What happened to my drone after flying in dense fog

[p3-reaerial]

Two weeks ago I flew my drone in a dense fog in a town near home. The scenery captured was epic and well worth it.

 

[flyhighflyfast78]

Nice! Reminds me of a very different experience I had with fog a long time ago... Back when FPV was all about fixed wing and when stabilisers only came in IR-sensing variety... Long story short... discovered that fog confuses the cr&^&p out of IR-based stabilisers... so spent 2 weeks looking for the plane in a forest...

 

[Porky]

I tried that with fog some time ago, no success.. I went up the the max height I’m allowed to fly, well 390ft but never pieced through the fog.

Nice video by the way

 

[Jarda]

I tried that this weekend, it was good. But there was moments when the signal had dropped a lot . But I just flew not far away from me. I was afraid.

 

[LBC970]

Moisture, especially dense moisture such as fog, is known to block or at least absorb radio signals.

 

[Jackcutrone]

While the video is indeed visually appealing, two things 1. Flying through dense fog is going to be throwing a lot of moisture into your drone’s electronics which is not a good thing. I have seen videos of drones that were flown through dense fog not behaving as they should. Do you want to lose control? 2. It shows you were flying above fog and couldn’t keep your drone in sight thus you were violating both LOS rules and also the rule regarding separation from clouds. The rules regarding drones and clouds - 500 feet below, 2000 feet horizontally. Planes flying in visual flight rules have to stay 500 above clouds. The drone rules don’t talk about how far above the clouds you must be because you are not supposed to fly drones above clouds. And fog.is a cloud at ground level. Both are rules for a reason. How do you know whether you are at risk of hitting an airplane? You don’t. I would suggest that when you violate the rules you probably shouldn’t post a video showing it.

 

[Porky]

I tried that this weekend, it was good. But there was moments when the signal had dropped a lot . But I just flew not far away from me. I was afraid.

Nice photo, love the way the fog is just lifting above the tree tops.

 

[Harro]

I agree with the above comments, nice pictures, possible moisture damage to your drone, and most likely very illegal, thus the likely hood of more stringent laws which stuff things up for everyone.

 

[Skinejosh78]

Also know in colder environments, fog will collect on the props and potentially freeze. Ice on the props will change the airflow of the propeller resulting in a loss of lift and possibly worse.

 

[p3-reaerial]

I tried that with fog some time ago, no success.. I went up the the max height I’m allowed to fly, well 390ft but never pieced through the fog.

Nice video by the way

Thanks!

 

[p3-reaerial]

I agree with the above comments, nice pictures, possible moisture damage to your drone, and most likely very illegal, thus the likely hood of more stringent laws which stuff things up for everyone.

No drones where harmed in the making of this video and also no laws where broken

 

[p3-reaerial]

Also know in colder environments, fog will collect on the props and potentially freeze. Ice on the props will change the airflow of the propeller resulting in a loss of lift and possibly worse.

I live in tropical environment so temperature wasn’t that low

 

[Porky]

No drones where harmed in the making of this video

Very good, I like your remark

 

[p3-reaerial]

While the video is indeed visually appealing, two things 1. Flying through dense fog is going to be throwing a lot of moisture into your drone’s electronics which is not a good thing. I have seen videos of drones that were flown through dense fog not behaving as they should. Do you want to lose control? 2. It shows you were flying above fog and couldn’t keep your drone in sight thus you were violating both LOS rules and also the rule regarding separation from clouds. The rules regarding drones and clouds - 500 feet below, 2000 feet horizontally. Planes flying in visual flight rules have to stay 500 above clouds. The drone rules don’t talk about how far above the clouds you must be because you are not supposed to fly drones above clouds. And fog.is a cloud at ground level. Both are rules for a reason. How do you know whether you are at risk of hitting an airplane? You don’t. I would suggest that when you violate the rules you probably shouldn’t post a video showing it.

Great info! But not my case. Where I took off was free of fog and going up and beyond to the points I flew the drone was always in line of sight. Also had an observer with me all the time. I know your concerns but all can be done safely following the establish rules thanks for the comment.

 

[Ctrlx]

Great info! But not my case. Where I took off was free of fog and going up and beyond to the points I flew the drone was always in line of sight. Also had an observer with me all the time. I know your concerns but all can be done safely following the establish rules thanks for the comment.

On the contrary, there are many points in the video where you are clearly in violation of the cloud separation rule. Thanks for posting proof of why they want to enact stricter rules.

 

[Skinejosh78]

On the contrary, there are many points in the video where you are clearly in violation of the cloud separation rule. Thanks for posting proof of why they want to enact stricter rules.

I live in a river valley, mid west where fog is very common. Not only that but right outside Class D airspace municipal airport. I flew my old Phantom above the fog one time and it was pretty cool.... I was just about 110 meters agl. And it came back super wet. Visually out of sight above my property yes. I’ve witnessed some really cool aircraft pass through but well above a measly. I think I would be more worried about the aircraft pilot under altitude.

 

[freefaller500]

The fog where I usually fly is scary. If I fly into the thicker parts my mavic will come out SOAKED with water, lens all fogged up too. But flying on the tops of the fog is usually safe in my case. I had to put my mavic in rice a few times though since one time the fog was so thick it was like breathing water. Fun as heck though. Risky

I was Into freefall parachuting in the seventies and eightys, passing through cloud was like having a shower in the sky, so I would not recomend sending my £1000 investment in there. great pictures though it saves anybody from doing it themselves thanks.

 

[jcross]

No drones where harmed in the making of this video and also no laws where broken

Maybe true if NOT flown in US.

 

[RQdrone]

Two weeks ago I flew my drone in a dense fog in a town near home. The scenery captured was epic and well worth it.

View attachment 52528

Are you in the U.S? If so you busted visibility and cloud clearance rules. You must be 500 below clouds and have 3 miles visibility. Your drone must be in line of sight at all times. You might be legal if you launch from high ground that is above the fog with good visibility. Not sure what the FAA would say about flying out over the fog from there.

 

[ScubaBob]

Two weeks ago I flew my drone in a dense fog in a town near home. The scenery captured was epic and well worth it.

View attachment 52528

Very, very cool and very well done. Thanks for sharing. And you did all this without flying over crowds, flying over a city, flying over an airport, etc. Amazing!