Scary situation

[yankfanp]

Thought I would post an experience I had with the M2P. It was just after sunrise on an overcast day where I was flying low along a river and my attempt to bring it back to me manually went very wrong. I thought I was on the right course and then because it was very dark, I lost sight of it. When I was able to see it, it was about 30 feet from me but very close to the level of the river. I began to panic and my inputs were not responding in that when I tried to bring it higher off the water surface it wanted to either fly to the bank or fly upwards into branches. I have had the drone for almost a year and I came so close to losing it in the river (in my mind I was visioning how much I would have to come up with to replace it). I did manage to get it back close to heart attack time. I am looking for advice and at the same time perhaps help others. In retrospect, it was in tripod mode so perhaps I should have switched back to P mode, also I think the vision sensors were not working correctly because it was pretty dark.

 

[Meta4]

when I tried to bring it higher off the water surface it wanted to either fly to the bank or fly upwards into branches.
I think the vision sensors were not working correctly because it was pretty dark.

Your sensors won't work in the dark and your senses and perception are also unreliable in the dark.

 

[TampaTC]

Loss of VLOS and returning to home. Look at the map position, note the distance from home point and the altitude the UAS is at. Safety is at altitude, the higher you fly the less objects you will encounter. So returning home Manually, increase Height, Look, Listen. Glade you made it with out any loss.

I am 107 and have a Daylight Waiver. I take notes on areas I fly during daylight. Examples, towers most are not over 200' around me. Tree tops most are no height that 40', billboards 60', houses 25', Note elevation changes ,hills rolling up or down the UAS is measuring height from the home point not where it is above at another given point.

Safe flights and enjoyment..

 

[yankfanp]

Thanks for your responses!

 

[Thomas B]

Thought I would post an experience I had with the M2P. It was just after sunrise on an overcast day where I was flying low along a river and my attempt to bring it back to me manually went very wrong. I thought I was on the right course and then because it was very dark, I lost sight of it. When I was able to see it, it was about 30 feet from me but very close to the level of the river. I began to panic and my inputs were not responding in that when I tried to bring it higher off the water surface it wanted to either fly to the bank or fly upwards into branches. I have had the drone for almost a year and I came so close to losing it in the river (in my mind I was visioning how much I would have to come up with to replace it). I did manage to get it back close to heart attack time. I am looking for advice and at the same time perhaps help others. In retrospect, it was in tripod mode so perhaps I should have switched back to P mode, also I think the vision sensors were not working correctly because it was pretty dark.

Try adding auxiliary lighting like ARC2 strobes to increase visibility in low light conditions and avoid the situation you describe. Remember to maintain VLOS.

 

[yankfanp]

I appreciate the responses, as I look back to this incident I did error in steering the mavic back to me which led to it going to close to shore where it was very dark. It was only 20 feet away from me when I viewed it three times almost go in the river.

 

[twoheadlines]

Good skills getting your M2P back - without wet feet!
Radar is only giving a 2 dimensional view of the aircraft's position, which is helpful but maybe in low light less so than continuous VLOS. Investing in a good strobe light would perhaps help as well.

 

[yankfanp]

Thanks for good advice!

 

[otisbrazwell]

Good skills getting your M2P back - without wet feet!
Radar is only giving a 2 dimensional view of the aircraft's position, which is helpful but maybe in low light less so than continuous VLOS. Investing in a good strobe light would perhaps help as well.

would you have the link to a good strobe light

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

would you have the link to a good strobe light

FHT (Firehouse Technology) ones seem good, some links below . . .
Strobon cree also seem popular, but not as bright as the FHT.

The ARCII are 4 x 5w cree led, available in white, red, green (in order of brightest, white being that)
I think you can get single, or in packs of 3 or 4 at reasonable pricing.

drone strobe lights

drone strobe lights

www.firehousetechnology.com

drone strobe lights

drone strobe lights

www.firehousetechnology.com

Their dual are supposed to be fine too, still the same 5w cree, but just 2 of them, and the dual are not that much less in cost than the ARCII for a 4 set.

drone strobe

drone strobe light

www.firehousetechnology.com

The big advantage of these is far less in size, and although run time is about 2 hrs strobing (vs ARCII at around 5 hrs) that is ~ 4 Mavic batteries anyway.

I am getting dual 4 pack and one of the ARCII in red/white emerg combo (in their store), plus one of these to put underneath for see my MP up high . . .

best drone strobe light

Strobe light for drones faa 107

www.firehousetechnology.com

 

[otisbrazwell]

thank you

 

[Mavic Mac]

Just purchased the Firehouse Arcs and they are BRIGHT ! - haven't mounted them yet on my MA but i know they will help me with vlos

 

[GadgetGuy]

Try adding auxiliary lighting like ARC2 strobes to increase visibility in low light conditions and avoid the situation you describe. Remember to maintain VLOS.

The M2 has built-in landing lights. Just program cycling the Landing Lights into the C1 or C2 button, and turn them on.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Just purchased the Firehouse Arcs and they are BRIGHT ! - haven't mounted them yet on my MA but i know they will help me with vlos

Yes they should be fantastic even for daylight use !!

I decided on the Dual model based on someone once commenting in another FHT thread (there are lots of them on the forum) that if you look at them when launching / landing or close, they can actually affect your vision for a while . . . that blank spot a bright light can leave on your vision briefly after you eyes get flashed by bright light.
(Rod vision part of eyesight is affected, eg using a torch at night and turning it off, or going from car high beam / spotlights to low beam).

The other thing was the smaller size for mounting etc, dual is about half the size of the arc.

I think the dual will be fine for VLOS use, but just got the one arcII red / white combo in case I want to put it on the back of the bird for more distant flights as needed.

 

[Thomas B]

Here’s the test:

 

[twoheadlines]

This is my pick for a suitable strobe.

Lume Cube Anti-Collision Strobe Lighting Universal Drone Light

Fly with peace of mind. This industry-leading anti-collision strobe light ensures that your drone stays federally compliant while capturing mind-blowing footage.

lumecube.com

Apologies to all those "fans" of 'FireHouse Technology' or 'Flytron Strobon' products. My preference is for a product that displays both aesthetic form as well as good function.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

This is my pick for a suitable strobe.

Lume Cube Anti-Collision Strobe Lighting Universal Drone Light

Fly with peace of mind. This industry-leading anti-collision strobe light ensures that your drone stays federally compliant while capturing mind-blowing footage.

lumecube.com

Apologies to all those "fans" of 'FireHouse Technology' or 'Flytron Strobon' products. My preference is for a product that displays both aesthetic form as well as good function.

Not sure about FHT 'fan' . . . yet.
Still to get mine, but I think you need to be sure of how items like this are compared.

Looking at those Lumecube specs and the FHT ARCIIs (because they both have 4 leds), there are some big questions about comparing price, design, and performance between the two.

If the Lumecube strobe works for you that's all that matters, people could certainly opt for the Lumecube strobe if their research shows it to be a good product and value for money.

Did you just get the one, and where did you place it ? (Drone model ?)

 

[Olav van Gerven]

One of the most imprtant things I learned flying a drone: If you think something goes wrong: Leave all the sticks untouched for a moment. The drone will hover and gives you time to regain orientation. Don't panic, say a loud "S..., keep calm!" and then start recovering.
Things like lights etc will help you, but as long a you are in panic mode, you increase the risk of crashing.

 

[twoheadlines]

Price point was definitely an issue. Availability also.
Initially I was looking at importing from the US. However the ridiculously high shipping charges to New Zealand killed that idea.
Fluidity Technologies FTA flight controller was $US90. Not to bulky a package and not really that heavy.
Yuneec Electric Aircraft Typhoon H520 with accessories and soft case, about 5kgs total weight $US95 from China.
Two Lume Strobes, with packaging, less than 400gms $US90 shipping.
So, I have waited - patiently - until this same product has just become available in Australia and bought two from a Sydney shop who has a branch store in Auckland. Total price in $NZ barely more than the $US equivalent plus $NZ5.00 courier charge.
Two Lume Strobes should be delivered before the end of this week.
A no brainer really!

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

However the ridiculously high shipping charges to New Zealand killed that idea.
Two Lume Strobes, with packaging, less than 400gms $US90 shipping.
So, I have waited - patiently - until this same product has just become available in Australia and bought two from a Sydney shop who has a branch store in Auckland. Total price in $NZ barely more than the $US equivalent plus $NZ5.00 courier charge.
Two Lume Strobes should be delivered before the end of this week.

Yep, it's crazy the shipping cost from the US.
I send a fair amount of product to the states, and it's fairly reasonable . . . I would have thought it would be similar the other way . . . maybe it is, and just the $, which today is at it's worst (for us, not U.S, but Aust, NZ etc) for a long long time.

Anyway, I've got 7 items coming, and they are very small and light, should go onto a bubble bag and cost peanuts for a niece to send over.

So you will fit one on top and one underneath ?
That should be reasonable extra vision day / dusk.