Keep your drone in view at all times?

[Grey Wolf]

Since i ended up in the water, I never loose it out of sight.

But if it's at the bottom of that body of water, you still can't see it! Lol!

 

[jdrn418]

I myself find it poor form to skirt the rules that are there to protect everyone in this argument.
I have never flown out of VLOS in the 160Klms i have flown this mavic and expect due to fools in this hobby we WILL be copping more and more restrictive rules.
Simply becasue idiots cant even keep or maintain the most basic of rules.

Honestly who spends $1000 plus dollars just to fly the distance of your back yard, if that's the case go buy a $100 one. I think of course depending on where you live and type of terrain what the heck good are these if you can't fly them for what I believe they were designed to do. You can do what you want with your as for me and I believe many many others I will try to push the limits (distance NOT height) as safety as possible.

 

[lweekspors]

That's the whole point. We have to look down to fly the darn thing. It's really too much to ask to re establish visual contact with something that small. I intend to practice with my monitor until I feel comfortable knowing the Mavic's location based mainly on the video feed. I still won't be flying crazy distances, just enjoying watching what the Mavic sees. After all, I'm not flying a kite!

Sensible flight, cautious, methodical, calculated, that is what is necessary to have a great experience with these birds.

 

[Shaun Roster]

UK regulation is to operate within VLOS, the definition of which is 500metres 400ft.

 

[rickray]

Unlike the Phantoms, the Mavic is small and dark and against any dark visual barrier (like hills or land) tends to disappear from sight even a few hundred feet away. I have a sneaking suspicion that people who are on their high horse about VLOS might also stretch the truth about how far they can truly see vs. how far they actually fly. Let's be honest here - only owls can see it 200 yards away.

 

[NetDoc]

I have lost sight of my Mavic Pro when it was only 120 ft away. It was camouflaged by buildings. I rotated it until I spotted the flashing lights. I wish the lights were a bit more obvious during the day.

 

[audioguy]

I am a new user/flyer and clearly have not followed the rules of keeping the Mavic in sight. In fact, until I read this, I was not aware that it was actually against the law to fly it out of site.

I am confused. Why bother to put maps on the app if I must keep the Mavic in view? Why allow it to fly so many miles away (and market that feature) when doing so breaks the law? I also would not be able to fly very high. How many of you can see a Mavic at 200 or 300 or 400 feet? I sure can't even if it is very near by horizontally.

It also seems that based upon some of the awesome videos that have been posted, lots of folks don't follow this rule.

While I now very much understand the reasons for having such a rule, following them 100% of the time is probably not very realistic - at least for some of the reasons I purchased this incredibly amazing drone.

 

[CamoGreg]

Don't be confused.... Ferrari sells car with 300km/h limit while it's authorized only 120..... same for Mavic

 

[Rick A]

I cannot speak to other countries but in Canada, drones are considered to be an "aircraft" and regulated Transport Canada. Visual Flight Rules apply, maximum flight distance 500 metres, maximum flight altitude from take off point is 90 metres. Consider that most are using it recreationally, is there really a need to fly any further, other than "because I want to". Being that it is considered to be an aircraft, failure to comply with the regulations will undoubtedly result in significant penalty should you be caught. In addition, there is a pretty significant lobby out there to tighten drone regulations even further so by pushing beyond and abusing the privilege (it is not a right) of being able to fly drones affects all of us.

 

[MAVA4]

I am a new user/flyer and clearly have not followed the rules of keeping the Mavic in sight. In fact, until I read this, I was not aware that it was actually against the law to fly it out of site.

I am confused. Why bother to put maps on the app if I must keep the Mavic in view? Why allow it to fly so many miles away (and market that feature) when doing so breaks the law? I also would not be able to fly very high. How many of you can see a Mavic at 200 or 300 or 400 feet? I sure can't even if it is very near by horizontally.

It also seems that based upon some of the awesome videos that have been posted, lots of folks don't follow this rule.

While I now very much understand the reasons for having such a rule, following them 100% of the time is probably not very realistic - at least for some of the reasons I purchased this incredibly amazing drone.

At altitude against the sky background, I can easily see it at 390'... If it's within 100' distance... But, yeah, if it's 400 ft away, it is hard to see it...

 

[Crayons]

I find the VLOS rule impractical for reasons stated by others above. There's also incredible variance in eyesight so keeping VLOS means very different distances in different scenarios with different people.

I am honestly astonished by the 'I have never lost VLOS' posters here.

For me, I find it much easier to fly it by concentrating on the screen. I use the mavics eyes to look around, get bearings, check for hazards because that's often safer in my opinion (mavic position in relation to nearby object much easier to gauge from mavic view than from 100m away). This does not mean I am not aware of where it is physically or that I am not aware of what's going on around where it is. I remain attuned to that.

I think practical sense is: Know or study the area you're flying in. Don't go way out of VLOS in an urban area. Always make sure your RTH height is good to clear anything around, so that it makes it home if you lose connection.

I am doing a lot of rural flights at the mo and am very comfortable going out over 3km away, beyond tree lined ridges, etc. Have lost connection completely a couple of times now and like a faithful dog the little guy comes humming back at a nice safe height. I would not do this in a populated area though.

 

[BerndM]

I have super bright Strobon CREE Standalone strobes attached to my Mavic. White in front and red in rear.
I mostly fly VLOS and only occasionally look at the iPad Mini4 for visual reference.
I always make it point to stand so I am facing directly toward the Mavic, so in case I look down at the iPad, all I need to do is look back up and I can instantly see the strobes on the Mavic.
So far, so good

 

[Domagoj]

VLOS preachers over here should have bought a kite...

 

[Nohandles]

I live in a heavily forested area in northern Ontario and if I fly straight up I have LOS. If I go more than 20-30 yards in any direction after attaining altitude, I have no LOS. No big deal. I have great FPV!

Irresponsible? No.

 

[aggillator]

I just think it would be funny when they try to give you a slap on the wrist for that. YOU COULDN'T SEE IT! uhhh, yes I could.

 

[Duqum]

At the risk of wearing out my welcome, I have yet another question.
Is it realistic to follow the "rule" of always keeping visual contact with your drone? A glance down at the screen would cause one to lose visual track of the drone even when flying well within comfortable distance and altitude limits. What good is a 4 mile capability when we can only see a drone at a fraction of that distance? Am I being too literal? Does the on-screen view of the drone's camera constitute "visual contact"? Or do we all just ignore this rule because, **** it, I want to see what this baby can do!?

You can, and should, always maintain visual line of sight. That doesn't mean you will be able to see your drone. It means you can see the general area where you are flying. If you can't see where you are flying, you run the risk of colliding with planes or other aircraft. It's not as important if you're flying in a canyon where planes don't normally fly. Or hugging a ridgeline that shouldn't experience other aircraft. But flying high without being able to scan for large aircraft is irresponsible.

 

[Toruk Makto]

I myself find it poor form to skirt the rules that are there to protect everyone in this argument.
I have never flown out of VLOS in the 160Klms i have flown this mavic and expect due to fools in this hobby we WILL be copping more and more restrictive rules.
Simply becasue idiots cant even keep or maintain the most basic of rules.

And what about goggles.... are they ileagal???????? No VLOS??

 

[Toruk Makto]

In the US for hobby flight it's the law. Do most people abide by it? I'd say not even close. Does this mean it should be ignored? No.

Goggles??

 

[Toruk Makto]

Yes they are illegal to use if you have not got a spotter.
Simple.

Sorry, can u clarify? Earlier post state the law requires unaided visuals...in which case you do need a spotter.

Mis-read your post... please ignore.

 

[Toruk Makto]

Yes they are illegal to use if you have not got a spotter.
Simple.

Sorry to be a pain but..... is the pilot required to see the drone.
EXAMPLE: spotter 2 miles away under drone but pilot unable to see?

My interpretation of what I have learned is you can go round in circles in a field or just completely ignore this stipulation as most people with a mavic have done at some point or another.

The key is to be safe, to keep public safe, to ensure safety for other aircraft, fly responsibly and enjoy the hell out of this beautiful machine before the 'analy retentive clip board brigade' stop us flying alltogether.