Line of Sight

[Brettric]

So, new to the drone thing, loving it, but have a question. I’ve read up on “line of sight” and in the forums, so think I have a clear understanding of what the definition means, but then WOW, I watch videos posted here and elsewhere and am saying to myself “there’s no way this was done keeping line of sight”. Am I missing something? Even the drone ranges make me shake my head and wonder. I just purchased an MA and can’t see that thing 1000 feet out much less 1 or 2 miles... Please help me understand. Thanks!

 

[Brettric]

This for example is crazy to me.

 

[old man mavic]

you are correct VLOS means just that" visual line of sight" and while that distance will vary depending on how good ones eye sight is and the conditions at the time you are not allowed to use any visual aids to see the drone apart from glasses if you need them

 

[razoraerial]

Ok this was just not flown it was ran by program and is not legal, dirty bird has a few videos of this style.

 

[tcope]

Ever gone over the speed limit? That is dangerous.

 

[old man mavic]

it is down to the individual drone flyer to make a judgment call as to whether they are going to fly within the guidelines or ignore them ,

the downside of such actions is that the legislators will view such actions and then take steps,to restrict our pastime more and more

 

[Meta4]

I’ve read up on “line of sight” and in the forums, so think I have a clear understanding of what the definition means, ...

Usually when you read in the forum about Line of Sight (LOS) people are misusing the term and what they really mean is Visual Line of Sight (VLOS).
You could fly your drone to the moon and still have LOS but you would lose VLOS after a few hundred metres.

 

[Chuckinay]

This for example is crazy to me.

OMG, that was Season 6 of “The Wire” and was totally illegal. Ironically, historians will be grateful that video exists.

 

[kensteele]

in my car, i almost always drive the speed limit, you won't ever see me speeding although i am not perfect so it might happen once or two.

on my motorcycle, i never ever ride within the speed limit. 80 to 90% of the time i am over the psl. quite a bit over. always.

as a drone pilot, i set my upper limit to "400 feet" and if i ever see the warning, i quickly make a correction. for me, there is simply no need to fly higher.

as a motorist and a drone pilot, i practice myob.

 

[johnmeyer]

The VLOS concept is violated by pretty much everyone. There are some scolds on this forum who always tell you not to fly beyond visual range, but as others have pointed out, even under ideal conditions, there is absolutely no way in the world you can actually see the darn thing when it is much more than a couple of football fields (European or American) distance away.

The whole VLOS concept is even more ludicrous when you look at the continuing increase in range specs for DJI drones, with the latest ones claiming range of over three miles.

VLOS at one mile? No way! Two miles? Ludicrous! Three miles? A pipedream!

But forget those numers: my Mavic 2 Pro has a range specification that is just under four miles!!

So, nice idea, but no one (except the scolds) actually follows the guideline.

I actually suspect that they don't follow it either.

 

[Dragonfly]

350 to 400 meters for a Mavic 1/2 is the limit for VLOS for the human eye and I defy any one who thinks differently.
The range given of 4 to 5 km is great and demonstrates that the drone has the power to maintain a good strong reliable connection in a built up area that has a lot of dirty interference.
A drone that only has a range of say 1km may only be hood for 100meters in a built up suburban area with a lot wifi routers and interference.
Also the more range the better penitration through trees etc at short distance.

Another point to note is although in alot of Countries we are governerd by rules that restrict us to 120m AGL and VLOS this does not apply to all Countries and some of the video seen may be from those countries so dont shoot everyone down just becuase you are restricted by regulation.

 

[Mr. Salty]

OMG, that was Season 6 of “The Wire” and was totally illegal.

People keep saying this video or that video is illegal as if the current rules have been around forever. This video is years old, when the laws were different.

 

[okw]

350 to 400 meters for a Mavic 1/2 is the limit for VLOS for the human eye and I defy any one who thinks differently.

That may be the case if you only have 1/2 of a Mavic as you say, or if your eyesight isn't as good as some others. I personally have seen my whole Mavic out to just over 1/2 mile (over 800 meters) on one occasion in perfect conditions. 400 meters is a piece of cake. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean others can't.

 

[pjarvo18]

I agree here. Thankfully I have been blessed with amazing sight (had one scare for a while where vision clarity faded (also maybe sight makes up for no sense of smell)) but I can see my MP1 from about 3000 feet out in daylight and with strobes about 6000 feet (maybe farther but never pushed it past) at dusk or night.

That may be the case if you only have 1/2 of a Mavic as you say, or if your eyesight isn't as good as some others. I personally have seen my whole Mavic out to just over 1/2 mile (over 800 meters) on one occasion in perfect conditions. 400 meters is a piece of cake. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean others can't.

 

[superstarpup]

And people wonder why I’m against laanc for recreational users.

 

[bobscheel53]

That may be the case if you only have 1/2 of a Mavic as you say, or if your eyesight isn't as good as some others. I personally have seen my whole Mavic out to just over 1/2 mile (over 800 meters) on one occasion in perfect conditions. 400 meters is a piece of cake. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean others can't.

Firehouse makes strobes that drastically improve your ability to see the drone at distance even in bright sunlight and at dusk they are even easier to see.

 

[W2EJ]

This for example is crazy to me.

I don't know if this video was legal or illegal, but I have to say it's a fantastic video! I am familiar with the Baltimore inner harbor area and I absolutely loved the coverage of it. VLOS? I doubt it, but I don't know anything about what permissions may have been gotten, or not. There's no doubt it was great to watch.

 

[AMann]

The VLOS concept is violated by pretty much everyone. There are some scolds on this forum who always tell you not to fly beyond visual range, but as others have pointed out, even under ideal conditions, there is absolutely no way in the world you can actually see the darn thing when it is much more than a couple of football fields (European or American) distance away.

The whole VLOS concept is even more ludicrous when you look at the continuing increase in range specs for DJI drones, with the latest ones claiming range of over three miles.

VLOS at one mile? No way! Two miles? Ludicrous! Three miles? A pipedream!

But forget those numers: my Mavic 2 Pro has a range specification that is just under four miles!!

So, nice idea, but no one (except the scolds) actually follows the guideline.

I actually suspect that they don't follow it either.

“Scolds?” ?

 

[kensteele]

I agree here. Thankfully I have been blessed with amazing sight (had one scare for a while where vision clarity faded (also maybe sight makes up for no sense of smell)) but I can see my MP1 from about 3000 feet out in daylight and with strobes about 6000 feet (maybe farther but never pushed it past) at dusk or night.

Firehouse makes strobes that drastically improve your ability to see the drone at distance even in bright sunlight and at dusk they are even easier to see.

true. i always use my firehouse strobes day or night. i've been able to see the white all the way out to 10,000 feet before i hit the rth and i could see it change to red/green when the drone turned around. this was at 9pm and that's nearly 2 miles.

 

[AMann]

true. i always use my firehouse strobes day or night. i've been able to see the white all the way out to 10,000 feet before i hit the rth and i could see it change to red/green when the drone turned around. this was at 9pm and that's nearly 2 miles.

OP- as Ken pointed out, strobes used even in daylight make your VLOS much better. And there are times strobes really help when flying at daytime, even close by when you can easily see it in the sky- dark backgrounds (hills, trees, buildings or terrain) can make the drone hard to see without strobes, even when it is close by.