What's the point (VLOS)?

[CraigVMN]

One of the features promoted by manufacturers, and considered by buyers, is how far away you can fly a drone. With VLOS being of importance (required?), what is the point of a drone that can be operated 2+ kilometers away from the pilot?

Beyond 100 meters I only know where the drone is by looking at what the camera is sending back to my phone.

 

[DoomMeister]

One of the features promoted by manufacturers, and considered by buyers, is how far away you can fly a drone. With VLOS being of importance (required?), what is the point of a drone that can be operated 2+ kilometers away from the pilot?

Beyond 100 meters I only know where the drone is by looking at what the camera is sending back to my phone.

Get a larger aircraft?

I’m not being facetious. The larger the aircraft is the farther the unaided eye can see it as more than a pinpoint in the sky. My present aircraft measures 480mm across by about 260mm height (see avatar).

The more robust the connection is the less likely you are to have loss of control and video feed. My first drone only had a WiFi connection for control and video feed. At 100 meters it was still very visible to the unaided eye, but aircraft control and video feed were very laggy.

 

[FLDave]

What is point of extreme ranges? I think it's more of a market claim to be better than the competition or older models. Does it have practical significance for a pilot flying true VLOS controlling the aircraft? I don't think so.

 

[old man mavic]

@CraigVMN ,really my dear fellow flyer,300ft and cant see your drone ,with all due respect maybe a visit to an optician might be in order i have not got the most amazing eyesight ,but i can see my Mini drones up to at around 800ft ,and my MPP up to about 1200ft
the fact that the drones range is promoted by the manufacture's,is purely what could be possible in perfect conditions ,and is similar to the way that vehicle makers give a range that the vehicle could go on a full tank ,its never really numbers that could be achieved in real world conditions
the VLOS distance rules are of no interest to the drone maker ,its you the pilot who decides whether or not you want to follow them ,but there may come a day, when distances from the pilot , will be arbitrarily enforced ,and the drone ,will just not go any further ,and that would be unfortunate ,VLOS is different for each individual pilot ,dependant on their vision and the flying conditions affecting visibility

 

[vindibona1]

@old man mavic et al
How far you can see your drone with your naked eye depends on a few things. Sky brightness is an important factor. Drone color can come into play as I would suspect an orange Autel would be easier to keep sight of than the DJI neutral gray. STROBES during the daylight are a significant factor, increasing the visual distance from 400'-600' to around 1600'. And even then, if the sky is very bright you the visual distance of a strobe mounted drone might be much less.

I think the point of VLOS is that when flying the camera only sees one direction; forward. The drone can be maneuvered sideways and backwards and can easily crash into things that you can't see from the camera view. Of course if you're in wide open territory markedly higher than anything in the area, the rule, other than being a rule is irrelevant. But the rule was put there because of stupid people who do stupid things, and thus the VLOS rule was imposed for all people and situations because of that small minority of stupid people.

Many pilots see the VLOS rule in similar terms to the speed limit on the open road. You know when driving on some roads 80mph is safe even though the speed limit is 55mph- and (should) know when it isn't. It's a matter of risk assessment and management. And while the rule seems set in stone, I don't see the FAA coming after anyone for flying 5km out on the Mojave desert.

 

[CraigVMN]

@CraigVMN ,really my dear fellow flyer,300ft and cant see your drone ,with all due respect maybe a visit to an optician might be in order

If I fly out above trees, or above a building...in bright light, or if the drone gets "lost in the background" then yes, loss of sight can come very quickly.

 

[Vic Moss]

That's like advertised top speed in a Corvette.

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

But it's also an example of signal strength. Something that claims a long distance would have better signal strength, thus meaning less interference in urban environments.

 

[Chaosrider]

One of the features promoted by manufacturers, and considered by buyers, is how far away you can fly a drone. With VLOS being of importance (required?), what is the point of a drone that can be operated 2+ kilometers away from the pilot?

Beyond 100 meters I only know where the drone is by looking at what the camera is sending back to my phone.

If you put an Arc V strobe on it, you'll be able to see it a great deal farther than that!

 

[edcMavicPilots]

VLOS is a requirement in certain countries but not all. It implies relative signal strength for the controller and the drone. It is also obviously a bragging point for marketing.

 

[Ralph thompson]

Drones do fly beyond visual line of sight ( BVLOS) but in Canada you must get a special flight operations certificate (SFOC) from transport Canada. Abide by those rules and you can fly as far as the SFOC permits

 

[Lets Fly]

One of the features promoted by manufacturers, and considered by buyers, is how far away you can fly a drone. With VLOS being of importance (required?), what is the point of a drone that can be operated 2+ kilometers away from the pilot?

Beyond 100 meters I only know where the drone is by looking at what the camera is sending back to my phone.

If it works great at 2 miles, I should have no problems at 2,000 feet. We all have some exceptions to the rule (in our minds). I've gone out two miles over the ocean, but many factors can influence signal.

 

[Chaosrider]

VLOS is a requirement in certain countries but not all. It implies relative signal strength for the controller and the drone. It is also obviously a bragging point for marketing.

Interesting.

What countries don't have a VLOS requirement?

Thx.

 

[Chaosrider]

Drones do fly beyond visual line of sight ( BVLOS) but in Canada you must get a special flight operations certificate (SFOC) from transport Canada. Abide by those rules and you can fly as far as the SFOC permits

This is very interesting.

I know you can get waivers to fly BVLOS in the US, but I've never done it, and I heard the process of getting the waiver is like a slow root canal.

How easy is it to get the SFOC in Canada?

Thx.

 

[Chaosrider]

If it works great at 2 miles, I should have no problems at 2,000 feet. We all have some exceptions to the rule (in our minds). I've gone out two miles over the ocean, but many factors can influence signal.

There's anecdotal evidence to suggest that in the rare cases where the FAA firmly enforces VLOS cases, they only do so in egregious cases. That same anecdotal evidence suggests that the FAA presumes you are flying BVLOS when you are more than 2 km (=1.2 mi, =6562 ft) away, but that it's a rebuttable presumption if you stay within 2 km, and that, as a practical matter, they don't enforce the VLOS rule at less than 2 km at all if you're not in a congested area.

So I stick Arc Vs on my drones, and set the max distance to 6562 ft, and I never go beyond that. I set that as the max distance in DJI Fly. The vast majority of the time, I never even fly half that distance.

Living in a canyon, there's really only one direction where I can maintain VLOS at that distance. The control signal is a different story. With my FPV and Mini-2s, the signal is fine at that distance. With the Mini-1 and Mini-SE, the signal starts to degrade beyond about 2500 ft in this environment. But I'm a stickler for signal strength...I consider 4 bars to be a degraded signal!

YMMV

 

[Zeprider]

DJI and I'm sure other manufacturers market their products using lingo that implies certain flight distances. But, given the laws regarding drones I don't see them advising traveling great distances in a straight line. It's probably more about battery longevity.

You can still fly VLOS and rack up 5,280ft (1mi) or more going in circles.

 

[edcMavicPilots]

Interesting.

What countries don't have a VLOS requirement?

Thx.

I don't remember. If I am going to some other country I'll search for it then. Searching if I'm not going somewhere doesn't do me any good.

 

[Pilot Adam]

@CraigVMN ,really my dear fellow flyer,300ft and cant see your drone ,with all due respect maybe a visit to an optician might be in order i have not got the most amazing eyesight ,but i can see my Mini drones up to at around 800ft ,and my MPP up to about 1200ft
the fact that the drones range is promoted by the manufacture's,is purely what could be possible in perfect conditions ,and is similar to the way that vehicle makers give a range that the vehicle could go on a full tank ,its never really numbers that could be achieved in real world conditions
the VLOS distance rules are of no interest to the drone maker ,its you the pilot who decides whether or not you want to follow them ,but there may come a day, when distances from the pilot , will be arbitrarily enforced ,and the drone ,will just not go any further ,and that would be unfortunate ,VLOS is different for each individual pilot ,dependant on their vision and the flying conditions affecting visibility

Know your situation. Avoid complacency at the end of the day.

 

[peterc4]

Here we go

 

[SpitFire]

Since you are a new member, valid question. I am following the FAA agreement to fly safely by completing the UAS safety TEST. (TRUST). Recreational flyers must make this certificate available to FAA or law enforcement officials upon request. I have been flying VLOS, ever since I got my drones. Have strobes, reflective tape, to keep track of where it is in the Sky. I personally have no desire to fly long distance.

 

[Cymru]

One of the features promoted by manufacturers, and considered by buyers, is how far away you can fly a drone. With VLOS being of importance (required?), what is the point of a drone that can be operated 2+ kilometers away from the pilot?

Beyond 100 meters I only know where the drone is by looking at what the camera is sending back to my phone.

A robust signal means better quality download data and more resistance to interference, terrain and so on.

VLOS is all about detect and avoid. You're flying a modified form of VFR which means you need to be able to see the drone, and the 3d space around it, including depth perception, to be able to see and react to any potential hazard, traffic or other issue.
You don't have that (any!) situational awareness on a tiny, 2D, forward facing only camera on a screen.

If >100m you only know where your drone is by looking at the camera then you've already lost the required situational awareness, are not operating within VLOS and therefore illegally and unsafely.