Be careful of helicopters even when below 400 feet

Helis and small aircraft often break the 500' rule when cresting mountains to save time and fuel. This has generally been an acceptable practice because they are under 500' only a few seconds. So be careful when cruising mountain ridges. Keep an ear tuned.
 
I take it your not a helicopter pilot ? The air intakes are the least of your worries , especially on the 500 , virtually every turbine aircraft has intake screens , the 500 also has a particle filter which will even keep sand out . The blades aren't that tough , and unfortunately everyone who has read chicken hawk believes that you can cut down trees with main blades , you are correct blades have been hit by rounds , and luckily they have travelled through the blade missing the spar and leading edge , but agreed they would probably survive a drone strike to allow the helicopter to land , but the blades etc would still be scrap after that . If the helicopter is flying forward , it will hit the drone ( bird far more likely ! ) before the down wash hits it , down wash is on really relevant if it where hovering , but having suffered bird strikes and seen the damage they can do , being a soft object , compared to a drone , I think it's a very good idea to keep clear , for both parties !
 
John Locke see Helix,s post , they aren't breaking any rule , so always be careful , as you say you will hear them long before they see you !
 
I take it your not a helicopter pilot ? The air intakes are the least of your worries , especially on the 500 , virtually every turbine aircraft has intake screens , the 500 also has a particle filter which will even keep sand out . The blades aren't that tough , and unfortunately everyone who has read chicken hawk believes that you can cut down trees with main blades , you are correct blades have been hit by rounds , and luckily they have travelled through the blade missing the spar and leading edge , but agreed they would probably survive a drone strike to allow the helicopter to land , but the blades etc would still be scrap after that . If the helicopter is flying forward , it will hit the drone ( bird far more likely ! ) before the down wash hits it , down wash is on really relevant if it where hovering , but having suffered bird strikes and seen the damage they can do , being a soft object , compared to a drone , I think it's a very good idea to keep clear , for both parties !

200 hours fixed wing and a few hours on a 300 - sadly no heli turbine experience yet! I didn't realise the filters were that fine - the PT6 isn't lol.
Attack helicopters do have armoured blades but they are in a different class of course.
I love the MD500 series - or maybe a Gazelle.
 
Haha your right about the Pt 6 , we had a Pilates PC 12 with one, but I think fixed wing turbines are no were near as well screened as rotary , the 500 is a great machine , I have about 25 hours in md500 and about 500hrs in the md600 - and mostly fly Augusta 109s now , my biggest worry , especially single pilot , is a bird strike coming in through the screen , imagine what a drone could do if you threw it at the screen at 190 mph
 
You'll never get a jury of 12 Phantom owners. You will go away for a very long time if your drone is the cause of a manned aircraft crash. Called public sentiment,common sense.
 
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I get the occasional single engine that likes to fly low. Best practice is to see and avoid

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while obviously I hope no one ever has to test the theory, but in all reality how much worse would one of our drones be than a large bird? Or flock of them? It wouldn't be a fun day for anyone but I really doubt an airplane or helicopter is going to crash from a collision with a phantom sized drone.
 
From now on whenever I hear the choppers coming im just dropping the thing as low as possible. I just assumed I was safe under 400 because of how much that number is hammered into our heads. I didnt even think to yield in this case because I assumed it would be above me even though I did hear it. I had the gimbal pointed up as far as it could go to see if I could get a picture of it and was surprised when it came into the frame almost below me. Rule should be under 400 unless you hear an aircraft in the area then get really low until its gone.

Also at 400 you can drop altitude pretty quickly. If you fly much higher the only way to avoid in time if an aircraft was close would be CSC. Guess thats another reason to abide by the 400 limit. Sport mode isnt fast enough yet to outrun a black hawk
 
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I take it your not a helicopter pilot ? The air intakes are the least of your worries , especially on the 500 , virtually every turbine aircraft has intake screens , the 500 also has a particle filter which will even keep sand out . The blades aren't that tough , and unfortunately everyone who has read chicken hawk believes that you can cut down trees with main blades , you are correct blades have been hit by rounds , and luckily they have travelled through the blade missing the spar and leading edge , but agreed they would probably survive a drone strike to allow the helicopter to land , but the blades etc would still be scrap after that . If the helicopter is flying forward , it will hit the drone ( bird far more likely ! ) before the down wash hits it , down wash is on really relevant if it where hovering , but having suffered bird strikes and seen the damage they can do , being a soft object , compared to a drone , I think it's a very good idea to keep clear , for both parties !

I think at some point the U.S. aviation industry is going to have to do extensive testing in wind tunnels about the effects of manned aircraft colliding with consumer drones such as the Phantom, and makes those results public so that we can have proper facts before asking Congress to pass laws about drone use.

They've already done this extensive testing with bird strikes, but given that economic forces want to start using drones to deliver goods to consumers, we all need accurate information on what happens when a Phantom hits helicopter rotor blades, sucked into jet engines, impacts a Cessna windshield, etc. We can't let unbridled fear guide the law-making process.

As a forward-thinking idea, what if drone manufacturers starting making products out of materials that would easily disintegrate into tiny pieces when impacting with helicopter blades and jet turbines? Maybe like a carbon fiber shell or shells with numerous peforations to allow it to break into 500 tiny pieces when struck? Some creative engineering could prevent a Phantom or similar drone from ever bringing down a manned aircraft. Making a solid shell out of PVC plastic seems like a dumb idea for the years ahead.
 
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For the most part, birds can, will and are really good at getting out of the way of manned aircraft.

Spring breeding/nesting and migration times, I keep the landing lights on much of the time so they have plenty time to move.

No matter the severity of the strike, I have to land and inspect. So crash or no crash it STOPS/interupts that flight.
 
Who wins in court after the mid air collision?

You are asking the wrong question. What you should be asking is:
  • How did I allow it to happen that I was at the same altitude and in close proximity to a manned aircraft?
  • Why did I not have awareness for the approaching helicopter?
  • Why did I not immediately descend as fast possible to avoid a potentially dangerous situation?
  • Do I understand that it is my responsibility to stay clear of manned aircraft irregardless of where they are flying or what they are doing?
 
...
(1) A helicopter may be operated at less than the minimums prescribed in paragraph (b) or (c) of this section, provided each person operating the helicopter complies with any routes or altitudes specifically prescribed for helicopters by the FAA;
...

Does anybody know how to find out about where "routes ...specifically prescribed for helicopters by the FAA" might be located? Is there some kind of master map somewhere online?
 
In the UK the rule is for a drone maximum of 400feet for manned aircraft minimum of 500 feet not withstanding for operational reasons. This in theory gives a 100 feet buffer which should keep all happy and safe. It appears to the onlooker that some in the USA feel comfortable with flying as high as possible giving no regard to manned aircraft safety. At thousands of feet high how can you see where you are in relation to any aircraft? The emphasis seems to be on height and distance, I appreciate your country is huge in comparison to the UK but surely to fly within your sight is the safest for all concerned?
 
Sure. Flying LOS is safest. How about not flying? Wouldn't that be even more safe?

Allow me a tangent here: What about package delivery? This won't be line of sight. So do we just throw it out?

Somehow this emerging technology needs to be further introduced into the NAS. It won't be easy and it won't be convenient for everybody, but it needs to happen.
 
In the UK the rule is for a drone maximum of 400feet for manned aircraft minimum of 500 feet not withstanding for operational reasons. This in theory gives a 100 feet buffer which should keep all happy and safe. It appears to the onlooker that some in the USA feel comfortable with flying as high as possible giving no regard to manned aircraft safety. At thousands of feet high how can you see where you are in relation to any aircraft? The emphasis seems to be on height and distance, I appreciate your country is huge in comparison to the UK but surely to fly within your sight is the safest for all concerned?

The 400' rule protects nobody. I often have aircraft flying lower than my house - Chinooks and the Electric Company helicoper are the main culprits. The RAF Seakings also fly very low. Either I stay on the deck for ever or just excercise caution. I am sure the Chinooks have had to deal with a lot worse than my DJI lol.
 
Haha your right about the Pt 6 , we had a Pilates PC 12 with one, but I think fixed wing turbines are no were near as well screened as rotary , the 500 is a great machine , I have about 25 hours in md500 and about 500hrs in the md600 - and mostly fly Augusta 109s now , my biggest worry , especially single pilot , is a bird strike coming in through the screen , imagine what a drone could do if you threw it at the screen at 190 mph

PC12s are awesome - flown in a few - hoping my company will lease one soon! Their new Exec Jet looks awesome - short field rough strip in a private jet - very forward thinking.
 

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