Drone uses software zoom to film Airliner landing at Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Was he too close?

cgmaxed · Sep 22, 2021

Looks like Drones and there pilots will always have a battle to contend with, if any posted drone videos remotely show any inappropriate flight behavior.

You have to watch the video directly on youtube. It can't be played offsite. Click ON "WATCH ON YOUTUBE"

Quote from the maker of the online video:
" Note: News agencies continue to use this footage to link to any reports of UAVs flying near YVR airport. It's important to note that the flight in this footage is not conducted near YVR airport nor is it associated with any incidents reported by the media. The drone used to film this footage was nowhere near the airport. Software zoom was used in the production of this video. The news report were way over-sensationalized and full of inaccuracies. Connected with the authorities. No issues."

Jagerbomb52 · Sep 22, 2021

Probably not. With a advance certificate Advanced drone operations are permitted, provided they are in compliance with the regulations for flight in controlled airspace.

Hummingbird.UAV · Sep 22, 2021

Agustine said:
Probably not. With a advance certificate Advanced drone operations are permitted, provided they are in compliance with the regulations for flight in controlled airspace.

In 2013 when this was made there were no drone licenses. Sadly this was one of the videos that made the government bring in drone regulations.

VenomXts · Sep 22, 2021

I'm guessing since the video was removed, yes?

Hummingbird.UAV · Sep 22, 2021

VenomXts said:
I'm guessing since the video was removed, yes?

I downloaded it and put it on my Vimeo account.

Robert Prior · Sep 22, 2021

cgmaxed said:
The drone used to film this footage was nowhere near the airport. Software zoom was used in the production of this video.

Judging by the video the drone was roughly here: 49.20066019971546, -123.12750498243352 (based on observing the angles with the terrain, and assuming that the drone is effectively hovering).

So Fraser River, just west of the Oak Street Bridge. Maybe 1.5 km east of the start of the runway that jet was landing at. And obviously at the same/higher altitude to the jet. Assuming the jet is travelling in a straight line to the runway, at closest approach it is less then 300m from the drone.

IIRC, separation between aircraft on landing is supposed to me three nautical miles.

So yeah, maybe some software zooming. But still bloody close.

sar104 · Sep 22, 2021

Robert Prior said:
Judging by the video the drone was roughly here: 49.20066019971546, -123.12750498243352 (based on observing the angles with the terrain, and assuming that the drone is effectively hovering).

So Fraser River, just west of the Oak Street Bridge. Maybe 1.5 km east of the start of the runway that jet was landing at. And obviously at the same/higher altitude to the jet. Assuming the jet is travelling in a straight line to the runway, at closest approach it is less then 300m from the drone.

IIRC, separation between aircraft on landing is supposed to me three nautical miles.

So yeah, maybe some software zooming. But still bloody close.

To be fair, that separation refers to sequential landing traffic. Separation minima are less than that for traffic on different runways or in different patterns. For example, in the US you can legally fly within 3 miles of an airport, even in controlled airspace under LAANC.

cgmaxed · Sep 23, 2021

Robert Prior said:
Judging by the video the drone was roughly here: 49.20066019971546, -123.12750498243352 (based on observing the angles with the terrain, and assuming that the drone is effectively hovering).

So Fraser River, just west of the Oak Street Bridge. Maybe 1.5 km east of the start of the runway that jet was landing at. And obviously at the same/higher altitude to the jet. Assuming the jet is travelling in a straight line to the runway, at closest approach it is less then 300m from the drone.

IIRC, separation between aircraft on landing is supposed to me three nautical miles.

So yeah, maybe some software zooming. But still bloody close.

Impressive observation

cgmaxed · Sep 23, 2021

VenomXts said:
I'm guessing since the video was removed, yes?

You can still watch it. You just have to go directly to YouTube. Click the link in the video window.

Robert Prior · Sep 23, 2021

cgmaxed said:
Impressive observation

Simple triangulation. I've seen Vancouver from the air while landing at YVR many times, so I knew roughly where it was. Then it was just a matter of looking at a satellite view and drawing two lines — one for the facing at the start of the video and one for the facing at the end — and seeing where they crossed.

Lbesing · Sep 25, 2021

I have legally flown within a half mile of San Antonio International Airport, with proper LAANC & active ATC authorization. Had the ATC supervisors cell phone number to clear the flight before I launched and after I landed. I was NOT operating directly in the line of flight path for the approach or departure of the airport, however. I was off to the side at least 1/2-3/4 miles away from the subject. I also didn't go above 100 ft in this normally Zero AGL area.

I even posted a video on April 2, 2021, to my Yellowrosedrones YouTube channel after doing it.

I zoomed in using the Autel Evo 2 Pro with their up to 8x zoom built in. Then I also did some post editing zooming / cropping as well.

By the way, the zoom function on the Evo 2 Pro, once you exceed 3.5x or 4x, gets noticeably grainy.

Pstik · Sep 25, 2021

Lbesing said:
I have legally flown within a half mile of San Antonio International Airport, with proper LAANC & active ATC authorization. Had the ATC supervisors cell phone number to clear the flight before I launched and after I landed. I was NOT operating directly in the line of flight path for the approach or departure of the airport, however. I was off to the side at least 1/2-3/4 miles away from the subject. I also didn't go above 100 ft in this normally Zero AGL area.

I even posted a video on April 2, 2021, to my Yellowrosedrones YouTube channel after doing it.

I zoomed in using the Autel Evo 2 Pro with their up to 8x zoom built in. Then I also did some post editing zooming / cropping as well.

By the way, the zoom function on the Evo 2 Pro, once you exceed 3.5x or 4x, gets noticeably grainy.

I like the arrows and sound effects.

eEridani · Sep 25, 2021

I like all those UFO's flying around - man - you should post this on an alien invasion web site. I wonder what species they are - a few look like Passeridae or even Turdus migratorius! Fantastic!
.

LunaMoon · Dec 22, 2021

Robert Prior said:
Judging by the video the drone was roughly here: 49.20066019971546, -123.12750498243352 (based on observing the angles with the terrain, and assuming that the drone is effectively hovering).

So Fraser River, just west of the Oak Street Bridge. Maybe 1.5 km east of the start of the runway that jet was landing at. And obviously at the same/higher altitude to the jet. Assuming the jet is travelling in a straight line to the runway, at closest approach it is less then 300m from the drone.

IIRC, separation between aircraft on landing is supposed to me three nautical miles.

So yeah, maybe some software zooming. But still bloody close.

A friend of mine once tried to film a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 landing. Unfortunately or fortunately, nothing came of it. It seems to me that only certified pilots should do such drone flights. Probably still need to get permission from the airline. When I was preparing a college term paper about this company, I wanted to discover more about its management and structure. In my opinion, it has quite strict requirements, despite being a fairly low-cost airline.