making a dji easier to see

[boatdoc]

being a newer pilot that is of retirement age, I find(in certain conditions) that my DJI mini 2 se is hard to see.

Just wondering what older pilots have done to increase the contrast of a gray dji drone against a white( cloudy) sky?

I am looking for solutions thta do NOT add weigth to the aircraft(thus slowing it down).

thanks

 

[AeroJ]

Yeah - I did my first VLOS tests with my M4P yesterday, and agree something needs to be done !
I can see it fairly well at 200 ft (out), barely by 400ft, and it's a dot at much more than that.
And given the insania decision of DJI to stop the flashing nav lights whenever record is active we clearly have to do something, because when those ARE working VLOS is radically increased, and I can still see it against greenery or blue sky for more like 600-800 ft, which is much more reasonable.

I reckon neon reflective tape along the arms is the way to go. At minimum we would need something on the back and another color on one side, and we can deduce orientation from that, though for consistency I would probably do orange tape on both back legs, and equivalent bright yellow tape on both front legs, which will mean there is less brain decoding to be done every time ! Of course that tape will have to be tough, very sticky, waterproof, yet <4 strips of it must not weigh more than a gram.

I have only just realised the need for this myself, so haven't looked into what is available yet, so will defer initially to the people who have

 

[Robert Prior]

Try prismatic reflective tape along the arms. Something like this:

Amazon.ca

At range the colour doesn't really matter*, but the prisms in the tape reflect light and sparkle as the drone moves making it easier to see.

*Drone colour doesn't really matter, because it will appear black against the sky anyway. I've flown white, black, and grey drones and they all look black against clouds.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

A well positioned strobe is about the best you can do but even they disappear quite quickly.
My mini 1 has orange flanks and rear and that hasn't helped much. The only time it did was when a setting sun caught it and it glowed like a mini sun, that was quite spectacular.

 

[Cafguy]

Colored tape does not work much at all. Lights will also not help you much, and in most cases simply make it hard to look at the Drone.
Prismatic tape is really the only one that kinda gives you a "shimmer" that you can see. One of our club members stuck a tiny mirror to the front of his Drone. Now when he sees the shimmer he knows the way the Drone is facing. If you need more assistance than this --- You are flying too far away.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

And given the insania decision of DJI to stop the flashing nav lights whenever record is active we clearly have to do something, because when those ARE working VLOS is radically increased, and I can still see it against greenery or blue sky for more like 600-800 ft, which is much more reasonable.

As far as i know they are not intended as navigation lights though undoubtedly they do assist.
If you want navigation lights fit strobes.

 

[msinger]

I am looking for solutions thta do NOT add weigth to the aircraft(thus slowing it down)

All known solutions will add some weight as they require attaching something to the drone.

I think strobe lights would help the most to spot or see the orientation (when using different colors), but they can be hard to see in bright light. @Cafguy makes a good point too that you might be attempting to fly too far away.

 

[GFields]

Greetings from Birmingham Alabama USA, welcome to the forum! We look forward to hearing from you!

I agree with the others, that a strobe would help

 

[AeroJ]

I shall give this tape a go and report back.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Just a point, for visiblity in flight it is the sides, rear and bottom that would need the tape. Most times we don't see the top, unless the drone is flying fast and low towards you.

 

[Ridgeback65]

There is one solution that might not add weight (depending on the model in question)--Master Airscrew day-glow orange props. On my A2S I had put on day-glow orange "skin" from Wrap Grade and for me, that did make a grey drone much visible against a grey or blue sky but it does add about 6 to 8 grams depending on the drone model--a nominal amount of weight IMO unless you're trying to keep your Mini under 250 grams. Now with the A3, I simply replaced the props with Master Airscrew day-glow orange props. Not quite as visible as the skin but it does help and I believe they are a bit quieter than OEM props. I like the idea of experimenting with the prism tape but even using a small a bit of that tape will take your Mini over the 250 threshold if that is of concern to you. It would appear that the props might be the only way to potentially make the drone more visible without adding weight. Skins, lights, and too much prism tape, etc will all take it over the 250gram limit.

 

[AeroJ]

I suppose, if we were very careful about masking vents and whatnot, we could spray paint the shell ?

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I'd be wary of spray paint because of the solvents in the paint, there may be safe paints for this plastic but that would need researching.

 

[Bob Mc]

I brushed painted the bottom of my Mini 2 flat black and it really helped my old eyes. Before I painted it my best solution was my 10 year old grandson.

 

[Ridgeback65]

I suppose, if we were very careful about masking vents and whatnot, we could spray paint the shell ?

Potentially but say goodbye to any decent resale value of the bird. If you want to go something applied that will improve viz I'd recommend Wrap Grade. I had this on my A2S in day-glow orange that did help viz for me. Then when I went to sell it for my A3, I simply removed the wrap.

 

[KLJ5]

I get what you're saying. I have a Mini 3 Pro and am in my late 70's. Even at my age, I have very good vision, but that doesn't preclude my losing sight of my drone OFTEN. I also have a Mavic 3 Pro which makes the problem better, but only slightly better. For me, the best solution is before I look down to my controller, I try to line up the drone with something in the background or foreground and imagine what the angle would be between the ground and the height of my drone. I can usually pick it up again pretty quickly with that method. If that doesn't work, I'll move the drone rapidly off of its position, as our eyes are better at picking up movement than picking up something stationary. Hope that may be of some help from an ol' fart. :>)

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I try to line up the drone with something in the background or foreground and imagine what the angle would be between the ground and the height of my drone. I can usually pick it up again pretty quickly with that method.

Precisely what I do.

 

[Dale D]

being a newer pilot that is of retirement age, I find(in certain conditions) that my DJI mini 2 se is hard to see.

Just wondering what older pilots have done to increase the contrast of a gray dji drone against a white( cloudy) sky?

I am looking for solutions thta do NOT add weigth to the aircraft(thus slowing it down).

thanks

I use very small, Firehouse Technology lightweight strobe for $34.00 from Adorama.

 

[boatdoc]

Precisely what I do.

the problem has been --taking my eyes off the drone for just a second while it is moving and it gets lost --Up about 100 feet (over tree top level) and the winds were blowing hard enough that the Mini 2 se actually drifted off course. The area was not familiar to me so the camera shots did not help me get the drone back.

I used the return to home function.

I prefer to actually keep track of the drone though and the skies have has some cloudiness when I flew it.

I am leaning towards some bright paint applied to small areas including the bottom

the other way would be to fly lower. fly a shorter course and the tree tops would be a great contrast to the gray drone

thanks for the help folks. the replies sure give me a lot to think about

 

[Sky Wombat]

I have a vague idea that back in the Phantom days someone came up with propellers that incorporated a light.
Not sure if anybody posted how they went.