What's with the V? Isn't pretty much any line of sight a visual line of sight? I mean, what else could it be: an auditory line of sight? This is one for the Department of Redundancy Department.
OK. Back to work.
OK. Back to work.
Visual means sight, seeing. As in optical, eye. It means with the eye.Yeah, but “Visual” doesn’t mean “Unaided”. “Unaided” means unaided.
Yup. A satellite is LOS to you on earth. From 36 k's up! (unless you are in a building, or under trees???)
VLOS is close enough for YOU to see with YOUR eyes!!
If the “VLOS rule” were intended to mean that the drone must be visible to the pilot at all times, the “LO” would have been omitted. If you can see where the drone is, you have satisfied the rule, even if it’s too distant to actually see it. Seeing the drone is not the point. The point is that the pilot have absolute knowledge of any and all potential aerial hazards.
I can easily do that out to the range of my MA, though she’s essentially invisible beyond a few hundred yards. Note however that I fly in a barren landscape, not from beneath a canopy of trees that obscures the view everywhere but directly overhead. I have no idea how to interpret VLOS in that situation.
If the “VLOS rule” were intended to mean that the drone must be visible to the pilot at all times, the “LO” would have been omitted. If you can see where the drone is, you have satisfied the rule, even if it’s too distant to actually see it. Seeing the drone is not the point. The point is that the pilot have absolute knowledge of any and all potential aerial hazards.
I can easily do that out to the range of my MA, though she’s essentially invisible beyond a few hundred yards. Note however that I fly in a barren landscape, not from beneath a canopy of trees that obscures the view everywhere but directly overhead. I have no idea how to interpret VLOS in that situation.
That's exactly what it is. From the FAA:
"QQ. Visual Line of Sight (VLOS). Means that any flightcrew member (i.e., remote PIC, the person manipulating the controls, and visual observer, if used) is capable of seeing the aircraft with vision unaided by any device other than corrective lenses, spectacles or contact lenses in order to know the UA’s location, determine the UA’s attitude, altitude, and direction of flight, observe the airspace for other air traffic or hazards, and determine that the UA does not endanger the life or property of another."