Mavic Pro boring for me once I learned I can't fly out of LOS

[TrayBoz]

So, using your logic, OP, you definitely shouldn't waste your money on a fast sports car because you can't drive it above 75mph in the U.S. anyway.

Good for you, for wanting to obey the rules "to-the-T" 100% of the time, but what a boring life that must be.

Drink the milk straight from the carton sometimes.... live a little.

(I'm not advocating you do anything stupid or dangerous, but if you need the rules to show you exactly what that is, then by all means, please, stick to them.)

 

[blurred55]

I guess I'll be flying at night from now on. I just did a test and I could easily see the stock flashing strobes/red lights at 3,000+ feet out. Whereas during the day I would not be able to see it at all.

Just sucks that I can't really see much of anything on the camera!!!

 

[Marko9219]

Fly at night! With just the stock lighting on the Mavic you can get out to about 1.5 miles and maintain VLOS. Invest $50 or so in some strobes and you can get out 3+ and still see your Mavic.

Sort of takes the camera out of the equation though. Why have a Mavic if you aren't shooting video/pictures?

 

[Marko9219]

I guess I'll be flying at night from now on. I just did a test and I could easily see the stock flashing strobes/red lights at 3,000+ feet out. Whereas during the day I would not be able to see it at all.

Just sucks that I can't really see much of anything on the camera!!!

You spent a lot of money on a flying 4k camera to not use it any more.

 

[blurred55]

You spent a lot of money on a flying 4k camera to not use it any more.

Because of all of the idiots who made the FAA crack down on drones :/

 

[blurred55]

It just seems like flying UAVs around used to be really fun. Watching old footage (circa 2014 and earlier) and people flying in developed areas doing cool stuff (in places you're not longer allowed to fly to drones). You can see the people in this footage (bystanders) seem amazed and positive reactions to a drone flying around.

Then it seemed Casey Neistat popularized them and everyone and their grandma went out, bought one, and immediately crashed them into everything because they don't know how to fly.

FAA and gov cracked down. Media joined in to stigmatize drone owners and now most of the population HATES drones. Every flight I'm on edge waiting for people to call the police or run over and assault/yell at me. Already get dirty looks.

Now there's all kinds of laws/regulations and almost nowhere to legally fly them.

Sorry for the rant. Guess I'm just depressed tonight. Thought I found a cool new hobby and had it all come crashing down when I really dug into all the red tape/laws/regulations. I wish I discovered the hobby before it got ruined.

 

[Canuk]

When I want a bit of fun I put my dji goggles on and fly over the water on small creeks and rivers up on our trapline . You will never put any aircraft in danger because you are below tree line . I have got to see wildlife drinking in the river . I hang back and watch them . Sometimes I will follow a UTV trail of ours in the bush . When you are concentrating on not clipping a tree you don’t get bored . I followed one of our trails that was opened up for oilfield so it was clean . I was on the top of a hill and the trail was all down below me and I got just over 15000 out before my battery power made me turn around . I was not ever more than 15 feet off the ground . It was after supper and I could see my little strobe flashing . I would need a better one if I could go farther . If I was to run out of battery I would just land and take the quad and go pick it up . Up here in the sticks we have thousands of places to explore from oilfield work that was done . I am liking this drone but the battery’s don’t last long enough . Wish it could stay in the air for a hour at a time

 

[Chip]

Sorry for the rant. Guess I'm just depressed tonight. Thought I found a cool new hobby and had it all come crashing down when I really dug into all the red tape/laws/regulations. I wish I discovered the hobby before it got ruined.

Best that you quit now. If you got a blurred picture or something it would be too much to handle. Im kidding. For gosh sake buck up and get a grip.

 

[FlyGuy8675309]

Sort of takes the camera out of the equation though. Why have a Mavic if you aren't shooting video/pictures?

I can get some pretty decent video or photos at night where I live (suburbs).. nothing really great (P4 is much better at night shots) but certainly enough to see what's going on. That being said, I rarely shoot video or take photos - drones for me are for the thrill of flying and seeing the world from up high. Do I still get to keep my Mavic?

 

[BIGDAVE]

I was having so much fun, flying responsibly (away from houses, people, roads, etc) and even got a Crystalsky Ultra so I can see much better. Its amazing how clear it is and how easy it is to fly without LOS with the CS. I'd mainly just fly out over trees and empty areas around 150-200 ft altitude and explore. Most I'd go is around 2,000 feet away. At that distance the Mavic is too small to see in the sky, but I have zero issue navigating or with orientation. Nothing crazy, the furthest I got was 3,000 feet away for a few minutes then turned around but still so fun to fly something by just navigating with the CS screen and tools.

After digging more I realized I was "ABSOLUTELY" not supposed to fly out of LOS. Since then I've only flown where I can see the drone (a few hundred feet away) and its just incredibly boring for me. I can only fly to what I can see and the CS is pretty much useless.

Anyone have any ideas for dealing with this or fun things to do while in LOS? I went out today and basically flew circles over a lake and then got bored in 10 minutes and went home.

this might sound crazy but get a bright led and you will see it further out.

 

[Drone on]

What confuses me is, who is to say you can't see the drone? Who ever asks may not be able to see it, but that doesn't mean I can't see it. It's right over there. Can you not see it?

 

[DroningOn]

Actually, there is federal law on this (in the United Sates). 49 U.S.C. 40102; 14 CFR 1.1. and the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Section 336), to name the specific relevant federal law(s)..............

Tacking an additional interpretation on to an endless daisy chain of previous interpretations does not make something “law“. Nice try

 

[lisadoc]

Tacking an additional interpretation on to an endless daisy chain of previous interpretations does not make something “law“. Nice try

Really? That's what you think? I hope you have a good lawyer then.

"Tacking an additional interpretation on to an endless daisy chain of previous interpretations" is the exact definition of "legal precedence" (or stare decisis), and is what every court/judge in the world does every day. You don't, for example, have the legal right to say what you want to on your prior posts because the 1st Amendment clearly and precisely states that "one has the right to write what their opinion is on an electronic forum without intervention of the State". You have that right only because courts and Congress have "Tacked an additional interpretation on to an endless daisy chain of previous interpretations".

In this case, the FAA has taken the additional and unusual step of a priori publishing its legal interpretation of the federal statues and inviting public comment before formalizing their legal position on this matter. Again, you could always go into court and argue that it's technically not "law" because it's only the FAA's legal interpretation of federal statues, and thereby technically not "law". But like I said before, it's likely a losing argument. Unless or until it is challenged in court and struck down (and confirmed by all higher courts), it is about as much as a "law" as if it were written in those precise words by Congress.

 

[DroningOn]

Really? That's what you think? I hope you have a good lawyer then.

"Tacking an additional interpretation on to an endless daisy chain of previous interpretations" is the exact definition of "legal precedence" (or stare decisis), and is what every court/judge in the world does every day. You don't, for example, have the legal right to say what you want to on your prior posts because the 1st Amendment clearly and precisely states that "one has the right to write what their opinion is on an electronic forum without intervention of the State". You have that right only because courts and Congress have "Tacked an additional interpretation on to an endless daisy chain of previous interpretations".

In this case, the FAA has taken the additional and unusual step of a priori publishing its legal interpretation of the federal statues and inviting public comment before formalizing their legal position on this matter. Again, you could always go into court and argue that it's technically not "law" because it's only the FAA's legal interpretation of federal statues, and thereby technically not "law". But like I said before, it's likely a losing argument. Unless or until it is challenged in court and struck down (and confirmed by all higher courts), it is about as much as a "law" as if it were written in those precise words by Congress.

Come back after any of this gets near a court of competent jurisdiction (in the context of hobby use) and maybe we’ll have something to talk about

 

[HoozierDroneDaddy]

Cheers

I can hear a chopper in the air 3+ miles out so I don't get what is the big deal about flying my drone 0.2 miles away. As soon as I heard a helicopter I would go low, sport mode back to land.

Hopefully someday the drone tech can exist to detect and alert of other vehicles near the same airspace so people can safely fly 10+ miles out.[/QUOTE]

You can hear a chopper 3+ miles away. Maybe if its a standard full size or above. What about the small home built, the crop duster, hang gliders, sky divers, balloons, EMS aircraft, and military that frequently fly lower than 400 feet AGL. Or a microwave tower that you can't seen until its too late. Power lines that you can't see on your monitor until you hit them. There are many reasons for VLOS limitations.

 

[Classic flyer]

I was having so much fun, flying responsibly (away from houses, people, roads, etc) and even got a Crystalsky Ultra so I can see much better. Its amazing how clear it is and how easy it is to fly without LOS with the CS. I'd mainly just fly out over trees and empty areas around 150-200 ft altitude and explore. Most I'd go is around 2,000 feet away. At that distance the Mavic is too small to see in the sky, but I have zero issue navigating or with orientation. Nothing crazy, the furthest I got was 3,000 feet away for a few minutes then turned around but still so fun to fly something by just navigating with the CS screen and tools.

After digging more I realized I was "ABSOLUTELY" not supposed to fly out of LOS. Since then I've only flown where I can see the drone (a few hundred feet away) and its just incredibly boring for me. I can only fly to what I can see and the CS is pretty much useless.

Anyone have any ideas for dealing with this or fun things to do while in LOS? I went out today and basically flew circles over a lake and then got bored in 10 minutes and went home.

Sorry you lost interest sir, however I do understand

 

[HoozierDroneDaddy]

That’s a good idea

Remember, night flying for 107 pilots requires a Daylight Waiver. If your a hobby flyer, remember to check the area you will be flying in during the daylight for any obstacles or hazards that you won't see at night.

 

[Classic flyer]

I remember seeing a YouTube video of a Mavic with LED strobe lights attached.
That should increase the distance in which it stays within LOS.

Cheers

Good observation sir

 

[blurred55]

You can hear a chopper 3+ miles away. Maybe if its a standard full size or above. What about the small home built, the crop duster, hang gliders, sky divers, balloons, EMS aircraft, and military that frequently fly lower than 400 feet AGL. Or a microwave tower that you can't seen until its too late. Power lines that you can't see on your monitor until you hit them. There are many reasons for VLOS limitations.

I can see everything very clear with CS Ultra even power lines. Even better than I can with my own eyes far away.

I wasn't going insane/dangerous distances IMO. I am just talking about 0.3 miles away (and max 0.5 miles) where I would lose VLOS because the Mavic was too small of a speck to see. But I knew the general direction it was and would only take several seconds flight back in sport mode to return.

 

[HoozierDroneDaddy]

I can see everything very clear with CS Ultra even power lines. Even better than I can with my own eyes far away.

I wasn't going insane/dangerous distances IMO. I am just talking about 0.3 miles away (and max 0.5 miles) where I would lose VLOS because the Mavic was too small of a speck to see. But I knew the general direction it was and would only take several seconds flight back in sport mode to return.

Just wondering as a side note, how many downed aircraft or injured skydivers has a small drone like a Mavic caused?

Yes you can see them on your CS IF it is in front of you. The purpose of the VLOS is to be able to see Manned aircraft and other hazards that are not only in front of your monitor, but around you, so that you can avoid and relinquish the right-of-way to them as they have priority.

Another issue that may impact going beyond VLOS. If you are out a mile or more, and sometimes even less, you could be flying into a TFR area, an active First Responder situation (Police, Fire, SAR, etc) that you would not be aware of. This could cause safety and legal issues. Just food for thought.