Close encounter with an ultralight aircraft - ADS-B did its job

[Cymruflyer]

While flying my Mavic Air 2 drone a couple of days ago I received an ADS-B alert of a nearby aircraft.

I occasionally get these alerts and will typically pop open the map to get an idea of where the aircraft is if I do not have a visual on it. In this case I was flying fairly low at probably less than 100' at the time, photographing an oak tree, and ignored the warning at first. The alert continued and switched to the message that it was "Too close" and started flashing my screen red. Opening the map showed it to be very close and heading right toward me. At first I could hear it, but not see it. Just in case, I further reduced my altitude to about 50', and soon after this ultralight aircraft roared over me. I watched as it circled around me, and was able to capture a bit of video on its second pass after getting my wits about me again.

I will have to say, that the ADS-B receiver performed well and did its job! It is interesting to note that this ultralight even had a ADS-B transmitter.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

That was not an ultralight, that was an LSA or experimental aircraft. It had twin engines and is a derivative from an old Ultralight model Called a MaxAir Drifter. The aircraft you saw was designed by Phil Lockwood in Florida of Lockwood Aviation. He took the Max Air Drifter design and expanded upon it to make a larger more robust airframe with two engines. An ultralight can only have one engine plus max. all up weight of under 254lbs. and max and min airs/stall speed and carry only one passenger and no more than 5 gallons of fuel.

What you filmed is way heavier, faster than a UL and has two seats plus far more than just 5 gallons of fuel and is far more expensive. That would be the reason it had ADS-B out, on board. Despite what it looked like tubes, wire and rag, it was not an Ultralight.

 

[Steve F]

That was not an ultralight, that was an LSA or experimental aircraft. It had twin engines and is a derivative from an old Ultralight model Called a MaxAir Drifter. The aircraft you saw was designed by Phil Lockwood in Florida of Lockwood Aviation. He took the Max Air Drifter design and expanded upon it to make a larger more robust airframe with two engines. An ultralight can only have one engine plus max. all up weight of under 254lbs. and max and min airs/stall speed and carry only one passenger and no more than 5 gallons of fuel.

What you filmed is way heavier, faster than a UL and has two seats plus far more than just 5 gallons of fuel and is far more expensive. That would be the reason it had ADS-B out, on board. Despite what it looked like tubes, wire and rag, it was not an Ultralight.

Thanks for the explanation. I was searching the web yesterday for the make of this and could not find it. I figured it was outside the weight class of a legit ultralight, but it was certainly flying low and slow like many I have seen before, including one I used to fly about 35 years ago.

 

[Cymruflyer]

Thanks for the explanation. I was searching the web yesterday for the make of this and could not find it. I figured it was outside the weight class of a legit ultralight, but it was certainly flying low and slow like many I have seen before, including one I used to fly about 35 years ago.

Oh this is a great little flying machine and Phil designed it, I believe, for National Geographic Photo shoots on expeditions. It was often chosen for filming documentaries that need slow low flying capabilities. I've know Phil for about 25 years and he wanted to have the great gentle flying characteristics of the original, easy to fly, MaxAir Drifter plus be able to carry quite a payload for a large camera mounted up in the nose. That was back then when they did not have the sort of cameras we have today.

This aircraft is not a fast flying machine but is great at medium and slow flight with very forgiving flight characteristics and a heck of a lot of fun to fly. He mounted two Aviation grade Rotax 912 4 stroke engines on it. Amazing climb stats. with those two engines and that big high lifting wing. The aircraft is called the Lockwood or Lockwood Aviation AirCam, for air camera (Platform). You may find info on it from that name.

 

[DanMan32]

I'd love to have this technology on my M2P. I was six miles from the nearest airport, flying at about 350' to photograph a 230'-tall building last month when I heard a small plane. It was approaching from behind. I immediately started descending, only to realize that it was flying lower than I was. So I moved to the side and all was well. But much closer than I would have liked. Maybe a reason for buying a newer model.

That's been my fear. Thinking an aircraft is higher or lower than it really is, and making the wrong decision to ascend or descend. That's why I advocate manned aircraft stay above 500ft, including helicopters when they are cruising.

 

[Cymruflyer]

That's been my fear. Thinking an aircraft is higher or lower than it really is, and making the wrong decision to ascend or descend. That's why I advocate manned aircraft stay above 500ft, including helicopters when they are cruising.

Simply drop down to 100ft and then you will be fine. Aircraft don't just silently turn up and jump on you. You can hear an aircraft in the sky from a ways off and even when the wind is blowing hard away from you and the aircraft is coming from that direction, you will get enough noise warning that a low level aircraft is about to come close to you. Enough time for you to drop down to 100ft, because hardly any aircraft will be flying even close to 100ft AGL, so you will be safe.

To a real pilot, altitude is safety, because should you develop an engine problem, you want altitude so you have time to sort out the problem. And if you had an engine out, then you want to have as much time as possible to set up to safely put it down. Flying down low and having a power loss or complete failure means that you only have a few seconds before you are committed to touch down. Therefore, most pilots will want to stay up higher, when out flying. Yes, out in desolate areas you may find a few pilots down on the deck for fun, but that is rare.

 

[Dbez1]

Simply drop down to 100ft and then you will be fine. Aircraft don't just silently turn up and jump on you. You can hear an aircraft in the sky from a ways off and even when the wind is blowing hard away from you and the aircraft is coming from that direction, you will get enough noise warning that a low level aircraft is about to come close to you. Enough time for you to drop down to 100ft, because hardly any aircraft will be flying even close to 100ft AGL, so you will be safe.

To a real pilot, altitude is safety, because should you develop an engine problem, you want altitude so you have time to sort out the problem. And if you had an engine out, then you want to have as much time as possible to set up to safely put it down. Flying down low and having a power loss or complete failure means that you only have a few seconds before you are committed to touch down. Therefore, most pilots will want to stay up higher, when out flying. Yes, out in desolate areas you may find a few pilots down on the deck for fun, but that is rare.

Thanks for your insight.

 

[ElPocho]

While flying my Mavic Air 2 drone a couple of days ago I received an ADS-B alert of a nearby aircraft.

I occasionally get these alerts and will typically pop open the map to get an idea of where the aircraft is if I do not have a visual on it. In this case I was flying fairly low at probably less than 100' at the time, photographing an oak tree, and ignored the warning at first. The alert continued and switched to the message that it was "Too close" and started flashing my screen red. Opening the map showed it to be very close and heading right toward me. At first I could hear it, but not see it. Just in case, I further reduced my altitude to about 50', and soon after this ultralight aircraft roared over me. I watched as it circled around me, and was able to capture a bit of video on its second pass after getting my wits about me again.

I will have to say, that the ADS-B receiver performed well and did its job! It is interesting to note that this ultralight even had a ADS-B transmitter.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Whoa. That looks like a beautiful place to fly though.

 

[Tentoes]

A pilot was looking over my MA2. "ADS-B! Hey, this thing's more advance than my 172!"

His 172 is a beautiful machine. You see them all faded from having been tied out for decades, but this one is NOT.

 

[Classic flyer]

While flying my Mavic Air 2 drone a couple of days ago I received an ADS-B alert of a nearby aircraft.

I occasionally get these alerts and will typically pop open the map to get an idea of where the aircraft is if I do not have a visual on it. In this case I was flying fairly low at probably less than 100' at the time, photographing an oak tree, and ignored the warning at first. The alert continued and switched to the message that it was "Too close" and started flashing my screen red. Opening the map showed it to be very close and heading right toward me. At first I could hear it, but not see it. Just in case, I further reduced my altitude to about 50', and soon after this ultralight aircraft roared over me. I watched as it circled around me, and was able to capture a bit of video on its second pass after getting my wits about me again.

I will have to say, that the ADS-B receiver performed well and did its job! It is interesting to note that this ultralight even had a ADS-B transmitter.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Very cool thanx for the video... be smart fly safe....MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

[Classic flyer]

Manned always have right of way. Even in “our” airspace. Look and listen ?. Glad to hear the system works well.

Nicely said sir...be smart fly safe....MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

[Dopper]

I've been using FlightRadar24 for about 8 years now and have watched the majority of planes go from a 5 minute delay to the live positioning. It has been my experience where I live that most are pretty close to where the map shows. The local university has a pilot training program so we have a lot of small planes flying by frequently and FlightRadar24 has been pretty accurate for me. That being said we are in the flight path of a medical helicopter that does not have or that doesnt have turned on its ADS-b so isn't visible on the app. So I always try to listen closely while flying.

I downloaded FR24 and for some reason I don't get the altitude of aircraft. Makes it unusable for a drone pilot. Do you have to have the subscriftion version in order to receive that information?

 

[JimWest]

I downloaded FR24 and for some reason I don't get the altitude of aircraft. Makes it unusable for a drone pilot. Do you have to have the subscriftion version in order to receive that information?

No, you don't need to pay for it. I get altitude, ground speed, where it came from and where its going, and the aircraft type and company, if they have that info. Some AC no info, including, apparently, military.

 

[moonlitnite]

Whew, glad you had a UAV with ADS-B alerting. And apparently the AC pilot was a "bold pilot but perhaps not an old pilot!" Thanks for sharing.

 

[Marc Hufnagel]

Note that FlightRadar24 has a delay whereas MA2 ADS-B does not or is a smaller delay.
So when MA2 says the plane is just about on top of you, FlightRadar24 shows where the plane was about 5 minutes ago.

wow. When Flightradar says something is right over me, it's within 10-15 seconds off at most. I'm glad I don't see that much delay. would take the fun out of plane spotting with the app and I do just that a lot.

 

[magman]

Too bad we do not have this feature in te EU...

 

[Cymruflyer]

Whew, glad you had a UAV with ADS-B alerting. And apparently the AC pilot was a "bold pilot but perhaps not an old pilot!" Thanks for sharing.

The twin engines aircraft pilot was not "bold" at all, he was just out flying. Why would you feel that he "apparently" was a "bold" pilot?

 

[Jeffro15]

I live reasonably close to a class C Airport, and using an ADS-B flight tracker app, find that while I get all info on most aircraft, including military, many light general aviation aircraft do not transmit ADS-B.
My understanding is that as of Jan. 1 of this year, everything that flies in the NAS must be equipped with a transmitter, and must be transmitting.

 

[Chuckinay]

Note that FlightRadar24 has a delay whereas MA2 ADS-B does not or is a smaller delay.
So when MA2 says the plane is just about on top of you, FlightRadar24 shows where the plane was about 5 minutes ago.

FWIW, I haven't noticed much delay, if any, in FR24 for aircraft in my vicinity.

 

[fabo]

Yes, thanks for sharing and info about Flightradar. I live within 5 miles of Air Force Academy, so have move to a park further away to fly (until I get FAA authorization to fly near the house). Even at the park, it is in the flight pattern. I'll have to see if the Academy planes use ADS-B receivers so I won't need an observer scanning the skies all the time.

 

[RussDrone]

Here in NH in the Lakes Region, I have to fly early or late ... or stay below the tree top level because sea planes and ultra-lights fly just over the tree top level and can't be seen until they clear the wall of 120-150' pine trees. The have no respect for the 400' ceiling, are most often below it, and do, as manned aircraft, have the right of way.