As a full scale helicopter pilot and drone/rc pilot I've been encouraging all drone users to stick to the 400 AGL limit for good reason and some drone users are complaining about this message being repeatedly being passed on thinking we're trying to 'spoil the fun' (which is far from the truth- I'm all for fun and pro this hobby)... however now there is an incident in Australia where a full scale helicopter almost hit a drone...please stick to the altitude limits...http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2014-...drone-collision-could-have-been-disas/5345618
Everyone- I urge you to please just keep to the altitude limits so the hobby's future will be ensured (I'm pro this hobby as much as flying full scale but when it comes to it- I choose protecting my own and my fellow aviators' lives over making fun altitude records with drones- flying drones in of itself should be fun enough- at the end of the day if a drone hits a helo's tail rotor- it can and will take it out making the helicopter uncontrollable- there have been incidents where large birds (similar in weight or lighter than) drones have either stopped the helo's tail rotor or actually removed it completely from the helicopter with fatal results- the effect of the drone's weight is exponentially increased when hit at speed- a drone hitting anything at 100mph will do alot of damage-bird strikes have gone through windshields and have incapacitated and in some cases even decapitated pilots...drones can do the same or worse- yes the drone may be worth up to $2000 on average but when you're talking about the potential for losing people's lives and destroying a $2M aircraft & property on the ground it's kind of a no brainer who and what has the priority- birds, RC aircraft and drones are very hard to see from the cockpit to see and avoid- so it's up to us as drone/RC pilots to avoid full scale traffic at all costs
here's yet another incident where a ful scale airplane hit a giant scale RC aircraft - captured on video- http://jalopnik.com/5617310/video-c...-real-one-sparks-dogfight-over-air-rights/all
Legally, the FAA at least, says helicopters (unlike airplanes) do not have an altitude limit- they can legally fly as low as they want so long as in the event of an engine failure they have the airspeed and height above ground to safely autorotate to the ground with no hazard to persons or property on the surface, though because of hazards like wires and obstructions they generally fly around 500 ft in cruise to avoid wires etc but also not much higher to avoid the flow of (much faster moving) fixed wing traffic..helos can legally fly at any height -even 25 ft AGL but usually cruise at 500 ft AGL and sometimes lower- even airplanes can fly legally at 500ft AGL in rural unpopulated areas or 1000 ft regularly in populated areas
the hobby is pretty much unregulated and anyone with no aviation knowledge at all can fly drones without knowing the hazards involved- new people are entering the hobby every day- so this message needs to be upheld so the newcomers are properly informed..
Everyone- I urge you to please just keep to the altitude limits so the hobby's future will be ensured (I'm pro this hobby as much as flying full scale but when it comes to it- I choose protecting my own and my fellow aviators' lives over making fun altitude records with drones- flying drones in of itself should be fun enough- at the end of the day if a drone hits a helo's tail rotor- it can and will take it out making the helicopter uncontrollable- there have been incidents where large birds (similar in weight or lighter than) drones have either stopped the helo's tail rotor or actually removed it completely from the helicopter with fatal results- the effect of the drone's weight is exponentially increased when hit at speed- a drone hitting anything at 100mph will do alot of damage-bird strikes have gone through windshields and have incapacitated and in some cases even decapitated pilots...drones can do the same or worse- yes the drone may be worth up to $2000 on average but when you're talking about the potential for losing people's lives and destroying a $2M aircraft & property on the ground it's kind of a no brainer who and what has the priority- birds, RC aircraft and drones are very hard to see from the cockpit to see and avoid- so it's up to us as drone/RC pilots to avoid full scale traffic at all costs
here's yet another incident where a ful scale airplane hit a giant scale RC aircraft - captured on video- http://jalopnik.com/5617310/video-c...-real-one-sparks-dogfight-over-air-rights/all
Legally, the FAA at least, says helicopters (unlike airplanes) do not have an altitude limit- they can legally fly as low as they want so long as in the event of an engine failure they have the airspeed and height above ground to safely autorotate to the ground with no hazard to persons or property on the surface, though because of hazards like wires and obstructions they generally fly around 500 ft in cruise to avoid wires etc but also not much higher to avoid the flow of (much faster moving) fixed wing traffic..helos can legally fly at any height -even 25 ft AGL but usually cruise at 500 ft AGL and sometimes lower- even airplanes can fly legally at 500ft AGL in rural unpopulated areas or 1000 ft regularly in populated areas
the hobby is pretty much unregulated and anyone with no aviation knowledge at all can fly drones without knowing the hazards involved- new people are entering the hobby every day- so this message needs to be upheld so the newcomers are properly informed..