VLOS

Jezbot said:

Hi All
I'm not looking for any arguments about whether the rules are right or wrong, or whether they should be changed or not.
Bearing in mind what the rules are, all I want to know is are there any tips for improving your drone's viability that I'm missing out on?
I have a MA2, I've used a bright neon skin, AND attached 2 lume cube strobes, but I still struggle to maintain VLOS. I track the drone all the way, briefly look down to my screen to frame a shot, & most of the time it's gone!!
Any tips or ideas? And yes, I've had my eyes tested & wear up to date glasses!!

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There’s not much more you can do. If you’re struggling to re-sight then you are at the limit of your VLOS.

I predominately fly in remote, uninhabited areas of New Mexico administered by the BLM, USFS or privately owned open spaces. Within those regions I’m usually flying along mountain slope and cliff faces where my drone is below the height of an adjacent peak, mesa top, etc.

Sometimes in those situations I’ll have an observer follow the drone with binoculars or a spotting scope while I concentrate on the controller screen and maneuvering for the image or video footage I hope to capture. This works best when we can carefully plan the flight before hand so the observer knows where the drone will be and isn’t trying to follow an erratic pathway. Out at longer distances if the drone is visually lost by the observer it is practically impossible to regain in the narrow field of view provided by optics. At that point it’s time to return home.

We have tried using a rendezvous point - some easily recognizable freature along a cliff or ridge or maybe the actual feature to be recorded - if the observer loses sight of the drone I’ll immediately fly to that point before continuing to return home in hopes that VLOS can be regained by the observer. This occasionally works but not as often as I’d assumed.

Basically I’ve found that when I want to record images or video of a specific feature I need to hike more prior to launching so I can keep VLOS. Unfortunately that doesn’t work as well as it would have when I was in better shape...

Howard

@Jezbot VLOS is different for each individual pilot because we all have slightly different visual capabilities, and also what you need to remember is its not just your eyesight , that influences how well you can see your drone ,but the type of light that you are flying in ,from bright sunlight to dull overcast ,and also the background whether blue sky or below the skyline in a valley i use two white strobes on the front arms of my MPP and a single white strobe at the rear this enables me to orientate the direction of the drone, but in bright sun that can be as little as 800ft on the other hand in low light conditions i am able to see the strobes at 500m or 1645 ft

Correct. In case you want to fly farther to take a video or something like that, you need to find volunteers to be spotters for you like I do, then you can fly as FPV having a spotter on the ground keeping VLOS for you. Need to be coordinated.

zeusfl said:

Correct. In case you want to fly farther to take a video or something like that, you need to find volunteers to be spotters for you like I do, then you can fly as FPV having a spotter on the ground keeping VLOS for you. Need to be coordinated.

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It is my understanding that unless you are a qualified Part 107 pilot then the rules state a ‘spotter’ MUST be co-located next to you at all times with no exceptions.

When flying recreational (in the US) I look at it as I need to be able to see my drone so I can see and avoid manned aircraft with respect to my flight path. If your eyesight is so poor that you can only see your drone at 500 feet, going past that would be BVLOS. If you put glasses on to improve your vision (which is allowed) and you lose sight of the drone at 1000 feet, if you can't see it past that you are BVLOS. If you have a spotter that can see your aircraft and is able to assist you can keep your eyes glued to the screen. Pretty sure that spotter must be located next to you so you can verbally communicate. Any time you encapsulate your vision using goggles you are instantly BVLOS and require a spotter. The rules are a bit vague in some circumstances. If I have my strobes on, as long as I can look away and then re-detect my drone I feel I'm OK. Even at night where I can't actually see the quad, I can fly it with the strobes and am w/i VLOS.

Jezbot said:

Hi All
I'm not looking for any arguments about whether the rules are right or wrong, or whether they should be changed or not.
Bearing in mind what the rules are, all I want to know is are there any tips for improving your drone's viability that I'm missing out on?
I have a MA2, I've used a bright neon skin, AND attached 2 lume cube strobes, but I still struggle to maintain VLOS. I track the drone all the way, briefly look down to my screen to frame a shot, & most of the time it's gone!!
Any tips or ideas? And yes, I've had my eyes tested & wear up to date glasses!!

Click to expand...

I shelved my LumeCubes.... I use strobes from Firehouse... ARC2s and ARC XLs.... check them out here:

SkyeHigh said:

There’s not much more you can do. If you’re struggling to re-sight then you are at the limit of your VLOS.

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First, thanks for flying legally. If there is another person sometimes that helps. So, when you look down they can pinpoint it. Yes, 1500 ft maybe a little more is about it. The weather of the day matters and the right height helps. Trust me a lot of us here have seem heli, airplanes come out of nowhere and way to low.

In US:
107.33 Visual observer.
If a visual observer is used during the aircraft operation, all of the following requirements must be met:

(a) The remote pilot in command, the person manipulating the flight controls of the small unmanned aircraft system, and the visual observer must maintain effective communication with each other at all times.

(b) The remote pilot in command must ensure that the visual observer is able to see the unmanned aircraft in the manner specified in § 107.31.

(c) The remote pilot in command, the person manipulating the flight controls of the small unmanned aircraft system, and the visual observer must coordinate to do the following:

(1) Scan the airspace where the small unmanned aircraft is operating for any potential collision hazard; and

(2) Maintain awareness of the position of the small unmanned aircraft through direct visual observation.


I am really not aware of any special rules for use of a VO in recreational flights. But, it could only make for common sense and increased safety to have additional eyes on your drone. One must always be able to maintain attitude, altitude, and direction of flight of one’s drone at all times!

Followup to VLOS for recreational flight (US). This falls under the safety rules of flight as with a CBO, in this case the AMA. FPV flight requires a spotter. FAA says we fly under the rules of flight of a CBO when flying recreational!


Be gentle if you find contrary data.

Jezbot said:

Thanks Thomas B. I wanted their Arc V strobes & contacted Firehouse, but they don't ship to the UK or have a UK supplier

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I have had no problems with them shipping to the U.K., except it can take two or three weeks to get here! I’ve ordered strobes several times from them... hope that helps!

A strobe only solves part of the LOS problem. To my thinking the number one emergency situation is a battery problem that dictates and immediate landing. The only thing that is going to help you there is the camera. LOS means seeing your drone and every thing below it. We've all watched a zillion videos.. here and on you tube and that is practically never the case.

Jezbot said:

Hi All
I'm not looking for any arguments about whether the rules are right or wrong, or whether they should be changed or not.
Bearing in mind what the rules are, all I want to know is are there any tips for improving your drone's viability that I'm missing out on?
I have a MA2, I've used a bright neon skin, AND attached 2 lume cube strobes, but I still struggle to maintain VLOS. I track the drone all the way, briefly look down to my screen to frame a shot, & most of the time it's gone!!
Any tips or ideas? And yes, I've had my eyes tested & wear up to date glasses!!

Click to expand...

I attach "firehouse brand" cree LED

Jezbot said:

Hi All
I'm not looking for any arguments about whether the rules are right or wrong, or whether they should be changed or not.
Bearing in mind what the rules are, all I want to know is are there any tips for improving your drone's viability that I'm missing out on?
I have a MA2, I've used a bright neon skin, AND attached 2 lume cube strobes, but I still struggle to maintain VLOS. I track the drone all the way, briefly look down to my screen to frame a shot, & most of the time it's gone!!
Any tips or ideas? And yes, I've had my eyes tested & wear up to date glasses!!

Click to expand...

I use Firehouse brand Cree LED lights. The best one they sell has 6 cree leds, and an audible beeping sound if the drone becomes accidentally grounded or crashes.. These lights are very powerful, inexpensive and have a strobe that you can see over a very long distance. I consider them much more powerful than Lume Cube and significantly less expensive. They put out 1000 lumens each. They are so light weight you can attach several to your drone. Thus increasing the chances that the drone will be seen again when you look up from your controller. I often use them at the beach on sunny days when I use my drone to drop 500ft fishing line out over the surf. I see the lights blinking up to 1000 ft during sunny days. After 1000ft they get a little difficult to see. Always get WHITE lights. At night they are bright way beyond the 3 mile standard. If anyone knows of stronger, small and light weight lights, please reply.

zeusfl said:

Correct. In case you want to fly farther to take a video or something like that, you need to find volunteers to be spotters for you like I do, then you can fly as FPV having a spotter on the ground keeping VLOS for you. Need to be coordinated.

Click to expand...

Are you serious? How many people do you need to be in voice range to go 3000 feet away? How far have you gotten with human spotters that communicate by yelling to one another? It seems so problematic.

cgmaxed said:

I attach "firehouse brand" cree LED

I use Firehouse brand Cree LED lights. The best one they sell has 6 cree leds, and an audible beeping sound if the drone becomes accidentally grounded or crashes.. These lights are very powerful, inexpensive and have a strobe that you can see over a very long distance. I consider them much more powerful than Lume Cube and significantly less expensive. They put out 1000 lumens each. They are so light weight you can attach several to your drone. Thus increasing the chances that the drone will be seen again when you look up from your controller. I often use them at the beach on sunny days when I use my drone to drop 500ft fishing line out over the surf. I see the lights blinking up to 1000 ft during sunny days. After 1000ft they get a little difficult to see. Always get WHITE lights. At night they are bright way beyond the 3 mile standard. If anyone knows of stronger, small and light weight lights, please reply.

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I have found none better. They are certified to 3.5 miles visibility, but not with my old eyes... check out the ground below my drone with 4 of the ARC2 XLs.