Mini2 Almost collides with low flying airplane

[Kola]

Yes you might have been a drone short and the pilots their lives. But your thoughts were with your drone. Was it in uncontrolled airport airspace or did teh maps show you were completely free to fly there ?

Perfectly fine flying where he was.

 

[Droffarc]

We were camping at Ganzekraal this weekend (about 30km up the west coast from Melkbosstrand outside Cape Town)

Saturday and Sunday in the morning a number of small planes went over from Cape Town north towards Langebaan, some of them really close to shore or even right over the camp sites, and really very low, and a number from Langebaan traveling south towards Cape Town in the afternoon.

The two planes flying the lowest were the same two flying north and then later south.

I had the drone up later, and stayed very low (20m and lower) but climbed to 50m once and in my estimation that was higher or very close to the altitude of the two planes (I could be wrong, it is very subjective).

The challenge was that the planes flying higher could be heard much sooner, while the two low flying planes I could only hear once they were very close (campsite is right on the beach/rocks with quite a lot of wave noise).

Really made me nervous to fly higher, but then again the best photos and footage I have is always low anyway.

No, I have no photos of the planes, was not flying at the time.

Been past Ganzekraal on the west coast road many times but never inside.
Bear in mind that Langebaanweg is close by but that is for airforce, and there is Malmesbury and Atlantis around. While riding offroad on my bike I was surprised at how many small airfields are around there.

 

[Kola]

Been past Ganzekraal on the west coast road many times but never inside.
Bear in mind that Langebaanweg is close by but that is for airforce, and there is Malmesbury and Atlantis around. While riding offroad on my bike I was surprised at how many small airfields are around there.

It is a really great campsite.

Langebaan and Langebaanweg is quite a distance away, but there are a number of no-fly areas around this, but not at Ganzekraal/Grotto Bay (Ganzekraal where the pin is on the map)

Closest airfield is Delta (skydiving mostly) which is about 16 or so kilometres away.

There are quite a few small airstrips around the area used mostly for crop spraying, have even seen crop sprayers take off using the Porseleinberg Road close to Wellington as an airstrip when they spray.

 

[Bodkin's Best Photography]

Here in Western NC - Duke Power (electricity provider) has a chopper with hanging saws on it. Got some video / pics last year and was out yesterday in the yard and heard that "noise" again. Looked up and there it was. He flew out too far before I could go get my drone - although I'd never get close - as the chopper hovers barely above treetop level (maybe 100 ft) when "trimming as they call it" but more like massacring trees along the power lines.

It's really cool to see both the chopper flying at treetop - then you hear the chainsaws gear up and start taking out trees/ limbs / etc. Maybe 5-6 saws on onelong bar that dangled below to chopper. That pilot has got to have some big kahuna's to be doing it.

Here's a pic from last year.

Where I live helilogging is something they do when they can't get fallers with saws into an area safely. 1000s of acres have been logged this way in BC.

 

[Serra.one]

Planes can legally fly below 500ft as long as they are 500ft horizontally and vertically from any person or structure.

Actually any aircraft can fly as low as they want if they are over open water and away from the shore line. I had a conversation with a fellow pilot, he knows the guy that did the flyby, it seems he flies at that route and altitude regularly. So if you are is SoFlo east coast watch out for this guy.

 

[Camino Ken]

Actually any aircraft can fly as low as they want if they are over open water and away from the shore line. I had a conversation with a fellow pilot, he knows the guy that did the flyby, it seems he flies at that route and altitude regularly. So if you are is SoFlo east coast watch out for this guy.

I assume you are agreeing with what I said?

 

[selliott]

Has anyone flown in St. Bart's in the Caribbean? Used to live in St Maarten and went to St. Barts more than a few times. Small planes only, they have to clear a hill and stall to land on the strip below. Lots of cars have tire marks on the roofs! For drone pilots it must be almost irresistible! Not to mention Princess Juliana in St Maarten! Don't be tempted though!

 

[Niterunnr]

I did have a rather close encounter with a low flying aircraft similar to a Cessna 150 or something along those lines. And as luck would have it I lost momentary contact with my Phantom 3 so I couldn't move further out of the way and I couldn't position to get any pictures. I'm still getting ready to take my Part 107 exam so I am familiar with my local sectional chart and my area is not a Victor Airway yet there he was flying particularly low over our neighborhood. Now 11 miles to the northwest of me is a small airport. so he could have been avoiding the controlled airspace that's at 3k or further east at 1300, but where we were is class G and I surely would have done more to yield if I had the chance but we were a fair distance apart. But still from the initial angle when I hear his approach I just wanted to drop lower and of course moments after he had past the Phantom 3 regained connection with the controller. I love my Phantom 3 but I sure wish it had one of the newer links between drone and controller

Careful, aircraft are not required to fly airways. Victor or Jet routes are relics from old VOR navigation and are mostly used by non GPS aircraft. Check your sectional chart to see if your town is colored yellow, if not, the one thousand rule does not apply to aircraft. In rural areas, some pilots make runways in their back yard!

 

[Niterunnr]

I assume you are agreeing with what I said?

This is correct. I have had an aircraft license over 25 yrs.

 

[Captmike]

Joke or not, something that might help drone pilots. I fly a my bush plane low a lot. I often encounter birds at low levels and near the water. They ALWAYS dive when we have a close encounter. Being low I fly with a bit of up trim, should my attention be diverted for something. I would never dive to avoid a bird or a drone unless it was above me. So should you have an aircraft encounter at your altitude, immediately dive. I realize the decent rate of drones is slow, but it is the best avoidance.

M