What is the maximum VLOS you've ever achieved yourself?

[mavic3usa]

Good question! I have done VLOS at 450m +- 1500 ft. 45 minutes before sundown on an Air 2S. I tried DJI standard and this Strobe Lights on the front and rear Motor arms and I could clearly see it but we need to keep reference points if we look elsewhere so that it's easily detected again.

I have a question! If we need to test for Drone transmission issues, do we need to fly? Wouldn't it be better to have the Drone at an advertised transmission distance and try to take off and land in a safe environment kilometres away? My understanding is that it would do the Job safely and save time.

Or, you can do it like this:

 

[Panagiotis Kassavos]

In Greece VLOS is 500m and alt 400ft agl and this license told Open Category!!! Me I have BVLOS and Night Flight license !!!

 

[umanbean]

I have questions for all the max distance seekers, day OR night. Is there a thrill in it? Do you get chill bumps just thinking that you could lose your drone, crash into a neighborhood, run into a tower array, or get hit by a manned AC? Or is it just so that you can say you did it?

If it's just so you brag about it, get a life. If it's for a thrill, get an Avata and fly full-throttle through the woods dodging trees and vines, while filming the whole flight. Now THAT'S impressive!

 

[lensimages]

VLOS is such a big issue for drone pilots, and a lot of times when I'm reading a post about some distance from the pilot, my mind can't help but think, "Is that beyond VLOS?" So, this thread is about polling our community for your max VLOS based on answering these questions:

1. What's your max VLOS?
2. What was the weather and what were the lighting conditions / time of day?
3. What drone were you flying?
4. If you had lights or a custom skin or anything else that you think makes a difference, mention that.

I know I've gotten over 1,000 feet with an Air 2 on a clear day, but now I'm going to actually do a test and see what my limit is and answer my own poll here when I get a chance.

My question is why do some people feel the need to fly their drone those distances, I fly mine to take photographs of sites of historical Interest, like Castles and other types of buildings of the same calibre. I have no need or interest in seeing how far a drone can fly until I lose sight of it, what on earth is the point in that. And drone fliers rant about more restrictive rules. VLOS is there for a reason. SAFETY. Cheers Len

 

[Panagiotis Kassavos]

And don't forget the birds to flying out and near of your Mavic....

 

[mavic3usa]

Not making excuses at all but I'll try to answer that since I'm not one of those "distance" guys. I did it primarily to see how far I could visually see the strobes lights (I think I mentioned Mavic2Zoom) so not lately. I believe I also said 4am which means I wanted to try this when there is least amount of traffic and nobody out and I actually went somewhere that if my drone went down, I could drive there to retrieve it in peace and there would be no one else around at the time (not even police) and with daylight ahead of me. So a couple times with different strobes means long distance flight won't be my first time should it happen [again]. When you go that far, you have to concentrate, you have to work for it, you're under stress and your blood is pumping. I want that to be a first test of "my time and choosing" rather than letting it decide when it's going to me. Ultimately I'm not going to be the expert in long distance flying but it won't be new to me either. It's like a motorcycle or a car, sometimes you open it up and it's better if you've done this before when it happens; but certainly not routine or par for the course.

 

[WanderLost]

VLOS is such a big issue for drone pilots, and a lot of times when I'm reading a post about some distance from the pilot, my mind can't help but think, "Is that beyond VLOS?" So, this thread is about polling our community for your max VLOS based on answering these questions:

1. What's your max VLOS?
2. What was the weather and what were the lighting conditions / time of day?
3. What drone were you flying?
4. If you had lights or a custom skin or anything else that you think makes a difference, mention that.

I know I've gotten over 1,000 feet with an Air 2 on a clear day, but now I'm going to actually do a test and see what my limit is and answer my own poll here when I get a chance.

I fly a Mavic 3 and under the best viewing conditions, I can't reliably see it beyond 1000 feet. Often, I can hear it first coming home LOL.
That said, BVLOS is a real necessity for a lot of survey work. Building and infrastructure inspections and even real estate (you're flying around the back of a building).
In Canada here, Transport Canada is working on new regs that will make BVLOS easier to get permission for - but there will be new requirements and extended tests - so more stuff to do.
I've done surveys on large quarries where the drone was as much as 5000' away. Certainly way beyond sight. But having observers and command of the air space is vitally important for safety.

 

[Dangerly]

As I'm thinking about testing my max VLOS, I am thinking about these things:

1. After a few hundred feet, I can't tell the orientation of the drone. I rely on looking at the view on the RC and also how I've been flying (the flight path) to know the orientation. If I get this wrong, that could be a real problem. Have you ever been in VLOS in terms of being able to see the "dot" of your drone, but not known which way was forward? Did you go left and then right to figure out the orientation? That's happened to me a few times, and so I think it's really important in thinking about VLOS to know how reliably you can tell which way your drone is pointed.
2. I want to set up a camera to record my max VLOS test, but my research shows that a 20/20 human eye effectively has a much greater megapixel resolution than my camera. I guess a telephoto lens would ameliorate that. Anyway, I want to show what the camera sees in my test.
3. If you have corrected vision, it's important how you correct your vision. Contacts vs glasses may make a difference.
4. I've got an aftermarket light too with I think a 2 or 3 mile advertised range, and I'm wondering how effective that light may be during the day? I'll do my test with the light to see if it helps.
5. It makes a big difference whether your drone is against blue sky or clouds.

What a mess this whole VLOS thing is. How many times have you clearly been able to see your drone, then you look at your RC, and when you look up again a few seconds later you can't find it? Could happen at almost any distance. And looking at your RC isn't too different from flying with Goggles, because in both cases you're not looking at your drone. I suppose it's easier to just look up with an RC compared with lifting up your goggles and then looking for your drone. I mention this because I feel like I'm a lot safer with Goggles than without. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

 

[mavic3usa]

^Ha, it reminds me back in the old days when we had a "headless" mode in our drone; where left and right was left and right when looking at the drone from behind and it because right and left when looking at the drone from the front.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Its impossible to not want to test your drone to see if its in working conditon when you get it
I think its important to know that your signal is strong and provides for a more safe flight .

Now I fly over the lake to test my drones , but I wondered what you could do if you lived in the city so here is what I came up with.

Just strap the Drone on top of your car , and find an open rd where you have clear sight and drive as far as you can to test Signal Strength and the Camera . Its not pefect but it may Satisfy .

You can also Practice your Remote Take off from a long distance similar to landing on a Building top and than landing , and taking off again.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. land on the Water

 

[DaveLewin]

Just under 600m. Clear, evening sky.

 

[Donnie Frank]

VLOS is such a big issue for drone pilots, and a lot of times when I'm reading a post about some distance from the pilot, my mind can't help but think, "Is that beyond VLOS?" So, this thread is about polling our community for your max VLOS based on answering these questions:

1. What's your max VLOS?
2. What was the weather and what were the lighting conditions / time of day?
3. What drone were you flying?
4. If you had lights or a custom skin or anything else that you think makes a difference, mention that.

I know I've gotten over 1,000 feet with an Air 2 on a clear day, but now I'm going to actually do a test and see what my limit is and answer my own poll here when I get a chance.

I can see the M300 Pro over a mile away. 2500' is about my record for my P4P (conditions have to be perfect).

D

 

[Solsearcher]

With all due respect, I find that impossible to believe, unless your definition of "see" is a wee spec on the horizon....and even then I don't think so.

 

[Dangerly]

Its impossible to not want to test your drone to see if its in working conditon when you get it
I think its important to know that your signal is strong and provides for a more safe flight .

Now I fly over the lake to test my drones , but I wondered what you could do if you lived in the city so here is what I came up with.

Just strap the Drone on top of your car , and find an open rd where you have clear sight and drive as far as you can to test Signal Strength and the Camera . Its not pefect but it may Satisfy .

You can also Practice your Remote Take off from a long distance similar to landing on a Building top and than landing , and taking off again.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. land on the Water

I'm not 100% sure of this, but I don't think that would be a good test because the signal strength is usually much weaker when the drone is close to the ground because of all the obstacles in the way. Maybe taking a boat out on a lake rather than a car might be a better test? Just a gut level thought here.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

The lake is #1 no matter boat or flight over the water , but in the city , thinking apartment dweller if they had no lake. . . High Rise apartments work great . Leve with the Drone worked well also as long as you could see the top of the drone on the way out .

I got about 10,000 ft easy peasy and that was good enough to check the drones abilities were in tact.

I used the Lunar pad to keep it strapped in than strapped the Lunar pad to the top of the Truck .
worked incredibly well.





Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water

 

[Wreckhunter]

3.2 miles at night, clear, 3 Firehouse strobes. One on top, one on bottom and one on the rear. The test was to see if Pilot Institute's review was correct in stating you could see it at 3 miles. You can. Had an observer with me and we could both see the strobes at 3.2 miles. Mavic 3 Classic. We were viewing the drone from the rear.

2350 feet,Autel Lite+,in orange color,but you can't see the orange at that distance.
The Autel is a rather large drone which helps.

 

[PunaPhantom]

Keep in mind that VLOS is more than just "seeing" a dot or a light on the horizon. You need to be able to tell the attitude, altitude, direction of flight of the aircraft, be able to know its location (including in relationship to other traffic). You also need to be able to verify that you're not flying over people/moving vehicles.
1000-1500 feet during the day is likely to be the max based on the human eye capability for an average size Mavic-type drone.
Also, adding lights to the aircraft for the sole purpose of seeing it from a distance goes against "with vision that is unaided by any device".
Check out 14 CFR § 107.31 - Visual line of sight aircraft operation. for more detail.

What you are saying is true, however in a controlled demonstration with a Mavic and Phantom 3 the following was determined...
Flight During the Day


In testing, it was discovered that compliant flight was complicated. There were several issues that impacted flight distance.


If the VO lost contact with the aircraft, the drone had to be flown back towards the VO to regain contact and CFR 107.39 compliance.


For the Mavic and Phantom 3 the total flight distance under the best of circumstances was less than 1,250 feet if the aircraft was above 200′ Above Ground Level (AGL).


If VLOS was lost with the aircraft, it was unable to be accurately recaptured until it was within a 450 foot to 900 range from the VO and/or PIC if they were closely colocated.




And at night:
Night flight distances would be no higher than 40 feet or further than 65 feet from the VO, even with strobes on during flight.



What the Testing and Data Tell Us


Put your beliefs aside for a moment and just try to square the facts with reality. CFR 107.31 requires us to maintain those required observational items to be compliant with VLOS flight. COAs and even a Tactical BVLOS waiver all require VLOS by a VO if the aircraft is BVLOS for the pilot.


Night flight distances would be no higher than 40 feet or further than 65 feet from the VO, even with strobes on during flight.


During the day flight should not be more than 1,200 feet if you are using a VO that has not lost contact. If you are flying as a Part 107 pilot without a VO, you are required to maintain VLOS at all times but if you do look away, testing data showed that the safe flight distance was 400′ AGL and about 500′ from the responsible party watching the aircraft.

 

[baddog]

VLOS is such a big issue for drone pilots, and a lot of times when I'm reading a post about some distance from the pilot, my mind can't help but think, "Is that beyond VLOS?" So, this thread is about polling our community for your max VLOS based on answering these questions:

1. What's your max VLOS?
2. What was the weather and what were the lighting conditions / time of day?
3. What drone were you flying?
4. If you had lights or a custom skin or anything else that you think makes a difference, mention that.

I know I've gotten over 1,000 feet with an Air 2 on a clear day, but now I'm going to actually do a test and see what my limit is and answer my own poll here when I get a chance.

These are all daylight VLOS
Varies with dorne and sky conditions but not by much.
I wear contacts as well.

Matrice 300 RTK: ~2500ft
Phantom 4 Pro V 2.0: ~2000
Mavic 3 Multispectral: ~1500ft
Mavic 2 Pro: ~1200ft

 

[Sledman]

I'm not sure the distance, but the longest was after dark or at dusk due to being able to see the OEM lights and the strobe I added.

 

[DARKSeifer]

VLOS is around 150 meters or so with a "big" drone like the Mavic 3, less with a <250g.

As stated here, it's not just seeing the dot, is clearly seeing the drone, it's arms, it's attitude, orientation, etc instantly. VLOS is like you were flying a model airplane/copter, even if you look at the screen, you must instantly locate the drone in the sky when looking up again.

If you don't see its orientation, if you have to guess its location, if it takes some time for you or the observer to find it on the air, if it's only a dot in the distance, if there are obstructions between you and the drone, if there's fog, etc it's not VLOS.

The max distance I've achieved on a Mavic 3 (not VLOS, just seeing the dot) was around 700m on daylight and around 3Km at night.

My personal long range trip record is 9.040 m, but I usually stay under a 3Km radius, and in general I only fly VLOS when I want to use the drone in situations like, for example, taking pics or video near people involved in a photoshoot or inspecting a roof for damage.

VLOS in Euorpe is limited to 500m not because you are expected to see a <900g drone attitude and orientation at that distance, but because the maximum weight you can fly in the open category is 25Kg and such a big drone could obviously be in VLOS at 500m.

So in to stay legal in Europe in areas where you know there's an Aeroscope listening, you just limit the drone to 500m and if anyone asks, you were always on unobstructed VLOS.

PS: The easiest way for you to learn what is VLOS is the following. Pick the RC-N1 and fly your drone without plugging in your phone (regular controls and RTH will still work, don't panic); that's VLOS.