IFR Training

[Don Wilson]

I was flying the other day and way out there and my screen went blank white. Low and behold, very fast a white cloud was dropping in. I had to fly back totally by "instruments" on the DJI software. Yea, I could have used the "go home" feature, but that was too easy. I just switched to map view and watched my altitude, distance and the indicator on the map where I was. It was enlightening not knowing for sure if I would loose the bird with no pilot view and no line of sight.

Has anyone investigated the clip on GPS tracking units? Hate adding weight, and the map GPS view seems fine as long as the battery is good and transmitting signal. Not very precise however.

 

[msinger]

Has anyone investigated the clip on GPS tracking units?

Are you referring to trackers to find a lost drone? If so, you can find a list of commonly used trackers here.

 

[Don Wilson]

Are you referring to trackers to find a lost drone? If so, you can find a list of commonly used trackers here.

Wow, nice reference list, thanks. I was more interested in which ones work the best and affect the aircraft the least

 

[msinger]

All of the trackers on my list are commonly used my pilots in this forum. None negatively affect the Phantom signal-wise or weight-wise.

 

[Don Wilson]

All of the trackers on my list are commonly used my pilots in this forum. None negatively affect the Phantom signal-wise or weight-wise.

Thanks --- I did have a signal issue with the Pro Polar LED lights, so that is good to know

 

[NormanNormal]

Keep in mind a lot of the cellular trackers are using 2G radio technology which is scheduled to sunset this yet or the next. As a matter of fact my local area has already shutdown 2g on all the towers. My 2G communicator for my alarm system even stopped working. This is the only thing preventing me from investing in one of those.

 

[olof Ekbergh]

I hope the OP realizes that this was dangerous and stupid example of flying. Not to mention in violation of FAA rules.

If you have to fly FPV you should have a safety pilot to make sure you don't fly into clouds and also to make sure you don't have any aircraft of even kites balloons etc close to your MR.

This kind of irresponsible flying is why we are seeing these new rules.

I want to discourage anyone else new here to try anything this stupid. Follow the rules, always in sight and never above 400'AGL, like you had to agree to when you registered your MR and got your FAA #.

If you are not in the USA then rules may be different, but following these guidelines will keep you safe and keep more draconian rules from being legislated everywhere.

 

[hali_pilot]

Just to elaborate on the "why" of this previous post: aircraft including helicopters fly in clouds and have zero visibility. They are entirely relying on their instruments, which cannot detect your phantom. It is extremely dangerous and explains why, at least here in Canada, among the few of the Canadian Aviation Regulation rules that apply to "model aircraft" is never fly into clouds.

That said, being able to get your phantom home relying only on your DJI Go App is a good skill to have. On the map, you can tell where it is and the heading. You can also see the altitude, speed, etc. If I'm not 100% sure of its orientation by looking at it, the heading information on the map is extremely helpful as I can rotate it to point to home and make it go forward.