Too cautious ..help

[Fly Addie Fly]

I have been flying my drone for a month now. I live in the panhandle Florida there is constant restriction on air space.. Many military training and helicopter flying maneuvers along with two major military bases. It’s bright and sunny and it’s difficult to keep an eye on the drone above 60 feet. Any suggestions on how To keep visual on a drone flying 200 feet in above? Also, I have some fear associated with losing the drone. DJI Has a return to home option which I’ve used. It’s almost impossible to film a beautiful landscapes without at some point loose inside of your drone. Please share industries secrets on how to stay connected to your drone visually or am I being naïve and to think that’s even possible? I am flying a DJI Mavic two pro.

 

[dfly]

I’d say a few things can help:

When possible, Orient yourself so you’re generally facing away from the sun when keeping visual line of sight with the drone…Otherwise, sunglasses and a hat can help.

Consider adding one of these to the bottom, using some good Velcro:
Firehouse Tech Strobe Light
It will help you see it in daylight, plus, add some Velcro to the top and use it for FAA compliant anti-collision lighting at night. Just be sure to find the approximate center of gravity of your drone and try to mount it there, as long as it doesn’t interfere with GPS or compass performance. I did this on my Autel Evo by powering the drone up and and found that I had to move it slightly due to compass errors. No problems since.

 

[Ajkm]

It's worth adding that, in aviation, "too cautious" is not a negative... objective and conservative risk assessment is always going to win out over risk taking and/or not bothering with any risk assessment.

 

[Fly Addie Fly]

I’d say a few things can help:

When possible, Orient yourself so you’re generally facing away from the sun when keeping visual line of sight with the drone…Otherwise, sunglasses and a hat can help.

Consider adding one of these to the bottom, using some good Velcro:
Firehouse Tech Strobe Light
It will help you see it in daylight, plus, add some Velcro to the top and use it for FAA compliant anti-collision lighting at night. Just be sure to find the approximate center of gravity of your drone and try to mount it there, as long as it doesn’t interfere with GPS or compass performance. I did this on my Autel Evo by powering the drone up and and found that I had to move it slightly due to compass errors. No problems since.

Thank you, I will be looking into purchasing stone light and

 

[BigAl07]

It's great to see you posting and still practicing Addie. I hope all is going well for you.

You've been given some great advice both here and in your other thread. Trying to keep the sun to your back more is def a huge plus with UAS flying. But don't beat yourself up if you happen to lose sight of it for a moment. We are allowed to temporarily lose sight of the aircraft during flights. As soon as you lose sight of it take measures to regain as quickly as you can and you should be good to go. KUDOS to you for making VLOS such a high priority.

You asked about "learning to Map".... what are your goals as far as "Mapping" goes? Are you looking to make pretty Orthomosaics or are you looking to create data that a firm can use for measurements etc? Even though they "appear" the same on the outside those are not the same animal.

 

[Fly Addie Fly]

It's great to see you posting and still practicing Addie. I hope all is going well for you.

You've been given some great advice both here and in your other thread. Trying to keep the sun to your back more is def a huge plus with UAS flying. But don't beat yourself up if you happen to lose sight of it for a moment. We are allowed to temporarily lose sight of the aircraft during flights. As soon as you lose sight of it take measures to regain as quickly as you can and you should be good to go. KUDOS to you for making VLOS such a high priority.

You asked about "learning to Map".... what are your goals as far as "Mapping" goes? Are you looking to make pretty Orthomosaics or are you looking to create data that a firm can use for measurements etc? Even though they "appear" the same on the outside those are not the same animal.

 

[Fly Addie Fly]

Thanks..I’ve been practicing at least an hour a day. Yes, wonderful timely well throughout advise. Loving the board and the community. Someone suggested I look into mapping to increase warning potential.

 

[MapMaker53]

It's easy to lose sight of the aircraft when it is a speck in the sky and you look away for a moment. In those cases, before I have to look down at my screen for a moment to take a photo, I note (1) how high in the sky the speck is and (2) a ground feature that appears to be directly in line with it below, such as a building, specific tree, telephone pole, etc. That way, I can more quickly spot it again when I look up rather than having to scan much of the bright sky looking for it. You will get used to keeping your eye on it and knowing where it is in the sky as you become more experienced.

 

[BigAl07]

Thanks..I’ve been practicing at least an hour a day. Yes, wonderful timely well throughout advise. Loving the board and the community. Someone suggested I look into mapping to increase warning potential.

Mapping can be a source of revenue but that's an arena you will need to take some time to get into. Mapping is a science of itself and you'll need to be on your A-Game before you go getting clients.

I use DroneDeploy to acquire the DATA for my maps (create flight plan, fly the aircraft, and take the images at specific times automatically). Once you have the images you can have them process through DroneDeploy, MapsMadeEasy, Pix4D or several others to process all those images into a single Orthomosaic.

If you have a strong enough computer you can process the maps yourself but that's not where you want to start out.

As far as training, DroneDelpy has some excellent training videos and articles.

 

[R.Perry]

I agree with Big A, Drone Deploy is great for mapping, and mapping takes a little getting use to. However if you take all the little courses that DD offers you will find it pretty easy once you have done a few.
As I said in the other thread, I focus more on the tablet than the drone, why, because the tablet gives me all the info I need to fly the drone. Visual line of site is important, especially if you lose the link to your tablet and I have had that happen a few times.

 

[Fly Addie Fly]

It's easy to lose sight of the aircraft when it is a speck in the sky and you look away for a moment. In those cases, before I have to look down at my screen for a moment to take a photo, I note (1) how high in the sky the speck is and (2) a ground feature that appears to be directly in line with it below, such as a building, specific tree, telephone pole, etc. That way, I can more quickly spot it again when I look up rather than having to scan much of the bright sky looking for it. You will get used to keeping your eye on it and knowing where it is in the sky as you become more experienced.

Thank you…I know I may sound too cautious but it will take time for me to really find the comfort zone who are describing..it does not help that I live In a super restrictive active sky..two bases and tons of helicopter maneuver areas.. I was flying yesterday when all of a sudden a helicopter appeared..I immediately brought my drone home…but I think what if in the moment I had lost sight…this keeps me up at night..practice is the key for me

 

[dangerd]

Face away from the sun when possible. Find landmarks below for reference. A strobe can help too, all good ideas above. Maybe bring a friend to act as a VO when you can. Four eyes are better then two. This way you can look down at the screen to compose your shots.

 

[AheadAir]

I have been flying my drone for a month now. I live in the panhandle Florida there is constant restriction on air space.. Many military training and helicopter flying maneuvers along with two major military bases. It’s bright and sunny and it’s difficult to keep an eye on the drone above 60 feet. Any suggestions on how To keep visual on a drone flying 200 feet in above? Also, I have some fear associated with losing the drone. DJI Has a return to home option which I’ve used. It’s almost impossible to film a beautiful landscapes without at some point loose inside of your drone. Please share industries secrets on how to stay connected to your drone visually or am I being naïve and to think that’s even possible? I am flying a DJI Mavic two pro.

I've been flying Inspires for years. A few months ago, I picked up an M2P to avoid dragging Inspires out for small real estate jobs. For its maiden flight, I took it to a local park where I do test flights, put it the air and promptly lost sight of it. It's so small, especially compared to the Inspires, that it's hard to keep track of. I put that Firehouse strobe on it, which helps a little, but if it's over 200' up or 1000' away, it's pretty much BVLOS, even with the strobe. I have been pretty impressed with it, though. It holds position in the wind pretty well for such a little guy, it's really maneuverable, and I'm loving the battery life compared to the Inspires. I'm using it for commercial work more than I anticipated.

 

[Ajkm]

I've been flying Inspires for years. A few months ago, I picked up an M2P to avoid dragging Inspires out for small real estate jobs. For its maiden flight, I took it to a local park where I do test flights, put it the air and promptly lost sight of it. It's so small, especially compared to the Inspires, that it's hard to keep track of. I put that Firehouse strobe on it, which helps a little, but if it's over 200' up or 1000' away, it's pretty much BVLOS, even with the strobe. I have been pretty impressed with it, though. It holds position in the wind pretty well for such a little guy, it's really maneuverable, and I'm loving the battery life compared to the Inspires. I'm using it for commercial work more than I anticipated.

Surely the point of VLOS is that you don't fly it so far away that you lose sight of it? It should never be BVLOS - that suggests poor planning.

 

[Ajkm]

As I said in the other thread, I focus more on the tablet than the drone, why, because the tablet gives me all the info I need to fly the drone. Visual line of site is important, especially if you lose the link to your tablet and I have had that happen a few times.

Focussing more on the tablet than the drone is, at least here, exactly what is not supposed to be done. That isn't VLOS protocol (according to the documentation).

 

[R.Perry]

Well there is "what your not suppose to do" and reality. Do a two hundred acre video and just watch the drone, video isn't going to look too good.
Map that same two hundred acres and just watch the drone, good luck.
I didn't say not to keep an eye on the drone and know where it is. Reality is your tablet is going to give you a lot more information on what your drone is doing than watching it fly.

 

[MapMaker53]

The FAA establishes blanket regulations (1) for the greatest degree of air safety and (2) in order to clearly determine who is at fault in the event of an accident. They also make it clear that the PIC is responsible for his/her own actions and decisions that are made during any flight operation. Establishing a set of rules often requires turning a blind eye to reality in order to cast the widest safety net for society. I would bet the farm that every Part 107 pilot often takes his eye off the sky and looks at their screen to some degree when recording video or snapping photos for their commercial work. (If I'm wrong, then why does one even have a screen?) There are also times when the drone may periodically leave one's line of sight behind a tree or structure during the course of the work, and it doesn't help that the FAA does not allow a PIC to daisy chain VOs with hand-held radios. (Idiotic that they don't, IMO.) In my experience, reality always wins out over rules that are idealistic, and I just try to be as safe as possible when I run into that type of conflict. Why? Because I will be the one responsible if something goes terribly wrong.

 

[R.Perry]

MapMaker you are correct. Let's face it the FAA is use to dealing with aircraft and helicopters that have pilots in the aircraft. They are not experienced with a pilot that not only needs a FPV but also have eyes on the drone or aircraft. This creates a completely different operational environment. Now the folks that fly RC aircraft probably have a much better understanding of this than a regular fixed wing or helicopter pilot. There is a reason the PIC has the last word when it comes to the operation of his aircraft.

In 1973 two aircraft collided with each other at Moffett field, CA, killing all but one person. The air controller put both aircraft on the same runway, the PIC challenged the controllers order and began a missed approach, problem was the Convair was already above the P3. The P3 pilot did the right thing, problem was it was too late. The air controller had told him to continue his approach.

So what is my point, sometimes you go against what you have been told or taught to do. Even though everything your doing is attempting to do things right, sometimes things do go south. The air controller later committed suicide. Several of my friends died in that accident.

 

[2edgesword]

As disconcerting as it is to lose sight of the drone it happens to all of us AND it happens to pilots of manned aircraft also even when you have an air traffic controller pointing out the other traffic. You fly into the pattern, the controller calls out traffic (direction and altitude) and you look, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds and you don't see it (and you feel like an idiot). It is very easy to lose visual contact, especially if the background doesn't provide a significant contrast or its clutter. It's best not to scan constant motion. Look and pause. Then change the direction of your gaze slightly, look and pause. And then there is always return to home.

 

[Fly Addie Fly]

It's easy to lose sight of the aircraft when it is a speck in the sky and you look away for a moment. In those cases, before I have to look down at my screen for a moment to take a photo, I note (1) how high in the sky the speck is and (2) a ground feature that appears to be directly in line with it below, such as a building, specific tree, telephone pole, etc. That way, I can more quickly spot it again when I look up rather than having to scan much of the bright sky looking for it. You will get used to keeping your eye on it and knowing where it is in the sky as you become more experienced.

Great Feedback! Thanks!!