Lighted blades....your thoughts

[rangemaster728]

So when they say that a certain strobe meets part 107 requirements that means that a commercial drone pilot has to use such a strobe to meet that spec luminance when operating under a waiver at night?

14 CFR 107.29 states:

§ 107.29 Daylight operation.
(a) No person may operate a small unmanned aircraft system during night.

(b) No person may operate a small unmanned aircraft system during periods of civil twilight unless the small unmanned aircraft has lighted anti-collision lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles. The remote pilot in command may reduce the intensity of the anti-collision lighting if he or she determines that, because of operating conditions, it would be in the interest of safety to do so.
————

So....under Part 107 you have to run anticollision lighting (strobes) that are visible for 3 miles during twilight; you also have to have a waiver to fly at night that includes the use of such lighting.

 

[JoelP]

Thanks! The requirement doesn’t say visible in all directions or 3 miles under specific conditions or any specific wavelength or from above or below- amazing!

 

[rangemaster728]

Thanks! The requirement doesn’t say visible in all directions or 3 miles under specific conditions or any specific wavelength or from above or below- amazing!

The intent of that regulation is to allow manned aircraft to see the your UAV...I place strobes on the top and bottom of the aircraft.The top one is primarily for manned aircraft (assuming it is flying at or above the UAV 400’ AGL limit); the bottom strobe is so I can see it better.

As far as specific condition go - you need to have minimum flight visibility for VFR; in most cases this is 3 statutes miles (hence the 3-mile capability of the strobe) and 500’ below/2,000’ horizontal clearance from clouds (but try to clearly identify the edges of clouds at night lol).

As to color, white is the easiest to see, followed by red, then green. I run white strobes.

 

[Donnie Frank]

"light up the night"? I thought it was illegal to fly at night without a 107.29 waiver.

Those props do not meet FAA guidelines for 3 mile strobes by any stretch of the imagination

More crap the machine does not need

And the Fun Police award goes to....

 

[crisp007]

I think they look terrible why would you destroy the way your Mavic looks by putting them on [emoji23]

 

[ROBERTNCREST]

I also wonder if they have any affect on the video performance?
having them on in a crowd might add to the footage. "eye catcher"