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What gets someone the good jobs

I've got to agree with @AH-1G . Our first and foremost task is to fly the aircraft and do it with an abundance of caution. I fly my aircraft with my eyes and "occasionally" look down to confirm flight path etc. Once I've got the aircraft near the needed position I'll compose the picture/video utilizing the display but I'm not solely focused on the screen itself. It's a balance between display device and eyes on the aircraft.

Taking pics/video is the end result but flying the aircraft safely is paramount to everything else.

Even with our VO I spend probably 90% of the travel time watching the aircraft with brief glances to the display for telemetry etc.
 
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AH-1G said:
Marketing, website show what you're capable of doing, flexibility.
If you want to work for a company that has a drone department, at least 1 to 2 years, with at least 75 to 100+ hours. Log book to show your flights.
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I’ll add at least 2 years as a 107 operator with your hours broken down with hours for aircraft types as well.
 
AH-1G said:
Sorry I have to disagree. @R.Perry. You're objective as a pilot is to observe your aircraft (drone) not what's on the monitor. Every once in a while you do have to glance at monitor.
As a private pilot since 1975, you as a pilot are to be viewing outside the cockpit for other aircrafts and yes you do need to monitor your gauges but not staring at them constantly. Only time, IFR. I think you know this.
You do not need an observer to take pictures, it's all about flying smart and safe.
Safe is not looking at your monitor more than the drone.
It's very easy to look back and forth drone to monitor.
BTW, 67y20 AH-1G also flew front seat.
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Well try shooting panos while watching the drone, won't work very well. I'm not implying to not pay attention to the drone and keep it in sight. One of the shoots I do the drone is 2400 feet away, so it is a spot in the sky, the monitor shows me exactly what it is doing. I need to make sure I don't overfly construction workers, guess what, I can spot them on the monitor, but not by watching the drone.

You can not compare flying an aircraft to a drone, two different animals. When I do mapping the drone gets out 2790 feet, I can see what it is doing in the monitor, and I can see the little spot going across the sky.

What are you really accomplishing by staring at your drone? I have done a lot of IFR flying, what do they teach you, scan your guages constantly. Watiching your monitor give you a lot of information about your drone.
When I went to the Avion class in Huntsville, what did they tell us to focus on, our tablets over the drone.
 
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AH-1G said:
Sorry I have to disagree. @R.Perry. You're objective as a pilot is to observe your aircraft (drone) not what's on the monitor. Every once in a while you do have to glance at monitor.
As a private pilot since 1975, you as a pilot are to be viewing outside the cockpit for other aircrafts and yes you do need to monitor your gauges but not staring at them constantly. Only time, IFR. I think you know this.
You do not need an observer to take pictures, it's all about flying smart and safe.
Safe is not looking at your monitor more than the drone.
It's very easy to look back and forth drone to monitor.
BTW, 67y20 AH-1G also flew front seat.
Click to expand...

A private pilot is inside his aircraft and not on the ground controlling it. Looking at the image on the monitor coming from the drone is more like being in the aircraft than looking at a blip in the sky.

There have been plenty of times for me when looking at my monitor was giving me a much better idea of what was going on with my drone and surroundings than looking at the drone itself.

Also, you're stating personal opinions as if they are rules. Where does it state that one can't be safe looking at the monitor more than at the drone? If my drone is hovering at 200' and if I know exactly where it is, I can be perfectly safe composing an image for 10 minutes of a 15 minute flight. It depends upon the circumstances. Also, one can be "safe and smart" and still need or find and advantage to having an observer help out, especially in areas that are very busy with traffic and people.
 
aerialimagery said:
A private pilot is inside his aircraft and not on the ground controlling it. Looking at the image on the monitor coming from the drone is more like being in the aircraft than looking at a blip in the sky.

There have been plenty of times for me when looking at my monitor was giving me a much better idea of what was going on with my drone and surroundings than looking at the drone itself.
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Being a Part 61 pilot I cannot disagree with this more. Perhaps if you made that analogy that the manned aircraft pilot is looking through two toilet paper rolls taped to his/her head, then it might hold. You have virtually zero situational awareness if you are looking only at the monitor, which is why the FAA so severely restricts FPV flying.
 
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Phaedrus said:
Being a Part 61 pilot I cannot disagree with this more. Perhaps if you made that analogy that the manned aircraft pilot is looking through two toilet paper rolls taped to his/her head, then it might hold. You have virtually zero situational awareness if you are looking only at the monitor, which is why the FAA so severely restricts FPV flying.
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I didn't say to "only" look at the monitor. The point is that looking at the monitor can aid in safely flying the aircraft, as well as that there are no hard and fast rules (that I know of) regarding a ratio of time looking at the monitor vs looking at the little spot in the sky.
 
aerialimagery said:
I didn't say to "only" look at the monitor. The point is that looking at the monitor can aid in safely flying the aircraft, as well as that there are no hard and fast rules (that I know of) regarding a ratio of time looking at the monitor vs looking at the little spot in the sky.
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The FAA has written that they expect pilots to watch the aircraft primarily with quick glances away. But regardless, using the camera is in effect tunnel vision. This is also the reason that once FPV is integrated it requires a VO.
 
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Phaedrus said:
The FAA has written that they expect pilots to watch the aircraft primarily with quick glances away. But regardless, using the camera is in effect tunnel vision. This is also the reason that once FPV is integrated it requires a VO.
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It's not "tunnel vision" if you stop and look around in all directions. The point is that looking at the monitor in addition to looking at the drone can help fly the drone more safely and accurately. Can you please cite the FAA regulation you are referring to? (regarding "quick glances away")
 
Refer to Section 5-7 in AC 107-2


Also see the original NPRM for Part 107 where there is an exhaustive discussion of FPV (using both goggles and/or monitors).


And this as well:

Fact Sheet – Small Unmanned Aircraft Regulations (Part 107)

www.faa.gov www.faa.gov

Clearly the FAA feels that visual contact versus camera view is preferred.
 
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R.Perry said:
Well try shooting panos while watching the drone, won't work very well. I'm not implying to not pay attention to the drone and keep it in sight. One of the shoots I do the drone is 2400 feet away, so it is a spot in the sky, the monitor shows me exactly what it is doing. I need to make sure I don't overfly construction workers, guess what, I can spot them on the monitor, but not by watching the drone.

You can not compare flying an aircraft to a drone, two different animals. When I do mapping the drone gets out 2790 feet, I can see what it is doing in the monitor, and I can see the little spot going across the sky.

What are you really accomplishing by staring at your drone? I have done a lot of IFR flying, what do they teach you, scan your guages constantly. Watiching your monitor give you a lot of information about your drone.
When I went to the Avion class in Huntsville, what did they tell us to focus on, our tablets over the drone.
Click to expand...
Then this is where you need a spotter, as you mentioned earlier. 2700 feet is quite the distance, I've been out only 1700 feet and my drone looked smaller then some of the (oops) birds flying around, and I'm flying a hexicopter. I hate to see what a small quad looks like 2700 feet.
 
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aerialimagery said:
I didn't say to "only" look at the monitor. The point is that looking at the monitor can aid in safely flying the aircraft, as well as that there are no hard and fast rules (that I know of) regarding a ratio of time looking at the monitor vs looking at the little spot in the sky.
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Read section 5.7 page 16 page as @Phaedrus posted.
 
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AH-1G said:
Read section 5.7 page 16 page as @Phaedrus posted.
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The circumstances of what would prevent a remote PIC from fulfilling those responsibilities will vary, depending on factors such as the type of UAS, the operational environment, and distance between the remote PIC and the UA. For this reason, there is no specific time interval that interruption of VLOS is permissible, as it would have the effect of potentially allowing a hazardous interruption or prohibiting a reasonable one.
 
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AH-1G said:
I realize everyone has their own interpretation flying safe, I'm more conservative when it comes down to safety.
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A point that has been missed is that using the monitor in ADDITION to visual contact can contribute to the safety of the flight. Using the monitor, i can see things on the ground below the drone that I can't see directly, and that can help in avoiding areas I should not fly directly over. It's not either/or.
 
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Great post ..... "What gets someone the good jobs"

My introduction into construction is pure luck 5 years ago, I was at the right place and at the right time, . My primary contract at the time was, with Harmony development, who chiseled the landscapes in the city of Milpitas, Ca. The circle in the construction industry is quite small that everyone bumps to each other on a build at some point. Information passes around quickly in the pit, and referrals by either the site supt or from a site boss goes a long way. My point is this, and others who grinds in the in the pits can vouch, when I say that attaining contracts or loose contacts, without bidding can easily be obtained if an operator takes time to get to know or even talk to people that he/she meets in the pit. Currently, I am primarily working, with Lennar, but all of my side contracts are referrals from the folks that I've exchanged pleasantries, with. Currently, I am working on a contract with Central Cement, and I got this contract, because I made simple conversations, with a common worker in a clinic, when I was getting my urine drug test for TrueBeck doing a progressive report on the Facebook Extension build in Menlo Park, Ca. 6 months ago.

Want to get a good contract in the construction industry, without the need of a business card, a website or other marketing tools? Go straight to customer service, because in construction, everyone knows one another or related to someone, take time to exchange common conversations.. It goes a long way.


Excuse the soundtrack of my snippet.. The crew made me do it.
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AH-1G said:
... my drone looked smaller then some of the brides flying around, and I'm flying a hexicopter.
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Come on now. Getting married can be really stressful. It's not really the brides fault that she was a little large. My question is what was she flying around on?
 
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