VLOS Rule of Thumb

[bobmoore1954]

I fly a DJI Mini 3 Pro. I wonder what others suggest as a good rule of thumb for maintaining VLOS. I set my controller to a maximum distance of 1,000-feet. And that seems to work for me.

 

[Cafguy]

No set rule really Just remember its not enough just to "see" the drone but you must be able to determine its orientation. With my eyes I don't get very far. When I am working I must have spotters and for recreation I fly FPV (usually right in front of me). I don't really do much "long Range" type flying much anyways.

 

[msinger]

I wonder what others suggest as a good rule of thumb for maintaining VLOS

Check out this article:

What is Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) for drones? - Pilot Institute

Visual line of sight (VLOS) simply means that the drone pilot or visual observer can see the drone without any obstruction.

pilotinstitute.com

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Aside from Cafguys point, the maximum range at which you can see the drone and find it again if you look away.
That will vary from day to day and the background behind the drone.

 

[RobertsEnterprises]

I just fly. No rule of thumb.

 

[Pacefast]

I fly a DJI Mini 3 Pro. I wonder what others suggest as a good rule of thumb for maintaining VLOS. I set my controller to a maximum distance of 1,000-feet. And that seems to work for me.

It varies a huge amount ! Size of drone ? Small will go out of sight quicker than larger drones ?
Colour of drone blending into the sky or weather of the day ? DJI tend to colour their drones light grey which will lose itself against a light grey sky.
Visibility ? Clear 10k plus vis against misty days ?
Into sun or sun behind ? Etc etc
VLOS can also cause accidents against screen control
I visually flew my Air 3 visually down a long tunnel of trees into a sunlit field turning into the field when i thought I was clear ! Tunnel effect making the tunnel narrowing effect give a false impression . With OA off I thought I was clear and turned straight into the trees!
luckily the props took the impact and the drone fell onto soft long grass ! Had i used the screen that would not have happened !
Rule of thumb ? mmmm?

 

[IronSky1]

Depends on your vision. At my age I rarely go beyond 700 feet and always have a bright LED light front facing for direction (in emmergency) Especially problematic with the Mini series my Matrice can go 1500 easily.

 

[twickers14]

VLOS is what it says on the box. If you can’t see it you shouldn’t have got there in the first place. Re orientation I have to admit to very occasionally using the map bottom left if I‘ve lost it in the sun or a very bright day. I also am increasingly using the little landing light on the underneath although that’s useless at distance.

 

[DougMcC]

White strobe on the battery tail and red and green strobe on left and right sides of body. Works fairly well and just great at sunset and sun rise (low ambient light). Yes this puts it just over the 249 gram weight but visibility and orientation enhances safety.

 

[MotoSavy]

As other have stated, it all depends on the size of the drone and your vision. The bigger the drone the further you can see it, and follow VLOS rules. The mini drones are harder to see at distance. Colors of the drone may also make a difference.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

2000/2500 ft the Rule of thumb is if you blink and you cannot find it again, your to far.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water.

 

[Wild Drone Pilot]

I fly a DJI Mini 3 Pro. I wonder what others suggest as a good rule of thumb for maintaining VLOS. I set my controller to a maximum distance of 1,000-feet. And that seems to work for me.

100' for my eyes

 

[Lets Fly]

I fly a DJI Mini 3 Pro. I wonder what others suggest as a good rule of thumb for maintaining VLOS. I set my controller to a maximum distance of 1,000-feet. And that seems to work for me.

1,000 feet? Can you see it at 1,100, 1,200 or 1,300, why stop if you can still see it? That's what VLOS means.

 

[Dusty DJI]

Unless I have a strobe with bright white light on the underbelly during the middle of the day, I can't see the drone even at 400 ft straight up. Out a few 100 ft at a lower elevation I can see. Early morning and late evening with a strobe is a different story. But without a green red strobe I couldn't really tell orientation at 600 ft.