Recent content by Earthman

I also use the device you suggest. It’s a little expensive, but works great. I’ve tried using cellphone and Bluetooth tags and trackers, but none work as well. If you have or get the Marco Polo RF tracking system, practice with it before you need it.

Not completely unnecessary, or a waste of time. Calibrating the compass can make the flight safer. See the flowing link: https://www.djidronenews.com/dji-mavic-compass-calibration-guide/ I fly where there is hundreds of feet of topographic relief, tall trees and/or buildings. RTH altitude...

For future reference… Things I do to help find lost RC aircraft: 1. I calibrate the compass before flight at every site. 2. I check and change the loss of signal behavior of the drone to make it appropriate for the site. 3. I make sure there is and will be adequate GPS coverage for the...

In this situation, a "community" is an organization of people who agree on the rules that govern their activities - like the AMA, or a local flying club. It's not an area, suburb, town, city, county, etc. like you seem to be assuming. I have not read the FAA's proposed standards for CBO...

As of June 22, 2021, recreational fixed-wing, rotary-wing, and multi-rotor RC pilots are required to take the free online TRUST training and pass the knowledge test to be certified to fly RC aircraft recreationally. TRUST stands for Recreational UAS Safety Test. The training and test are easy...

Not likely the cause of your apparent loss of control, but you should be aware that the kind of antennas used on the controllers typically have a “dead zone” off the ends of the antennas. In general, they radiate and receive best in directions perpendicular to the antennas and hardly at all off...

Looks like two frames of a video to me. The frames may be 1/30th of a second apart so there wouldn’t be a discernible difference it the position of relatively slow moving things like waves. The text isn’t different ‘cause nothing about the text changed in the 1/30th of a second between the...

I am certain that you should steer clear of high tension power lines (see why below). However, I suppose it depends on the voltage being carried by the wires, how shielded the electronics in the drone are if applicable, and how close to the wires or transformer you get. I recently lost radio...

Don’t count on Remote ID providing more freedom for hobby or most Part 107 opps. Remote ID will not allow one to fly BLOS since that is unsafe to manned and commercial UAV aircraft. Remote ID doesn’t enhance safety except indirectly by improving enforcement, which the FAA hopes will deter...

At the 100mph plus the two aircraft hit, I don’t doubt that a small USV could make such a dent in the thin aluminum skin of a light aircraft. It would have made a bigger dent if the UAV hit squarely on the leading edge of a wing or it might penetrate or crack the plastic windshield. If not a...

All UAVs subject to the FAAs regulations are considered aircraft and the same penalties apply to shooting such a UAV as a 747. The shooter’s life should be a lot more complicated now.

I also use the Theodolite app on my iPhone to measure 1) the vertical angle between where I’m standing and the top of visible obstacles, and 2) the horizontal distance to the obstacle use the map feature of the app. I plug those two numbers into the attached small spreadsheet I keep on my iPhone...

The FAA doesn’t “claim” anything. The Federal Aviation Act of 1958 was an act of Congress that created and empowered the FAA to oversee and regulate the use of American airspace by both military and civilian aircraft. Airspace starts at the ground surface and goes up from there. Our...

We should shun if not police the clueless, careless, and criminal among our ranks every time.

I’ve been experimenting with long poles and gimbal mounted cameras. It works.