Too close for comfort

max

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I was flying my P3 at the beach, a few hundred feet AGL when I was passed by a coast gaurd helicopter flying slightly below me and coming from behind. I did not see him until he had passed my quad. I don't know if he saw me. Made me nervous and highlights the need to maintain awareness of not only your quad but all traffic in areas such as these with lots of low altitude traffic.

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Is anyone aware of research into placing a high visibility strobe, powered by a separate battery, that could be replaced before every flight? I am aware of the weight issues, just a question.
 
Easy to get wrapped up in flying. Often a great idea to use a spotter to help keep track of your air/ground space. Plus, they may like flying a little too!
 
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It's a shock he didn't see ya seeing a lot of commercial pilots are picking them out of the sky left and right :D
The phantom can be real had to see in the right conditions .
Just curious you did not hear him ?
 
Is anyone aware of research into placing a high visibility strobe, powered by a separate battery, that could be replaced before every flight? I am aware of the weight issues, just a question.

i have one of these attached to my phantom
http://www.amazon.com/DS-30-1-Cente...8&qid=1437512832&sr=8-1&keywords=drone+strobe
I have it screwed into the bottom of the gimbal guard and wired to an aux 12v output i have coming out of the body. The battery drain is negligible and it is really bright and strobes slightly quicker than once per second. Helps with finding it if you lose line of sight momentarily.

In general, whenever i'm outside i play spot the aircraft. As soon as i hear an engine, i try to pinpoint where the aircraft is and have gotten pretty good with some practice. I can now spot most within 15 seconds. I too fly in areas that on occasion have low flybys from helicopters. I wish there was a better way to coexist but nothing much better yet.
 
i have one of these attached to my phantom
http://www.amazon.com/DS-30-1-Cente...8&qid=1437512832&sr=8-1&keywords=drone+strobe
I have it screwed into the bottom of the gimbal guard and wired to an aux 12v output i have coming out of the body. The battery drain is negligible and it is really bright and strobes slightly quicker than once per second. Helps with finding it if you lose line of sight momentarily.

In general, whenever i'm outside i play spot the aircraft. As soon as i hear an engine, i try to pinpoint where the aircraft is and have gotten pretty good with some practice. I can now spot most within 15 seconds. I too fly in areas that on occasion have low flybys from helicopters. I wish there was a better way to coexist but nothing much better yet.
Excellent. Would you share how-to instructions/pics?
 
i have one of these attached to my phantom
http://www.amazon.com/DS-30-1-Cente...8&qid=1437512832&sr=8-1&keywords=drone+strobe
I have it screwed into the bottom of the gimbal guard and wired to an aux 12v output i have coming out of the body. The battery drain is negligible and it is really bright and strobes slightly quicker than once per second. Helps with finding it if you lose line of sight momentarily.

In general, whenever i'm outside i play spot the aircraft. As soon as i hear an engine, i try to pinpoint where the aircraft is and have gotten pretty good with some practice. I can now spot most within 15 seconds. I too fly in areas that on occasion have low flybys from helicopters. I wish there was a better way to coexist but nothing much better yet.
holy crap, 90 bucks!
 
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I was flying my P3 at the beach, a few hundred feet AGL when I was passed by a coast gaurd helicopter flying slightly below me and coming from behind. I did not see him until he had passed my quad. I don't know if he saw me. Made me nervous and highlights the need to maintain awareness of not only your quad but all traffic in areas such as these with lots of low altitude traffic.

Yeah I know around MIA and FLL pilots flying VFR along the beaches are required to stay below 500 feet (Iif I remember correctly).
It pays to learn local VFR/IFR procedures, there's a reason why FAA requires some kind of an airman certificate for commercial operation of drones., and let's not set a precedence for them to require non-commercial drone owners to get one as well.

If I were you, I would probably pull down that video...
 
Had i found the flytron strobe, i probably would have bought that- i couldn't find many that seemed any good. I bought a few other lights that didn't really achieve what i wanted. The one i got was pricey, although i don't remember spending that much on it. I got a gift card for my birthday and decided to get it. the thing is crazy bright. it's the same strobe that company uses to put in a survival beacon for use at sea that they claim is visible for 8+ miles. i keep forgetting to snap some picture of the setup- will do so later today.
 

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