Bye Bye Drone

[Sombeech]

Here are some shots of my drone flying away, but the good kind.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DpQTo2cTFg

[jdn1221]

Haha, well, see you never again! Nice parting shots though.

[Sombeech]

I don't feel one bit bad about the clickbait title I gave it.

[BruteForce]

What is the range on that thing? I saw your video over Francis Peak and it seems to me that drone of yours has some significant range to it!

[Sombeech]

What is the range on that thing? I saw your video over Francis Peak and it seems to me that drone of yours has some significant range to it!

I've flown it out about 2-1/2 miles away from the controller one time. It all depends on interference though, how far away I can keep a straight line of signal. Sometimes it's much less, but up on top of mountains it's usually good.

As cool as it is, I wouldn't recommend sending it clear out there unless you really need to. If a problem occurs 2 miles out, good luck getting it back safely. Plus if there's a tail wind, it'll take a lot of battery to get back.

[Reedus]

I've flown it out about 2-1/2 miles away from the controller one time. It all depends on interference though, how far away I can keep a straight line of signal. Sometimes it's much less, but up on top of mountains it's usually good.

As cool as it is, I wouldn't recommend sending it clear out there unless you really need to. If a problem occurs 2 miles out, good luck getting it back safely. Plus if there's a tail wind, it'll take a lot of battery to get back.

ive flown my Mavic Pro out to 22,500 ft from the controller. I had to “bend” the 400’ ceiling rule to get there

[Sombeech]

ive flown my Mavic Pro out to 22,500 ft from the controller. I had to “bend” the 400’ ceiling rule to get there

dang, what area were you in and how close were you to running out of battery? Did you bring it back to you or did you land it out for a 1 way trip?

[Reedus]

dang, what area were you in and how close were you to running out of battery? Did you bring it back to you or did you land it out for a 1 way trip?

Out and back trip with 12% remaining on the battery. Flight was over farmland. Height was 1200 ft. Nearly crapped myself as it disconnected and went into return home mode. I probably had a good minute and a half with no video feed 😬

[hank moon]

....

[devo_stevo]

http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-australia-42732304/swimmers-rescued-by-drone-in-australia

FINALLY a good use for these things! :bandit:Supposedly, they have been using them in Australia to spot sharks at beaches to warn people to stay out of the water. Seems like Australia has it figured out.

[Iceaxe]

Pssf... childs play.. The US has been using drones for years to slaughter enemy combatants by the thousands along with scouting and surveillance missions.

[Sombeech]

The first problem I can think of with Shark Patrol and drones, is a pissing match between the airplane and helicopter pilots as these drones are "taking their jobs". Plus, whenever a manned aircraft is in sight, all drones must give way. So I can see a few dickhead pilots just cruising the beaches to be funny and have to land all the drones.

Manned aircraft, however, are supposed to stay 500' above ground, and us drone pilots get 400' and below. But, well, you know.

[Rob L]

...Manned aircraft, however, are supposed to stay 500' above ground, and us drone pilots get 400' and below. But, well, you know.

Manned aircraft: 500' above the surface unless over sparsely populated areas or areas of open water except for the saving of human life.

I could find the appropriate ICAO (and hence FAA) regulation, but I'm sure you'd accept my interpretation.

Rob

[Sombeech]

Yeah if we ever hear of a serious drone - manned aircraft collision, I think it's going to be near the beach. So many droners wanting that next big surf clip, or just cruising the beach in the exact line that I've seen a lot of airplanes and helicopters.

[Rob L]

Yeah if we ever hear of a serious drone - manned aircraft collision, I think it's going to be near the beach. So many droners wanting that next big surf clip, or just cruising the beach in the exact line that I've seen a lot of airplanes and helicopters.

No, the first catastrophe, and there will be one sooner rather than later, will be near a major airport (which also might be near a beach like the ones on the Spanish Mediterranean coast). There have already been several reported "near misses" close to London Heathrow (heavily populated but inland). The vendors of drones in the UK now have to giver the purchaser a leaflet outlining the drone operator's responsibilities, and the leaflet gives reference to the appropriate legislation. Does that happen in the US?

Commercial drone operators here have to be trained & certified, just like you over that side of the pond, so my reply is aimed at the hobby drone users.

Rob

[Sombeech]

Yeah we've all been kind of waiting for one to happen near the airports, but now the leading drone seller, DJI, has made it near impossible to fly near the airports, or in other highly controlled airspace. They will force the drone to land after a certain amount of time, giving the pilot a chance to back out of the space first.

There are others that have figured ways around this, or just go with another brand that doesn't force the pilots to stay within bounds.

And now it's possible for DJI to grab Live data on if one of their drones is flying in these spaces, they are making it easier to track these drone pilots down in real time, since everything is connected now. If pilots don't upgrade to the newest firmware, they've threatened to "brick" the drone, which has caused a pretty big outcry in itself calling for invasion of privacy and all that.

But hey, DJI is Chinese, they don't care about U.S. laws ha ha, but even so, they've come out almost overly protective of the FAA standards here.

I've seen some videos where the drone is up at airliner height, watching the 747s come in for a landing. They've mostly been in other countries, but yeah somebody will figure out how to crash one into an airplane sooner or later.