Flying within line of site

[platty]

I live in Victoria Australia and I wonder how people overcome flying your drone and keeping it within sight. I mean, everyone ( or most people ) flies their drone out of line of sight and view it all on the screen so does everyone do it and hope they don’t get caught or does everyone have a pilots license ?

 

[GFields]

overcome flying your drone and keeping it within sight.

By not flying beyond the point that you can see it. I suspect many drive faster than the speed limit too but if you get caught you will pay the price. No, I'm not saying fly BVLOS, and hope you don't get caught. You know that rules are made for the safety of yourself and others.

Personally, and although this subject has been discussed hundreds of times on this forum, confessing to breaking airspace rules is not a good idea

Read this article
https://www.casa.gov.au/knowyourdrone/drone-rules

You must keep your drone within visual line-of-sight. This means always being able to see the drone with your own eyes (rather than through a device, screen or goggles).

 

[platty]

Yeah, I debated whether to ask the question. It’s just that there are so many videos shown and it’s obvious VLOS has not been adhered to. Your answer is the one I expected to get. Thanks

 

[platty]

So, moving on from that silly question… I am thinking of covering it in a hi- vis sticker which will make it easier to maintain VLOS . Has anyone out there put these stickers on their drone and then removed them for whatever reason. I want to know if it causes any unsightly marks etc.

 

[GFields]

So, moving on from that silly question… I am thinking of covering it in a hi- vis sticker which will make it easier to maintain VLOS . Has anyone out there put these stickers on their drone and then removed them for whatever reason. I want to know if it causes any unsightly marks etc.

Strobes work better than stickers.

 

[mavic3usa]

So, moving on from that silly question… I am thinking of covering it in a hi- vis sticker which will make it easier to maintain VLOS . Has anyone out there put these stickers on their drone and then removed them for whatever reason. I want to know if it causes any unsightly marks etc.

Unfortunately I don't think stickers will gain you much extra distance. At this point, you gotta just hang in there until the rules change [shortly].

 

[old man mavic]

@platty ,why would you think that having a pilots licence,would make any difference to the line of sight rule ?

 

[platty]

Strobes work better than stickers.

That’s an idea. Looking into that

 

[HoozierDroneDaddy]

Not to exceed VLOS, but I mount my Firehouse Strobe on the rear of the drone. In this way went it is out at a distance and I lose sight of it due to the sun, or by temporarily looking at my controller. All I have to do is YAW. When I see the strobe 1) I have regained my LOS with the drone, and 2) I have the orientation knowing it is now facing away from me. I then continue flying or rotate and return.

 

[Kuiper Denizen]

My understanding of the visual-line-of-sight rule also includes being able to determine the drone’s attitude, I.e., how it’s facing. That’s even more difficult at a distance than just being able to see it. One needs to have other lights to the sides of the drone (with front and back view), traditionally red for left (port) and green for right (starboard, both following the nautical origin of this convention).

VLOS is lessened when there is background other than the sky, at least for me.

Mavic3usa above says of VLOS rules that we’ll “have to hang in there until the rules change [shortly].”

That’s an enticing tease. What’s going around about VLOS that I’ve missed?

 

[4006448]

Strobes work better than stickers.

Can I ask a question on this please? If I put a strobe on, I agree I can locate it further away with my eyesight, but does it also assist with heading/direction? I’ve read here in previous posts you need to see the direction the drone is facing so if you needed to avoid another airborne object, you as the pilot know which stick(s) to use?

 

[Lets Fly]

Can I ask a question on this please? If I put a strobe on, I agree I can locate it further away with my eyesight, but does it also assist with heading/direction? I’ve read here in previous posts you need to see the direction the drone is facing so if you needed to avoid another airborne object, you as the pilot know which stick(s) to use?

I have mentioned this before about seeing orientation, If you can see your (DOT, drone) go left, if it goes to your (right) it's facing you and just the opposite, if you go left and it goes left, it's facing away. If it is sideways to you, you go forward, and if it goes to your left, or right, you know it's orientation again.

 

[HoozierDroneDaddy]

Can I ask a question on this please? If I put a strobe on, I agree I can locate it further away with my eyesight, but does it also assist with heading/direction? I’ve read here in previous posts you need to see the direction the drone is facing so if you needed to avoid another airborne object, you as the pilot know which stick(s) to use?

The primary purpose of VLOS is being able to determine where your drone is, it's orientation, and more importantly to see and avoid manned aircraft and avoid them. If you can't see your drone or it's orientation, you probably also will not see the other craft to be able to navigate away from them. You will also not be able to see other dangers such as towers, power lines, etc. If your flying by watching your controller, all you see is what is in front of the camera. This is also reason for having a Visual Observer (VO).

 

[KB9Radio]

So, moving on from that silly question… I am thinking of covering it in a hi- vis sticker which will make it easier to maintain VLOS . Has anyone out there put these stickers on their drone and then removed them for whatever reason. I want to know if it causes any unsightly marks etc.

You could get some strobes for it, that increases the visibility substantially.

 

[NoBozos]

In addition to keeping VLOS for safety’s sake, in particular monitoring the airspace around the drone and, scanning more broadly, another simple reason is that the link to the drone is LOS dependent. Even a few trees can affect it. So if it’s an obstruction that affects the LOS, and not just distance, even worse.

The truth is we supplement VLOS with what we are seeing on the controller. And that’s okay. What’s not okay is to substitute that for VLOS.

 

[platty]

Not to exceed VLOS, but I mount my Firehouse Strobe on the rear of the drone. In this way went it is out at a distance and I lose sight of it due to the sun, or by temporarily looking at my controller. All I have to do is YAW. When I see the strobe 1) I have regained my LOS with the drone, and 2) I have the orientation knowing it is now facing away from me. I then continue flying or rotate and return.

Thanks for that. Terrific advice. Will check out the firehouse strobe. Never heard of them before

 

[platty]

In addition to keeping VLOS for safety’s sake, in particular monitoring the airspace around the drone and, scanning more broadly, another simple reason is that the link to the drone is LOS dependent. Even a few trees can affect it. So if it’s an obstruction that affects the LOS, and not just distance, even worse.

The truth is we supplement VLOS with what we are seeing on the controller. And that’s okay. What’s not okay is to substitute that for VLOS.

Fair point. Thanks

 

[GFields]

Can I ask a question on this please? If I put a strobe on, I agree I can locate it further away with my eyesight, but does it also assist with heading/direction? I’ve read here in previous posts you need to see the direction the drone is facing so if you needed to avoid another airborne object, you as the pilot know which stick(s) to use?

I put my strobes facing me. That way I know which way the drone is facing. I also use the map that shows the drone. I rarely fly at night but when I do, I put a strobe on top of the drone and if needed the bottom aux lighting

 

[mobilehomer]

You only need two to be able to tell orientation. Arc 5 type on top and Arc 2(mini) on the back. Set the top to strobe and the back to blink.