Do you fly out of sight?

[natvtrader]

it's very rare when I fly that I am not out of sight. I mostly fly over wooded areas, farm land or water but I do also fly over the small town where I live. It's pretty hard to keep it in the line of sight. This flight it was out a little over 6000 feet. I knew the general area it was so I guess it was still in my line of sight!!

 

[rebelyellNC]

Since I fly FPV nearly exclusively, the only time I am in VLOS is when I take off and land. Other than that, I don't even know where to look except for the OSD telemetry and the swarm of bees when it's close. Yes, I did have an unrecoverable crash doing this with only about three months of flying under my belt, but it was because I got so caught up in the FPV experience and didn't watch the OSD voltage data on my battery, so down she went in the swamp. I guess it's still decorating some deer or bear den to this day. It took a while to get comfortable again with the new rig flying FPV, but the thrill is back and now I've got about a year of experience.

As long as you're very careful with remaining battery power and don't get too far above the ionosphere (grin), it seems fine to me and very exciting. Although I'm sure there are just as many folks that would disagree, like the FAA for instance. Be safe, fly happy and enjoy!

 

[RoyKron3]

I keep within line of sight, always. That's not to say that I haven't lost my Phantom in the sky on occasion. The last time that happened, I used the video feed to turn me back to shore and bring me home.

 

[RZR_Jim]

I can neither confirm or deny......

....but I know the answer my friend!

 

[Phantomfreak]

I do often, have had it as far as 5000 ft. away, about 100 feet up. Due to where I live I can do this without losing line of sight and I can even see it (a tiny speck, on blues sky days only) at up to around 2000 ft. away. I love Lightbridge..
I don't feel nervous doing this because the RC and Video signals are still perfect, and it never loses GPS.. Also I don't fly high enough to interfere with other aircraft. Lightbridge has spoiled me. I really like the new Yuneek hex but I won't buy one because of its ridiculously short range Wifi..

 

[Colorado68]

I can see over two miles, so yes, within sight

 

[FotoGeek]

To me, line of sight does not mean the Phantom always has to be visible.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[yawnalot29]

Keeping LOS and VLOS are very different.

VLOS required that you can physically see your drone unaided by binoculars, telescope, etc.

LOS only required there is nothing between you and the drone. So yeah, the moon and the sun is both LOS and VLOS for me most of the time.

The gps satellites above me is LOS, but for sure not VLOS.

So I take it everyone saying they keep LOS is just saying there are no physical obstruction between them and their drone even if the drone is 10 miles away and 1 mile in AGL?

 

[Einstein]

I have anxiety attacks when I can't see my inspire, I tend to keep it within eyeshot

 

[kennedye]

I'm thinking of painting the underside of mine black to make it stand out more; a two-foot-wide all-white lump of plastic disappears pretty quickly against a blue or white sky. (I also would like a brighter set of anticollision lights.)

 

[Air Ontario]

I fly over a large lake and other stuff.

Like Oliver North, I claim plausible deniability on all else.

 

[witerlaw]

Hi,
I do sometimes, but in Canada the law are different. Sometimes it's really cool to go far away from you but when you do that you are taking a risk.
So be careful
Have a good flight with you eagle


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[mcdonsco]

I recently purchased a phantom 4 pro with the intent of using it for business, real estate, but also I'm a tech geek, so, fun business expense I can write off

What I'm wondering is two things involving line of sight.

One, I live in a rural area with trees up to 165 feet in height all over the place. The two in my front yard are those 165'rs, others in the neighborhood are more around 120-150' high. These trees are not densely packed as this is a developed neighborhood with most lots being 1-2 acres and some larger 20+ acre agricultural stuff around. But, still, I can't go any further than say 500-700 feet away and still be able to see the drone, unless I go to max height allowed here (400 feet), but even then I can't see it past 900 feet max and that's only in one narrow direction (30 acre horse property behind me). Knowing I need to be at least 185 feet high to be safe, is it reasonable to think I should be able to fly it up to 2-3,000 feet away, well out of sight but with RTH set in case I lose signal?

Second question, I live rural, but a lot of my real estate business is urban and where I live "walkability" is often important to buyers so in addition to shooting the home and property from above, for "very walkable" properties, near hot strips of markets, shops etc, I was hoping to do a drone walkability tour, fly it from the home, to said hot strips and back to show potential buyers exactly how walkable it is. This of course would then mean A) the drone would certainly be out of sight for at least a few minutes and B) would be in densely populated areas.

After reading this thread, seems B is probably a no go???

Oh, and often when showing homes I have clients ask "what's behind the home" as in, cemetery, school, farmland, ponds...etc...often worried about potential for future development right behind them and / or wanting to see if there's anything concerning behind by here. Usually, i pull up Goole maps on my tablet, but was thinking it would be pretty handy (and impressive to clients) to whip out the drone and flynit over those areas to give them a good look...???

Look forward to any and all responses.

Thanks!

EDIT: Forgot to mention, before I use it for anything more than taking a pic from above for business, I will be doing a LOT of practice flying on my property. Not planning at all to just jump right into the walkability thing until I am VERY confident of my abilities flying it.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

I recently purchased a phantom 4 pro with the intent of using it for business, real estate, but also I'm a tech geek, so, fun business expense I can write off

If you're going to use your drone for business or in support there of, you need to be 107 certificated. Under 107, line of sight only.

 

[Crack The Sky]

I recently purchased a phantom 4 pro with the intent of using it for business, real estate, but also I'm a tech geek, so, fun business expense I can write off

What I'm wondering is two things involving line of sight.

One, I live in a rural area with trees up to 165 feet in height all over the place. The two in my front yard are those 165'rs, others in the neighborhood are more around 120-150' high. These trees are not densely packed as this is a developed neighborhood with most lots being 1-2 acres and some larger 20+ acre agricultural stuff around. But, still, I can't go any further than say 500-700 feet away and still be able to see the drone, unless I go to max height allowed here (400 feet), but even then I can't see it past 900 feet max and that's only in one narrow direction (30 acre horse property behind me). Knowing I need to be at least 185 feet high to be safe, is it reasonable to think I should be able to fly it up to 2-3,000 feet away, well out of sight but with RTH set in case I lose signal?

Second question, I live rural, but a lot of my real estate business is urban and where I live "walkability" is often important to buyers so in addition to shooting the home and property from above, for "very walkable" properties, near hot strips of markets, shops etc, I was hoping to do a drone walkability tour, fly it from the home, to said hot strips and back to show potential buyers exactly how walkable it is. This of course would then mean A) the drone would certainly be out of sight for at least a few minutes and B) would be in densely populated areas.

After reading this thread, seems B is probably a no go???

Oh, and often when showing homes I have clients ask "what's behind the home" as in, cemetery, school, farmland, ponds...etc...often worried about potential for future development right behind them and / or wanting to see if there's anything concerning behind by here. Usually, i pull up Goole maps on my tablet, but was thinking it would be pretty handy (and impressive to clients) to whip out the drone and flynit over those areas to give them a good look...???

Look forward to any and all responses.

Thanks!

EDIT: Forgot to mention, before I use it for anything more than taking a pic from above for business, I will be doing a LOT of practice flying on my property. Not planning at all to just jump right into the walkability thing until I am VERY confident of my abilities flying it.

Flyboy J is correct.
A. You will need a Part 107 Commercial certificate
B. I hope you already registered the drone with the FAA
C. Learning to keep it right side up will be the least of your problems
D. Learning and following the FAA laws should be your focus right now.

 

[Helihover]

I recently purchased a phantom 4 pro with the intent of using it for business, real estate, but also I'm a tech geek, so, fun business expense I can write off

What I'm wondering is two things involving line of sight.

One, I live in a rural area with trees up to 165 feet in height all over the place. The two in my front yard are those 165'rs, others in the neighborhood are more around 120-150' high. These trees are not densely packed as this is a developed neighborhood with most lots being 1-2 acres and some larger 20+ acre agricultural stuff around. But, still, I can't go any further than say 500-700 feet away and still be able to see the drone, unless I go to max height allowed here (400 feet), but even then I can't see it past 900 feet max and that's only in one narrow direction (30 acre horse property behind me). Knowing I need to be at least 185 feet high to be safe, is it reasonable to think I should be able to fly it up to 2-3,000 feet away, well out of sight but with RTH set in case I lose signal?

Second question, I live rural, but a lot of my real estate business is urban and where I live "walkability" is often important to buyers so in addition to shooting the home and property from above, for "very walkable" properties, near hot strips of markets, shops etc, I was hoping to do a drone walkability tour, fly it from the home, to said hot strips and back to show potential buyers exactly how walkable it is. This of course would then mean A) the drone would certainly be out of sight for at least a few minutes and B) would be in densely populated areas.

After reading this thread, seems B is probably a no go???

Oh, and often when showing homes I have clients ask "what's behind the home" as in, cemetery, school, farmland, ponds...etc...often worried about potential for future development right behind them and / or wanting to see if there's anything concerning behind by here. Usually, i pull up Goole maps on my tablet, but was thinking it would be pretty handy (and impressive to clients) to whip out the drone and flynit over those areas to give them a good look...???

Look forward to any and all responses.

Thanks!

EDIT: Forgot to mention, before I use it for anything more than taking a pic from above for business, I will be doing a LOT of practice flying on my property. Not planning at all to just jump right into the walkability thing until I am VERY confident of my abilities flying it.

Welcome. And when you get your 107, you'll be able to answer your own questions.

 

[mcdonsco]

Sooooo, even if in the end all i really want to do is take pics of homes from above, I need a freaking pilots license to do that?

But the average consumer can head into a Best buy, get a drone and fly it at will and willy nilly no license needed?

 

[Haterade]

Even with brightly dyed props and markings, my peepers will lose my P3 at any distance 200ft up if I take my eyes off it for a few seconds. About 95% of the time I do not fly over houses or in residential areas at all, so I'm not that worried. I plan my flights so even my return won't take me over houses. The other 5% of the time when I fly in my semi-rural neighborhood I do it at dusk so I can see the lights and do keep it in sight, mainly to make sure I won't lose signal.

I consider myself pretty safe. Keeping my eyes locked on the drone is probably more dangerous than doing otherwise, at least in my circumstances.

 

[Crack The Sky]

Sooooo, even if in the end all i really want to do is take pics of homes from above, I need a freaking pilots license to do that?

But the average consumer can head into a Best buy, get a drone and fly it at will and willy nilly no license needed?

Without a Part 107 you are the average consumer. So yes, you can fly willy nilly, with out a "freaking" pilot's license, too. You just can't do it professionally for business.

 

[Duchunter]

For all practical purposes line of sight is the distance you can see before the object is under the horizon due to the curvature of the earth. When I worked off shore from the wheelhouse about 15 feet above the water line to where a boat 20 feet or so tall can no longer be seen was about 13 miles. Not because it was to far to be seen but because there is a wall of water between the two of us. That's about as far as our radar could see for the same reason. By my interpretation of the regulation, line of sight is about 13 miles to as much as 50 or so miles depending on my altitude. Now if they wanna use West Virginia math that about 5 seefars or a half a cigarette away.