Line of Sight ?

[Geekser]

I am new to flying drones - just got my Mavic Air 2 and love it - I have been watching tons of videos to learn more about techniques, and flying in general - I am curious about something and wonder if someone can fill me in? Don't flame me if this is a stupid question - it isn't the first time or the last time I have asked a Stupid Question -

Anyway - when I registered my Drone with the FAA - I read that flying a drone is restricted to line of sight - but then I see all of these videos where pilots are flying their drones miles away - clearly not line of sight - are they able to do that because they have a more advanced license or is there some other reason ? Just curious.....

 

[Lastrexking]

There are no stupid questions....

Firstly, there are always people happy to ignore rules. Second, the FAA only regulate US air space. Some of the videos you have seen may well be in another country where laws are different. Lastly, not sure about the US, but here in the UK there are 'licences' (for want of a better word) which allow people to fly beyond VLOS.

 

[z28lt1]

There FAA in the US does issue waivers for beyond VLOS, but its very rare and seems to require a pretty detailed waiver process at the moment. I think one of their goals of remote id and similar rules are to be able to implement some more waivers or different rules around nighttime and beyond VLOS type things.

All that said, I think the vast majority of videos shown on youtube are illegal flying.

 

[Geekser]

Thanks - of course, I should have remembered that the US is a small part of the Drone World - watching the videos I have seen -= many both in the US and internationally - I would love to get more information about what is "legal" in the US regarding Line Of Sight" and what isn't - what licenses are required - if any - and so on. if anyone can share their experience, it woiuld be appreciated.

 

[heisnuts]

Line of sight means you have to be able to physically see your drone at all times when flying. Since you have a MA2, you will be required in the USA to have a hobby license from the FAA, or a 107 license from the FAA if you plan on using the drone for any type of business concern or taking pictures or videos for anyone, whether you are charging for them or not.

The FAA has a drone section on their website with all of the info at FAA.gov.

 

[BigAl07]

Thanks - of course, I should have remembered that the US is a small part of the Drone World - watching the videos I have seen -= many both in the US and internationally - I would love to get more information about what is "legal" in the US regarding Line Of Sight" and what isn't - what licenses are required - if any - and so on. if anyone can share their experience, it woiuld be appreciated.

Line Of Sight means you actually see the aircraft (without assistance from things like binoculars etc) AND you can discern location, orientation, and direction of travel. It does NOT mean a small speck in the sky that you can barely see.

As of this writing, if you are Part 107 (Commercial Operator) you can submit for § 107.31 – Visual Line of Sight Aircraft Operation. Don't get your hopes up because it's a tough one to get and as of last I checked on 53 have been issued. If you are HOBBY/RECREATIONAL there is no provision for LEGALLY flying Beyond Line Of Sight.

Here's where you can learn more:

Part 107 Waiver

www.faa.gov

 

[MrLatte]

Ok, so legally you can only fly about 200 feet away.

 

[dirkclod]

Eyes bad bro. ?
jk

 

[ChipDjipro]

Visual line of sight means you’re supposed to see the Drone at all times. Do a lot of people follow that rule no. And a lot of the videos that you do watch trust me them drones are out of line of sight. And if you think about it when you look down on your screen to see you are filming or taking pictures of where is your line of sight then.

 

[Vaideeshwar]

Agree with all other answers here. Since you are beginning now, I would like to also inform you that it is the law that you be able to tell the orientation of your drone at all times apart from maintaining VLOS. Now depending on the size and color of the drone, it is typically between 200m (the Mavic Mini) and 800m (the Mavic Air 2 with its down-facing LED on at night).

 

[Geekser]

Great responses from everyone - thank you so much - I appreciate the input and feedback from everyone.

 

[Ars3nal3432]

Great responses from everyone - thank you so much - I appreciate the input and feedback from everyone.

Don't let people convince you otherwise... Some say that VLOS is just a guideline, it is not. I would never want to be in the position where my drone crashed and damaged property or hurt some because it was out of sight. I wonder what the penalty would be?

 

[dirkclod]

Line of sight means you have to be able to physically see your drone at all times when flying. Since you have a MA2, you will be required in the USA to have a hobby license from the FAA, or a 107 license from the FAA if you plan on using the drone for any type of business concern or taking pictures or videos for anyone, whether you are charging for them or not.

The FAA has a drone section on their website with all of the info at FAA.gov.

You can take pictures for others without having a 107.
Not sure how @BigAl07 missed that as long as you don’t charge.
I take pictures all the time as a hobby flier of freinds houses
and they blow em up and fame them. Is a good gesture to
do that if you have neighbors that might be leery of you anyway. If your intent is to try and sell them later you must
have the 107. Intent of what you plan to do with pictures or videos you take of others is the difference .
Allen can explan it better than me as it’s kinda a grey area
there. Many threads on it.

 

[z28lt1]

Since then OP is new to drones and regulations, start with the FAA requirement and laws for recreational fliers because there are rules beyond just line of sight. Recreational Flyers & Modeler Community-Based Organizations

By the way, the FAA classifies the flight as for fun or recreational purposes or not. It doesn’t specify making money as the difference. That said , as noted , lots of topics on this in the rules and regulations section of this forum.

 

[heisnuts]

You can take pictures for others without having a 107.
Not sure how @BigA missed that as long as you don’t charge.
I take pictures all the time as a hobby flier of freinds houses
and they blow em up and fame them. Is a good gesture to
do that if you have neighbors that might be leery of you anyway. If your intent is to try and sell them later you must
have the 107. Intent of what you plan to do with pictures or videos you take of others is the difference .
Allen can explan it better than me as it’s kinda a grey area
there. Many threads on it.

Thanks for the clarification. It was a long time ago, but I remember when I first flew my P3A almost 5 years ago people were getting warned about even posting videos online because it was violating the rules under hobby flying.

 

[Jet skier]

Ok, so legally you can only fly about 200 feet away.

Y r absolutely right

 

[dirkclod]

Y r absolutely right

He can fly as far away as he wants as long as he can see
the orientation of the drone.

 

[hiflyer201]

I would suggest that you DON'T use the videos that you see on you tube or this forum as a guide to whats legal. All of the people flying the drones that recorded those videos had spotters in place along the route. ?

 

[Rekal007]

a long distance test is not a problem for me if you do it above fields, desert, water, sea.
just use common sense, if it crashes there is nothing to worry about and you can get your broken drone (Above land you can )
above people, streets, buildings there is a risk, and if it does crash you have a problem.
especially if someone is injured, or if there is an accident on the road caused by your drone.

but because not everyone has common sense, they have come up with a law that ensures that they are covered.

There is a much greater risk of dying from a motorcycle or car accident than getting a drone on your head
and that risk you take every day ...

 

[Geekser]

I would suggest that you DON'T use the videos that you see on you tube or this forum as a guide to whats legal. All of the people flying the drones that recorded those videos had spotters in place along the route. ?

How many spotters would you need to have to see a drone less than a foot long that is several hundred feet in the air that is being flown 10KM or several miles ? Just curious how that would work.....?