Add more visibility to your Drone

[Safetything]

Some people often talked about using reflective materials on drone to scare away birds, which will most probably fail. However, a good point mentioned by some guy is, "The highly reflective material might make finding a downed drone a little easier in the dark, after a bird attack!" and I agree.

If you already have or will buy reflective tape, check google and search something like: top reflective tape check tool .

From google's search results, you will find a website with a free tool checking out useful information on the reflective tape and avoid wasting money.
It is actually an online free tool to check brightness, outdoor lifetime and many tips for reflective tapes.

 

[mavic3usa]

I had one drone buried so deep in the brush, no amount of "reflective" tape or strobe (in the daytime) would reveal its location. You needed a machete or a long stick but now I use an audible beeper (loud) from ViFly. I can imagine the same goes for a drone stuck high up in a tree.

 

[Safetything]

I had one drone buried so deep in the brush, no amount of "reflective" tape or strobe (in the daytime) would reveal its location. You needed a machete or a long stick but now I use an audible beeper (loud) from ViFly. I can imagine the same goes for a drone stuck high up in a tree.

Yes, you are right, reflective tape or strobe does not work out in daytime, will work in the dark. As reflective material is very light, sticking to the drone is easy and will work anyway in the dark or night time for many years if got the right type of reflective tape. I saw many people use black or similar least bright ones or short term reflective, which should be avoided (pay the same but get the least brightness and lasts short time). Is the audible beeper easy to be broken when falls or in rain...

 

[Cafguy]

The adhesives on most reflective tapes will bind to the Drones plastic and NEVER come off. Its a great idea IF you never remove it. Birds are defending when they attack your drone and will attack it if its shiny or dull...I can see where it might be useful in finding your downed drone perhaps.
There are many types of this tape. NEVER Put metal based reflective tapes on a Drone!!

 

[Paul Harvey]

I use six lights on my A3s with 3M Dual Lock. Two steady green lights, one on each arm and the same on the back except they're red. On the bottom, there are two flashing white lights.

This is the best light set-up I've seen. The red & green lights tell me my heading And the bottom lights are the best for daylight (and night).

 

[Safetything]

The adhesives on most reflective tapes will bind to the Drones plastic and NEVER come off. Its a great idea IF you never remove it. Birds are defending when they attack your drone and will attack it if its shiny or dull...I can see where it might be useful in finding your downed drone perhaps.
There are many types of this tape. NEVER Put metal based reflective tapes on a Drone!!

Agreed, actually reflective tape usually does not look very shiny in day time and reflect back mostly at dark time when light hits it and looks much more bright then. So the birds should not attack drones because of the tape in day time as I suppose.



Yes there are many types of reflective tape. There are some that will fade in color in short time and become much less reflective over time or delaminated. Also, brightness differs a lot for different types, grades and colors. Good to find out which color is the brightest or least bright (most colors are at same price, so choosing right color and right type not fading fast is important).



Search: top reflective tape check tool and from google's search results, you will find a website with a free online tool to check brightness, outdoor lifetime and useful tips for reflective tapes, so to make sure it will work for years effectively.

 

[Christiaan]

I use colorful props and a small 365nm UV light

 

[halifax]

I use colorful props and a small 365nm UV light

View attachment 186798View attachment 186799View attachment 186800

Far out, Man! That is excellent!

 

[halifax]

I use six lights on my A3s with 3M Dual Lock. Two steady green lights, one on each arm and the same on the back except they're red. On the bottom, there are two flashing white lights.

This is the best light set-up I've seen. The red & green lights tell me my heading And the bottom lights are the best for daylight (and night).

This is what I do, too. I use Vifly beacon/beeper on top and run nav lights, too. The Vifly beacon is the big rig-saver ... it has saved several drones and fixed-wing AC for me. Best $15 you'll ever spend.