Eventually, drone vehicles (autonomous vehicles) will rule the world, as it is argued that they are much safer than human piloted vehicles. This could also be said of our UAVs. In fact, if you program in an autonomous flight, it is probably much more likely to be executed than if you tried to fly it manually. This is an argument that I'm not sure that I have ever seen in public, but the promoters like Amazon and others would certainly suggest this to be true.
Actually, the term is co-located. He could even be deaf!
If a full sized plane is making a low pass and coming directly at you, many times it can be on you before you hear or see it. If you live in an ag area like I do, it's common to get startled by a crop duster that sneaks up on you. Beside emergency operations, full sized aircraft can legally fly below 400' if over water and/or unoccupied areas so obviously it depends on other factors including terrain. You simply see and avoid to the best of your ability. Our little cameras are not enough to see and avoid while flying BVLOS. Here are a couple of pics of a low flying aircraft who flew right over me.
The rule however is VLOS (visual line of sight), not LOS. Mincing terms will eventually lead to infractions and unhappiness. It is also misinforming new drone flyers, potentially causing everyone a problem.
There are plenty of what-if scenarios that can be brought up, but if you're at or below 400 feet, or within a max of 400 feet above another object such as a building or mountain, there's no way you should encounter any aircraft other than a drone. Of course there are exceptions to this such as a medical helicopter landing at a hospital helipad. But as far as I know, even the police don't fly below 400 feet. My point here is that we need to remember that other aircraft have limits, too, below which they are not allowed to operate. That is typically 400 feet.
Last week, I flew my P4 and my Mavic 2 Pro on the same Litchi mission at an altitude of 160'. I was able to see the P4 up to about 2200' feet away before I lost sight of it due to a change in the background. I lost track of my M2P at about half that distance for the same reason. I had someone watching the P4 with me and he, too, lost track of it. Yes, we have rules. But the reality of it all is that rules are often made by committees that have no experience with what they're trying to regulate. In my humble opinion, a BVLOS waiver should be included with Part 107 certification. I'd jump on taking the test if such a waiver were included with certification. I know you can apply for a waiver, but apparently the process is long (it is the government we're talking about) and few are granted.
And I tire of people saying that this type of discussion should be banned or deleted. Nothing positive comes from censorship. If you don't like this topic, go read something else. Nowhere does it say we have to like the rules under which we operate. And it is through discussion that rule changes are made.
How to Apply for a Part 107 Waiver - Skyward
Skyward explains how to increase your changes of getting a Part 107 waiver from the FAA, including nighttime drone ops, BVLOS, and over people waivers.skyward.io
I think he meant to say you have to visually see your aircraft w/o aided vision other than a normal eyewear which is allowed.
Please don’t misconstrue my post. That is not what I said.
I am wondering if you have really thought this through. The minute any pilot launches a UAV they have created an inherit risk. The air craft is no more or less dangerous just because you can see it. Visibility is a very poor litmus test to determine if a UAV is safe. The only mitigating safety factor that any of us can employ is that it be flown responsibly. The 400 foot ceiling is the deviding line vertically for manned aircraft avoidance. . But more importantly the distant at which an individual should fly has more to do with the environment and pilots skill level than being able to see the aircraft. Have you never looked down at your camera to make an adjustment and looked back up and not been able to see your aircraft. At that point were you unsafe. Did you RTB and pack up and go home because u lost sight of your aircraft. If not then you are no more safe than someone flying a mile out in the right environment with proper control of the aircraft.
