Loooooooong Range Night Flight P4P

[Darian Trotter]

Had to share this!!! My longest flight yet. 5.3 miles out & BACK total 10.6 miles at 400 feet altitude!!! I noticed it captured 401 feet in the screen shot. Conditions were perfect. Wind was 1.5 mph. Took 11 minutes each way. This was at 5am. Less, interference late night helps. Yes, I know so please save the line of sight argument.

 

[Yooper]

Pretty cool

 

[LuvMyTJ]

Do you have your contact info on that quad?

 

[nwairphotos]

How would you avoid colliding with a helicopter or airplane at that distance? It's not so much the line of sight that's a concern, but that you can't monitor air traffic near your drone. Striking a helicopter with your drone could be catastrophic. I'm not trying to be the "police." I'd love to send my drone out 5 miles or send it up to 2,000' and I might bend a rule if I felt I could do it safely, but we're taking a chance and possibly putting lives at risk if our drone is out of sight.

I was recently photographing a business with my drone and there was a low flying helicopter working the general area. I kept my eye on it and was prepared to immediately descend if necessary, but what if I had been a mile away? I wouldn't have picked up that helicopter on my screen.

 

[dirkclod]

I take this was stock .
What % battery did you have when you got back ?

 

[John Locke]

I've flown many missions up to three miles away and I can easily see other craft if they enter my airspace. True I can't see my drone, but I know where it is, and I always have VLOS of my airspace. I can easily avoid manned craft by quickly descending to 50' and wait for them to leave the area. Although I know I can fly up to 5 miles away, I don't. That limits me on battery reserve if I need it to avoid traffic, so three miles is my typical limit. That said, only twice in two years have I had to take precautionary steps to evade the risk of collision, and that was very easy and safe IMO. The helicopter flew by my flight area at around 200' AGL. I'm not sure why he was so low, but one incident was in the hills where I fly often, and another incident was in the hills I rarely fly. Both times I felt in total control, safe and had clear awareness how to yield to the helicopter.

 

[Hjones62]

Hey Darian, you had to know someone was gonna criticize this flight. Great job on the flight!!

 

[Darian Trotter]

Do you have your contact info on that quad?

Yes I do. Phone number and all

 

[Darian Trotter]

Hey Darian, you had to know someone was gonna criticize this flight. Great job on the flight!!

Yeah, but I had to share it anyway. And THANKS!

 

[Darian Trotter]

I've flown many missions up to three miles away and I can easily see other craft if they enter my airspace. True I can't see my drone, but I know where it is, and I always have VLOS of my airspace. I can easily avoid manned craft by quickly descending to 50' and wait for them to leave the area. Although I know I can fly up to 5 miles away, I don't. That limits me on battery reserve if I need it to avoid traffic, so three miles is my typical limit. That said, only twice in two years have I had to take precautionary steps to evade the risk of collision, and that was very easy and safe IMO. The helicopter flew by my flight area at around 200' AGL. I'm not sure why he was so low, but one incident was in the hills where I fly often, and another incident was in the hills I rarely fly. Both times I felt in total control, safe and had clear awareness how to yield to the helicopter.

Yep, I'm with ya. I'm very familiar with this route and the area. And it's clearly not something I do often. It was the first at this distance. Thanks for your comment. You're always very helpful and responsive to posts and questions.

 

[Darian Trotter]

I take this was stock .
What % battery did you have when you got back ?

I timed everything perfectly, judging the wind speed and the height. I adjusted the height on the return to spare battery power, AND stopped recording. Still it JUST made it back to the empty parking lot I launched from. I stayed calm as it auto landed right in front of me. I wouldn't have been able to make this distance under normal conditions, and without manipulating the height when needed.

 

[Darian Trotter]

I take this was stock .
What % battery did you have when you got back ?

Also, this was not stock. The modified controller is shown in my profile pic. The battery was stock. I also launched from an elevated plane and flew when interference is low.

 

[Darian Trotter]

How would you avoid colliding with a helicopter or airplane at that distance? It's not so much the line of sight that's a concern, but that you can't monitor air traffic near your drone. Striking a helicopter with your drone could be catastrophic. I'm not trying to be the "police." I'd love to send my drone out 5 miles or send it up to 2,000' and I might bend a rule if I felt I could do it safely, but we're taking a chance and possibly putting lives at risk if our drone is out of sight.

I was recently photographing a business with my drone and there was a low flying helicopter working the general area. I kept my eye on it and was prepared to immediately descend if necessary, but what if I had been a mile away? I wouldn't have picked up that helicopter on my screen.

I appreciate your genuine concern. It should be noted that this was not something that should be tried Willy Nilly. It wasn't in this case. Several precautions were taken. For example I didn't make this flight alone. I had help from several spotters -- and we were all well contacted. They helped keep watch, and I was prepared to land at locations where they waited if I needed. Safety of others is a priority. I also don't want to lose the quad. Again, this was a calculated flight which factored in wind speed, temperature,

visibility, and THE WHAT IF. We set out at 3am, made a few test runs. Recharged and the final flight launched at 5am. Not everyone who tries a long range flight goes to those lengths. I did.

 

[pporozin]

When flying there is always a risk involved. Most of the people tries to minimize the risks, but there is always a group of people which does not care. You could cause death of some people in the worst case and you know it, you just ignored it to achieve your long flight. In my point of view this is selfish and stupid and I see no point to say anything positive about your flight. I appreciate people sharing here their experience while flying DJI products, I love various photos taken under various conditions and I like lot of shared video content here, but honestly I dislike posts about not respecting anything which cause tightening the rules because a low percentage of uav pilots is not using theirs brain. Your post does not contain anything great, no great picture, no great video, you just hold the throttle for 20 minutes without having any idea where you fly. Sorry.

 

[dirkclod]

Also, this was not stock. The modified controller is shown in my profile pic. .

lol Yeah well I missed that one .
Why I asked is about all I do is fly long and I just wondered compared to what I get with my mavic you turning back at 57% what you had when it got back as I hardly go lower than 60% and have had to find spots to land . I guess the P4 just holds more juice .

 

[Darian Trotter]

Are you on sports mode? That sucks battery FAST. Also altitude -- try going lower on the return if you're familiar with obstacles. You'll find it's less likely to disconnect on the return. Sometimes you have to go higher on the way out, but I've gone really low on the return to preserve battery and the signal was solid. It's good to be prepared to land, but stay calm -- especially if there's no change in wind. Chances are it'll take about the same length of time to get back.

 

[Darian Trotter]

When flying there is always a risk involved. Most of the people tries to minimize the risks, but there is always a group of people which does not care. You could cause death of some people in the worst case and you know it, you just ignored it to achieve your long flight. In my point of view this is selfish and stupid and I see no point to say anything positive about your flight. I appreciate people sharing here their experience while flying DJI products, I love various photos taken under various conditions and I like lot of shared video content here, but honestly I dislike posts about not respecting anything which cause tightening the rules because a low percentage of uav pilots is not using theirs brain. Your post does not contain anything great, no great picture, no great video, you just hold the throttle for 20 minutes without having any idea where you fly. Sorry.

You don't have to apologize. But you clearly commented without knowing all the facts, or reading some of the background in this thread. Your point of some measure of risk is well taken, as were safety precautions with this flight.

 

[KykPhantom]

Also, this was not stock. The modified controller is shown in my profile pic. The battery was stock. I also launched from an elevated plane and flew when interference is low.

Could you tell us please the remaining battery after landing? Also, what was your speed during flight?

 

[Darian Trotter]

There was only 7% battery left upon landing. And I traveled at 29mph during both legs of the flight. I never went into sports mode. I also launched up and out the maximize battery life. Climbing first and then flying out costs valuable battery life during long distance flights...

 

[KykPhantom]

There was only 7% battery left upon landing. And I traveled at 29mph during both legs of the flight. I never went into sports mode. I also launched up and out the maximize battery life. Climbing first and then flying out costs valuable battery life during long distance flights...

Thank you for giving these valuable information. Something which makes me wondering is the "value" of this controller modification, because I have flown to a range of 8.250km (27000 ft) with stock antenna (no modifications at all) and the remaining battery at landing was 15%.