Recent content by USsUASDriver

As others have noted, the 400' is not spelled out as a specific restriction for non-commercial/hobbyist flying. FAA Advisory Circular AC 91-57A under 6. MODEL AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS simply states "e. Model aircraft operators should follow best practices including limiting operations to 400 feet...

The structure of the law (for hobbyist use) contributes to confusion, but there is reason behind including the VLOS statement in the definition of "Model Aircraft." What it means, more broadly, is that if you are flying beyond VLOS, you are not flying a "Model Aircraft," and, therefore, unless...

At the risk of sticking my head into a hornet's nest (I have observed that this is a sensitive topic, and for the record I am not saying that ops beyond VLOS are inherently dangerous or reckless - though they do introduce different risks that need to be considered and managed). Generally, for...

Most of these are pretty obvious: Gimbal clamp comes with the P4 - I lock mine in place when I travel. A spare battery or two depending on how much flying you're likely to do during the day. Lens cloth and spare SD card (depending on how much video you're recording before loading to a...

I'd go P4. TH vs P4: Camera on the Typhoon seems inferior to the P4, and the motor redundancy may not be a big deal for real estate work? I found the DJI radio, image transmission and DJI Go app to be a little better than Yuneec (comparing to the Q500 4K). Inspire vs P4: The Inspire X3...

In DJI Go app, it's under the camera settings. MENU (off on the right), under the 'video camera' icon, "Video Format" - can select MOV or MP4.

Excellent explanations. Thank you!

So, a slight spread is better than parallel, straight out? Thanks for the info - often wondered about this.

In the US, the FAA has stated that manned aircraft always have the right of way over a UAS. So responsibility is on the drone pilot to get out of the way if there is a chance of a conflict. It's one of the reasons for the standard VLOS restrictions on UAS operators (or a visual observer if...

Jumping in late with another possibility . . . Was the Vision Positioning System on? The behavior sounds like a classic VPS hovering over water where the P4 rapidly climbs for no apparent reason. Probably hit something in the uncommanded climb which resulted in the loss of control and crash...

As the others have said, proactive contact is good and most operators will appreciate you reaching out. If you're not 1/2 mile just off the ends of the runway, it seems unlikely that you will pose a conflict for landing/departing aircraft. From a regulatory standpoint (USA), all you are...

I had a goofy situation like that a few weeks back - updating the DJI Go app to the latest version cured it for me even though a different device was working fine on an earlier version of the app. My speculation is data corruption related to their NFZ / Geofencing. Updating the app (or in...

In case you haven't seen it, a good reference for US ops: Best Practices for Flying your Drone near an Airport - AOPA (Pretty sure this page is not members-only since the knowbeforeyoufly website refers to it too.) At the risk of stating the obvious . . . notification alone is suitable for an...

AirNav shows the airport manager (Mike Duker) & the FBO both on the same tel #: 734-675-0155. Also lists the manager's email as mduker at grosseileairport dot com Is that what you have? If you don't have any luck via phone or email, you can always try a visit during business hours (8AM-5PM...

Looks like it's Portuguese and that your original text (quoted text) has been translated by the poster? Google Translate outputs this for #30. "Thank you, Dirty Bird . Can you tell me if you use only normaly cruising speed and speed wich is the cruise , please?" for #31: "Oh , this is very...