Hydro lines
- Thread starter Leatherguy71
- Start date
It might be okay given the radiation frequency of the power grid, but like Remo said in Casino... "Why take a chance?"
I remember years ago of a set of power lines in upper Michigan that were radiating so much you could hear the humming noise. If it were me, I wouldn't do it.
Powerlines inspections are often carried out by drones now - cheaper and safer than using a helicopter. There will be an alternating magnetic field around the cables but you should be fine. Just stay well clear, judging height from the ground is not easy.
I almost hit a small powerline on one of my first flights, so close made my heart skip a beat lol what would I tell the wife if I crashed and broke my drone lol but its all OK, but like the big main power line, that's scary
Mavic Mac
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I have high tension lines behind my house and have flown my MA and also a Matrice 200 over and under them without a problem. I have never heard them buzz but when the septic guy was there he could not get his locator wand to work. The closer he got to the power lines the more interference he experienced. Maybe I was just lucky with the drones.
dronerdave
Well-Known Member
Our company used an old Phantom to inspect transmission lines for a few years. One of the operators got too close to a 230KV line and he said it lost connection, did a couple of wild moves and crashed to the ground. Great excuse if he just screwed up. He claimed it happened when he was a few feet from the line when normally he kept back about 12 feet away. There are laws in place about how close an unqualified person can approach an active line with a piece of equipment. If you can't tell the difference between a 12KV line and a 750KV line just keep 50+ feet away. Here is a typical chart used in the industry:
I had my Spark go crazy and fly around and around in a big circle before it crashed after getting close to some power lines. Seemed like a compass/IMU conflict like I took off by some rebar or something. , I restarted it after the crash and it flew fine but I did have to calibrate the compass.
I'd recommend that you keep some distance, you could probably fly over or under them given enough space
I'd recommend that you keep some distance, you could probably fly over or under them given enough space
dronerdave
Well-Known Member
It's for unqualified people using equipment working close to power lines. If you want to argue a drone isn't a piece of equipment you can always plead ignorance if something goes wrong. For instance a helicopter must have electrically qualified workers on board to work on or move in closer to energized conductors. W/o approved training by each specific power company, you are supposed to stay clear per OSHA regs. I've handled hundreds of live 12kv energized lines over the years as a lineman and I'm exempt because I'm qualified. The higher voltage lines used in transmission are inspected on a regular basis looking for compromised conductors and line equipment. I doubt a small drone could do much damage but just chipping an insulator could be an expensive lesson to learn if you do hit it and are caught. Many conductors are made up of several small strands of aluminum wire and those wires are fairly soft. A high speed hit by a drone could damage strands that require a repair...very costly. There are reasons why some things are considered critical infrastructure. I shut these guys down for encroachment:
Lastly I'll agree there really isn't (as far as I know) any specific rules for aircraft in proximity to power power lines but the chart is what it is. YMMV.
Coco 60
Well-Known Member
I'm not flying Mavic 2 Pro but flew couple of times right by double power lines without issues.
Attachments
Fair point, but the possibility of doing any damage with any DJI drone other than a Matrix seems remote.
dronerdave
Well-Known Member
That may be true. A number of variables would make it difficult to say what the outcome would be. It would be interesting to fly a quad similar to a Mavic head on at high speed into a large multi wire aluminum conductor. I dropped a 10 inch crescent wrench on a aluminum larger jumper wire from about 20 feet above it. It hit just right, ripping out a strand and nicked a couple more. Had to replace the friggin jumper. I really don't know what impact force can be generated by my Mavic Pro speeding at and hitting a conductor doing 40MPH. I'm guilty of hitting a 70KV line...didn't hurt it at all. Still I'd rather stay on the "Let's be careful" side of things. I know this is about transmission (Hydro Lines) but lower voltage lines are also something to avoid and many of them are smaller gauge and/or may have a sloppy sag. Pretty good article:
How to Use Drones for Power-line Inspections
Drones have the potential to revolutionize the way we inspect our powerlines and transmission towers. According to Navigant Research, using a drone can slash costs from $5,000 to $200 for a single transmission tower inspection. And we get far more accurate data too.
www.thedroneu.com
dronerdave
Well-Known Member
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