VLOS rules question

[mallga00]

I am new to posting and I did search for my answer, but did not find it. That may be due to a bad search or something. Here goes: I have a Mini 1, Less that 250g, I was wondering when it comes to LVOS regs, would I be able to fly 400 ft above ground level straight up , for example, because it of it's size I might lose sight of it. I know where it is but at that height I am not sure if I could see it. nay input would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[old man mavic]

@mallga00 it will go up to the 400ft you mention ,and at that height it will be quite hard to see,also you will have to make sure that the flat part of the antennas are pointing towards the drone in order to maintain a good signal connection between the RC and the drone ,and of course if you flew it to 400 ft height and then moved away from the home point you would very quickly struggle to see it
to be honest with you at 400ft the detail that the camera can capture is not the best because of its FOV and you will find over time that around the 200 ft mark is a better height to video and take pics at

 

[MARK (LI)]

I wear glasses to read....but I checked recently and I could see my Mini2 at 160 feet straight up from me ., but at that point I knew that I would lose sight if I went any higher than that....it was a on a nice clear day with no strobe...I think it would be pretty hard to see at all at 400 feet

 

[Chaosrider]

I am new to posting and I did search for my answer, but did not find it. That may be due to a bad search or something. Here goes: I have a Mini 1, Less that 250g, I was wondering when it comes to LVOS regs, would I be able to fly 400 ft above ground level straight up , for example, because it of it's size I might lose sight of it. I know where it is but at that height I am not sure if I could see it. nay input would be appreciated.

Thanks

Just do the test.

Take it up to 100 ft, then 200 ft, etc, and see how far up you can see it.

As long as you can see it, your within VLOS!

TCS

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

..
A strobe will allow you to locate your drone more easily, and allow you to fly to within still safe limits with a smaller drone.

If you get a small but powerful strobe, you can fit to the bottom of your drone, body, arm etc with 3m dual lock velcro.
Easily seen at 400' then, and as far as you can see it laterally (within 'situational awareness' reason).

Strobes like Firehouse Technology ARC / ARCII series are small (a sahme they seem to have dropped the even smaller Dual), also check out the much cheaper but seemingly as effective VIFLY strobe.

White is always best for VLOS.

Here's one from FHT the original ARC clearing . . .

Drone UAS UAV Quadcopter LED Strobe Light

Fully self contained high intensity drone DroneUAS strobe light for quadcopters hexcopters uas rc and uav use.

www.firehousetechnology.com

Here's a link to the VIFLY strobe . . .

Amazon.com

 

[brett8883]

I am new to posting and I did search for my answer, but did not find it. That may be due to a bad search or something. Here goes: I have a Mini 1, Less that 250g, I was wondering when it comes to LVOS regs, would I be able to fly 400 ft above ground level straight up , for example, because it of it's size I might lose sight of it. I know where it is but at that height I am not sure if I could see it. nay input would be appreciated.

Thanks

No. You have to be able to see it with your eyeballs at all times. If you can’t see it with your eyeballs you’ve got to bring it in closer till you do see it.

Simple as that.

 

[Davebacon137]

I had trouble seeing my Air 2. I would suggest buying a bright colored skin. It makes a world of difference.

 

[maelstrom]

I would suggest buying a bright colored skin. It makes a world of difference.

Off topic a little, but the UK Royal Air Force carried out a study into which aircraft colour scheme is best for conspicuity. Perhaps surprisingly, the result was that black aircraft were easier to spot at long range which is why most RAF training aircraft are painted black.

 

[BigAl07]

Unless you're talking relatively close in, the color of the UAS makes little to no difference. After a certain distance (it varies depending on background, light available etc) the UAS becomes a rather dark "dot" regardless if it's white, orange, yellow, purple, black etc.

 

[dave canada]

I wear glasses to read....but I checked recently and I could see my Mini2 at 160 feet straight up from me ., but at that point I knew that I would lose sight if I went any higher than that....it was a on a nice clear day with no strobe...I think it would be pretty hard to see at all at 400 feet

reading glasses area pain when you got 20/20 at 400 yards Or used to be thank the dollar tree fo fixing that for me

 

[Lets Fly]

also you will have to make sure that the flat part of the antennas are pointing towards the drone in order to maintain a good signal connection

On another note Dale I see this said a lot. Pointing the flat part of the antennas toward the drone. My M2Z controller has one flat and one rounded toward the drone, and that makes them fold up together (I have no connection problems). Are there others that have the flat face forward on both? My Mavic air seems to be the same.

 

[Davebacon137]

Off topic a little, but the UK Royal Air Force carried out a study into which aircraft colour scheme is best for conspicuity. Perhaps surprisingly, the result was that black aircraft were easier to spot at long range which is why most RAF training aircraft are painted black.

Interesting

 

[Chaosrider]

..
A strobe will allow you to locate your drone more easily, and allow you to fly to within still safe limits with a smaller drone.

If you get a small but powerful strobe, you can fit to the bottom of your drone, body, arm etc with 3m dual lock velcro.
Easily seen at 400' then, and as far as you can see it laterally (within 'situational awareness' reason).

Strobes like Firehouse Technology ARC / ARCII series are small (a sahme they seem to have dropped the even smaller Dual), also check out the much cheaper but seemingly as effective VIFLY strobe.

White is always best for VLOS.

Here's one from FHT the original ARC clearing . . .

Drone UAS UAV Quadcopter LED Strobe Light

Fully self contained high intensity drone DroneUAS strobe light for quadcopters hexcopters uas rc and uav use.

www.firehousetechnology.com

Here's a link to the VIFLY strobe . . .

Amazon.com

The more I've thought about this, the more convinced I am that I need something physically smaller than the basic Arc's that I have on the Mini-2 butt, to put on the legs. It will make it easier to attach them.

I don't need anything like the 4 hr (IIRC) battery life of the Arc, but I do want something self-contained (own battery). Also, as is frequently the case when shrinking electronics, I'd be content to pay a little more, to get them smaller.

Suggestions?

Thx!

TCS

 

[Chaosrider]

I had trouble seeing my Air 2. I would suggest buying a bright colored skin. It makes a world of difference.

Thanks for the reminder! I have the "Neon" skin from a site someone recommended, but I haven't put it on yet.

Does the skin improve visibility over what you would get from a strobe?

Thx,

TCS

 

[G Saunders]

Try one of the neon colored skins from decalgirl.com or wrapgrade.io. Pick neon orange, green, or yellow. They are entirely un-natural and make it easier to see farther distances. The DecalGirl skins are less expensive and go on quickly, leaving neat seams that show the drone. The WrapGrade skins cost more but they result in an almost painted on result with fewer seams.

I find that these neon skins work better in the daylight than flashy strobe lights.

But, I don't think anything is going to make a Mini visible past a couple or few hundred feet...

 

[Chaosrider]

On another note Dale I see this said a lot. Pointing the flat part of the antennas toward the drone. My M2Z controller has one flat and one rounded toward the drone, and that makes them fold up together (I have no connection problems). Are there others that have the flat face forward on both? My Mavic air seems to be the same.

Perhaps this is because of my wide-open flying area, but I've never paid any attention to the direction of the antennae, and it's never been a problem.

TCS

 

[hiflyer201]

I think LOS means LOS, but I have to say..if you're looking up into the sun that probably means about five feet.
Line of sight should mean, in a perfect world, that you see the drone clearly enough that you know it's orientation and that you would be able to rapidly apply control force in the proper direction to steer it away from danger. We all know that you can't do that with a black dot in the sky or in fact a strobe and that you would have to use the screen to properly direct the drone and by doing that in effect losing all line of sight ...and so it goes.
I of course never ever use the camera view when shooting video. No, I'm pretty sure that is never done by anyone on this forum

 

[Chaosrider]

I think LOS means LOS, but I have to say..if you're looking up into the sun that probably means about five feet.
Line of sight should mean, in a perfect world, that you see the drone clearly enough that you know it's orientation and that you would be able to rapidly apply control force in the proper direction to steer it away from danger. We all know that you can't do that with a black dot in the sky or in fact a strobe and that you would have to use the screen to properly direct the drone and by doing that in effect losing all line of sight ...and so it goes.
I of course never ever use the camera view when shooting video. No, I'm pretty sure that is never done by anyone on this forum

If you can see the dot, you can check the orientation by moving the drone left or right. If it moves left when you move the stick left, then it's pointed away from you. If it moves right when you move the stick left, then it's pointed away from you.

You won't get 1º resolution on the orientation, of course, but that should be more than enough to bring it back...even if the path back does look a bit like a random walk.

I use the camera view all the time. The rule is that you have to be able to see your drone, not that you have to stare at it constantly. That's why FPV without a Visual Observer can be legal (which is different from saying that it's a good idea).

One of the best uses for strobes is to be able to re-acquire it, if you do lose it. As long as you're within your actual VLOS range (1000 ft, in my case), and you know where it is in the sky generally, it's generally pretty easy to re-acquire with the strobe.

And if not...that's what RTH is for!



TCS

 

[Chaosrider]

If you can see the dot, you can check the orientation by moving the drone left or right. If it moves left when you move the stick left, then it's pointed away from you. If it moves right when you move the stick left, then it's pointed away from you.

You won't get 1º resolution on the orientation, of course, but that should be more than enough to bring it back...even if the path back does look a bit like a random walk.

I use the camera view all the time. The rule is that you have to be able to see your drone, not that you have to stare at it constantly. That's why FPV without a Visual Observer can be legal (which is different from saying that it's a good idea).

One of the best uses for strobes is to be able to re-acquire it, if you do lose it. As long as you're within your actual VLOS range (1000 ft, in my case), and you know where it is in the sky generally, it's generally pretty easy to re-acquire with the strobe.

And if not...that's what RTH is for!



TCS

Brain fart.

It's pointing *toward* you if it moves right, when you move the lever left.

Sorry about that!

TCS

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

The more I've thought about this, the more convinced I am that I need something physically smaller than the basic Arc's that I have on the Mini-2 butt, to put on the legs. It will make it easier to attach them.

I don't need anything like the 4 hr (IIRC) battery life of the Arc, but I do want something self-contained (own battery). Also, as is frequently the case when shrinking electronics, I'd be content to pay a little more, to get them smaller.

Suggestions?

Thx!

TCS

Ok this thread is about VLOS fairly close, for sunny situations, not 100% sure if you are after the same strobe advice, or if you want advice for longer VLOS for you the pilot, or VLOS for aircraft to see you day or night.

It probably matters not too much which it is though ?

You really won't find anything smaller, lighter, good battery life (4 x battery easy worth of flights, maybe 6), and low in profile than the Dual or ARCII. Back for buck light output . . . the Vifly strobe looks good, but can't comment on the reliability or comparison to FHT.

I just googled Firehouse Technology Dual strobe, trying to find you a source, and found them still tucked away on their website. (The FHT website is not that good for finding things !)

DJI Strobe Light

Fully self contained high intensity drone DroneUAS strobe light for quadcopters hexcopters uas rc and uav use.

www.firehousetechnology.com

While the FHT ARCII or original ARC are tiny themselves, weight maybe 4 or 6 gms (?) can't recall precisely, the Dual is about 3/4 the size again, and still very visible.



For general nearby attaining VLOS, I would place 1 Dual or ARCII on each side, with velcro, only in the white led.

You will see in the video below that after a short distance away, the colours aren't even very discernible, I think at 500m or so colours don't really stand out clearly in daytime, night is a little different.

White is by far the most visible light (day or night) . . . and ARCII on the back of my Mavic Pro, this one a combo 2 red / 2 white led, you can see these photos showing none strobing on, the red, then the white, and how obviously more visible white is.




Here is my Spark, with a red Dual on the left, a green Dual on the right . . .

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In that video, you can clearly see them strobing on the sides during those gentle turns, even when facing you or pointing away from you.
The ARCII would be so much stronger again, as too if they were white Duals.

I only use velcro to mount strobes, Dual or ACRII, never an issue with these sizes / weights, and you can mount them on the arms / legs of a Mavic no problems.

Here's my Mavic Pro with ARCIIs mounted with velcro, front arm close up red shown, rear the red / white combo.

The latter red / white combo as seen in the photos above with std rear M1P light and each of the strobe colours.




Ha, you might notice I love strobes, or at least having them for flights I feel they will be useful to quickly spot my drone up to maybe 500m to 700m away.
I generally don't go further, once or twice in my 4-1/2 years on the sticks.

If you have any questions about the way I mount mine, or thoughts on other aspects of these 2 types of FHT strobes, feel free to ask.