3 Bellingham, WA: July 4th Fireworks Show

[bitsbytes]

This was my first time flying at night, used a strobe and had authorization to fly in the airspace. Used Mavic 3 night mode, so the footage was fairly good, although I was somewhat nervous trying to fly and make sure my other camera was recording video and audio properly. I wasn't harassed by security, event staff, police, or anyone else, which made for a fairly uneventful flight.

Unfortunately multiple DJI mini drones were launched without a strobe in the controlled airspace, which caused a significant safety issue and I wasn't able to move around very much due to being unable to see the other drones. For people flying at night, especially at a crowded public event, please follow the rules and use a strobe. I don't want to crash into you.

 

[hagman23]

Unfortunately multiple DJI mini drones were launched without a strobe in the controlled airspace, which caused a significant safety issue and I wasn't able to move around very much due to being unable to see the other drones.

I have had to deal with this for a number of years - I am paid to capture our annual fireworks event, I'm usually the largest drone flying, strobe and lower light on as well. My wife/vo helps me to make sure no one gets too close to me. It's a pain, but it is just about the only way to do it safely.

 

[bitsbytes]

I have had to deal with this for a number of years - I am paid to capture our annual fireworks event, I'm usually the largest drone flying, strobe and lower light on as well. My wife/vo helps me to make sure no one gets too close to me. It's a pain, but it is just about the only way to do it safely.

Yep. Unfortunately this is what happens because I generally fly by myself, so there isn't much I can really do except be careful. Trying to manage a camera and a drone at the same time is a pain in the *** (but worth it in this case). The mini DJI drones have no lights at all, which is a pain in the ***. Surprisingly I could actually see the built-in red and green orientation lights of the Mavic 3 from over half a mile away.