Tell me about UK electricity pylons.

[MoFoHo]

Hello everyone. I'm a new Mavic Pro owner in the UK. I've had it a few days, and it IS taking me a while to get to grips with its complexity I'll admit.

I've had experience with Quad copters before. I had one of the 1st gen Blade 350QXs, (which I also rigged up for FPV) and I've built my own FPV rig, an SK450 Deadcat.

So although I'm very new to DJIs stuff, I have been flying quadcopters, even helicopters for many years now.

The Mavic Pro however is actually the 1st item I've had with the ability to shoot stills/video. It never even appealed to me, until I saw the reviews, and what this amazing piece of tech can do.

I've had a few flights, well away from folks, baby steps.... I'm very slowly getting to grips with the numerous features. It's expensive, so I'm taking things slowly!

I do have a question though. I've always been weirdly fascinated by the electricity pylons here in the UK. I find them, 'creepy' and weirdly beautiful. As an amateur photographer, I often grab shots of them....
...from the ground.

Has anybody photographed them from their Mavic Pro? I'd love to grab a dramatic shot looking straight down at them. But I'll obviously defer to the good peoples (on these forums) experience over any whims of mine.

Any advice, good people?

 

[Gary cato]

No definitive answer from me but i have flown close to them on a number of occasions (always above) i have been as close as 15m and had no ill effects but like i say i wold not use that as justification. best thing would be to find one in an open field and slowly edge towards it and see how it reacts.

i have not had any problems i seem to get more problems with hi wifi interference etc than i have with power lines

 

[MoFoHo]

Thanks for the reply. I'll admit that I'm nowhere near ready to even try flying that high, or doing something so daring just yet. Like I said, baby steps for me. And although I'd love to get out with the MP today, what with last nights events in London, the MP will be staying firmly on the ground today!

 

[Oyibo VFX]

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[MoFoHo]

Ok, so, summer solstice last night, so I took the Mavic up 'kinda' near a big pylon last night. I didn't get too close as it had just rained and was humid, so didn't want to push my luck! No issues really, apart from the remote icon in the app gently blinking (despite also showing full bars). Any ideas? Interference maybe?
I also finally had a play with the active track mode, which is just amazing! The video quality, even at 1080p25 is just incredible on this thing.

I really need to sort out my wonky horizon/gimble don't I?
Hope you like the pictures.

 

[Jenkins]

I do like the pics. And these towers have a nice juxtaposition to them out in the hills.
I also get the flashing controller icon at a place I sometimes fly. There are a couple of cell towers within half a mile or so. I assume that's the cause.
It is quite disconcerting though, having something flashing at you with no explanation.

 

[Pablo]

I flew right through the middle of a pylon once with my P3, completely by accident. Only realised when watching the footage back later on, and it massively freaked me out .

I'm very aware of them now, but I can't say flying through it affected the drone in anyway so if pylons are your thing, fill your boots

 

[4wd]

There is a chance that the EMF radiation interference varies depending on load so caution is always wise regarding where it will go if contact is lost and RTH kicks in.
'The book' tells you not to fly near power lines or phone masts but people are doing it largely without issues.

Any loss of control then collision with the structure which could be embarrassing.
But I suspect this is unlikely to happen in reality
Drone hits power line, causes power outage in CA

 

[Oyibo VFX]

I'm in the business of power generation. Flew over numerous substations and the most dangerous thing are the overhead lines themselves. When energized, 3 feet is normally enough. Radiation is minimal. If so, I would have been fried years ago. When I test with infra red, that is about the distance we test