Taking pictures of Christmas lights at night from a drone - legal or not?

[theDRONEranger]

The FAA does not specify a measured distance for VLOS for a recreational pilot. But the question you need to answer is “At what distance can I accurately discern my drone?”
Also, strobes are not designed to replace VLOS but rather to enhance it! With that idea in mind, before you turn DRONE loose in the night sky at long distance, start short and learn!

 

[Harold Morgan]

The FAA does not specify a measured distance for VLOS for a recreational pilot. But the question you need to answer is “At what distance can I accurately discern my drone?”
Also, strobes are not designed to replace VLOS but rather to enhance it! With that idea in mind, before you turn DRONE loose in the night sky at long distance, start short and learn!

Which is why I tested with the range I did.

 

[ReadyKilowatt]

Keep in mind that 30 minute window after "civil twilight" is still plenty dark when you're pointing a camera at the ground. Just plan your flight ahead of time to make sure you're landed before your Mavic turns back into a pumpkin!

But agree with other posters that additional lighting is a good idea anyway.

 

[theDRONEranger]

If it is night it must 'technically' be illegal. You could do it in the grey area of twilight just after sunset to have a way out if a federal authority jumped out of the bushes to lay charges...

That said, I am sure BVLOS flights are not legal in many areas and people still post that to YouTube all the time...

BVLOS is not legal anywhere without waiver (107).

 

[theDRONEranger]

Keep in mind that 30 minute window after "civil twilight" is still plenty dark when you're pointing a camera at the ground. Just plan your flight ahead of time to make sure you're landed before your Mavic turns back into a pumpkin!

But agree with other posters that additional lighting is a good idea anyway.

If one intends to fly, recreationally, after dark, it would be of great interest to scope out the area before hand in daylight! Become familiar with the area and potential hazards. One should practice night flights to become familiar with low-light flight activities. Standard and emergency procedures should be of second nature as they are during daylight flights. Pre-planning before actual post “civil twilight” flights can help alleviate potential hazards and produce amazing nighttime photos/videos. I look forward to seeing some of the holiday lighting displays!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all!

 

[dougiefresh27]

Hello,

Is it legal to take photos of Christmas lights at night (after the 30 minute window) from a drone?

What if you were to post such a photo to twitter/fb?

Are you just putting yourself in hot water by doing such a thing?

(Regardless if you have a night waiver or not)


Thanks!

Yup, as a hobbyist, you can fly as long as you have an additional light system that is visible for 3 miles and allows you to see the orientation of the craft. Still, all daytime rules apply. I still think it is odd that a hobbyist can fly at night easier than an part 107 person

 

[theDRONEranger]

Yup, as a hobbyist, you can fly as long as you have an additional light system that is visible for 3 miles and allows you to see the orientation of the craft. Still, all daytime rules apply. I still think it is odd that a hobbyist can fly at night easier than an part 107 person

Quite true, the purpose of the strobes is to enhance your night-time VLOS, but the 3 mile thing is part 107, not recreational.

 

[JJDUN770]

Yup, as a hobbyist, you can fly as long as you have an additional light system that is visible for 3 miles and allows you to see the orientation of the craft. Still, all daytime rules apply. I still think it is odd that a hobbyist can fly at night easier than an part 107 person

A 107 pilot still has the option to fly as a hobbyist.... Just FYI

 

[dougiefresh27]

A 107 pilot still has the option to fly as a hobbyist.... Just FYI

Very true
Thanks for adding this

 

[kevinhooke]

Post #5 is directly from the FAA... that's about as good as it gets.

I'm confused too, I'm sure I read on the faa.gov/uas site about not flying 30 mins after sunset (civil twilight) at least 2 or 3 weeks ago (I'm a new Mavic Air owner so read through all the rules only a couple of weeks back), but I just went back to the site to find where I read that, and now it's definitely not mentioned. In fact I can't find anything about recreational flying at night. If the reply #5 says for recreational flying you're ok, then I guess it's ok - which is awesome because I've been thinking of getting some pics of our lights at night for a while and was worried about that 30 min window.

 

[Meta4]

I am so confused. Know Before You Fly says Do Not Fly At Night. That's it. Do Not Fly At Night. As best I can tell, it doesn't say anything else.
Can you help me better understand?

It's a bit late but the folks that were confusing you are US based and talking about US rules (FAA, 107 etc).
You are on the other side of the Atlantic and your rules are different and set by the CAA.

 

[Phill]

If it is night it must 'technically' be illegal. You could do it in the grey area of twilight just after sunset to have a way out if a federal authority jumped out of the bushes to lay charges...

That said, I am sure BVLOS flights are not legal in many areas and people still post that to YouTube all the time...

CASA monitors you tube here in OZ and have fined a lot of people.
Better not use it in case the FAA etc do the same.

 

[BigAl07]

CASA monitors you tube here in OZ and have fined a lot of people.
Better not use it in case the FAA etc do the same.

Oh you can rest assured there are times with Govt Agencies browse not only YT but all of our Social Media platforms.

 

[Fred Garvin]

 

[dougiefresh27]

Yup, as a hobbyist, you can fly as long as you have an additional light system that is visible for 3 miles and allows you to see the orientation of the craft. Still, all daytime rules apply. I still think it is odd that a hobbyist can fly at night easier than an part 107 person

I think it is odd too that a hobbyist can fly at night especially when they may have less training than 107 people. But I flew tonight to see lights and luminaries. Straight up and straight down.

 

[Phill]

I think it is odd too that a hobbyist can fly at night especially when they may have less training than 107 people. But I flew tonight to see lights and luminaries. Straight up and straight down.

No one is allowed to fly between dusk and dawn here in Oz.

 

[dougiefresh27]

I always wanted to fly at night but after this I lost interest. You can't see your drone at all other than its lights. My only option was to go up then down. Plus, my stuff on the ground was in the dark. All of this makes for very a challenging situation. It's probably best that we shouldn't fly at night unless it is a part 107 here with a waiver.

 

[kevinhooke]

I always wanted to fly at night but after this I lost interest. You can't see your drone at all other than its lights. My only option was to go up then down. Plus, my stuff on the ground was in the dark. All of this makes for very a challenging situation. It's probably best that we shouldn't fly at night unless it is a part 107 here with a waiver.

If you're flying over things that are illuminated then it's an interesting point of view from above, but if not and everything is in the dark, yes I agree, then there's not much point.