M2P flying through clouds

[PhantomFandom]

The difference cannot be more obvious ! The same action of flying in cloud, the pilot and passengers of the aircraft will get killed and I will just lose my drone in the worst scenario. No one injured, no others' properties damaged, hence no breaking of the laws.

Loss of human lives vs loss of a toy, I am amazed that they are the same to you ......

Wow you just don't get it. Your "toy" inhabits the same airspace as manned aircraft. That is why the maximum altitude and VLOS "guidelines" exist! With your reasoning, since they are only guidelines, you can fly as high as you want and in any conditions. When your "toy" hits an aircraft and causes severe damage or loss of life, then will you still stick with your explanation that "it is just a toy" or "CAD guidelines are not laws" or "my flight was completely legal by Hong Kong laws from 1995"? Any more excuses to justify your poor judgement in operating a UAS?

 

[PhantomFandom]

Where 99% of RESPONSIBLE drone operators try to do everything right, and be good ambassadors to our hobby, there will always be the 1% who think they are above the law and nothing applies to them.

Very well said. In this case it is not above the law but "above the guidelines"

 

[bmwbob]

I flew on the coast this morning and flew into a fog bank, the lens clouded up and had to do a blind RTH?

 

[Blakey01]

The difference cannot be more obvious ! The same action of flying in cloud, the pilot and passengers of the aircraft will get killed and I will just lose my drone in the worst scenario. No one injured, no others' properties damaged, hence no breaking of the laws.

Loss of human lives vs loss of a toy, I am amazed that they are the same to you ......

View attachment 109146

Thank you for posting your flight path image, it is now clear exactly what laws were broken.

You departed from the Tai Mo Shan Carpark at an altitude above sea level of 701 meters approximately.

You then climbed to a height of 352 meters above the take-off point which is 1053 meters above MSL in class G airspace.

The Tai Mo Shan Peak is 945 meters so you were 108 meters above the highest peak in the Hong Kong Region.

You still exceeded the maximum height permitted even if you had taken off from the peak!

Also, there is a tourist heliport at the peak which could easily have had an IFR or special VFR departure in conflict with your flight path.

You could not see if this heliport was clear of cloud or operational.

The military Shek Kong airport approach path is also directly in line with your flight and on that day “special VFR” permits flights clear of cloud and at low altitudes.



Even though Hong Kong has some of the most relaxed Drone regulations you are still not permitted without authority to:

• Exceeded the maximum altitude for UAV.
• Fly with less than 5km visibility.
• Fly beyond VLOS.
• Fly within 5km of an airport/heliport without radio communication.

Boblui, your failure to understand the danger of this flight and the risk you pose to other users of the airspace is very worrying.

I would not be surprised if authorities kept a close eye on your drone use.

 

[ajkm]

This particular OP has initiated and then continued argumentative threads before, and *never* accepts responsibility or anyone else’s views. I would suggest that not engaging with him is the best option.

Hopefully the mods will close this thread and keep a watch out for the nature of future posts by this member.

 

[Galeforce1]

The difference cannot be more obvious ! The same action of flying in cloud, the pilot and passengers of the aircraft will get killed and I will just lose my drone in the worst scenario. No one injured, no others' properties damaged, hence no breaking of the laws.

Loss of human lives vs loss of a toy, I am amazed that they are the same to you ......

View attachment 109146

Why are you finding it so difficult to understand what other people here are telling you? Your flight was reckless, irresponsible and dangerous!

Having a maximum altitude for drones (usually 400 feet AGL) is to maintain separation between drones and manned aircraft, where in most countries the minimum safe altitude is 500 feet AGL. That gives only 100 feet separation which is not much. Manned aircraft can fly in cloud in the pilot has an instrument rating, drone pilots can't.

You need to understand how manned aircraft fly, and the risks to them if you fly into their airspace. Nobody cares if you lose your drone, but they do if your drone causes damage to a manned aircraft and injury/loss of life to its crew and passengers!

 

[Phantomrain.org]

The difference cannot be more obvious ! The same action of flying in cloud, the pilot and passengers of the aircraft will get killed and I will just lose my drone in the worst scenario. No one injured, no others' properties damaged, hence no breaking of the laws.

Loss of human lives vs loss of a toy, I am amazed that they are the same to you ......

View attachment 109146

That flight was beautiful and a nice reward , hopefully you got it in 4K
I am all about Risk and Common Sense flying , If your going to fly thu the clouds or fog , you really need a flashing light on top such as a Lume cube.

You might also want to consider a Wet Suit to Minimize Risk of a Battery Disconnect in the Fog .
The Drone itself as you state is very good with Fresh Rain Water but the Battery not so much we have seen plenty of Disconnects do to moisture and there is very little warning. The Air 2 will give you a 5 Second Warning. The Mavic 2 None .

These two things will help minimize risk in your future adventures.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the rain.

 

[ajkm]

That flight was beautiful and a nice reward , hopefully you got it in 4K
I am all about Risk and Common Sense flying , If your going to fly thu the clouds or fog , you really need a flashing light on top such as a Lume cube.

You might also want to consider a Wet Suit to Minimize Risk of a Battery Disconnect in the Fog .
The Drone itself as you state is very good with Fresh Rain Water but the Battery not so much we have seen plenty of Disconnects do to moisture and there is very little warning. The Air 2 will give you a 5 Second Warning. The Mavic 2 None .

These two things will help minimize risk in your future adventures.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the rain.

Please don't encourage unprofessional and reckless flight as demonstrated by this OP. His attitude, as demonstrated in this thread, is already bad enough.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Please don't encourage unprofessional and reckless flight as demonstrated by this OP. His attitude, as demonstrated in this thread, is already bad enough.

First Off : His intent was not to break the law, He believed that he was following to the best of his understanding of what was allowed .
This is why he provided all the details , and the flight path because he was not aware . He was not prepared for the response and may never come back.

My Point is very clear: Even if it was all legal in Hong Kong or the US , common sense is that you have a flashing light on top of the drone when going thu low clouds or fog and to protect the battery from disconnect do to Moisture.

 

[PhantomFandom]

My Point is very clear: Even if it was all legal in Hong Kong or the US , common sense is that you have a flashing light on top of the drone when going thu low clouds or fog and to protect the battery from disconnect do to Moisture.

No, not at all in any way. Common sense is NOT to fly into IFR conditions, beyond VLOS, and clearly above a safe altitude for a UAS in busy airspace.

He was indeed very aware and kept defending his actions as being correct. Every time a clear and rational reasoning was presented to him for why the flight was reckless, he refuted it and made new excuses. A safe pilot would have acknowledged the mistake and learned from it.

Your encouragement of an illegal and irresponsible flight does not help anyone.

 

[Brockrock]

Just to add a bit of levity to this thread...

 

[ajkm]

First Off : His intent was not to break the law, He believed that he was following to the best of his understanding of what was allowed .
This is why he provided all the details , and the flight path because he was not aware . He was not prepared for the response and may never come back.

My Point is very clear: Even if it was all legal in Hong Kong or the US , common sense is that you have a flashing light on top of the drone when going thu low clouds or fog and to protect the battery from disconnect do to Moisture.

I also wonder how much of your response is based on the fact that you're trying to sell something: "You might also want to consider a Wet Suit to Minimize Risk of a Battery Disconnect in the Fog."

 

[cloud#7]

Being a Dutch county judge I would condemn you without any discussion to a fine: the one and first rule for droneflying is to able to control the aircraft (sic!) at sight via your screen and te keep eye-contact with the aircraft (which is not a toy).
Flying in this cloudy cirumstances is a grave violation of this basic genral rule: written or not.