completely true if we assume that AMA is what the FAA refers to when they say community based standards. If so, then lights are required. Are you aware of any other satisfactory community based standard? I haven't heard of another.

At any rate, here's what the AMA says about lighting requirements for night flying. "RC night flying requires a lighting system providing the pilot with a clear view of the model’s attitude and orientation at all times. Hand-held illumination systems are inadequate for night flying operations."

I'm sure the stock lighting on the Mavic would easily satisfy this requirement.

I have flown at night many times and find that the lighting makes it very easy to determine orientation at long distances.

I read that excerpt from the AMA as well. I was also reading a narrative from some members who say that they are able to see there drones easier at night than during the day. I haven't flown at night yet so I am curious to see. Either way, my comment of VLOS probably still holds, since visualization is always dependent on the pilots visual acuity. I am anxious, and a bit nervous for that first night flight!

 

[Strafe1]

again we just went out of topic.. why every time someone ask one information (technical) someone else comes up with "law"? in my 1st Msg I simply asked a couple of things.. is not in my intentions to fly around..! is not advisable to fly by night above all for the low visibility of the drone.. beside that all the other rules are the same!

Sorry if I contributed to the off topic discussion. My intent was to remove any doubt in your, or any other potential night fliers minds of potential confiscation or illegality. I hope you post pictures from your Shanghai trip!

 

[Boog0822]

I absolutely can not get any focus at night. I just tried and the photos came out horrible in auto focus and manual. Frustrating...

 

[Boog0822]

This is the best I got and it's garbage.

 

[Strafe1]

This is the best I got and it's garbage.

Do you think it was windy? I understand that it a long exposure, like 2 or 3 seconds. Or just couldn't focus to begin with?

 

[Boog0822]

Not windy. Couldn't focus at any altitude.

 

[AgentOrange2015]

Not windy. Couldn't focus at any altitude.

A very important aspect of taking pictures with any drone is to make 100% sure that your IMU's are properly calibrated. These settings in the IMU are what make the drone hold steady when flying around and for taking pictures. If the drone is hovering to take photo's, it basically has to hold perfectly still for any time lapse photo, or video. You may want to make sure that your Mavic's setting's are what you want for taking pictures/video's. There is and always will be, differences in individual Mavics, the same for any and all Phantoms or any other drone capable of taking pictures or video's. What will work for photo shots, will not always hold true for Video, so you may want to zero in on either photo or video and adjust your settings accordingly. Hope this helps. One thing that I learned many years ago in photo class is that the human eye "is always drawn to the white in a photo". Second would be the brightest part of the photo.

 

[Boog0822]

I'll give it a go again tomorrow...

 

[hp7950]

Only one problem with night flight. the sensors not working so
Its hard to land ....
My mavic didnt close motors .
And i needed to kill the motors by menual cross the sticks

 

[devin120]

no IFR or night rating required!

Those are some good shots. Much more ballsy then me!

I honestly feel like going now. . . . . hmmmm

If some states guys are allowed AR-15's and the question of legality of someone taking an aerial drone to do aerial footage. Something isn't right.....

Apples to oranges but perspective.

 

[Drone Master]

As far as night navigation, I think I have it covered.
Really cool from 2 miles out!
Disco Mavic,, LOL!!!!

 

[cobra46]

For anyone considering flying at night I would highly recommend only flying in a location they have flown in during the day. It's important to understand the lay of the land in the daylight before night flying.

 

[Drone Master]

For anyone considering flying at night I would highly recommend only flying in a location they have flown in during the day. It's important to understand the lay of the land in the daylight before night flying.

Absolutely, along with map support, night flying is a no brainer. Easy Peasy!!
Just follow 107 rules and all is good.

 

[kika]

As far as night navigation, I think I have it covered.
Really cool from 2 miles out!
Disco Mavic,, LOL!!!!

Could you please elaborate on your design?

 

[Skippy905]

OK, so I looked deeper into the Transport Canada sight, and yes, according to Transport Canada, you are not able to fly at night. I didn't get it from the same place as RPM above, but that is because I followed the path of operating a drone without an SFOC (which kind of seems like you only need that for commercial purposes).
BUT......in the conditions of flying without an SFOC, you have:

"21. The pilot conducting operations under this exemption shall only operate a UAV during daylight hours."

However, you also have a bunch more rules, such as the need to have line of sight at all times. Can't be further than 1/4 nautical mile from the UAV. Must be able to present liability insurance to any person. Can not operate a UAV within 8 hours of drinking an alcoholic beverage (love this one).

But the best is this one:

"41. Any person operating under this exemption shall, prior to the commencement of operations, notify the Minister, in writing, of:

1. Their name, address, telephone number and e-mail;
2. The model of UAV(s) being operated including serial number(s), where appropriate;
3. The type of work being conducted;
4. The geographic boundaries or area(s) where the operation will be conducted; and
5. Confirmation that:
   1. the exemption has been read and understood;
   2. flights will only be conducted in Class G airspace;
   3. flights will only be conducted at the applicable distance from the centre of any aerodrome as specified in conditions 26 and 27; and
   4. flights will only be conducted at the applicable distance from built-up areas specified in condition 29 of this exemption."

So, if we are to actually follow the rules on this, we have to inform everytime we are flying.
I get the feeling that the government went so far that nobody is going to enforce (assuming you are flying safely, and not in restrcicted airspace) it because it's ridiculous.

 

[devin120]

define uav as per tc

 

[Skippy905]

In this particular article is was defining UAV as drones less than 1kg (2.2 lbs)