Flying in the fog/clouds

[mike55]

hi everybody,I need your expert advice please.i fear to rise my mavic over the fog/clouds to take pictures of the mountains.which kind of risk I would face?is anybody so kind to give me a short lesson on this topic?i would be very grateful.best regards from Roma.michele

 

[Anthony]

hi everybody,I need your expert advice please.i fear to rise my mavic over the fog/clouds to take pictures of the mountains.which kind of risk I would face?is anybody so kind to give me a short lesson on this topic?i would be very grateful.best regards from Roma.michele

If you are sticking to the rules then you are loosing line of sight .....

But that is up to you to decide ....

I think moisture might be an issue depending how for you are going to travel through the fog/cloud layer

 

[Callum]

hi everybody,I need your expert advice please.i fear to rise my mavic over the fog/clouds to take pictures of the mountains.which kind of risk I would face?is anybody so kind to give me a short lesson on this topic?i would be very grateful.best regards from Roma.michele

I'm assuming your talking about low level clouds around mountain terrain and your not flying 1000ft up into clouds.

The risk is obviously you can't see your drone anymore and might not know what's under the cloud when you descend again.

It would probably be fine but might get a bit frightening if you lost video feed or entered antered atti mode.

As long as you know where to go up, come back down, have good knowledge of the terrain you should be able to pull it off safely.

 

[Callum]

Thanks Callum,with the RTH altitude why I should be worried about what is under the clouds when I descend?and why

I don't know the terrain your flying. I'm thinking of some places I've climbed with cloud cover below the peak.

I could fly up through the cloud at one point but 100m forward the cloud would be level with the terrain.

With RTH it will return and descend over you but I always look at the possibility of it not working, that's why I said as long as you know the terrain. Always plan ahead for failures that may or may not occur.

Just something to be aware of, might not apply to your situation.

 

[Cyberpower678]

UPDATE: To clarify, this is not my video. I simply posted it here to show how the Mavic handles clouds, not to sanction the reckless flying of this drone pilot. Please don't grind my balls over this.

 

[CyberNate]

Definitely not the record ;-). Less than half.

 

[787steve]

Of course it is illegal as far as FAA goes. But that apparently doesn't bother you. You could have two major issues which could ruin your day. If temp was low enough, you could encounter icing. As nice as Mavic is, it doesn't have deicing system, and could be brought down against your wishes. Far worse would be being impacted by an airplane. Either in the clouds, or on top, where you would have no idea that an aircraft was on course for a collision. I've said it here before, but as much fun as that would be for me to do, I can't begin to consider that my enjoyment is worth risking someone else's life.

Fly safe, and enjoy. There are plenty of things you can do with the MAVIC which allow you to do both.

 

[AgentOrange2015]

Super Cool Video, thanks for posting. Years ago everyone was trying to go as high as possible and then the FAA got involved and that went tits up for people flying high.

 

[Cyberpower678]

Of course it is illegal as far as FAA goes. But that apparently doesn't bother you. You could have two major issues which could ruin your day. If temp was low enough, you could encounter icing. As nice as Mavic is, it doesn't have deicing system, and could be brought down against your wishes. Far worse would be being impacted by an airplane. Either in the clouds, or on top, where you would have no idea that an aircraft was on course for a collision. I've said it here before, but as much fun as that would be for me to do, I can't begin to consider that my enjoyment is worth risking someone else's life.

Fly safe, and enjoy. There are plenty of things you can do with the MAVIC which allow you to do both.

There could be a multitude of reasons why the Mavic is going through clouds. It could be low hanging, he could be on a mountain. Both of these possibilities doesn't necessarily mean he's climbing higher than 400 ft.

 

[Cyberpower678]

Super Cool Video, thanks for posting. Years ago everyone was trying to go as high as possible and then the FAA got involved and that went tits up for people flying high.

I thought it was, I wouldn't dare do that with my Mavic though.

 

[Gringorio]

I've flown in and through fog on a few occasions. The most concerning thing I experienced was condensation collecting on the Mavic during the flights. In the following video the Mavic was dripping with condensation after each flight. This partly blurred the camera, but my main concern was how the condensation would affect the motors and electronics. After each flight I dried it off as best I could. It still flies fine.

Also of concern, as others have pointed out, is where you're flying since by definition you will be out of line of sight.

 

[HoozierDroneDaddy]

The rule 500' below and 2000' from clouds is primarily an issue of VLOS and safety, It does not have a restriction for above the clouds with the exception you are now no longer in VLOS. If you are on a mountain top which is above the clouds when you launch, and you are maintaining VLOS, then you could fly over the clouds. You then have VLOS, and do not have to go through the clouds eliminating the moisture/condensation issues. As you are on a mountain, at that height, there should not be any air traffic within your VLOS distance around the mountain. But again, you are taking the risk, as their could be a small manned A/C flying where he/she shouldn't. Also, the cloud rule is in the US. If you live elsewhere, you would have to check your local rules. Do you agree 787Steve? 787steve

 

[SharkBait]

We flew a work drone through the clouds on FPV, on return I was surprised how soaked it was. It spent two days in a drying room.

 

[mike55]

Thanks All for your considerations,very helpfull.i would think twice before flying in the fog.happy new year.michele

 

[wytnyt]

I've flown in and through fog on a few occasions. The most concerning thing I experienced was condensation collecting on the Mavic during the flights. In the following video the Mavic was dripping with condensation after each flight. This partly blurred the camera, but my main concern was how the condensation would affect the motors and electronics. After each flight I dried it off as best I could. It still flies fine.

Also of concern, as others have pointed out, is where you're flying since by definition you will be out of line of sight.

rtfm says condensation wont hurt the mp,something picked when its read as many times as i have

 

[787steve]

The rule 500' below and 2000' from clouds is primarily an issue of VLOS and safety, It does not have a restriction for above the clouds with the exception you are now no longer in VLOS. If you are on a mountain top which is above the clouds when you launch, and you are maintaining VLOS, then you could fly over the clouds. You then have VLOS, and do not have to go through the clouds eliminating the moisture/condensation issues. As you are on a mountain, at that height, there should not be any air traffic within your VLOS distance around the mountain. But again, you are taking the risk, as their could be a small manned A/C flying where he/she shouldn't. Also, the cloud rule is in the US. If you live elsewhere, you would have to check your local rules. Do you agree 787Steve? 787steve

1. I am fairly confident that taking off above the clouds, and remaining VFR on top and in Visual Line of Sight would be legal. But I don't understand why you think there should be no small aircraft traffic around a mountain.
2. Definitely check your applicable rules.
3. The reason for cloud clearance limits is also to give reaction time in case of a close encounter of the worst kind. When you exit a cloud in an aircraft, if someone is too close, you do not have time to maneuver around them. If they are maintaining proper clearance , you just may have time to save your life rather than have a mid-air.

But I am new to the drone world. I am not sure which FAA regs apply to hobbyist. But we can all use our better judgment to decide what is reasonable. Some people seem to want to brag about how high they have flown their drone. Most of them didn't design or build their drones. It almost seems like they are bragging about how long they can hold a joystick back with their thumb. That would not be a big bragging point in my world.

 

[saboken]

You went over 10000 feet with that drone your lucky! Your were in airspace you should not have been in hope the FAA doesn’t figure out your location! From the video! That’s just stupid to go that’s high especially through the clouds it’s stunts like this that hurts everyone!! More rules and restrictions one day a drone is going to get sucked into a jet engine and crash a airliner hurting or killing passengers and the drone pilot is going to prison for a long time! People stop doing stupid crap like this it hurts all of us that obey the rules we have and use our common sense! These stunts are going to force the FAA to mandate a license to fly in a way nobody is going to like! And yes they can figure out where you live from that footage computers can do some amazing things the only way they won’t is if that little area you Foley over gets destroyed it might if you cause a large jet to crash there,

 

[Robert Mitchell]

The only legal way to accomplish this is to launch from a peak or mountainside above the clouds/fog and maintain LOS throughout the flight.

 

[terradriller]

You went over 10000 feet with that drone your lucky! Your were in airspace you should not have been in hope the FAA doesn’t figure out your location! From the video! That’s just stupid to go that’s high especially through the clouds it’s stunts like this that hurts everyone!! More rules and restrictions one day a drone is going to get sucked into a jet engine and crash a airliner hurting or killing passengers and the drone pilot is going to prison for a long time! People stop doing stupid crap like this it hurts all of us that obey the rules we have and use our common sense! These stunts are going to force the FAA to mandate a license to fly in a way nobody is going to like! And yes they can figure out where you live from that footage computers can do some amazing things the only way they won’t is if that little area you Foley over gets destroyed it might if you cause a large jet to crash there,

I agree with you... that was irresponsible and just stupid.

 

[787steve]

You went over 10000 feet with that drone your lucky! Your were in airspace you should not have been in hope the FAA doesn’t figure out your location! From the video! That’s just stupid to go that’s high especially through the clouds it’s stunts like this that hurts everyone!! More rules and restrictions one day a drone is going to get sucked into a jet engine and crash a airliner hurting or killing passengers and the drone pilot is going to prison for a long time! People stop doing stupid crap like this it hurts all of us that obey the rules we have and use our common sense! These stunts are going to force the FAA to mandate a license to fly in a way nobody is going to like! And yes they can figure out where you live from that footage computers can do some amazing things the only way they won’t is if that little area you Foley over gets destroyed it might if you cause a large jet to crash there,

I missed something there. How do you know he was over 10K?