Launching from within a typical neighborhood

[Treschen]

I get about 1km in my area before the APP starts telling me about weak signal. A lot of two story houses and tree in the area. (South Africa)

 

[Clinton1]

I get about 1km in my area before the APP starts telling me about weak signal. A lot of two story houses and tree in the area. (South Africa)

The same here

 

[YoungBill]

My rule of thumb when flying from my backyard is to takeoff and go straight up to 400ft. At that altitude the noise is minimal and I get the best range. At 200-300ft the range is much less.

 

[HOOKER1952]

Hello all.... new droner here, I went to a local sports complex and have had literally hours of great air time and plenty of space to make numerous and sometimes almost unforgiving attempts to try and fly beyond my limited capabilities. As a US ARMY retired CH47 hooker I find flying the Mavix-Pro almost as challenging as the old simulators the Army used to train pilots on low level terrain flight modes. Still learning!

 

[kd mavic]

I know what you mean about hard to see once you are a farther away. That is why I am looking at putting a highly visible skin on my unit. The upside or possible down side is that it is easy for everyone else to spot the unit.
By the way, I have just got my unit and am new to this. Love the discussion group with all the different opinions. Much to learn.

 

[jedburgh01]

Not my favorite place to fly for sure, but I'm asking for some experienced opinions here: First, I realize the FAA says I need to stay visual with my drone. Given that the typical house in a typical neighborhood is surrounded by other homes and trees, visual contact with the drone is lost very quickly. So, legal aspects aside, let me ask about anyone's experience with radio signal distance when flying from within a neighborhood. Within moments of launch, the radio signal is going to be passing through trees and homes. How far away have you been able to maintain contact effectively while staying under the 400 ft limit? The reason I ask is I have a big mountain 3/4 of a mile away that I want to fly to, but the drone will be passing over my neighborhood on the way to the foothills.

I live in a similar environment and I find about a 1000ft is about it before losing signal in a built up area

 

[Hollow Dog]

When my neighbors start paying my bills I will consider bowing to their requests.
Until then I will stay out of there business and they can stay out of mine.

 

[BD0G]

I can fly pretty far away in my neighborhood. Its important to not launch near one of my vehicles as it can throw the compass off big time. After I learned that long ago (the hard way) I just fly up and hover to make sure everything is in good working order then I walk into the street and fly in a direction above the street with the antenna's positioned properly . Then since there is an opening where there are not houses or trees I maintain signal LOS and just fly.

If I am going to be going behind a lot of houses and tree's I just plan a mission in Lichti and fly the course not worrying about signal loss at all. Lichti will fly the pre programmed mission even if signal from the transmitter is totally non-existant.

The first time one does this it is unsettling , but after you get used to the signal drop out and "trust" that the mission will be flown its great. Its nice to be able to fly the same route over and over again.

 

[dbyantis]

I don't see how you guys can get that far and maintain VLOS. I got a little over 1000' the other day and started panicking because I couldn't pick the Mavic out against an empty sky. Granted my 55 year old eyes are not what they once were, but still...

ianc

I tend to not take my eyes off of the aircraft, so I don't have to hunt for it in the sky. I can always see it. Except for a glance down to frame the shot, the drone will be right where it was in the sky.

 

[Xtreme Drone Pilot]

I tend to not take my eyes off of the aircraft, so I don't have to hunt for it in the sky. I can always see it. Except for a glance down to frame the shot, the drone will be right where it was in the sky.

Just remember, that xtreme concentration on one point results in tunnel vision and not seeing the "bigger picture", which can be a problem if some manned a/c appears seemingly out of nowhere.

 

[JL_Ware]

Not my favorite place to fly for sure, but I'm asking for some experienced opinions here: First, I realize the FAA says I need to stay visual with my drone. Given that the typical house in a typical neighborhood is surrounded by other homes and trees, visual contact with the drone is lost very quickly. So, legal aspects aside, let me ask about anyone's experience with radio signal distance when flying from within a neighborhood. Within moments of launch, the radio signal is going to be passing through trees and homes. How far away have you been able to maintain contact effectively while staying under the 400 ft limit? The reason I ask is I have a big mountain 3/4 of a mile away that I want to fly to, but the drone will be passing over my neighborhood on the way to the foothills.

The problem with flying in neighborhoods (At least where I Live) is that everyone has Wi-Fi and you have to worry about signal interference, I'm fortunate enough to live near a large body of water (San Pablo Bay, California) where flying over the water doesn't bother anyone, and theres not much signal noise to worry about, flying in neighborhoods, there are too many things that can go wrong, such as Birds, Power lines, and crazy neighbors with guns, water hoses, etc., not to mention the damage a Drone can cause if it falls out the sky and hurt someone or damage property. The furthest distance I've flown so far is 10,870 ft, approximately 2.05 miles, the drone (Phantom 4) could have gone a lot farther since there was a very good signal connection. Always check your wind speed when flying long distances and pay attention to battery levels to be sure to make the trip back to home base

 

[JL_Ware]

I don't see how you guys can get that far and maintain VLOS. I got a little over 1000' the other day and started panicking because I couldn't pick the Mavic out against an empty sky. Granted my 55 year old eyes are not what they once were, but still...

ianc

I'm like you Ianc, I have recently picked up the CrystalSky Ultra 7.85 Monitor, and have flown 4,200 and 10,870 Ft out while trusting the Monitor to see what my eyes couldn't on my Phantom 4, up until that point, I had never passed 1,700 ft, I'm planning on using the CrystaSky 5.5 monitor and pushing my Mavic to the 3 mile range when the weather and wind conditions are good

 

[Mymgb]

Waxman, I am with you. At 72, I maintain a 200 ft limit if possible. I have “The Southern Pine Trees”
that are really tall and can make me nervous. In fact, I try to walk the route or drive and estimate the heights of those trees. Wish there was a solution to check tree heights

 

[locoman]

I typically fly around my neighborhood with out any problems. Lots of tall maple and oak trees. usually fly about 90 feet to make sure I am above them. use your camera to make sure you clear the tallest trees. Also, I try not to fly over people's houses.