Just a little Too Close for comfort

[BigAl07]

While shooting on a Construction Site (pre-construction to be exact) today, hovering at 165' AGL, I heard the sounds of an approaching helicopter. I saw it coming pretty much in my direction but just a pinch off of flying over me. I realized she was lower than expected and hit RECORD just in case I could get a good vid of her. She flew to the side of us and then circled back behind the mountain before heading our way again. When she came over the peak she dropped altitude and flew seemingly directly at us (I know it was a coincidence) and flew directly over my location. It was so close that the drone (M2P) shuddered (but nothing to cause loss of control)from the helicopter passing directly over and what I would roughly guestimate to be 300' AGL. To say I was in HUGE PUCKER FACTOR is an understatement.

I realize it's hard to accurately judge altitude of an aircraft with no reference but since I was hovering at 165' AGL and the helicopter looks to be about that same amount higher than me, my guess is 300' AGL. Due to this not being a sparsely populated area and they were well within 500' of buildings/structures he was busting the regs easily.

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[mavic3usa]

I'm not a good judge of height from the ground up but yeah that looks way too low to me. I honestly don't understand the reason why this happens if an aircraft is not taking off or landing. It has happened to me a few times and I get ADS-B warning so I'm hovering low but I really don't understand how these aircraft end up flying directly overhead, it's almost as if they are aiming for you as if to get a better look.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Like a very bad tornado that turned the wrong way. I think you frooze just a bit which is why you were not descending , I would be wiling to bet nex time you will be ready to lower the drone quickly.

Im just getting ready to post my own Helicopter story that happend tonight in the Off topics.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water.

 

[hagman23]

I live in Franklin, NC and there’s a helicopter pilot who is well known for flying low and fast. I’ve actually been up with him on a photography project, this was about ten years ago. I asked him then what his floor was and he said he could go down to 100’ AGL even over downtown. We went up and over the Appalachian Trail and Nantahala Lake. As I was hanging out the back side seat taking pictures, I can say for sure that we were, at times, that low. But legal, obviously I took him at his word.

That was a blast of a day for sure.

 

[BigAl07]

I live in Franklin, NC and there’s a helicopter pilot who is well known for flying low and fast. I’ve actually been up with him on a photography project, this was about ten years ago. I asked him then what his floor was and he said he could go down to 100’ AGL even over downtown. We went up and over the Appalachian Trail and Nantahala Lake. As I was hanging out the back side seat taking pictures, I can say for sure that we were, at times, that low. But legal, obviously I took him at his word.

That was a blast of a day for sure.

Yea he pretty much fed you a line of BULL lol

We're in the same FAA District. I'm surprised no one took the time to report him if he routinely did that. At least you flew with him and had no incidents.

I'm over in Frankly every couple of weeks. Beautiful and rural area for sure.

 

[rjwmorrell]

I live in Franklin, NC and there’s a helicopter pilot who is well known for flying low and fast. I’ve actually been up with him on a photography project, this was about ten years ago. I asked him then what his floor was and he said he could go down to 100’ AGL even over downtown. We went up and over the Appalachian Trail and Nantahala Lake. As I was hanging out the back side seat taking pictures, I can say for sure that we were, at times, that low. But legal, obviously I took him at his word.

That was a blast of a day for sure.

I am not a helicopter pilot, and other than having an uncle who was (and an airline pilot as well) I can't really say much about them other than they're super fun to be in.

But I've also read numerous crash investigations where the cause was helicopter pilots flying too low to deal with emergencies. They cannot autorotate when outside of their envelope, and that usually means low altitudes. Many are single engine, so an engine failure at low altitude is almost certainly a fatal crash if going too slow.

 

[Dronecation]

While shooting on a Construction Site (pre-construction to be exact) today, hovering at 165' AGL, I heard the sounds of an approaching helicopter. I saw it coming pretty much in my direction but just a pinch off of flying over me. I realized she was lower than expected and hit RECORD just in case I could get a good vid of her. She flew to the side of us and then circled back behind the mountain before heading our way again. When she came over the peak she dropped altitude and flew seemingly directly at us (I know it was a coincidence) and flew directly over my location. It was so close that the drone (M2P) shuddered (but nothing to cause loss of control)from the helicopter passing directly over and what I would roughly guestimate to be 300' AGL. To say I was in HUGE PUCKER FACTOR is an understatement.

I realize it's hard to accurately judge altitude of an aircraft with no reference but since I was hovering at 165' AGL and the helicopter looks to be about that same amount higher than me, my guess is 300' AGL. Due to this not being a sparsely populated area and they were well within 500' of buildings/structures he was busting the regs easily.

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Looks like the helicopter was at 500 feet. It is very deceptive for most folks who don't fly regular aircraft.

 

[shb]

While shooting on a Construction Site (pre-construction to be exact) today, hovering at 165' AGL, I heard the sounds of an approaching helicopter. I saw it coming pretty much in my direction but just a pinch off of flying over me. I realized she was lower than expected and hit RECORD just in case I could get a good vid of her. She flew to the side of us and then circled back behind the mountain before heading our way again. When she came over the peak she dropped altitude and flew seemingly directly at us (I know it was a coincidence) and flew directly over my location. It was so close that the drone (M2P) shuddered (but nothing to cause loss of control)from the helicopter passing directly over and what I would roughly guestimate to be 300' AGL. To say I was in HUGE PUCKER FACTOR is an understatement.

I realize it's hard to accurately judge altitude of an aircraft with no reference but since I was hovering at 165' AGL and the helicopter looks to be about that same amount higher than me, my guess is 300' AGL. Due to this not being a sparsely populated area and they were well within 500' of buildings/structures he was busting the regs easily.

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Did you think of showing this video to the FAA?

 

[Cafguy]

Please Do not take this as an insult nor am I wanting to preach to anyone BUT:
Without an Aircraft radio or VFR Low altitude sectional chart handy, You really have no way of Knowing what the air traffic around you is doing OR why.
Best to just get out of the way (land) and let them Pass. There is No way the pilot can see your Drone so you are the Hazard.
He may not have permission to do what he is doing BUT it is still your responsibility to stay out of the way.

While shooting on a Construction Site (pre-construction to be exact) today, hovering at 165' AGL, I heard the sounds of an approaching helicopter. I saw it coming pretty much in my direction but just a pinch off of flying over me. I realized she was lower than expected and hit RECORD just in case I could get a good vid of her.

You should have Landed as soon as you noticed the Helicopter headed your way.

It was so close that the drone (M2P) shuddered (but nothing to cause loss of control)from the helicopter passing directly over and what I would roughly guestimate to be 300' AGL. To say I was in HUGE PUCKER FACTOR is an understatement.

Separation ! - You are WAY to close to that other Aircraft Remember- That helicopter pilot can not see a drone.

Did you think of showing this video to the FAA?

If the drone came so close to the Helicopter that it caused the drone to "shutter" I would keep that video to myself.

Just my advice and two cents.
We all face similar circumstances from day to day- and it doesn't make us Bad pilots in the least. One can never really fully evaluate a situation while it is happening. we can just take solice in knowing we learned a new lesson today

 

[maggior]

I had a medivac heli fly directly over my house last week that made me pucker. They seemed really low and I brought my drone down to treetop level FAST! First time the message "aircraft too close" came up for me. After a few minutes it seemed like they were done and I started to go up again when it sounded like it was coming back. Maybe it was a training exercise since they didn't land at the hospital. Back down I brought it. I wasn't in controlled airspace and I was flying well within the rules so I wasn't too worried about that. Makes you realize that regardless, you always have to be on your toes. I wonder about other operators that may not be so aware and how they would have handled it.

Regarding the post above, I wondered if I should have landed. However, being that my drone was right at or below tree level, if my drone was in his flight path, my drone would have been the least of the problems.

 

[BigAl07]

Looks like the helicopter was at 500 feet. It is very deceptive for most folks who don't fly regular aircraft.

I DO fly "regular" aircraft. I've been Part 61 since 1998 and fly Single Engine Land.

 

[BigAl07]

Please Do not take this as an insult nor am I wanting to preach to anyone BUT:
Without an Aircraft radio or VFR Low altitude sectional chart handy, You really have no way of Knowing what the air traffic around you is doing OR why.
Best to just get out of the way (land) and let them Pass. There is No way the pilot can see your Drone so you are the Hazard.
He may not have permission to do what he is doing BUT it is still your responsibility to stay out of the way.

You should have Landed as soon as you noticed the Helicopter headed your way.

Separation ! - You are WAY to close to that other Aircraft Remember- That helicopter pilot can not see a drone.

If the drone came so close to the Helicopter that it caused the drone to "shutter" I would keep that video to myself.

Just my advice and two cents.
We all face similar circumstances from day to day- and it doesn't make us Bad pilots in the least. One can never really fully evaluate a situation while it is happening. we can just take solice in knowing we learned a new lesson today

I am a Part 61 pilot with many MANY hours in small aircraft. I DO have the VFR chart for that area.

I am 100% confident he never saw my UAS what so ever. I did have separation (notice NO impact) and I did make sure that I was below the aircraft although not as much as I would have liked.

 

[BigAl07]

Did you think of showing this video to the FAA?

As a former FAA Safety Team (FASST) Rep I immediately sent it up the chain and spoke with Charlotte Area FAA this morning. They are reaching out to the Tour Company as we speak and said they appreciated the information AND the video.

 

[Lets Fly]

While shooting on a Construction Site (pre-construction to be exact) today, hovering at 165' AGL, I heard the sounds of an approaching helicopter. I saw it coming pretty much in my direction but just a pinch off of flying over me. I realized she was lower than expected and hit RECORD just in case I could get a good vid of her. She flew to the side of us and then circled back behind the mountain before heading our way again. When she came over the peak she dropped altitude and flew seemingly directly at us (I know it was a coincidence) and flew directly over my location. It was so close that the drone (M2P) shuddered (but nothing to cause loss of control)from the helicopter passing directly over and what I would roughly guestimate to be 300' AGL. To say I was in HUGE PUCKER FACTOR is an understatement.

I realize it's hard to accurately judge altitude of an aircraft with no reference but since I was hovering at 165' AGL and the helicopter looks to be about that same amount higher than me, my guess is 300' AGL. Due to this not being a sparsely populated area and they were well within 500' of buildings/structures he was busting the regs easily.

Your thoughts?

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What do you mean the drone shuttered, I don't see any movement in the video and from that far away maybe it was you shuttering, since as you said,"a huge pucker factor".

 

[BigAl07]

What do you mean the drone shuttered, I don't see any movement in the video and from that far away maybe it was you shuttering, since as you said,"a huge pucker factor".

You don't see it due to "Gimbal Stabilization" but I watched the drone (not the ipad screen) actually ""shutter and slightly drop" just after the helo went over. I didn't move anything other than the camera gimbal to keep the aircraft "in frame".

 

[MS Coast]

Windows may be shuttered. Things that vibrate noticeably at low frequency, like drones in helo propwash, shudder.

Sorry, blame this on the ghost of my high school English teacher.

 

[BigAl07]

Windows may be shuttered. Things that vibrate noticeably at low frequency, like drones in helo propwash, shudder.

Sorry, blame this on the ghost of my high school English teacher.

Well played my friend LOL! You're 100% correct!!

 

[Kuiper Denizen]

I live in a rural area where ”low” flying helicopters are frequent, usually a Medivac, but sometimes flights into the Virginia Military Institute, about seven air miles southeast of me. I can easily hear them several minutes ahead of their passing and they’re infrequently directly overhead. There’s plenty of time to take evasive action, but fortunately I’ve never had to.

I did have a potential “huge pucker factor” when I was minutes away from launching my drone and two fighter jets (probably from Oceana in Tidewater Virginia) roared by easily within half a mile and lower than the 3400 ft. mountain they were just rising to skirt.

They very well might have been over 400 ft. above my position, that’s hard to estimate, but if my drone had been airborne I’d have little time to do more than gimbal down and duck before I saw them. I’m sure

I noticed in the attached video the approaching helicopter was rising in perspective with the surrounding area. Wouldn’t that indicate that it’s altitude was well above the elevation of the viewing drone? If it had been on a collision course, wouldn’t it be neither rising nor falling?

The takeaway is that even in rural areas we need to be alert to more than trees and birds.

 

[GFields]

That was wild!

 

[twickers14]

Have to say that chopper was well above you. The sudden noise and surprise will have surely affected your ability to judge height. All this said I am absolutely no expert. But, I was flying locally and legally at Blaise Castle here in Bristol a year or so ago and from nowhere a Chinook appeared about a mile away making for my airspace. I wasn’t about to take him on so descended quickly. It passed safely overhead (I have it on vid somewhere) and I reckon it was a good 200ft above and slightly to my right. I even went as far as finding a Chinook recording and added it to the footage!