Mavic 3 Pro at 40' AGL, C-130J Hercules at <400' AGL

[MS Coast]

250 < 400.
Here's an observation from a flight down the hill from the house this morning regarding aircraft traffic separation. It's a good reminder that drones never have the right of way over manned aircraft.

The C-130s shooting low level approaches and departures from the Air Force base across the bay don't always broadcast ADS-B, but they were today. I had the Mavic 3 Pro hovering just above 40' AGL to shoot video of otters in the harbor when I heard the AirSense alarm and the sound of the four big turboprop engines. I had just enough time to rotate the drone, switch to the 1X camera, and pitch the gimbal up and record the flyovers. A few minutes later, another one came by.

I don't know the C-130s' altitude when they passed over, but looking at FlightRadar 24 a few minutes later when the had shifted their patterns, they were frequently as low as 250' AGL at similar distances from the runways.

I was amused that they were passing directly over the house with the wooden fence. My neighbor who lives there is a retired C-130 instructor and Hurricane Hunter.

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(The sound was added to the edited video from a sound effects recording of a C-130.)

 

[KAOS Imagery]

I have a cottage on a bay on eastern Long Island NY. The Air Guard routinely flys C-130s over the bay and sometimes directly over the cottage. They are mostly at 900-1200' AGL but at times are below 400'. There are also a few PaveHawk helis doing training exercises also at low altitudes. If they come from behind the house, it's hard to hear their approach until they are almost right there. Never got the chance to photo them yet, but I am always on the lookout for them when I fly.