Fog Vs. RTH?

[Vic Moss]

I'm fully aware that none of you have ever even considered flying outside the bounds. Knowingly, or otherwise.. No dirty boots will be found here.

Not the point. It's reckless. Once you're above the fog, you have no idea if manned aircraft are near you. Yes, we all fly outside the rules at times, but smartly and safely. Flying in fog is neither of those things.

 

[DevilsLuck]

Not the point. It's reckless. Once you're above the fog, you have no idea if manned aircraft are near you. Yes, we all fly outside the rules at times, but smartly and safely. Flying in fog is neither of those things.

I appreciate the criticism. Keep in mind I do check the airspace while flying. And if somehow an aircraft didn't show up on the apps, if it were at that elevation, directly over my property... It's in the process of crashing.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Flying in the fog or cloud deck is very dangerous, as Vic said, you can not properly avoid manned aircraft.

However all is not lost. One place you can get awesome fog shots is in the morning when fingers climb up canyons in the hills and mountains. You can launch in the clear, stay VLOS, get some amazing images and video over the top of the fog, the fringe edges are particularly ripe for some cool pictures, virtually no chance of a manned aircraft, and usually unoccupied land below.

Find the right spot, plan, and follow the rules, and you can do some amazing fog shots without having to fly blind up through it, violate the 400ft rule, and put other aircraft at risk.

 

[Vic Moss]

I appreciate the criticism. Keep in mind I do check the airspace while flying. And if somehow an aircraft didn't show up on the apps, if it were at that elevation, directly over my property... It's in the process of crashing.

Unless you are in controlled airspace, manned aircraft don't always show up on ADS-B apps. And many times military and medical helicopters don't transmit, and fly lower than other manned aircraft.

It's just a bad idea all the way around, and the FAA has gone after people who do this. More than once.

Fair warning.

 

[DevilsLuck]

Unless you are in controlled airspace, manned aircraft don't always show up on ADS-B apps. And many times military and medical helicopters don't transmit, and fly lower than other manned aircraft.

It's just a bad idea all the way around, and the FAA has gone after people who do this. More than once.

Fair warning.

The loss of connection to the controller was more than adequate to disabuse me of the notion.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

And many times military ...... f,ly lower than other manned aircraft

You are kidding, aren't you ?????? lol
https ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boqQ0y2UfuM
Delete the space after "https", I don't want to spoil the 'surprise'.
I wonder if Tom Cruise was at the controls lol ?

Do they do anything like that in the US or is this a play time treat for US pilots over here ?

 

[wisefish]

The second Air2S I had got stuck above fog, ran out of battery, and did a free fall into a large bush from 80 feet up. The fog rolled in after I launched and I could not descend down through it due to the VPS being activated. Changing to sport mode in DJI Fly app had no effect. Right after this crash I got the Litchi App to make sure this never happens again. You can disable the VPS system in the Air2S with Litchi. Nearly the same scenario happened to me again last winter and so I switched from DJI Fly to Litchi in mid-flight, turned off the VPS, and was able to safely land my drone. I don't reccomend flying in the fog for lots of reasons but if you find yourself in a foggy situation the Litchi app could prevent crashing your drone.

 

[MS Coast]

And if somehow an aircraft didn't show up on the apps, if it were at that elevation, directly over my property... It's in the process of crashing.

Not the case at all. General aviation aircraft flying VFR are not required to broadcast ADS-B.

And even if the manned aircraft was in the process of crashing, the drone is still required to give way. You really don't want to distract a pilot less than 400' AGL who is dealing with an emergency landing.

 

[DevilsLuck]

Not the case at all. General aviation aircraft flying VFR are not required to broadcast ADS-B.

And even if the manned aircraft was in the process of crashing, the drone is still required to give way. You really don't want to distract a pilot less than 400' AGL who is dealing with an emergency landing.

I agree totally. But let's not spin my "minor" mistake out of proportion. This same flight, absent fog, has been done routinely while keeping in line of sight. Even if the app didn't show an air craft. I would absolutely hear it. As I said before I thank those who brought the criticisms to my attention. And have made note of them. My property sits in a small, what we call "holler". Any aircraft at that altitude is either another drone, a helicopter which I would hear, or something else crashing.

 

[DevilsLuck]

Flying in the fog or cloud deck is very dangerous, as Vic said, you can not properly avoid manned aircraft.

However all is not lost. One place you can get awesome fog shots is in the morning when fingers climb up canyons in the hills and mountains. You can launch in the clear, stay VLOS, get some amazing images and video over the top of the fog, the fringe edges are particularly ripe for some cool pictures, virtually no chance of a manned aircraft, and usually unoccupied land below.

Find the right spot, plan, and follow the rules, and you can do some amazing fog shots without having to fly blind up through it, violate the 400ft rule, and put other aircraft at risk.

It's interesting to consider... I could have done the exact same flight, by parking next to the tower, at the edge of my land, and flown over my house. No one would be upset. I'll definitely take that into consideration next time.

 

[MS Coast]

I agree totally. But let's not spin my "minor" mistake out of proportion. This same flight, absent fog, has been done routinely while keeping in line of sight. Even if the app didn't show an air craft. I would absolutely hear it. As I said before I thank those who brought the criticisms to my attention. And have made note of them. My property sits in a small, what we call "holler". Any aircraft at that altitude is either another drone, a helicopter which I would hear, or something else crashing.

Yes, we're pretty much on the same page.

I'm just particularly sensitive to the absolute confidence people place in phone apps to the point that they ignore or override their own obligation to observe and act. (I'm not including you.) The assumption that an app will warn of all air traffic has come up on this forum several times.