Flying at night....

[JY-tek]

Other than all the obvious reasons not to fly at night/dusk, what should I watch out for??
I live in a very mountainous region and would like to get up pretty high, at late dusk, to get some photos looking across the mountains at the sunset. It would be pretty dark on the ground, but light enough for photos up higher, I'm sure the collision avoidance wouldn't work, but would the drone be able to find home if it got into trouble? Any other considerations that I need to be aware of? I would love to hear from others that have flown at night.... good and bad experiences.

 

[TrayBoz]

The mavic uses GPS to Return To Home, so that will work fine. OA will not work in low light. I find flying at night to be fun in a different kind of way. I would only do it in an area that I am very familiar with - that I've flown at in the daytime, so as to be very aware of the low-altitude situation, power-lines and such, that can't be seen in the dark. The riskiest part of flying at night is takeoff and landing, where you're trusting that you're very familiar with obstacles that can't be seen in the dark or on your display screen, and the mavic definitely won't see them.

Don't expect any good pictures or video in the dark, unless there are a lot of ground-lights and/or you're very good with post-production editing software.

 

[JY-tek]

Actually, there should be enough light to get photos, after I get some altitude. It will be pretty dark close to ground, however. Which brings up a point that you mention. How to find home point. It's tough enough to find home point in the day time. I'm sure I can handle it if the drone is visible, which it should be. But we have lots of trees and mountains, so if I get very far away, I will most definitely loose sight for periods. I'm trying to make sure I consider everything before I give it a try. Hate to get out there and find out that something can't be done.

 

[TrayBoz]

How to find home point. It's tough enough to find home point in the day time

If you hit the RTH button, the mavic will automatically find the home point (using GPS )and land (provided you set the RTH Altitude higher than the highest trees/obstacles). So you don't have to find the home point. Not sure I understand your question.

If you don't want to use RTH and would rather fly to it manually, just point the blue arrow in your radar display to the green-circle-H in the radar and fly to it. You don't have to be able to see the drone to do this.

 

[Ron_Dog]

I fly at night a lot! But not in remote areas! I find the photo's take on a diffrent effect from the lights on the ground while flying!

 

[gnirtS]

If you hit the RTH button, the mavic will automatically find the home point (using GPS )and land (provided you set the RTH Altitude higher than the highest trees/obstacles). So you don't have to find the home point. Not sure I understand your question.

You'll lose precision landing so it could landing within about 10-15ft of where it took off from. Which might be acceptable and might not be depending on whats around you.

 

[ROBERTNCREST]

I fly at night a lot! But not in remote areas! I find the photo's take on a diffrent effect from the lights on the ground while flying!View attachment 43727View attachment 43728

Nice pics Ron!!!

 

[CamoGreg]

Was very difficult to take pictures.... it was my first time and need to improve

 

[mad monkey]

Anyone using those light up rotors on their mavic air? They look like novelty fun for the kids lol but would totally increase visibility for night shots. Like firework photos etc

 

[TrayBoz]

Anyone using those light up rotors on their mavic air?

Personally, there is no way I would fly my mavic with those props on. I'm sure those are not made to any specs, balanced, tested, weighted properly, etc. Sounds like a crash waiting to happen to me. No Thank You. They are a novelty and not safe.

Two things I will not fly without: Original DJI Props and Original DJI Battery

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Marko9219]

Anyone using those light up rotors on their mavic air? They look like novelty fun for the kids lol but would totally increase visibility for night shots. Like firework photos etc

I wouldn't even consider anything but authentic DJI rotors.

 

[Marko9219]

I fly at night a LOT. With my added strobe, I can see my MP a couple miles away easily. RTH works perfectly when I choose to use it. Keeping it under 400 ft, I don't worry about aircraft. No worries at night about hawks and eagles knocking my drone to the ground either. With the strobe flashing, should it ever go down, finding it would be a lot easier too.

 

[Q24H]

Went out shooting after sunset one time, it was cool and I've learned a lot about the lowlight video and photo capabilities of my drone, but it was not amazing, I think I'd much rather be out when there is still a bit of light left so it's not just capturing the lighting. Still would do again tho!

 

[FlyGuy8675309]

Anyone using those light up rotors on their mavic air? They look like novelty fun for the kids lol but would totally increase visibility for night shots. Like firework photos etc

yes, yes, yes! The light-up rotors are even better than FLIR night-vision. They will turn night into day for several miles. I actually got a little sun-burn from the brightness -- now I wear my sunscreen at night!

 

[mad monkey]

I'm referring to being able to see the drone in the air while doing night filming, like for nights with fireworks.

 

[FlyGuy8675309]

I'm referring to being able to see the drone in the air while doing night filming, like for nights with fireworks.

LOL - My bad. I thought you were goofing. Anywho, strobes are much better for maintaining visibility. . Lit props aren't that bright and you need to be at the right angle to see them. They are a fun novelty, but I would not use them for any "serious" flying.