Filming my son's rugby today (with permission of the club) I stayed a long way away from the lines going over the pitch, at least 20m. I would have liked to have climbed high and gone over them but I'm not sure how far away I'd need to be to be sure of no interference? Gut feel says 20m is plenty?
Distance from electricity lines
- Thread starter RhythMick
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A few months ago when I first got it and was just testing flying round... I have flown under 2 lines that crossed in a small park up the road... not those massive suckers, but just 2 small lines (you know the residential type ones) that crossed... right under I would get FPV freeze's..
Also fly at another park where there are the massive suckers... Dunno wtf you them call... but the really high lines that carry crapload of cables and look evil... Have flown around 75M away I guess... and never had any issues... Don't really like flying at that park due to the lines, just incase... Don't care if FPV freezes... but if something else was to happen :|
Also fly at another park where there are the massive suckers... Dunno wtf you them call... but the really high lines that carry crapload of cables and look evil... Have flown around 75M away I guess... and never had any issues... Don't really like flying at that park due to the lines, just incase... Don't care if FPV freezes... but if something else was to happen :|
Enola Gay said:
Very helpful post NOT -- Not everyone is computer literate and the OP may have looked at other links, but their situation was different, so asked a question on this forum, which, 99.9% of the time is very helpful.
Your biggest risk of powerlines it to fly into them. They do not radiate RF energy and the magnetic field around them diminishes with distance by the square root. Your compass may be a few degrees off, but the compass is not needed for controlled flight, just RTH or flight plans.RhythMick said:
N017RW
Premium Pilot
I'm pretty sure the compass is integral to controlled flight as well.
How else does it maintain a heading?
How else does it maintain a heading?
Powerlines emit EMF, whether it is drops to your house or higher kV transmission lines. The RF issue lies with the failing hardware on those circuits. Insulators will emit strong RF if they are tracking, contamination of the insulating material as an example. Mechanical hardware on those circuits can also emit RF if components loosen/fail with age. This is a constant battle between power companies and those that under build communication lines off the same pole.
I recommend approach distances, not based on RF or EMI, but to keep you and your utilities circuits free of any incidental contact. People that survey powerlines are doing so with the utility's approval and have made hardware upgrades to reduce any influences. You, without approval, maybe seen as a threat to the system. Make contact and cause an outage, you may end up as the poster child example for what not to do.
Just use common sense when flying near powerlines.
I recommend approach distances, not based on RF or EMI, but to keep you and your utilities circuits free of any incidental contact. People that survey powerlines are doing so with the utility's approval and have made hardware upgrades to reduce any influences. You, without approval, maybe seen as a threat to the system. Make contact and cause an outage, you may end up as the poster child example for what not to do.
Just use common sense when flying near powerlines.
The RF EMI is very low-frequency compared to the microwave frequencies that your Phantom uses. It's that crappy buzzing that you hear on the AM radio and caused by cracked or dirty insulators, which is why power companies need to inspect them from time to time. There's no way you can cause an outage by contacting one of the wires, except that you will be out a Phantom. Even if you were to maneuver between two phases of the wires, the Phantom is too small to provide an arc path.RichWest said:
From the controller, you push the stick forward saying, basically, let's go that-a-way. It doesn't care what heading that-a-way is. It just goes where you point the stick. When you are using a waypoint, RTL for example, (home point is one waypoint and your current position is another) then the Phantom calculates the heading needed to get to the home waypoint from the current waypoint and turns that direction according to the magnetic compass. It does this several times a second so if your magnetic compass is out of calibration, the Phantom makes constant course corrections, providing the spectacle of the toilet-bowl arc to home.N017RW said:
SteveMann said:
I agree it is unlikely, but I've seen some strange things happen in the few years working in the industry. I guess it depends on clearances of the phases, not every circuit is built with that in mind around the US. Diagonally the phantom, with propellers, is capable of making phase to phase contact in several locations I'm aware of using narrow profile construction.
Both the compass and if equipped a gimbal with hall effects transducers would be affected by a strong/close EMF.
It is surely capable of making phase to ground contact with associated devices and/or hardware on powerline poles. Just too many variables to say it can't happen... Again, in general, use common sense when flying around powerlines. FWIW, electrical engineering is theory rather than absolute facts...too many influences that can affect the actual results.
Thanks for the constructive and useful answers. There's no way I'd fly close enough to risk contact - I'd treat 20m as a minimum safe distance. I was more concerned (not being an electrical engineer) with what if any interference I might encounter flying over them (to get to the other half of the pitch).
I'd also set a HP at least 20m above them, to make sure it didn't try to fly through them if I lost contact.
I'd also set a HP at least 20m above them, to make sure it didn't try to fly through them if I lost contact.
N017RW
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Hi to all of you.
I am new to this great hoby and i recently bought one P3P.
In my first flights everything was good.
My issue is that after some flights i try to take off near electricity wires (hi voltage i think) and as i was holding the throtle up in order phantom to take off, when it rise from the ground about 5cm it started to go back away from the wires and i hadn't have any control to it. Thankfully it stoped on a soft plant and no damage hapened at all.
Is that possible because of electricity wires???
I was about 15 meters above them.
Thanks for your time.
I am new to this great hoby and i recently bought one P3P.
In my first flights everything was good.
My issue is that after some flights i try to take off near electricity wires (hi voltage i think) and as i was holding the throtle up in order phantom to take off, when it rise from the ground about 5cm it started to go back away from the wires and i hadn't have any control to it. Thankfully it stoped on a soft plant and no damage hapened at all.
Is that possible because of electricity wires???
I was about 15 meters above them.
Thanks for your time.
The main issue for U.S. pilots is the high tension wires mainly on towers or on 100 poles with crossovers. These carry upward of 110,000 volts. With these as current flows from one place to another two field are created around it. An electric field and a magnetic field. These are the two components of the electromagnetic field. This creates and EMF field. This field can extend to about 300 meters, however, the strongest portion is directly underneath the power lines. This EMF is considered to be low frequency due to the longer waveform. Fortunately test have been conducted and they the results were to stay away 20 meters from higher tension lines and at lest 200 meters from substations. Fenced in areas on ground where those high tension lines connect to with the transformers and regulators. So I stay away at lest 75 ft. To be safe and I don't fly under them.
What size power lines are you referring too?
I have flown within mere feet of regular power lines. Under 10m. The big guys I tend to stay 50m away. Never had an issue with my P2V+ or my powered gliders.
I have flown within mere feet of regular power lines. Under 10m. The big guys I tend to stay 50m away. Never had an issue with my P2V+ or my powered gliders.
i have flown over, under and all around power lines.
big power lines... no effect on my P2 at all...
big power lines... no effect on my P2 at all...
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Thanks for your replies.
I leave in Greece and i dont know the exact voltage for the wires. I try to find it out.
I dont mean electric towers....
The only i know is that the electricity company in my country name the cables that i had that issue as "high voltage cables".
I was straight under them on the ground and i tried to take off. But when the P3P released the ground went backwords like crazy and with very high speed. I tried to take it down but it didnt respond.
I was lucky that stoped on a bush and i reached it before crashes any wall.
I leave in Greece and i dont know the exact voltage for the wires. I try to find it out.
I dont mean electric towers....
The only i know is that the electricity company in my country name the cables that i had that issue as "high voltage cables".
I was straight under them on the ground and i tried to take off. But when the P3P released the ground went backwords like crazy and with very high speed. I tried to take it down but it didnt respond.
I was lucky that stoped on a bush and i reached it before crashes any wall.
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