Flyovers in Wooded Areas

[Hurricane Eye]

Hi all, I'm prepping for my first big project, a site inspection/video flyover on 275 acres of fairly flat, wooded property in coastal North Carolina. I'm using DroneLink to set up map-style missions, breaking the site up into 35 to 70-acre chunks in order to complete each ~15 minute mission with a single battery (I have three). I have the missions generally set for 150' altitude, 15 mph and camera angle at -90 degrees. Actually, I like the look of a -60 camera angle better, but I'm hoping that looking straight down will give me a better view of what's on the ground. I'm also synced to AirData to assist with locating the unit if it goes down during a flight. During a recent test flight at a similar site, I lost connection with the mini, got scared and told it to come home. I did just get some antenna boosters, so we'll see if that helps. Does anyone here have past experiences with anything similar, and if so do you have any tips? Thanks in advance!

 

[BigAl07]

Welcome to the forum

I don't have any advice but know your airspace. It can get kind of dicey down there depending on where you're flying. Make sure you have Part 107 and your NC Commercial UAS Operator's Permit (It's free and super easy).

 

[Thomas B]

Welcome to the forum from the deserts of Arizona! Enjoy.

what drone are you using?
How tall and dense are the trees?

 

[Malcx]

Remember to always keep Visual Line Of Sight to comply with the regs, and keep Line Of Sight to maintain a strong signal between controller and aircraft.

DroneLink doesn't upload the flight waypoints to the aircraft but relies on constantly sending joystick commands as if you were flying it manually. So any interruption in signal will halt the flight - trees are pretty good at blocking the mini's signal from my experience. If you can find an elevated spot to fly from that would help, even if the flight time to the start point of each mission is slightly longer.

Oh and if you're planning on processing all the data into GiS compatible mapping images you'll need a beefy machine to do it on locally or pay one of the cloud hosted platforms. such as UAV and Drone Mapping Software - WebODM Lightning .
At 275 acres this will almost certainly need to be broken up into 3 or more mini projects rather than 1 large one as I stupidly tried to do once!

 

[Hurricane Eye]

Welcome to the forum from the deserts of Arizona! Enjoy.

what drone are you using?
How tall and dense are the trees?

Thanks for the welcome, apologies for not making it clearer, it's a Mavic Mini.

 

[Hurricane Eye]

Remember to always keep Visual Line Of Sight to comply with the regs, and keep Line Of Sight to maintain a strong signal between controller and aircraft.

DroneLink doesn't upload the flight waypoints to the aircraft but relies on constantly sending joystick commands as if you were flying it manually. So any interruption in signal will halt the flight - trees are pretty good at blocking the mini's signal from my experience. If you can find an elevated spot to fly from that would help, even if the flight time to the start point of each mission is slightly longer.

Oh and if you're planning on processing all the data into GiS compatible mapping images you'll need a beefy machine to do it on locally or pay one of the cloud hosted platforms. such as UAV and Drone Mapping Software - WebODM Lightning .
At 275 acres this will almost certainly need to be broken up into 3 or more mini projects rather than 1 large one as I stupidly tried to do once!

Thanks for the advice, Malcx. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a high spot in the area, unless I do some tree climbing! I will be starting all of my mini-missions from open areas. The trees are mostly tall pines, so hopefully the cover won't be quite as thick as hardwood trees would be. Pardon my noobness, but is there a program/app that can upload waypoints to minis, or are they unable to handle that kind of processing? For this go-round I won't be post-processing the video, just viewing, but thanks for the recommendations for future work!

 

[Hurricane Eye]

Welcome to the forum from the deserts of Arizona! Enjoy.

what drone are you using?
How tall and dense are the trees?

More apologies for not answering you second question. It looks pretty thick, but they're just tall pines, probably on the order of 50-60 feet. Hopefully the blockage won't be too bad.

 

[Hurricane Eye]

Welcome to the forum

I don't have any advice but know your airspace. It can get kind of dicey down there depending on where you're flying. Make sure you have Part 107 and your NC Commercial UAS Operator's Permit (It's free and super easy).

Thanks Big Al, but as I mentioned, it's just a mini, so I don't think I need Part 107. I am using it for work, but we don't advertise it as a service and won't be charging for its use. It just me, using it to hopefully save some legwork! I'll check into the NC licensing just to be on the safe side, though.

 

[Meta4]

it's just a mini, so I don't think I need Part 107.

The Mini is exempt from the requirement of registration for recreational use by virtue of it's weight.
But the requirement for Part 107 for commercial flying applies whatever weight the drone is.

 

[Malcx]

Thanks for the advice, Malcx. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a high spot in the area, unless I do some tree climbing! I will be starting all of my mini-missions from open areas. The trees are mostly tall pines, so hopefully the cover won't be quite as thick as hardwood trees would be. Pardon my noobness, but is there a program/app that can upload waypoints to minis, or are they unable to handle that kind of processing? For this go-round I won't be post-processing the video, just viewing, but thanks for the recommendations for future work!

I don't think the mini supports any form of "on-board" waypoints, just your home location. I'm not sure which other drones do, but the mini almost certainly never will.

 

[KB4MTO]

Thanks Big Al, but as I mentioned, it's just a mini, so I don't think I need Part 107. I am using it for work, but we don't advertise it as a service and won't be charging for its use. It just me, using it to hopefully save some legwork! I'll check into the NC licensing just to be on the safe side, though.

The Part 107 is for commercial use of your drone. It does incorporate drone weight limits, but even if you are outside of those limits, if you make any money, or if you benefit in any way from the use of your drone, you need an FAA Part 107 certificate. It's important to note the benefit portion. Quite a few people have been caught and punished by the FAA by benefitting with the use of their drone (non-monetarily), and then posting it online.

I have my Part 107 temporary certificate and I'm waiting on my permanent. I haven't used it commercially yet, but I plan on it. Plus, if I do start making money with it, I can justify a Mavic Pro ?

 

[BigAl07]

Thanks Big Al, but as I mentioned, it's just a mini, so I don't think I need Part 107. I am using it for work, but we don't advertise it as a service and won't be charging for its use. It just me, using it to hopefully save some legwork! I'll check into the NC licensing just to be on the safe side, though.

As @Meta4 stated it does require Part 107 without a doubt. Anything that is done outside of Hobby/Recreational with any weight UAS requires Part 107. Also because you're doing this outside of Hobby/Recreational and it DOES require Part 107, it also requires FAA Registration.

The Hobby/Recreation "protective bubble" is only in play if everything you do fits inside a very specific box of criteria and unfortunately nothing you've mentioned fits inside that box. Therefore you've pierced that "protective bubble" and are now fully accountable for all of Part 107 Regulations. While it's likely that no one (other than the Internet here) will ever know of this being done without the correct credentials, if something were to happen to bring it to the FAA's attention (incident, someone see and report you, etc) not only are you fully liable but so it your employer.

It's a lot easier and "cleaner" to go ahead and get the proper credentials so that you and your employer are covered.

Here's some info to help our argument:

Recreational Flyers & Modeler Community-Based Organizations

www.faa.gov

Notice item #2

Fact Sheet – Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Regulations (Part 107)

www.faa.gov

Also notice there is no allowance for "exemption" due to weight from the Registration portion of Part 107

 

[BigAl07]

The Part 107 is for commercial use of your drone. It does incorporate drone weight limits, ...

Part 107 does not have a MIN weight aspect. It has a MAX weight, MAX speed etc but no MIN at all. Any UAS flown outside of Hobby/Recreational use (notice you don't have to make $$ to fall outside of this) requires Part 107 and Registration. There are some areas that do not require Part 107 but they are well outside the scope of this conversation such as Govt Use and Public Safety COAs.

 

[maelstrom]

Pardon my noobness, but is there a program/app that can upload waypoints to minis

No. It’s a firmware/hardware issue. Dronelink is your best option but, because it relies on continuously sending commands to the drone, there are a few factors which can affect performance. The main one is probably the power of the processor in your phone/tablet. If you’re using an older device with a slower processor, your likely to get more jerky movements in your mission. Also, as some have already said, anything which may reduce the signal will effect the performance of the app.

Bear in mind that even drones which are able to store the waypoints on-board still can’t be flown beyond visual range without special dispensation - if your drone loses signal it can’t legally continue with the mission because you can’t monitor it or take control if necessary.

 

[Kyle76]

Besides the Part 107 issues, the Mini, though a capable aircraft, is probably not what you want for this type of mission. It uses a wifi communication system that is inferior to even the next step up in the Mavic line, the Air 2, which uses Ocusync. It also has limitations in the wind, and there will likely be some in coastal NC. In addition, it can't store waypoints, so a waypoint mission from Dronelink or one of the other third-party vendors requires continuous communication with the aircraft, which could be dicey in thick woods and with the communication system that the Mini uses. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it can't be done legally without Part 107 and the Mini is the least-capable Mavic drone for that type of mission.

 

[maelstrom]

the Mini is the least-capable Mavic drone for that type of mission.

But certainly the most cost-effective if you accept its limitations!

 

[Kyle76]

But certainly the most cost-effective if you accept its limitations!

It's a fantastic little device for many uses, and it may very well be able to handle the OP's mission, but there are several reasons why it might not.

 

[Meta4]

But certainly the most cost-effective if you accept its limitations!

It doesn't matter how cheap it is, if it can't carry out the mission because of those limitations, it's not at all effective.

 

[maelstrom]

It doesn't matter how cheap it is, if it can't carry out the mission because of those limitations, it's not at all effective.

That would be true if the limitations definitely prevented the Mini carrying out the mission. However, if the OP avoids flying in strong winds and breaks the project down into missions which stay within the range of the drone, the Mini should be quite capable of doing what he wants.

 

[SkyeHigh]

More apologies for not answering you second question. It looks pretty thick, but they're just tall pines, probably on the order of 50-60 feet. Hopefully the blockage won't be too bad.

I suspect you’ll very quickly lose signal. Try drawing (to scale) a line from a height of 6ft to 150ft via the 60ft height of the trees and you’ll see where you’ll start to lose signal strength. The further you stand back the more clearance you’ll have.