VLOS ?

[Fergy]

I watch many many videos of Drones obtaining beautiful footage of the country side and in MOST cases they are way beyond VLOS. When flying my Drone I lose sight at about 300m so at that range I am very limited in getting the footage I really want from my Drone, my drone (MA2) has this great technical ability but by law I am restricted in how I wish to use it.
I would be interested in all honesty how many pilots do fly by using their device only?

 

[Cobra193]

I watch many many videos of Drones obtaining beautiful footage of the country side and in MOST cases they are way beyond VLOS. When flying my Drone I lose sight at about 300m so at that range I am very limited in getting the footage I really want from my Drone, my drone (MA2) has this great technical ability but by law I am restricted in how I wish to use it.
I would be interested in all honesty how many pilots do fly by using their device only?

Unfortunately, this going to be a high number. And most of those that would/do fly BVLOS, don’t understand why that’s even a rule. The proof in that is look at some comments made by those people. They’ll say things like ‘I can see my drone at 2000 ft’.

The whole point of the rule is that, in the event of systems failure (gps, video feed etc..) you need to be able to fly it home while in full control.

Having said that, it’s a silly rule if you’re in the middle of nowhere. If you lose control because you were too far away, I dont see how that puts anyone else in danger.

 

[Jeff A]

I think you have posed an interesting question but I have to wonder how many people will be inhibited to answer because it would be an admission of guilt. I'll be interested to read the responses.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

We just introduced the Air 2 Rescue jackets and realized we can get almost 2800 ft VLS when geared up with one over the lake.
The Jackets were designed for remote landing on the Water but I am seeing added the Benefit of VLS

The Rescue Jacket weighs in at 3 ounces and offer a surprising added benefit.
So much so that I might add some extra colors .

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mavic in and out of the Storm.

 

[Cobra193]

We just introduced the Air 2 Rescue jackets and realized we can get almost 2800 ft VLS when geared up with one over the lake.
The Jackets were designed for remote landing on the Water but I am seeing added the Benefit of VLS

The Rescue Jacket weighs in at 3 ounces and offer a surprising added benefit.
So much so that I might add some extra colors .

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mavic in and out of the Storm.

Well that didn't take long.

 

[dronerdave]

They’ll say things like ‘I can see my drone at 2000 ft’.

The whole point of the rule is that, in the event of systems failure (gps, video feed etc..) you need to be able to fly it home while in full control.

I usually can see my quad at 2000+ feet using strobes. Also the OP should understand that up until a year or so ago there was no hard limit rule about VLOS. Lot's of old videos out there. Still I see plenty of newer videos breaking VLOS rules currently in place.

 

[old man mavic]

this subject has been and still is a bone of contention for many people ,it does not matter how good or bad your eyesight is ,VLOS is a requirement imposed on us by legislation
a persons VLOS distance is dependant on many things apart from how good their eyesight is,weather conditions,background colouration being just a couple
i quite often loose sight of my drone when i am out at around 1000ft, i am watching it ok, then i look down at the screen to compose a shot or check my status levels on the screen,
and when i look back up to see the drone I struggle to find it, my method of helping to regain VLOS, is to have two white strobes on the front legs ,so if i cant reestablish VLOS i yaw the drone till it is facing me and then i am able to see the strobes flashing

 

[THE CYBORG]

I am also guilty of the look down at the screen then look back up and where’s it gone.

 

[Dale D]

I watch many many videos of Drones obtaining beautiful footage of the country side and in MOST cases they are way beyond VLOS. When flying my Drone I lose sight at about 300m so at that range I am very limited in getting the footage I really want from my Drone, my drone (MA2) has this great technical ability but by law I am restricted in how I wish to use it.
I would be interested in all honesty how many pilots do fly by using their device only?

As I get older, I get closer! When I started with my red Mavic Air (1) 3 years ago, I totally depended on RTH and flew out of sight regularly. After a crash, I reined it in a bit. Then I discovered that I really did not need long, drawn out video clips, which become boring after 3-6 seconds of footage. Now I have evolved to almost always keeping the drone (Mavic 2 Pro) near me, above me, etc. I find that in a 15 second period of time I can usually capture the footage segment that I need to add to my "assets" folder for later compilation of a 3 minute video presentation.

 

[Jet skier]

I think you have posed an interesting question but I have to wonder how many people will be inhibited to answer because it would be an admission of guilt. I'll be interested to read the responses.

I for one think it is way too dangerous to take your eyes away from the display. Period

 

[Brockrock]

The history of the 'VLOS' concept (and rule) predates multi-rotor copters with HD cameras mounted on them by many, many years, and up until the advent of these copters, flying outside of VLOS was never even considered, and if it did occur, it was generally a very big mistake that did not end very well at all. What I am referring to is RC aircraft that were mostly fixed wing in style, and they had no camera mounted on board. It was - and still is - critical that the operator of these aircraft could see them while in flight. Without being able to do so, they became a serious collision risk, and this fact was only further compounded by the fact that the operator now had no idea what the attitude of the aircraft was when out of sight - nose up, nose down, full on spin...

If we did not have a camera on our drone, would any of us fly outside of VLOS? Well, maybe some would once or twice...... But seriously, there would be no reason to, and I think everyone can agree that it would be foolhardy to do so.

 

[old man mavic]

very much agree with you on VLOS i suppose in some ways the progress that has been made by offering the technology to enable the latest FPV drone and camera equipped aircraft to
fly way beyond VLOS ,has been akin to putting the cart before the horse, but the same reasons for VLOS, orientation, direction and spacial awareness ,and the ability to relate to other aircraft in the sky has not really changed

 

[itsneedtokno]

I for one think it is way too dangerous to take your eyes away from the display. Period

Uhhh, landing maybe? Bird check?

Just my thoughts.

To each their own.

 

[old man mavic]

Uhhh, landing maybe? Bird check?

Just my thoughts.

To each their own.

he was teasing, to see if anyone took him to task i think and hope

 

[itsneedtokno]

he was teasing, to see if anyone took him to task i think and hope

I'm with you. I'm hoping he was joking.

 

[JohnChap]

Legislation should be challenged, I have tried with our national authorities on this matter. Without success, but if more people challenged them, then they might change it. I told them that after take off I look at the screen and I bet every other drone flier does also. If you are taking photos or videos how are you supposed to do that while looking at the craft? And if you are looking at the screen, which gives a far better indication of the surroundings than looking visually, then might as well fly as far as the connection allows. Sometimes I have lost connection or something but I just take it up higher out of harms way or leave it where it is while resolving the issue.

 

[Jet skier]

I'm with you. I'm hoping he was joking.

I totally agree with you with the landing and birds and any other good reason but still think it is far safer to watch the display

 

[Jet skier]

You get far better depth perception when looking at the screen, every time I’ve crashed drone it has been by flying visual line of sight looking at the drone believe it or notLike the previous oP wrote you get a far better picture of your surroundings through the display when you are passed 100 feet or whatever

 

[Fun Flyer]

Something I don’t see mentioned here Is the use of an observer. Can the drone operator not have someone observe the drone visually while he/she deals with whatever needs doing on the display? This would allow for maintaining VLOS by the observer, while the operator concentrates on capturing video or still photos.

 

[old man mavic]

yes it is obligatory to have an observer within earshot of the pilot when using goggles to fly the drone ,but that does not improve how far the drone can be seen by the observer ,because of their size the drone is at some point going to be so small that it cant be seen with the naked eye