Most flights are now averaging over 10 miles completely stock, in an isosceles right triangle, 3 miles to a side, and a 4.25 mile hypotenuse. My vision has improved with age!
What's VLOS?
Believe it or not ... manned aircraft fly much faster than your drone. With FPV goggles, you can’ see faster aircraft that are overtaking you from side or back angles. 50 feet should eliminate most manned A/C issues ... But where I live, sea planes and ultra lights are a real hazzard to safe drone operation even at that level. They are mostly over water.What's VLOS?
Orientation is always in the direction of the FPV when flying forward!
My average maximum height is 50 feet above my launch site, and 80% over water, with unobstructed LOS throughout.
The Autoland at 10% is always able to be overridden with sufficient forward left stick to either hold elevation, or actually even still ascend, if needed, while still navigating back to the Home Point, or a suitable ditch point, if you have bitten off more than you can chew! Try it in a safe location at 30 feet off the ground 20 feet away, if you have no prior experience with it. The P4P and P4 battery algorithms are far more conservative than the P3 battery algorithm. 0% remaining battery will still have all four cells well above 3.5V, instead of at a critical 3.0V where it shuts off as soon as any cell reaches 2.99V, even if in the air!
True, but along the shore around here, they are still required to be 500 feet away from the shoreline, and I am well within that 500 feet. My biggest risk is a bird strike from a sea gull, but the sea gull would likely lose, while the drone will likely recover, with enough altitude. No goggles for me. iPad Air 2 works just fine, and allows me to still keep a lookout for aircraft and line myself up with known landmarks.
See post #8. Eyesight has improved with age
, and VLOS for hobbyists is a guideline, rather than compulsory, as under 107. Signal requires clear LOS and I have a clear view and auditory recognition of all manned aircraft and hazards from my elevated vantage point, and know the area well! Mostly all over water anyway. I suppose one could just fly circles around the home point until the battery died, but that would be very boring and annoy the neighbors! Happy neighbors, happy life! You've got me beat, I'm at 1100 miles. Notice my last flights, Hawaii. I survived the missile threat this morning.
I've done the equivalent of flying to Hawaii, but wouldn't quite have made it all the way back!You've got me beat, I'm at 1100 miles. Notice my last flights, Hawaii. I survived the missile threat this morning.
. Curious though, what equipment and how is it holding up. Always wondered what the reliability of a high mileage drone kit might be.
OK you brought back a memory... my first HDD (which I still own in an Amiga 2000) was 10MB @ $760... back then about 20% were bad sectors out of the box.
Did I mention I have spotters all along the route every time I fly? There are so many I just can't remember all their names at the moment.
I wish! No, that's cummulative since and including the P3P, but over 50% is with completely stock P4P's, since the camera is so much better than any of the P4’s or P3P's.
Or, you could probably just fire it up before boarding a plane, put it in the window, and have it track your progress with the tablet and RC. Might be better on a private plane or jet, as the flight attendants might take issue with your electronic "device" otherwise!
