Recent content by MS Coast

I can offer another anecdotal data point of equal questionable value. I've flown a dozen drones over the last several years and I've never had a bird contact my drone or threaten it, despite flying frequently in the presence of bird species ranging from curious hummingbirds and swallows to...

I understood that those markings on the front of the turbine shaft were to make it more visually obvious to ground crews that the engine was in operation. In flight, it's unlikely that the addition of that relatively tiny decoration would make the relatively enormous aircraft more visible to a...

One option is Velcro mounting on the rear of the battery, adjacent to the charge status lights.

This just may be the worst AI-generated text I've seen. I'd steer well clear of whatever website delivered this. Install loudspeakers or sirens on a drone? Repel birds with the active ingredient in pepper spray? (Wear gloves and a respirator when handling your drone.) Irregular shaped...

Broaden the question to "Has anyone had ANY drone weighed by a law enforcement officer or other official?" and I'll bet that the answer is still, "No."

In the past, I've posted photos of birds perched on highway signs with highly reflective surfaces and other shiny things. I just did a brief search for examples and ran across several references to the fact that some birds (crows, ravens, magpies, jays, and others) are attracted to shiny...

Both of the first two shots were apparently at dusk in low light conditions - f5.6:1 sec and f2.8:1/2.5 sec and still underexposed. The third had better available light, at f5:1/240. The sharpness of the third is a result of the higher shutter speed.

When I was flying gliders in Tennessee and north Georgia, I often shared thermals with hawks, and once with an immature Bald Eagle. Those encounters were among the best moments of my time in gliders. We were always on the lookout of soaring hawks to locate thermals. They're the pros and we...

That's definitely not the same bird; it's a different species. "Attack" may not be the right word for a bird simply flying close to the drone. When I'm wade fishing, sharks frequently come within 50 feet, but I would say that constituted a shark attack. I suspect that if the Kestrel wanted to...

Did that Kestrel make contact with the drone, or just pass nearby?

There's no evidence that reflective tape scares birds away. Only social media posts and rumor say it does. Bottles of water don't scare flies or dogs with full bladders, either. There is an occasional problem with a bird actually striking drones, but most "attacks" aren't actual attacks and...

How about posting the flight data so that the nature of the failure can be sorted out?

I wonder about degradation of the batteries over a year or more without charging and the gradual decline in the state of charge.

Certainly could have been icing. It's interesting that some folks feel compelled to crow about flagrant visibility and altitude violations.

Don't over-complicate it. There's no need to fly precise patterns or switch off the OA system. Let us know how it works out.