Flying in heavy smoke…

[realvue]

Does anyone have experience flying in lower visibility conditions due to smoke? I live in one of the most beautiful areas in the country but I have been unable to shoot video because of all this wildfire smoke. I even thought I would do a video *about* the smoke, but I’m concerned how the drone’s anti collision sensors would handle that lack of visibility. Plus, there’s the added variable that 85-90% of my flying is done over water. So if it goes down, I’m humped.

Thoughts?

Oh, and the photo is as good as it gets right now. It has been far, far worse as of late.

 

[iReviewFrozenDinners]

If it's just visual obstacle sensors like on the Mavics, they obviously rely on visuals, so any degradation in picture they're getting will negatively impact their effectiveness. Your photo looks like it would be fine as that's not super low visibility but if it's significantly worse than that I wouldn't rely on obstacle avoidance too much and fly slowly and make sure you can maintain VLOS and look out for obstacles/birds.

If you're flying over water, you only really need to watch out for lines that are sometimes across lakes/ponds and birds. It might be wise to scope out an area on a clear day first and then fly later if you wanna get some more dramatic shots.

Also don't forget the 3+ mile visibility requirement if it's a Part 107 flight.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Ya your not a lone with the smoke problem. Here in Northern Ontario we have many wild fires. Lots of smoke and I have flown and have not noticed any ill effects. Not saying there might be but my observations so far have not affected any performance from the craft.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Having recently flown my drone through the smoke from a garden bonfire be warned, the drone may pick up a lot of 'dust'.

 

[Interficiam Stercore]

Having recently flown my drone through the smoke from a garden bonfire be warned, the drone may pick up a lot of 'dust'.

Sand storms are even worse. Joke.

 

[BigAl07]

I was replying to this thread (or so I thought) last night but today I see no record of it. I must have forgotten to hit SEND lol

*Edit: Nevermind it was on your FB post LOL*

 

[Talkenrain]

The drone sensors treat heavy smoke the same as fog. Several people here (including myself) have experienced the inability to do a normal decent through fog because the drone thinks there's a landing surface below it and will first stop decanting, then go into landing mode. I would not recommend this but did it myself last your during all the smoke in oregon last year...

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[tlswift58]

Does anyone have experience flying in lower visibility conditions due to smoke? I live in one of the most beautiful areas in the country but I have been unable to shoot video because of all this wildfire smoke. I even thought I would do a video *about* the smoke, but I’m concerned how the drone’s anti collision sensors would handle that lack of visibility. Plus, there’s the added variable that 85-90% of my flying is done over water. So if it goes down, I’m humped.

Thoughts?

Oh, and the photoView attachment 132777 is as good as it gets right now. It has been far, far worse as of late.

I'd keep away from flying over water if worse than this pic. This doesn't seem bad until it's far out and the haze is really visible. Just be safe and think about where you are flying (as should always be) when in less than ideal conditions of any type.

 

[Winston Bull]

I don't know your mission, but here are my two cents...

I did some filming of proscribed fires last year and was definitely in it! One thing I did not stint on was visual range: no matter anything else keep it in sight. The other thing I was also concerned about was ash: since I was in the thick of it it was everywhere and was concerned about intake, but things seemed to go fine and I cleaned it after each flight as best I could. (Picture a grown man giving his drone mouth-to-mouth...) Because I was doing close-in flying sometimes I also turned off visual sensors, but I do not know that that would be necessary for you.

One other thing: whenever at all possible fly manually, especially eschewing RTH or automated landing. If you keep it in visual and bring it in manually for a hand catch you should be fine.

 

[Dale D]

Does anyone have experience flying in lower visibility conditions due to smoke? I live in one of the most beautiful areas in the country but I have been unable to shoot video because of all this wildfire smoke. I even thought I would do a video *about* the smoke, but I’m concerned how the drone’s anti collision sensors would handle that lack of visibility. Plus, there’s the added variable that 85-90% of my flying is done over water. So if it goes down, I’m humped.

Thoughts?

Oh, and the photoView attachment 132777 is as good as it gets right now. It has been far, far worse as of late.

Well all I can say is that I just returned to Miami last night after a week of fly fishing and droning in and around Bozeman, Montana where the visibility was like this image most of the time.

Nevertheless, I found the time to fly my Mavic 2 Pro everyday. I reviewed the daily clips and feel that I will be able to use most every one of them, albeit it with some editing of my H.265 clips.

We fished and I flew all the way to the Beartooth Highway between Montana and Wyoming where there was heavy forest fire haze, as well as between Livingston and Gardner,MT. My films of the Paradise Valley were quite hazy but I was able to get nice details of the farms, irrigation, hay bales, etc. I am still unpacking and will get to the editing table later this week, but the answer is YES, I have experience in flying in the same exam haze as you!

Dale
Miami

Dale
Miami

 

[LA 2020]

Does anyone have experience flying in lower visibility conditions due to smoke? I live in one of the most beautiful areas in the country but I have been unable to shoot video because of all this wildfire smoke. I even thought I would do a video *about* the smoke, but I’m concerned how the drone’s anti collision sensors would handle that lack of visibility. Plus, there’s the added variable that 85-90% of my flying is done over water. So if it goes down, I’m humped.

Thoughts?

Oh, and the photoView attachment 132777 is as good as it gets right now. It has been far, far worse as of late.

Simple answer is don't take the chance because the two things smoke and water are the worst for the sensors. If you do fly you might do better using Waypoints (Litchi App for me) that depends on GPS positions but be sure you are getting signals from multiple satellites.

 

[Dale D]

Simple answer is don't take the chance because the two things smoke and water are the worst for the sensors. If you do fly you might do better using Waypoints (Litchi App for me) that depends on GPS positions but be sure you are getting signals from multiple satellites.

I just returned from a week in Montana, I stayed in Bozeman and fly fished extensively along the I90 corridor. Before fishing, I flew my Mavic 2 Pro, usually along the riverside. There was always a smokey haze, although I never saw a fire. My videos and images were all hazy but at least I was able to get some footage and see my drone. I am presently working on a video which will amply demonstrate what I was able to get.

 

[HoozierDroneDaddy]

Is anyone having focus issue with the auto focus due to the smoke in the air in other parts of the country?
Asking for a friend. He is flying the Mavic Pro. His photo tests on his kitchen table are sharp and clear, however, when he gets it in the air, his focus if off. He is in Central Indiana. Only thing I can think of is the smoke pollution traveling across the country.

 

[Dale D]

Is anyone having focus issue with the auto focus due to the smoke in the air in other parts of the country?
Asking for a friend. He is flying the Mavic Pro. His photo tests on his kitchen table are sharp and clear, however, when he gets it in the air, his focus if off. He is in Central Indiana. Only thing I can think of is the smoke pollution traveling across the country.

absolutely- was in Montana last week- these pic taken near Yellowstone Park

 

[Wilson Photography]

This was shot 2 days ago over the Provo River flowing into Deer Creek Reservoir, in Utah where it is usually completely submerged in water but not this year due to the drought. Smoke from California fires was pretty thick. Shot with Mavic Mini 2 with no problems other than my iPad screen turning off mid flight due to the heat. I will go fly my Air 2s in the smoke today and report back.
https://mavicpilots.com/attachments...=114641&hash=5ec70117b48e8b369797473825d17e1f

 

[Dale D]

This was shot 2 days ago over the Provo River flowing into Deer Creek Reservoir, in Utah where it is usually completely submerged in water but not this year due to the drought. Smoke from California fires was pretty thick. Shot with Mavic Mini 2 with no problems other than my iPad screen turning off mid flight due to the heat. I will go fly my Air 2s in the smoke today and report back.
https://mavicpilots.com/attachments...=114641&hash=5ec70117b48e8b369797473825d17e1f

This was shot 2 days ago over the Provo River flowing into Deer Creek Reservoir, in Utah where it is usually completely submerged in water but not this year due to the drought. Smoke from California fires was pretty thick. Shot with Mavic Mini 2 with no problems other than my iPad screen turning off mid flight due to the heat. I will go fly my Air 2s in the smoke today and report back.
https://mavicpilots.com/attachments...=114641&hash=5ec70117b48e8b369797473825d17e1f

Yes- we struggled the entire week of fly fishing. I was in the Bozeman area but fished east towards Billings (Indian River), towards Gardiner along the Yellowstone, and everywhere else- very poor air quality from the fires. Am working on my video now and it will show the smoke and haze I dealt with.

Dale
Miami

 

[AZDave]

Does anyone have experience flying in lower visibility conditions due to smoke? I live in one of the most beautiful areas in the country but I have been unable to shoot video because of all this wildfire smoke. I even thought I would do a video *about* the smoke, but I’m concerned how the drone’s anti collision sensors would handle that lack of visibility. Plus, there’s the added variable that 85-90% of my flying is done over water. So if it goes down, I’m humped.

Thoughts?

Oh, and the photoView attachment 132777 is as good as it gets right now. It has been far, far worse as of late.

The visual collision avoidance sensors can only "see" and look for obstacles within a few feet. I'd bet $100 that you'd be hard pressed to measure the visual effect of the smoke at that distance with even professional grade equipment. Just look at how clear and sharp the boat trailer is in that picture, and that's probably at least 50 feet away. I don't see how that amount of smoke is going to affect the sensors at all unless the particles collect on the lenses and obscure the light that way.

The smoke could have other negative effects, though. Smoke is pretty corrosive when damp, and if it collects inside your drone it could present a problem.