Anti- Collision Lights for Twilight Flying for Phantom 4 Pro

brphoto · Feb 16, 2017

Are the lights on the Phantom 4 Pro considered Anti-Collision lights and good for Twilight flying or to be legal do you need additional lights?

normr · Feb 16, 2017

They need to follow this

brphoto · Feb 16, 2017

Thanks normr.

My question is are the lights on the Phantom 4 Pro good enough for Twilight or do I need to buy Anti-Collision Light for the Phantom 4 Pro?

normr · Feb 16, 2017

The lights on the Phantom are not, They need to be visible for 3 statute miles, but IF you also plan on flying at night (after civil twilight), you need a waiver.

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brphoto · Feb 16, 2017

Thanks

sswingle · Feb 16, 2017

You do not need a waiver for twilight. It's right on the graphic normr posted.

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brphoto · Feb 16, 2017

Photographing dawn and dusk photos for my clients is requested a lot. I would be working in the 30 minutes before sunrise and 30 minutes after sunset time frame. Anyone have a good recommendation for Anti-Collision Lights for a DJI Phantom 4 Pro? Has anyone had problems with them interfering with the camera?

jbrown630 · Feb 16, 2017

brphoto said:
Photographing dawn and dusk photos for my clients is requested a lot. I would be working in the 30 minutes before sunrise and 30 minutes after sunset time frame. Anyone have a good recommendation for Anti-Collision Lights for a DJI Phantom 4 Pro? Has anyone had problems with them interfering with the camera?

The front red LEDs tend to cause a glare on the lens when the camera approaches a level condition (looking straight ahead).

Mikevipe · Feb 18, 2017

Does the night restrictions requiring a waiver apply to only commercial/business use or does it also apply to civilian (unlicensed but registered) use as well?

Alan Russel · Feb 18, 2017

Sunrise to sunset thats the rules here down under..but we all push the rules sometimes i guess (like in life) we take take risks sometimes..

ussvertigo · Feb 18, 2017

The lights I've seen on drones are all facing down for the operator to see, but not visible to other manned aircraft. As a pilot I find this troublesome. Since using the P4, I now use my P2 without the gimbal and camera more as a crowd pleaser, 10 three color blinking leds mounted in the body on sides and both ends, 17 white leds in the top half of shell facing up to illuminate the under sides of the props(colored red, white, black stripes), and three mini-strobe lights, mounted on both ends and visible from forward and above, and other one mounted straight down. The strobes are incredibly bright and all the lights run off an old iPhone 5s battery. It's an awesome sight at night.
However, you can buy a couple of the mini-strobes for drones for 10 bucks, cut off the regulator they usually come with, and use 3.7-4 volt battery, add a matching connector on lights and battery and mount where you want on P4 with Velcro. You could use a smaller battery i.e. a Hubsan X4 battery will work, a very light setup.

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Mikevipe · Feb 18, 2017

I bought the Polar Pro lights

Amazon.com : PolarPro DJI Phantom 4 LED Light Bars (Headlights and Taillights) : Camera & Photo

Easily still visible from 3 miles away when flashing and a perfectly clear day.

And with one red and one white it's easy to tell orientation of the drone.

AlecW · Feb 18, 2017

Mikevipe said:
I bought the Polar Pro lights

Amazon.com : PolarPro DJI Phantom 4 LED Light Bars (Headlights and Taillights) : Camera & Photo

Easily still visible from 3 miles away when flashing and a perfectly clear day.

And with one red and one white it's easy to tell orientation of the drone.

Never seen those before and the price is not too bad. When you say clear day do you mean you can see them during the day?

ussvertigo · Feb 18, 2017

Those are great for night time orientation, but still not near as bright as the strobes, they flash about once every second.

normr · Feb 18, 2017

Mikevipe said:
I bought the Polar Pro lights

Amazon.com : PolarPro DJI Phantom 4 LED Light Bars (Headlights and Taillights) : Camera & Photo

Easily still visible from 3 miles away when flashing and a perfectly clear day.

And with one red and one white it's easy to tell orientation of the drone.

I was going to buy the PolarPro light but they told me the following
:

"The lights are visible for about a mile in clear conditions. Let me know if you have additional questions about our products, and have nice weekend."

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Mikevipe · Feb 18, 2017

Sorry should have clarified clear night. I am able to see them to about 17k feel on strobe. The white is able to be seen that far without strobe.

What brand are the strobes you refer to? Could you please link them? Thanks

ussvertigo · Feb 19, 2017

Several sources but the best price is following link. Its made for a particular drone so it comes with a regulator board both strobes are wired to. To use with a small 4v or cell phone batt, cut the strobe wires at the board and wire to your batt connector. I promise these will light up the sky.
GoolRC 2-6S Dual Xenon Burst Light High Brightness for RC Multicopter G2I9 | eBay
Just saw they were out. I just bought another pair to put on my P4, may use with regulator and tap into P4 battery using an external plug.
7-22V LED Double Xenon Night Flying Flash Light for Drone Mulicoptor Quadcopter | eBay

AirMan05446 · Sep 17, 2017

Mikevipe said:
Does the night restrictions requiring a waiver apply to only commercial/business use or does it also apply to civilian (unlicensed but registered) use as well?

In the US, hobbyist operators can fly at night. The AMA recommends a lighting system so you can tell the orientation of the aircraft, but if you don't fly too far away the Phantom's lighting system should suffice. Anti-collision strobes are not required for hobby craft, but I highly recommend it, esp to be seen by heli's at night.

ShadowCrabb · Oct 6, 2017

If you are going to completely fly by the book during twilight you'll have strobes in white, red and green. A good standalone light meeting FAA regulations is from Firehouse Technology. Easily 3 SM. My understanding is there are no night flights , hobby or professional, unless you have a waiver. That's how I answered on the Part 107 exam and I'm pretty sure I got it right.