Near miss!

That is the closest I’ve ever seen. That helicopter pilot probably has a brown stain?

old news from 2018

Pstik said:

Sorry first I saw it.

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no problem just letting you know thats all,you will find that anything like that will have a date on it

Tony McDrone said:

That is the closest I’ve ever seen. That helicopter pilot probably has a brown stain?

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This is why we have the VLOS rules. The helicopter pilot probably wouldn’t have even seen until it was too close to do anything about it (if he even saw it at all). In most instances the drone camera wouldn’t be pointing at the approaching aircraft so you may not even know what had happened, hence the importance of keeping the drone in sight. The onus is on the drone pilot to deconflict. This is what frustrates me about people who seem happy to operate beyond VLOS - they don’t realise the potential danger that their drone represents.

I fly VLOS always, and helicopters in the vicinity are frightening It is very difficult to discern their altitude and position relative to the drone. Recently, I was at about 300 ft altitude and maybe 1000 ft out. I could not tell if the helo was above or below me, or whether it wouldd cross my path. All I could do was make a beeline for the deck and pray that he was in fact above me. This is why I posted last week asking how to descend most rapidly (without a complete shut down).

Sounds like an area to avoid.

It's why I think every drone pilot should have to be certified. It's one thing to fly a drone... it's another to be aware of the air space you are in!

In all fairness helicopter pilots are notorious for flying below proper altitudes. Ive has a few instances where I’ve had to use a spotter to check out my surroundings.

Crop dusters are also notorious for flying low as well.

Used to be fun flying low over the water, just offshore. Those days are long over. Scary, that’s where my drone is now. Same view, sorta. Mostly banner planes now but LOL, I can fly faster than them.

RoarRoar said:

In all fairness helicopter pilots are notorious for flying below proper altitudes. Ive has a few instances where I’ve had to use a spotter to check out my surroundings.

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Given that... we are at the bottom of the chain. Looks like the helicopter was out over open water where there may be no minimum. Also... part 107 says that we have to maintain visual line of sight. Heck... 400 feet up or 400 feet away... I can't see mine...

Letmein said:

Given that... we are at the bottom of the chain. Looks like the helicopter was out over open water where there may be no minimum. Also... part 107 says that we have to maintain visual line of sight. Heck... 400 feet up or 400 feet away... I can't see mine...

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500ft unless over Open water. 500ft from people, vessels, etc. Anything within a mile of the beach is Not Open water, at least here in Florida. Even offshore you would have to dodge boats, and drones. (Mine). The chopper can hover and land below 500 but not cruise. Dangerous stuff.....glad all ok

I have a heli port by my house. When they come in to land at the hospital they are well below 500 feet as they approach and leave... many times right over my house. Same with crop dusters. They often fly closer than 500 feet from roadways. I was driving to our flying site a month or so back and looked over to my left as crop duster plane slowly pass me by. Startled me as I never heard the engine until he at my side about 100 feet away from my van. The guy was at eye level and even waved at me.

At our flying site we have to share the complex with LEO choppers. They usually come down and hover about 50 feet in front of us and make sure we know they are at the other end drilling. We just give them the thumbs up to let em know we're taking precautions.

I guess my point is don't think real aircraft always stay at 500 feet or above. Sometimes they don't.

dronerdave said:

I have a heli port by my house. When they come in to land at the hospital they are well below 500 feet as they approach and leave... many times right over my house. Same with crop dusters. They often fly closer than 500 feet from roadways. I was driving to our flying site a month or so back and looked over to my left as crop duster plane slowly pass me by. Startled me as I never heard the engine until he at my side about 100 feet away from my van. The guy was at eye level and even waved at me.

At our flying site we have to share the complex with LEO choppers. They usually come down and hover about 50 feet in front of us and make sure we know they are at the other end drilling. We just give them the thumbs up to let em know we're taking precautions.

I guess my point is don't think real aircraft always stay at 500 feet or above. Sometimes they don't.

View attachment 111998

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I THINK YOU KNOW ITS GOING TO HAPPY ONE, BUT WITCH DAY.
Keep it safe.

Pstik said:

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WOW!

Joe Blow said:

Again I think it looks like flight simulator.

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Even the new Microsoft Flight Simulator, which currently has the best sim graphics, isn't as good as the video. The video was posted in August 2018 and there was nothing available then which even remotely approached this level of fidelity - there are no photogrammetry artefacts anywhere and the the waves on the beach look much too realistic. It seems to have convinced the FAA who, apparently, started an investigation. When we first see the helicopter it's probably no more than a few hundred metres away. If the drone was flying towards it (impossible to positively determine at this height) and the helicopter had a tailwind, the rate of closure isn't unreasonable.