An Amazing Flight with a Question

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Greetings to all fellow droners out there…

I just have to share the fabulous weekend I had.

For my 5th time flying my P4 I took it to a huge empty field situated in front of a huge campsite that wasn’t open for business yet. Started off flying the usual stuff I had been doing up until then, that is putting the drone up to about 20 feet and doing the rectangle/circle routine. And then I got brave. I kept edging it up to 50m or 164’, flew it out just a bit then hit the RTH. I stopped shaking when I saw her coming down above me and making a perfect landing. And so now armed with a lot more confidence I put it back up there and started pushing it away from me, over the campsite and continued to the beach, but not over the water. (I wasn’t THAT brave) From where I stood to the beach was approximately one half a kilometer. Hit the RTH and here she came, right back to where she took off. I’m not sure if every new pilot experienced the amazing feeling I had from doing something like this for the first time but I can certainly say that I was doing the happy dance with gusto. But I was left with a question.

I read very often here that you’re supposed to keep your drone in your LOS. How can I expect to see my drone a half kilometer away? I can’t even hear my drone when it’s 50 meters high and directly above me, let alone see it!

Perhaps I am missing something or not understanding this LOS thing? Perhaps a proper explanation would help me out?
 
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I read very often here that you’re supposed to keep your drone in your LOS. How can I expect to see my drone a half kilometer away?
LOS (Line Of Sight) doesn't mean you can see your drone. It means there are no obstacles between the drone and remote controller. That's important so the remote controller signal is not broken.

VLOS (Visual Line Of Sight) means you can see your drone. In many countries, the law states drones must be flown within VLOS.
 
And so I guess these drones should become illegal to own seeing as they can go much higher and much further away from it's operator's VLOS? Shouldn't DJI be required by law to manufacture their drones so that they adhere to the regulations? I'm still confused.
 
And so I guess these drones should become illegal to own seeing as they can go much higher and much further away from it's operator's VLOS? Shouldn't DJI be required by law to manufacture their drones so that they adhere to the regulations? I'm still confused.
Some cars can exceed speed limits. Would you suggest the same for them?
 
Some cars can exceed speed limits. Would you suggest the same for them?
Maybe it's coming. Here in Canada large tractor trailer trucks are required to have a device that limit's their speed to 105 k/h on major highways.

I wasn't suggesting... I was asking questions about something that I don't understand.:worried:
 
I bought some strobe lights to help me spot my Drone when it's further away.
Hmmm... something that I must look into. But if your drone is always in your VLOS, as the law states is pretty clearly, why would you need strobe lights? Again... I'm just asking questions about something I don't understand.
 
Strobe lights are also useful for people why fly at night and/or in darker conditions (e.g. dawn/dusk).
 
Point well taken. I think that if I had known that I had to fly under this VLOS rule - my bad for not doing more research on it - I wouldn't have spent all the money it cost me to buy my Phantom. My interest in the hobby piqued after watching all the YouTube videos showing pilots flying their drones miles/kilometers away from their takeoff location, seeing things and places that could never be seen with the naked eye. I guess it's back to the rectangle/circle maneuvers. I really don't want to get a fine for flying my drone out of my VLOS.:( And once I get completely tired and bored with this I should be able to get at least some of my money back by putting it on eBay. Oh well... live and learn from your mistakes I guess.:sob:
 
My visual contact goes further when there is a really bright flashing light on it. Front and back different colors for orientation

Agreed. Sometimes at altitude under bright sunlight skies, even in VLOS, my white Phantom can "disappear" for brief moments. During those times, the strobes helps me pinpoint its location.
 
My visual contact goes further when there is a really bright flashing light on it. Front and back different colors for orientation
And where did you buy these strobe lights? Great idea!

Does it interfere with video or picuture quality, color or clarity???

LOL! Sounds like I am talking about diamonds...
 
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STROBON Cree lights are one of the most popular strobe light models. You can find more details about them here.


They should not negatively affect the picture quality.

They do not affect picture quality - except a dusk. If you are doing video at dusk, it is a problem. But then so is the low quality low light performance of the camera (do give it a break, it's a weeny little thing, the REDs and Arris's that can do low light cost as much as your car).

Stills usually isn't a problem even low light. If you get a flash that does show up, shoot another picture.

The new 4 light units are so bright that they hurt to look at at close range.
 
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Point well taken. I think that if I had known that I had to fly under this VLOS rule - my bad for not doing more research on it - I wouldn't have spent all the money it cost me to buy my Phantom. My interest in the hobby piqued after watching all the YouTube videos showing pilots flying their drones miles/kilometers away from their takeoff location, seeing things and places that could never be seen with the naked eye. I guess it's back to the rectangle/circle maneuvers. I really don't want to get a fine for flying my drone out of my VLOS.:( And once I get completely tired and bored with this I should be able to get at least some of my money back by putting it on eBay. Oh well... live and learn from your mistakes I guess.:sob:

Before you take that mind set consider this: You are way more likely to get a FINE for flying to HIGH over 400 Ft than you ever will be for flying out to far.. That is just a fact.

We fly wearing the Phantom Rain Wet Suit about 2500 to 3000 ft VLOS and you can see in the video below. Its not miles but its a great adventure none the less in a straight line out. We posted this video the other day of what a 2300 ft flight looks like .

So if you want to fly a 3000 ft circle there is no problem with that , but what you do not want to do is FLY over 400 ft that is where are all the NEGATIVE attention is;


You can have a blast with your drone and you do not have to go for miles or into the clouds to have an adventure.

I never worry about how far I fly out ever , because that is so subjective but the HEIGHT rule is serious.
I choose not to fly out any further than 3000 ft as there is a greater chance I will loose the drone ability to come back safely.


I remember when everyone said you cannot Fly in the Rain, or the Snow or the Extreme Cold , Or the extreme Heat, and the Phantom Rain Wet Suit proved that not to be True so have a blast , push the envelope and dont
go over the 400 ft height level and you will be fine.

What does get boring is always flying high< that video can get boring really fast, better to keep it low, the lower the better as long as you do not crash.


Notice how much more dramatic the video is staying low , , The truth is some of these members will try to spoil all the fun for you , and dont let that happen . COMMON SENSE goes a long way in the real world.

There a a lot of video we do not post with the Lightning in the Thunder Storms as everyone and there brother will say how UNSAFE it is. lol
I would love for the Drone to get Struck by Lightning and explode as long as I capture it on video , it would be EPIC.

If you gong to fly at night than having a Strobe light is great , but in the day , it will not provide you with a much better visual at all.

If you want to fly further out , Than Change the color of your drone to Black or Black and Red , we offer both.


Ok hopefully you will find some enjoyment in the sport and I will be waiting for the next Super Storm to come rolling in off the lake.

Approved Vendor:
Phantom Rain.org

drone 2300 ft.png



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The furthest away I could fly my Phantom while still maintaining VLOS was slightly more than 500 meters (1500 feet). I could then still see it as a tiny dot in the sky, as long as I never shifted my gaze and hardly blinked.

For flight safety, being able to see a white speck or twinkle of light in the sky is no more safe than flying beyond VLOS using the onboard camera only. Not being able to judge the drone's altitude, its proximity to other objects or even which direction it is facing is utterly pointless. Sure, I can claim that I am following the Swedish national rules, but in reality that is just words and pure nonsense.

From the safety point of view, VLOS means a max distance of 200-300 feet away from you, so you can at a glance judge the aircraft's altitude, speed and direction and actually FLY the thing.

Most often that is in fact how I fly, especially when I want to take some nice footage of a church, bridge, windmill, river, waterfall or lake. But sometimes I also fly as far as 2-3 kilometers out for broad landscape photography, and since I am not doing anything monumentally stupid like flying between buildings or swooping low above busy highways, I am not too worried about breaking the VLOS rule.
 
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The furthest away I could fly my Phantom while still maintaining VLOS was slightly more than 500 meters (1500 feet). I could then still see it as a tiny dot in the sky, as long as I never shifted my gaze and hardly blinked.

For flight safety, being able to see a white speck or twinkle of light in the sky is no more safe than flying beyond VLOS using the onboard camera only. Not being able to judge the drone's altitude, its proximity to other objects or even which direction it is facing is utterly pointless. Sure, I can claim that I am following the Swedish national rules, but in reality that is just words and pure nonsense.

From the safety point of view, VLOS means a max distance of 200-300 feet away from you, so you can at a glance judge the aircraft's altitude, speed and direction and actually FLY the thing.

Most often that is in fact how I fly, especially when I want to take some nice footage of a church, bridge, windmill, river, waterfall or lake. But sometimes I also fly as far as 2-3 kilometers out for broad landscape photography, and since I am not doing anything monumentally stupid like flying between buildings or swooping low above busy highways, I am not too worried about breaking the VLOS rule.


Fantastic, thanks for you honesty, I was hoping for a response like this one. Awesome thank you.
 
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