Line of sight =? (Altitude and distance away)

[rcflyingaddict]

I realize this will be based on one's eye sight etc... but I'm curious what folks find as their max altitude and distance away to still have line of sight to the MP. I come from traditional RC and most of my gear is large scale so line of sight is not an issue. With the MP being so small and so easy to get so far away it becomes a pin prick before I know it. I'm not flying more than 250 feet up and few foot ball fields away but on a few occasions I find myself looking at the H on my MAP and navigating back and lowering Alt until I can hear it/spot it again.

Is it 2.6K feet away or farther for some here? How about Alt?

 

[ZUCSTA]

Approx 300-400metres is where Los for Mavic is declared There is a formula somewhere.

 

[rcflyingaddict]

When I posted this I did not yet have my P4P or Spark for that matter. I can tell you that the Mavic is no longer small, at least when compared to los with the Spark. With my P4P and MP I find that I'm comfortable flying as far out as I need to get the shot, whereas with the Spark I naturally keep it closer.

 

[Pietros]

At 500m I'm on the edge on my vision. If I look away I find it hard to relocate

 

[tracer bullet]

This is an argument (used that term intentionally) that comes up here on occasion. You'll find a number of definitions, the most pure being that if you can't see it with your own eyes, or that of a dedicated spotter right next to you, it's outside LOS. Some people do seem to adhere to this.

I bend that slightly, not because I find my tweaking correct but because I think I still follow the intent. Sometimes while flying I may not see my actual Mavic because, indeed, it's small and I have to get my eyes on the tablet once in a while. But I do always know where it is and can very plainly see the airspace around it and know if there's anything else around at all i.e. a plane or helicopter.

As an example I was at a lake a week or so ago, with an island. I dropped to about 30' elevation, well above the water but below the tree line. I lost LOS of the Mavic (as seen from the beach) when it went behind the island as I did a loop around it. The whole time however I could see above the island and across the lake itself and knew that there was nothing manned in the air. I had previously criss-crossed the island at a higher elevation and also knew there were no boats or other obstacles parked behind the island.

Don't take that as "OK", I'm sure I broke the rules as well. Which is a bad admission and probably the start of another argument.

 

[MAVICPILOT13]

If, hypothetically of course, I broke the rule for LoS, how would anyone prove that?

It's MY line of sight. Not the FAA, not the ticketing officer, not Robocop... MINE. If push ever came to shove (and I'm not sure it EVER has), I would feel supremely confident in maintaining that on that particular day, under those particular circumstances and cloud cover, I could see the drone. You could argue that I couldn't, but unless you can jack into my brain (so maybe if Robocop WAS involved...), you cannot prove what my LoS was or was not at a given time.

If I speed in my car, the officer can observe me speeding and provide proof I did it. Same for piloting my drone above 400ft. But can he observe what my LoS is? Nope.

It's my opinion (as someone who may (or may not) practice law) that this is why we have yet to hear of fines for people breaking this "rule". It would be practically unenforceable unless the victim admitted they did it.

The FAA doesn't want you to. That's all.

 

[FatherXmas]

I personally have not done this, just thought about it. The FAA says that you or a Visual Observer(s) must have their eyes on the AC. You can have more than one VO and the rule doesn't say how many you can have nor does it specify the method you and your VO(s) maintain direct contact with the pilot. So, why couldn't you have multiple VOs spaced 100 yards apart using 2 way radios. Theoretically you could fly several miles away assuming you had enough folks, as it flew beyond sight of one, it flies into the next's view. Ok folks, you can stop laughing now.