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VLOS rule makes flights boring - do you follow it?

When do you follow VLOS rule?

  • Always

    Votes: 101 38.3%
  • Most of the time

    Votes: 86 32.6%
  • Sometimes, in certain situations

    Votes: 42 15.9%
  • Very rarely

    Votes: 26 9.8%
  • Never

    Votes: 9 3.4%

  • Total voters
    264

Yaros

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Hello, I have been flying drones for 1 year now and with my first drone VLOS wasn't a problem, the drone itself was big, bigger than a phantom 4 pro, and the range was limited (about 1 km max at 120 m / 400 ft) and you could see it from very far away.
6 months ago I got myself a mavic air 2, this thing is tiny compared to my older drone and it is only visible until about 400 meters distance.
Almost all of the flights with my Mavic Air 2 have been BVLOS because it's impossible to maintain VLOS.

My first question is: if almost all big aircraft cannot fly lower than 150 meters / 500 feet in Class G Airspace then why bother with VLOS? Especially in my situation when I'm 50 km away from airports and heliports.

Second question is: How many people in the drone community actually follow the rule? Vote in the poll!
 
Hello, I have been flying drones for 1 year now and with my first drone VLOS wasn't a problem, the drone itself was big, bigger than a phantom 4 pro, and the range was limited (about 1 km max at 120 m / 400 ft) and you could see it from very far away.
6 months ago I got myself a mavic air 2, this thing is tiny compared to my older drone and it is only visible until about 400 meters distance.
Almost all of the flights with my Mavic Air 2 have been BVLOS because it's impossible to maintain VLOS.

My first question is: if almost all big aircraft cannot fly lower than 150 meters / 500 feet in Class G Airspace then why bother with VLOS? Especially in my situation when I'm 50 km away from airports and heliports.

Second question is: How many people in the drone community actually follow the rule? Vote in the poll!

"Big Aircraft" can and do fly lower than the stated 150m. You need to account for MediVac, Fire Suppression, Search n Rescue, Utility Inspection/Repair/Construction, Law Enforcement, Crop Inspection/Dusting, Scenic Tours, and a host of other very valid reasons for a manned aircraft to routinely be below 150m.

I fly within VLOS to the best of my ability. There are times when I'll temporarily lose VLOS (behind a building etc) and when I do I will attempt to regain VLOS ASAP to stay within the FAA regulations for such.
 
...Almost all of the flights with my Mavic Air 2 have been BVLOS because it's impossible to maintain VLOS.
This is very similar to keeping the speed limits with your car ... nothing will happen if you doesn't get caught or create an incident. But if you do ... they will nail you hard, & no one will listen or recognize that "a lot of others" over speed also.

My relation ship with the VLOS regulation is similar to @BigAl07 ... my intention & ambition is to obey & if I note that it slipped away out of view I correct immediately.

Then you write in the thread title ... "VLOS rule makes flights boring".

Yeah ... when the first thrill & challenge about flying a (photo platform) -drone have settled it seems that going out to far distances is the only thing to do in order to get that thrill. And if the flying itself, is what you want the thrill from ... then a photo drone isn't the right tool. They are slow, less maneuverable, hate trees 😁 & don't give you any sense of speed in the air ... they are great flying cameras, giving you completely different perspectives for videoing & photography, so if the capturing doesn't alone give you "the thrill" you need to acquire additional tools.

A fully fledged acro quad flown together with friends will give you tons of thrill & bucket loads of challenges ... ridiculously high speeds (my fastest reach 180km/h), an area big as a football field is usually enough for several hours of flying, & all kinds of obstacles is welcomed and nearly mandatory... and the needed heights rarely reach higher than 50m.

If I'm out to capture something with my photo drone I usually try to get really close to it before I launch... not trying to reach it from a far distance.
 
"Big Aircraft" can and do fly lower than the stated 150m. You need to account for MediVac, Fire Suppression, Search n Rescue, Utility Inspection/Repair/Construction, Law Enforcement, Crop Inspection/Dusting, Scenic Tours, and a host of other very valid reasons for a manned aircraft to routinely be below 150m.

I fly within VLOS to the best of my ability. There are times when I'll temporarily lose VLOS (behind a building etc) and when I do I will attempt to regain VLOS ASAP to stay within the FAA regulations for such.


I have an Air 2 and an Air 2S and a MavicPro and only currently fly REC licnese (Need to finish my 107 study and take the test). I am a commercially rated full scale pilot. I'm used to folling the FAA rules.

When I fly I utilize a VO with a nice pair of binoculars (My daughter) and try to maintain VLOS all the timebut occasionally I lose it and the vast majority of times she has it in sight. If she loses it and so do I I work to get back VLOS ASAP. I know a lot of pilots including my Brother In-Law who still flys for FedEX through Polar. We learned in our 20's to not challenge the FAA rules as there is a lot more to lose than to gain when you break the rules or challenge the FAA. They are there for a reason.
 
This is very similar to keeping the speed limits with your car ... nothing will happen if you doesn't get caught or create an incident. But if you do ... they will nail you hard, & no one will listen or recognize that "a lot of others" over speed also.

My relation ship with the VLOS regulation is similar to @BigAl07 ... my intention & ambition is to obey & if I note that it slipped away out of view I correct immediately.

Then you write in the thread title ... "VLOS rule makes flights boring".

Yeah ... when the first thrill & challenge about flying a (photo platform) -drone have settled it seems that going out to far distances is the only thing to do in order to get that thrill. And if the flying itself, is what you want the thrill from ... then a photo drone isn't the right tool. They are slow, less maneuverable, hate trees 😁 & don't give you any sense of speed in the air ... they are great flying cameras, giving you completely different perspectives for videoing & photography, so if the capturing doesn't alone give you "the thrill" you need to acquire additional tools.

A fully fledged acro quad flown together with friends will give you tons of thrill & bucket loads of challenges ... ridiculously high speeds (my fastest reach 180km/h), an area big as a football field is usually enough for several hours of flying, & all kinds of obstacles is welcomed and nearly mandatory... and the needed heights rarely reach higher than 50m.

If I'm out to capture something with my photo drone I usually try to get really close to it before I launch... not trying to reach it from a far distance.


If you want thrill buy yourself a 3D RC Helicopter. They are the most fun you can have with your clothes on!!

The drones are more of a tool than a challenge or thrill.
 
If you want thrill buy yourself a 3D RC Helicopter. They are the most fun you can have with your clothes on!!

The drones are more of a tool than a challenge or thrill.
😁 I don't need any more thrill ... my toolbox is already full of Acro & Racing quads, my Mavic Air is just another camera just as my Canon.
 
Drive a sports car like a Corvette at 65 mph is boring as well but we can't break the law. I mean, you can but you will pay consequences. Same with the drones. Will be fun to drive faster than that but.... It is what it is. Unless FAA changes the rules we need to stick with it.

Every day I find ways to keep this hobby entertained, like discovering new apps, drone links, litchi, Maven, etc.. and do different things with drone-like mapping, 3D modeling, and YouTube videos. Also, Time-Laps is very interesting. Another thing I do is teach kids and adults how to fly for free. I put advertisements offering my free service.

I try to stick to the rules the best I can and encourage everybody to do the same.

Also, the 3D helicopters are amazing. Check this video I created with my buddy flying in West Palm Beach together few years ago.

 
I have an Air 2 and an Air 2S and a MavicPro and only currently fly REC licnese (Need to finish my 107 study and take the test). I am a commercially rated full scale pilot. I'm used to folling the FAA rules.

When I fly I utilize a VO with a nice pair of binoculars (My daughter) and try to maintain VLOS all the timebut occasionally I lose it and the vast majority of times she has it in sight. If she loses it and so do I I work to get back VLOS ASAP. I know a lot of pilots including my Brother In-Law who still flys for FedEX through Polar. We learned in our 20's to not challenge the FAA rules as there is a lot more to lose than to gain when you break the rules or challenge the FAA. They are there for a reason.
You do realize you are busting the regs by utilizing Bincos right?

If you want thrill buy yourself a 3D RC Helicopter. They are the most fun you can have with your clothes on!!

The drones are more of a tool than a challenge or thrill.

While I still do enjoy my R/C helis (I actually have a new micro RC Heli I just got a few weeks ago) I still find flying R/C Planks my most enjoyable "R/C" experience. I love trying to fly as smoothly as possible and when I "grease in" those touch-n-goes I can't help but grin like I did many years ago (1974) learning to fly. I've got a 60 size Cherokee that is so much fun to "grease it in". And for excitement I have an SBACH 540 that is a RUSH to fly and test my flying skills LOL!

3D heli is still fun but to be honest I'm a level 1 on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being Mac Daddy LOL! My mind doesn't "click" quick enough to not "ReKit" if I'm not very careful LOL!
 
I started off with little toy helicopters. They didn’t have gps, or a camera, they didn’t even link to my phone. But they did teach me some valuable lessons; always check the weather and always keep the aircraft within line of sight.

I don’t think flying within line of sight is boring at all. Now that I have the Mavic Mini 1 and Mini 2 , they give me the confidence to fly out a few hundred feet without worrying. But, some of my most memorable, favorite flights were actually very close to my home point.
 
As bigger is the 3D helicopters and Airplanes the easy to flight they are. Many people start with a small 3D helicopter 200-450 size and they are not easy to fly. The perfect since is a 550 that is not too small or too big (expensive).

My recommendation in order to learn to fly airplanes or helicopters is to get the RF simulator. Make you a favor and don't crash real ones. If you learn to fly in the simulator I guaranteed you will fly the same in real life.

 
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...My recommendation in order to learn to fly airplanes or helicopters... learn to fly in the simulator I guaranteed you will fly the same in real life.
Equal for Acro quads ... shell out for a real radio, spend $20 on a sim ... invest 50 hours there, and then you're good to go for real without trashing everything on the first try.
 
Is funny. Always when I crashed my real RC helicopters I always say "Where is my reset bottom" LOL
 
Strobes will really help with VLOS range.

My own focus is pro videography and photography, flying tends to be low and slow! I can see that others doing travel/scenic shots might want more range. Did I mention strobes?
 
If you want thrill buy yourself a 3D RC Helicopter. They are the most fun you can have with your clothes on!!

The drones are more of a tool than a challenge or thrill.
Lol. I have a Blade 450 I don’t dare fly. I can crash my Storm racing drone into a tree at around 50mph so I can just imagine the havoc flying a 3d heli.

Mike
 
Lol. I have a Blade 450 I don’t dare fly. I can crash my Storm racing drone into a tree at around 50mph so I can just imagine the havoc flying a 3d heli.

Mike
Is very different from the orientations. Not only when is facing you. When you fly upside down change the orientation again. You get to the point you just fly without thinking about it. Just natural. But this requires so much crash and cash practice. Again make you a favor and get the simulator first.

The other side of the coin is when R/C goes wrong... Check this compilation that I also did over the years recorded by me. Painful.

 
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You guys want to make flying your drone within VLOS exciting? Email Coal @Phantomrain.org , get yourself a wetsuit and rescue jacket and start flying around waterfalls and in the bad weather. One heck of a rush when you are fighting constantly changing air currents, propwash and thousands of gallons of rushing water trying to take you down. 😉. Seeing all you heli guys on here I think I should put mine up for sale or trade in the classifieds.

Mike
 
Is very different from the orientations. Not only when is facing you. When you fly upside down change the orientation again. You get to the point you just fly without thinking about it. Just natural. But this requires so much crash and cash practice. Again make you a favor and get the simulator first.
I am just gonna sell it off before I get tempted to crash it. I like the drones better. I also have an Mcpx I can’t quite get the hang of but it is fun to crash. Lmao

Mike
 
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