Beware of... kites!

[Pnovotny]

I was out practicing my inspection skills and noticed this upon review of the footage on a bigger screen.

The flight was on the edge of a promenade and apparently someone was droning the old fashion way, with a kite...

Scares me to think how close I could have been to crashing had I hit the kite or cord.

There's no way I could have noticed this, certainly not what I presume was a nylon cord, on my phone screen.

What are your thoughts?

 

[rolling56]

Just part of scanning the sky and keeping VLOS. Helps in large populated areas to have an observer with you.
I normally take off to high altitude (300' or so) and then look around before I move the drone in any direction.

 

[dangerd]

This is why there is a rule for VLOS. Look at the sUAV not at the screen.

 

[Pnovotny]

This is why there is a rule for VLOS. Look at the sUAV not at the screen.

You look at the drone as well as the screen.

There's no way to get the shots you need or avoid areas you don't want to fly over by merely looking at the drone from the side.

Let me know if you figured out another method if you don't have an observer...

 

[SanCap]

It appears to be that you are flying over some sort of park, greenbelt, recreational area or what you call a promenade. You should expect to see what you saw as well as others flying drones.

 

[dangerd]

I tend to watch the drone, line up my shot, make sure my flight path will be clear then I try to hold the screen so I can see it AND the drone in flight. Or as you say I would find a VO. As you say though sometimes it's hard to see obstacles, a kite string would be tough from distance.

 

[Pnovotny]

I tend to watch the drone, line up my shot, make sure my flight path will be clear then I try to hold the screen so I can see it AND the drone in flight. Or as you say I would find a VO. As you say though sometimes it's hard to see obstacles, a kite string would be tough from distance.

That makes a lot of sense and appears safer, thanks. I will definitely try to see how it works for me.

 

[Ajkm]

At least in Canada, the instruction for VLOS is that one can momentarily take one's eyes off the RPA/UAV/drone to look at the screen, but the majority of the time in the air, eyes should primarily be on the RPA/UAV/drone, not on the screen. If you can't manage that while trying to get a particular picture or video that might require more time looking at the screen than the RPA/UAV/drone, then it is expected that a VO will be used - who's entire role is to keep the RPA/UAV/drone in their VLOS at all times and to communicate effective to you, the pilot, what they are seeing. As PIC, our primary role is to See & Avoid. This is why more advanced RPAs/UAVs/drones used for filming and similar purposes, have two operators - the pilot stays VLOS and someone else operates the camera.

 

[MapMaker53]

Unfortunately, you can be staring at the drone in the sky and not see a kite string, or even the kite itself in the sky. One day when I was in college, I noticed someone on campus who was flying a kite, which appeared to be a smal dot in the sky. As he wound the string back onto the stick, it slowly became obvious that the dot in the sky was actually a carboard spool that was connected to second length of string, with another dot in the sky at the end of it. You guessed it. When he reeled in that length of line, that dot was yet another cardboard spool attached to yet another length of string. Finally, after three packages of string, the kite began to come into view. These days many kite hobbyists use fishing line instead of string to reach sky-high altitudes. There is no way a drone operator is going to be able to spot that. I've heard a traffic helicopter pilot comment that those fishing lines endanger helicopters..

 

[R Martin]

You look at the drone as well as the screen.

There's no way to get the shots you need or avoid areas you don't want to fly over by merely looking at the drone from the side.

Let me know if you figured out another method if you don't have an observer...

If you don't have the resources to complete the flight safely then you don't do the flight. You don't take it upon yourself to do multiple roles half way. But as a pilot you know that...

 

[Ajkm]

Unfortunately, you can be staring at the drone in the sky and not see a kite string, or even the kite itself in the sky. One day when I was in college, I noticed someone on campus who was flying a kite, which appeared to be a smal dot in the sky. As he wound the string back onto the stick, it slowly became obvious that the dot in the sky was actually a carboard spool that was connected to second length of string, with another dot in the sky at the end of it. You guessed it. When he reeled in that length of line, that dot was yet another cardboard spool attached to yet another length of string. Finally, after three packages of string, the kite began to come into view. These days many kite hobbyists use fishing line instead of string to reach sky-high altitudes. There is no way a drone operator is going to be able to spot that. I've heard a traffic helicopter pilot comment that those fishing lines endanger helicopters..

Well, you wouldn’t have flown a drone in that situation - you knew they were flying a kite because you noticed them and enough other information to identify what they were doing. So the area wasn’t safe to fly a drone.

 

[MapMaker53]

Well, you wouldn’t have flown a drone in that situation - you knew they were flying a kite because you noticed them and enough other information to identify what they were doing. So the area wasn’t safe to fly a drone.

Are you talking about when I was in college -- in 1973? Yes, I knew that the student was flying a kite, but drones didn't exist back then. If you are referring to the OP, he stated that he had not seen the string nor the person flying the kite until he had reviewed the video footage. So his concern is quite valid.