Night flying - Strobe recommendations?

[Bad Santa]

I know to fly at night, a flashing light is required.
The regulation about blink speed is vague.
Distance to sight is 3 miles.

So, a (simulated) strobe is probably the most economical solution, right?

Giving it a lot of thought, with more thought to come, I'm thinking of probable arrangements.

First, some say to mount the strobe on top. Makes sense to keep the drone visible to overhead entities.
On the bottom might make it easier to see while flying.
I can't remember if the nav lights stayed lit when I did my night flight. That won't hurt.

Anyhow, some were saying to keep the light from facing forward as it could cause camera oddities. That makes sense.
It was mentioned in one video that the light could confuse peripheral cameras (but those aren't in play at night. Trust me).

So, with all the things considered, what's a good night lighting solution?
Economical (Weight vs brightness vs battery life).
Set strobe interval or variable?
White only or multi color switchable.

FAQ:
Why fly at night?
A) I want to be able to do aerial video of Christmas lights or fly at night when there's snow/ice (Not actively snowing)

 

[MA2 317]

Get at least one strobe.

You should have four so you know the orientation of the aircraft at night.

One blinking light may show position, but not the direction.

If you have a device failure, you can still safely fly with VLOS.

I started with smaller strobes and now have the Firehouse ARC V's on my MA2.






Be mindful of wires when flying at night.

Do a daytime reconnaissance of the area and make sure no obstacles will be present during the night flights.

The products I use.

drone strobe lights

drone strobe light anti collision light DJI Parrot Autel skydio unmanned aerial system quadcopter multirotor

www.firehousetechnology.com

DJI Strobe Mounts

Products by drone pilots for drone pilots. In 2013 we started Aerial-Pixel as a drone photography and videography service. Since then we have grown to also provide vinyl graphics, apparel and 3D printed products for the drone industry.

www.aerial-pixel.com

Good luck and enjoy the night.

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