Anybody tried doing a tethered flight with a Mavic 2?

[Monument.AL]

I know this probably sounds like a strange question to most folks. However to satisfy Job Safety Assessment requirements associated with commercial drone operations here in AUS we need to mitigate all potential Risks. I have a requirement to perform a roof inspection of a housing complex under the approach path of a major International airport. After examining the charts I can see that Class C airspace comes down to 500’ at the proposed site (I don’t need to be anywhere near that height) plus the location is also in a Surface to 500’ Restricted Area frequently used by helicopters and seaplanes.

With large buildings and radio antenna around my major concern is the potential for a fly away situation due to loose of signal, which has the potential to be catastrophic; so to help eliminate that risk I’m thinking of using some form of tethering. I will also need a parachute system as the area is fairly densely developed and I obviously don’t want to run the risk of injury to anybody or damage property.

I won’t need to provide “power” via the tether, I just need something to restrict the M2 from going too high or flying off in an uncontrolled state. Does anybody have any experience or got any thoughts on tethering a M2 before I pursue this opportunity any further?

 

[Mossiback]

People have been using drones for fishing, so that would be considered tethered if it would not release. Just tie it to the body with a weight on the line to insure it does not tangle in the props.

 

[old man mavic]

i think that the tether idea could in itself be an issue,the reason i say that is because if the drone did decide to do its own thing,the fact it is tethered would cause it to pivot around the fixed point and it would crash anyway in an arc from the fulcrum point, plus the fact that the drone could become entangled with the line,or the tether line could itself become tangled with what you are trying to film just my thoughts on the subject

 

[kensteele]

just put the drone in tripod mode and carry on.

 

[Meta4]

With large buildings and radio antenna around my major concern is the potential for a fly away situation due to loose of signal, which has the potential to be catastrophic; so to help eliminate that risk I’m thinking of using some form of tethering. I will also need a parachute system as the area is fairly densely developed and I obviously don’t want to run the risk of injury to anybody or damage property.

I dont see how large buildings or antennas create any potential for a "flyaway situation".
But I wonder about the risk to your drone dragging a fishing line all over the roof area of a housing complex.
It's not a situation I'd consider putting my drones into.
Add to that the cost and weight penalty of a parachute system and the airspace issues ....
There are some proposals that are better off walking away from.
Let whoever is running things pay real money and put real workers up on that roof.

 

[Monument.AL]

Thanks Meta4 & Old Man Mavic. I was prepared to walk away from this and you have confirmed my thinking that it is going to be tough to eliminate all the potential risks. Thanks also to everyone else for your contributions.

 

[Casper52]

The regulations state you need to ‘mitigate’ risks, you do not have to eliminate risks. That is mostly a planning issue, in my view. Can you fly your drone at times when other air traffic is at a minimum? Time of day or when the surface winds might mean other runways are being used at the local airport(s) Large antennas close by could be a real risk depending on what they are used for. If they are high power transmitters and have some harmonics in the 2 and 5 GHz bands it could well cause interference. It is hard to say, but one very simple test is to power up your drone and connect to the controller and walk as far away as possible to see if it still stays connected. Do not take-off but you would need to keep a good VLOS at all times. Being a Safety-Sam I most likely would walk away from the project. But just trying to point out with good planning and execution the project could be flown with a reasonable safety margin.

 

[THE WOMBLE]

After a near "lost" with my very first flight I tied a 100m builders line to the drone. The other end was attached to a fishing line reel.(wind up the line to save knots etc.) Went flying again knowing the drone could not fly off to join the birds etc. After learning how to manage the drone stopped using the tether. Have used the "tether" several times with the grand-kids. Saved a lot of worries while their learnt the controls.

 

[Monument.AL]

The regulations state you need to ‘mitigate’ risks, you do not have to eliminate risks. That is mostly a planning issue, in my view. Can you fly your drone at times when other air traffic is at a minimum? Time of day or when the surface winds might mean other runways are being used at the local airport(s) Large antennas close by could be a real risk depending on what they are used for. If they are high power transmitters and have some harmonics in the 2 and 5 GHz bands it could well cause interference. It is hard to say, but one very simple test is to power up your drone and connect to the controller and walk as far away as possible to see if it still stays connected. Do not take-off but you would need to keep a good VLOS at all times. Being a Safety-Sam I most likely would walk away from the project. But just trying to point out with good planning and execution the project could be flown with a reasonable safety margin.

Thanks Casper52. Appreciate your thoughts and advice. Like you I'm a Safety-Sam and really don't want to end up on National TV having created a near-miss situation. The job is right under the main flight path to Sydney International airport, plus it is in a very busy area for float planes and helicopters doing sightseeing trips etc over Sydney harbour/Parramatta River. I've spoken to the client and we have both agreed that the potential risks out weigh the convenience of not having to physically get on the roof.

 

[Monument.AL]

After a near "lost" with my very first flight I tied a 100m builders line to the drone. The other end was attached to a fishing line reel.(wind up the line to save knots etc.) Went flying again knowing the drone could not fly off to join the birds etc. After learning how to manage the drone stopped using the tether. Have used the "tether" several times with the grand-kids. Saved a lot of worries while their learnt the controls.

Hi Womble. Thanks for your experience. I too was considering using some fishing line attached to all four arms of the airframe connecting to a fishing weight below the centre of gravity, and then running down to a fishing reel. However the location had a number of potential risks that I was not happy I could minimise to an acceptable level, so I have bailed out of the opportunity. Would still like to see if the tethering I was proposing will work, using a safer location.