Mavic 3 Range Test (NO VIDEO Provided due to legalities). 4.55 miles (24,000) ft. Limited by battery. 18% battery at home return.

[Don Testme]

No Video due to inappropriate flight test of a mav 3. Flight started from home point at 4 AM. 4 AM was chosen because most manned aircraft and ground activity is especially limited. This is no excuse for the test. The test consisted of flying straight up from home point in sport mode to 1000 ft over a suburb area. 1000 ft was selected in order to prevent ground structure and tree interference. The flight was a straight line until the battery hit 50%. This is when the Mavic 3 hit 24,000 ft (4.55 miles) from its home point.

At 4.55 miles drone was turned around to home to avoid possible head wind gusts causing undesired early battery power loss.

While flying home the drone was commanded to slowly drop altitude, thus increasing its speed up to 47mph most of the flight. The duration of the flight was not timed. Drone landed at home point with 18% battery. Battery readout was still showing green status. Landed at home point with no forced landing. Only one time did the drone try to auto initiate RTH. This was quickly cancelled, then manual flight was re-initiated. The Mavic 3 is an incredible machine. No such flights were ever performed again, and will not be done again. This was a one time test.

Test performed with an Alientech Power Amplified RC modification on an RC N1.

PIC not Identified.

 

[KI5RLL]

Done in Ontario, CA by ONT airport? There? In the dark too. At 1000ft AGL. East L.A. 4.5 miles any direction from Ontario is serious airspace. What did the controller say?
Jeez @Don Testme this thread is about to get a BIG list of admonitions here. I count at least 5.

Yes I have the M3 also. Awesome craft! Yes it can go very high and very far.
My wife has a Mercedes G-class that can run 140mph. But we never have.

 

[karlblessing]

I would have just been satisfied with various youtubers already testing it in their own geographical locations (which I wouldn't know the legality outside of the US), rather than do a self test with such elevated risks.

For example 5.06 miles
December of last year

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8.9 miles, one way, and then returned to home another 8.9 miles, with critical battery but made it.
November of last year

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6.1 miles tested June of this year

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So... imo there really was no reason for you to go and do that especially as your example still ended up being less than these other folks, and while all three carried some risk, doesn't seem quite as much as your flight.

 

[cheddar-man]

Why do people do this sort of stupid thing, endangering our hobby for everyone else?
What are you trying to prove, that you can break the law and get away with it?
And then to go public and boast about it - pure stupidity!

 

[DoomMeister]

Don’t always assume that members give their actual location. This flight likely took place near two Class D, one Class C, and one Class B that is a major hub in the upper Midwest.

We do have an FAA employee that is a member of the forum as well as several that are on the FAAST team. These types of posts do not get ignored.

 

[Gary C]

I'll buy the drone after he sees the penalty Transport Canada is going to apply. Always wanted my own Mavic 3.

 

[DARKSeifer]

Don't invade manned airspace, stay under 120m meters, specially at long range where you can't hear planes/copters,

If you want good connection all you need is a clear unobstructed line of sight of the area where you intend to fly and preferably, a high spot, like the top of a building, the top of a hill or similar.

If your drone is not in FCC mode, the FCC hack is advised. If you are already in FCC, unless you are planning to do a battery mod, the bottleneck will always be the battery.

My record with a quad using radio signal is 9Km with the Mavic 3, which seems to be the furthest I'd go with a quad at least with the current batteries. From there on you should use a fixed wing or a VTOL in 4G, those can go 50Km and back easily with a single battery. One day I'll pick one, but there are not as popular as the quads, so you must DIY a bit, specially the part of the 4G module.



I've been long ranging since my second flight with the Mini 2, the sweet spot for the M3 around 1-3Km which is the range where I fly most of the time, and it's optimal for landscape photography, photogrammetry, etc. 4-5Km is still on the safe side, but in general you spend too much time travelling. Don't attempt 6+ unless you are experienced with the wind, RTH, power consumption, etc.

It's a pitty that cruise control comes with RID, because you can set it around 40-45Km/h which is the speed that will get you the bigger distance per watt.

And unless some disagree, long ranging is a perfectly safe and fun part of the RC/drone hobby. Between 40 and 120m there's usually nothing, most accidents, confrontations, and crashes occur in the <40m airspace, where karens complain about the noise, drones are "spying" people and there is massive magnetic field that constantly pulls your drone toward trees and power lines.

Long rangers, as most FPV (which 99% of time is performed without a spotter ofc) is flown under the radar, drone incidents usually come from VLOS pilots, specially during the learning phase, which is normal as this is a really complex hobby and is nearly 100% self-taught.

So yep, stop blaming each other and fly while you can, because RID will ground us equally.

 

[GFields]

And unless some disagree,

General Rules for Flying a Drone in Spain​

• Drones may only be flown during the day. For drones with a take-off weight of less than 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds), flights may also be carried out at night as long as a flight altitude of 50 meters (164 feet) above the ground is not exceeded.
• Drones must always be flown within the visual line of sight. During FPV flights a second visual observer must monitor the drone with the eye and be in direct contact with the pilot.

Read More here

 

[MS Coast]

This, and other similar flights, are not "tests." They're simply stunts.

 

[GFields]

I just deleted two posts for going off-topic. One more and this thread will be closed.

Stay on topic

 

[DARKSeifer]

• of less than 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds), flights may also be carried out at night as long as a flight altitude of 50 meters (164 feet) above the ground is not exceeded.
• Drones must always be flown within the visual line of sight. During FPV flights

Those are a part of the old rules, now apply a mix of EASA rules ant the "Real Decreto 1036/2017" until the new "Real Decreto" is approved. And those are also mixed with a lot of other laws like the privacy one or the public security one.

Currently, you can fly during day or night, the only difference is that at night the drone must have a green flashing led on the back, same distance and alt limits apply. As for the distance, unless you fly under STS-ES-01 or have explicit permit from AESA max horizontal distance is 500m VLOS.

If you are using FPV goggles limits are still the same, but you need an observer.

The thing is rules =/= reality... the reality in Spain is that drones are basically banned between the lines to prevent labor intrusion to the big companies that've been making the aerial works for the past 50 years or more. Specially If you live in big cities like Madrid, Barcelona, etc, where you have to drive more than 50Km to find a place to fly legally.

All the people that used to fly have left the hobby in the last 2 years due to the active prosecution of hobbyist with Aeroscope (fixed antennas with 50+ Km range in all the major cities), and all the social media groups that had thousands of members, are completely dead. Nobody posts anything because if you post under your real name, you risk getting a fine.

As for me, I've been a photographer for the past 18 years, landscape/architecture photography has always interested me as a hobby, flying tripods put landscape/architecture photography on another level, and no rules will keep me away from that. If they catch me, they'll have to prove it and then, I'll just pay, luckily flying drones and taking pictures is still not a crime.

PS: The link is full of errors, if you want to fly a drone in Spain, just don't do it unless you contact someone who actually flies on a daily basis, because rules are way deeper than that. It's full of articles about tourist that get screwed in Spain by local authorities because they thought they were flying legal.

 

[GFields]

Those are a part of the old rules, now apply a mix of EASA rules ant the "Real Decreto 1036/2017" until the new "Real Decreto" is approved. And those are also mixed with a lot of other laws like the privacy one or the public security one.

Currently, you can fly during day or night, the only difference is that at night the drone must have a green flashing led on the back, same distance and alt limits apply. As for the distance, unless you fly under STS-ES-01 or have explicit permit from AESA max horizontal distance is 500m VLOS.

If you are using FPV goggles limits are still the same, but you need an observer.

The thing is rules =/= reality... the reality in Spain is that drones are basically banned between the lines to prevent labor intrusion to the big companies that've been making the aerial works for the past 50 years or more. Specially If you live in big cities like Madrid, Barcelona, etc, where you have to drive more than 50Km to find a place to fly legally.

All the people that used to fly have left the hobby in the last 2 years due to the active prosecution of hobbyist with Aeroscope (fixed antennas with 50+ Km range in all the major cities), and all the social media groups that had thousands of members, are completely dead. Nobody posts anything because if you post under your real name, you risk getting a fine.

As for me, I've been a photographer for the past 18 years, landscape/architecture photography has always interested me as a hobby, flying tripods put landscape/architecture photography on another level, and no rules will keep me away from that. If they catch me, they'll have to prove it and then, I'll just pay, luckily flying drones and taking pictures is still not a crime.

PS: The link is full of errors, if you want to fly a drone in Spain, just don't do it unless you contact someone who actually flies on a daily basis, because rules are way deeper than that. It's full of articles about tourist that get screwed in Spain by local authorities because they thought they were flying legal.

My reply has to do with your statement, "And unless some disagree, long ranging is a perfectly safe and fun part of the RC/drone hobby".

Your response reinforces my position on the matter. It is 'not' a matter of someone disagreeing with it, it is a matter of what is legal and what is not.

I have not read the laws/rules of drone flying in every country (each drone pilot is responsible to do that), however, in the many countries that I have read - every one of them without exemption has a "fly within line of sight" law in place (and rightly so).

I have stated my position on the matter of illegal flights and I stand firm on it. Drone laws are in place to protect the saftey of everyone! And any responsible drone pilot (hobbyist or pro) should follow them.

PS: You further stated, "most accidents, confrontations, and crashes occur in the <40m airspace, where karens complain about the noise, drones are "spying" people and there is massive magnetic field that constantly pulls your drone toward trees and power lines." Site your source.

I would argue that most drone accidents occur (regardless of the location) when the operator is careless (or even disobeying the laws that intend to protect them). There are exceptions of course. For example when someone launches their drone without GPS lock or none due to magnetic interference that results in a fly-away. But that is far less than the drone accidents that are caused due to pilot error.

You can Google "most drone accidents are caused by" and you will find studies that have been conducted and many if not all will point to a "pilot error".

Please note: I am not the Drone Police nor do I pretend to know the drone laws of every country. I have never reported anyone for breaking Drone Laws and Regulations. But I think it sad when other drone pilots take flight laws so lightly - even encouraging others to disregard them. I do not hesitate to articulate where I stand on this matter.

 

[DARKSeifer]

Flying outside the rules doesn't mean you are flying recklessly.

Drones are over regulated not for safety, but for money, because accessing chunks of the <120m airspace is going to cost a fortune to the big companies that pretend to fly their autonomous BVLOS drones.

In the end everything is always about money, you don't pay, you are kicked out from the sky, that's how it works.

Accepting all the rules as they come (luckly enough some people fought RID, and now it works locally and not online, as was initially intended), is what has brought us to the present. Drones being dangerous is a myth and a lie, just promoted to get the <120m airspace clear.

Drones are one of the safest hobby around and yet, we are constantly criminalized even within the hobby, 1.3 million people die each year in the world due to traffic accidents, and it's considered normal and nobody cares about it. 0 people have died in the world since the quad initial boom in 2010 by a drone accident (and there have been accidents, lots of them, and yet, nobody died), and we are getting a 1Km target pinned on our backs just for taking pictures of the sunset.



On the other hand, GPS drones are really hard to crash; omnidirectional sensors, RTH, forced landing, GPS, compass, sonar... we even have ADSB receiver for drones that cost less than 1.000€, like the Air2S so, why all the rules? Why the necessity of RID? Safety? Then why don't cars don't have RID?. Because It's all about segregating the <120m airspace and selling it, and in order to do that, that airspace must remain as clear as possible and Karens&Kens will just do the job for them thanks to apps like OpenDroneID and the promotion they'll get past September 2023.

Tons of people have left the hobby due to confrontations ad stress during flights thanks to over regulation even before existing RID, nobody wants to pay a fine of six numbers just to fly a bit over their area, explore and take some pictures with a <250 drone that weights less than a bird at 30 meters altitude like if you were to one hit kill an Airbus that's flying at 10Km alt.

Nobody spends 2000+€ on a drone just to hear the sound of it hitting the ground, and nobody flies long range to crash their drone 9Km away and spend the rest of the day searching for the pieces in the middle of nowhere.

Most drone crashes come out of inexperience because for most people this is a self-taught hobby, a really complex hobby where you have to know a lot of things, like electronics, aerodynamics, physics, telecommunications, computing, situational awareness, photography, videography, laws, rules, maps, etc.

 

[BigAl07]

Flying outside the rules doesn't mean you are flying recklessly.

Drones are over regulated not for safety, but for money, because accessing chunks of the <120m airspace is going to cost a fortune to the big companies that pretend to fly their autonomous BVLOS drones.

In the end everything is always about money, you don't pay, you are kicked out from the sky, that's how it works.

Accepting all the rules as they come (luckly enough some people fought RID, and now it works locally and not online, as was initially intended), is what has brought us to the present. Drones being dangerous is a myth and a lie, just promoted to get the <120m airspace clear.

Drones are one of the safest hobby around and yet, we are constantly criminalized even within the hobby, 1.3 million people die each year in the world due to traffic accidents, and it's considered normal and nobody cares about it. 0 people have died in the world since the quad initial boom in 2010 by a drone accident (and there have been accidents, lots of them, and yet, nobody died), and we are getting a 1Km target pinned on our backs just for taking pictures of the sunset.

View attachment 157210

On the other hand, GPS drones are really hard to crash; omnidirectional sensors, RTH, forced landing, GPS, compass, sonar... we even have ADSB receiver for drones that cost less than 1.000€, like the Air2S so, why all the rules? Why the necessity of RID? Safety? Then why don't cars don't have RID?. Because It's all about segregating the <120m airspace and selling it, and in order to do that, that airspace must remain as clear as possible and Karens&Kens will just do the job for them thanks to apps like OpenDroneID and the promotion they'll get past September 2023.

Tons of people have left the hobby due to confrontations ad stress during flights thanks to over regulation even before existing RID, nobody wants to pay a fine of six numbers just to fly a bit over their area, explore and take some pictures with a <250 that weights less than a bird.

Nobody spends 2000+€ on a drone just to hear the sound of it hitting the ground, and nobody flies long range to crash their drone 9Km away and spend the rest of the day searching for the pieces in the middle of nowhere.

Most drone crashes come out of inexperience because for most people this is a self-taught hobby, a really complex hobby where you have to know a lot of things, like electronics, aerodynamics, physics, telecommunications, computing, situational awareness, photography, videography, laws, rules, maps, etc.

What? Your last paragraphy is completely off base. You have to know NONE of those things what-so-ever. All you have to know is:

a) Go to website/bestbuy
b) Pick model you want
c) go to check out
d) slide your CREDIT CARD
e) Unpack box
f) glance at "Start Up Guide"
g) Charge Batteries
h) hit TAKE OFF button

Before GPS, Gyro stabilization etc you had to know how to BUILD the aircraft, how to work on the aircraft, how to FLY the aircraft.... it was a SELF correcting problem but now all you do is BUY, Unpack, Charge, hit the GO button.

The vast majority of your whole post is way out of alignment with reality. It's not "all about money" even though I'm sure that would make many feel a lot better about regulations.

 

[AMann]

Dumbleuck activities like this are partly why we are getting RID

 

[DARKSeifer]

What? Your last paragraphy is completely off base. You have to know NONE of those things what-so-ever. All you have to know is:

a) Go to website/bestbuy
b) Pick model you want
c) go to check out
d) slide your CREDIT CARD
e) Unpack box
f) glance at "Start Up Guide"
g) Charge Batteries
h) hit TAKE OFF button

Before GPS, Gyro stabilization etc you had to know how to BUILD the aircraft, how to work on the aircraft, how to FLY the aircraft.... it was a SELF correcting problem but now all you do is BUY, Unpack, Charge, hit the GO button.

The vast majority of your whole post is way out of alignment with reality. It's not "all about money" even though I'm sure that would make many feel a lot better about regulations.

i) crash on the nearest tree.

Just like any hobby drones are easy to start, hard to master.

And please, expose me the 10 top drone incidents since the year 2000 with all the causalities that justifies that my flying photography camera is emitting RID right now exposing me and my equipment to potential theft, undesired attention and possible harassment by random people.

 

[BigAl07]

I) crash on the nearest tree.

Please, expose me the 10 top drone incidents since the year 2000 with all the causalities that justifies that my flying photography camera is emitting RID right now. Potential damage =/= facts.

How many UAS operators have flown many flights w/o crashing into a tree with no other knowledge except reading the Quick Start Guide. I'm calling your statement about
" a really complex hobby where you have to know a lot of things, like electronics, aerodynamics, physics, telecommunications, computing, situational awareness, photography, videography, laws, rules, maps, etc."

I've been flying R/C since 1974 and at that time you had to have a LOT of knowledge, training, and luck to make a successful flight but now adays the aircraft FLIES ITSELF. If you aren't paying attention you could easily fly into something but it has nothing to do with skills or training what so ever.

 

[DARKSeifer]

How many UAS operators have flown many flights w/o crashing into a tree with no other knowledge except reading the Quick Start Guide. I'm calling your statement about
" a really complex hobby where you have to know a lot of things, like electronics, aerodynamics, physics, telecommunications, computing, situational awareness, photography, videography, laws, rules, maps, etc."

I've been flying R/C since 1974 and at that time you had to have a LOT of knowledge, training, and luck to make a successful flight but now adays the aircraft FLIES ITSELF. If you aren't paying attention you could easily fly into something but it has nothing to do with skills or training what so ever.

Being that long on a hobby tends to blur the apprentice curve. Have you tried to lend your drone to anyone out of the hobby, even a stabilized one? You should try and see if it's difficult or not.

This sounds to me like the people that think that photography is just pressing a button.

 

[dirkclod]

Being that long on a hobby tends to blur the apprentice curve. Have you tried to lend your drone to anyone out of the hobby, even a stabilized one? You should try and see if it's difficult or not.

This sounds to me like the people that think that photography is just pressing a button.

It is difficult to do so and be safe and take care of your equipment.
Its not buy and fly.
And just a tip but I would watch who you choose to disagree with.
You won’t win in the end.

 

[thispilothere]

Accepting all the rules as they come (luckly enough some people fought RID, and now it works locally and not online, as was initially intended), is what has brought us to the present. Drones being dangerous is a myth and a lie, just promoted to get the <120m airspace clear.

It'll get there. It's probably already programmed and ready to go. Just wait, a regulatory update will come one day and miraculously the functionality will be immediately available including a new radar website - complete with the pilot details.