Range tests and the law...

[serioussam909]

In other countries there is a limit. It's usually 500 m or so.

 

[LazerMan]

That is completely different than a range test where the intent is to fly as far as possible from the start, knowing full well that it is illegal to do so.


Strobes will help a bit but only if you have at least two strobes of different colors so that you can tell the orientation of the drone. It helps for a little bit of additional distance but not much. The laws in the USA say that you must not only be able to see the drone but also see its orientation.
It is not gray area at all. The regulations (these regulations at least, not all of them) are very clear and very black and white.


Conditions do not matter if you are going beyond VLOS. The regulations make no allowance for conditions. You either have VLOS or you don't.


First of all don't make assumptions for "all of us". Yes most people do drive beyond the speed limit but not everyone does. The situation is the same in both cases. It is illegal in both cases. It is black and white in both cases.
If you wish to break the law then do so at your own risk, but don't justify it by saying conditions were perfect. If you decide to drive at 100 MPH on the freeway where the speed limit is 60, are you justified because you know your automobile is in perfect condition and there was no one else on the road? The police officer who pulls you over won't care about any of that.


That is completely different and also why Amazon still does not deliver packages via drone. The regulations do not allow them to fly beyond VLOS. They (and other companies like UPS and Wing) are going through great pain, work, expense, and time to work on systems which will get a waiver from the FAA so they can legally fly in that manner beyond VLOS. They don't just decide it's OK to do so and violate the regualtions.


Once again, it is not at all gray. The regulations are quite clear in this area. If you decide to not follow them that is your decision.

I'm just wondering why you need 2 strobe to tell the orientation of the drone. I always know which way my drone is headed by the radar screen.

 

[sar104]

I'm just wondering why you need 2 strobe to tell the orientation of the drone. I always know which way my drone is headed by the radar screen.

Because you are required to be able to figure it out by looking at it, not relying on telemetry.

 

[dronerdave]

The FAA rules are a bit vague. During daylight hours, I have had a low flying manned aircraft enter an area I was flying at and was able to know the position and direction of my quad in relationship of the aircraft's path via strobes. At that distance out (about 2000 feet that day) I was unable to tell a difference in color but the flash was obvious. I was able to see and avoid using the strobes to quickly drop in altitude while maintaining visual sight of the quads strobes. Was I in the planes flight path? How could anyone know... I just tried to avoid it. At night it's a different story and the red and green strobes are much easier to see. But just because I can see my quad and the direction it's moving via colors, the situation would probably have been the same. Even without strobes, there is a distance where you simply see a black dot and I'd use the same methods...which way is the dot or flash moving compared to my stick movements and get out of the way to my best ability.

 

[PhantomFandom]

I'm just wondering why you need 2 strobe to tell the orientation of the drone. I always know which way my drone is headed by the radar screen.

What happens if you lose telemetry?

What happens if there is a bird, a plane, or other object heading towards your drone at high speed? Would you have time to look down at your controller, figure out which way everything is oriented, and take evasive action? The answer is no.

You must be able to tell orientation simply by looking at the drone itself.

 

[Davros007]

I do love the strobes I have (ArcII) for positioning. Red green white. In full sun they only add a bit to VLOS but do greatly improve knowledge of direction. In dull light, or against a dark background like a forest hill, they really add to what I can see, out to about 600m and still get orientation. Birds are not so much of an issue here. Especially the big ones!

 

[Davros007]

Can you get a permit for non commercial flight to go beyond VLOS in US?

 

[serioussam909]

Can you get a permit for non commercial flight to go beyond VLOS in US?

In theory you can - in practice it's going to be difficult.

Part 107 Waivers Issued

www.faa.gov

Only 54 people or organisations can legally fly bvlos.

 

[Davros007]

Rules (well, a summary of) in Australia for beyond VLOS (BVLOS or EVLOS - E being “extended”).

Beyond Visual Line of Sight Drone flights in Australia: how the new Drone Manual of Standards regulates this next frontier. - The Drone Lawyer

Following our last article outlining the contents of the newly released Part 101 Drone Manual of Standards (MOS), in this article we look at what we think is the most exciting part of the MOS. That is, Chapter 5 which covers drone operations Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) of the pilot. Note...

www.thedronelawyer.com.au

Interesting but without just about the same training (and $$$$ for) and prep as for a light aircraft - or maybe more - it ain’t happening legally!

 

[sar104]

Can you get a permit for non commercial flight to go beyond VLOS in US?

No.

 

[Davros007]

No.

We sort-of can here. But it costs so much for all the training, I doubt anyone would. Basically it’s for broad-acre farming I think. So one person can spot at a field and the drone can come back and forth from a pilot and get resupplied. I don’t see anything saying you can’t also fly for fun like this but you’d want to have a $$$ day job and you still have to have someone watching it, just that with the quals, they can be out of sight of the pilot, with at least two methods of communication to the pilot, mostly phone and radio but not two of the same. So basically it will only appeal to commercial...

 

[Deleted member 103366]

I have not fitted a light to any of my drones, my attempts to buy a cheap one for my phantom were a dismal failure. A substantial portion of the LED's they contained did/do not light. (bought one that had the fault and then the supplier sent a replacement which had the same problem, I gave up at that point)
My question is..... how beam like is the light emitted from good lights?
If the light is emitted in a beam then that is directional and visible primarily when stood in its path. Yes you can see the sweeping of a lighthouse beam, from reflection of dust etc. particles in the air I think, but you also know when it it pointed directly at you.
Of course, if the light is emitted in 'all directions' such thinking is irrelevant

 

[sar104]

We sort-of can here. But it costs so much for all the training, I doubt anyone would. Basically it’s for broad-acre farming I think. So one person can spot at a field and the drone can come back and forth from a pilot and get resupplied. I don’t see anything saying you can’t also fly for fun like this but you’d want to have a $$$ day job and you still have to have someone watching it, just that with the quals, they can be out of sight of the pilot, with at least two methods of communication to the pilot, mostly phone and radio but not two of the same. So basically it will only appeal to commercial...

But then that's not recreational flight is it? It is possible to fly BVLOS legally in the US in certain situations. A small number of 107 waivers have been issued to companies, and it is relatively simple to get an SGI waiver for emergency operations - I've done that several times now. There's no mechanism for recreational pilots though.