Man Accused of Flying Drone Above Anti-Trump Protest - Oh boy. This is all over my local news.

[Phantomix]

there are already lights on the bottom.

to be honest, imho it isnt a terrible idea, but i think there isnt enough need to actually warrant implementing them

 

[GadgetGuy]

there are already lights on the bottom.

Indeed, there are! So, the lights you said you wanted to aid in visibility for the pilot are already present. Adding lights to the top, which cannot be seen from below, would be redundant and useless, unless you always fly below yourself. However, you can certainly add them yourself, if you really want them. Plenty of DIY aftermarket lighting mods available. When flying from a cliff to the ocean below, it would be handy. Could have used it the other evening. However, the existing lights worked just fine, once I knew where the aircraft was, by matching the FPV up to physical landmarks I could see.

 

[QuadcopterCrazy]

Indeed, there are! So, the lights you said you wanted to aid in visibility for the pilot are already present. Adding lights to the top, which cannot be seen from below, would be redundant and useless, unless you always fly below yourself. However, you can certainly add them yourself, if you really want them. Plenty of DIY aftermarket lighting mods available. When flying from a cliff to the ocean below, it would be handy. Could have used it the other evening. However, the existing lights worked just fine, once I knew where the aircraft was, by matching the FPV up to physical landmarks I could see.

I said there should be a light on top so aircraft could see the drone...

 

[Wessex]

That would be really good for video!
There's a reason the front lights can be turned off.
They interfere with video and photography.

Good point gadget guy. They could be turned off and then turned on momentarily should you loose sight of it in the sky.

Just musing to be honest.

 

[Phantomix]

I said there should be a light on top so aircraft could see the drone...

aircraft? that would have to be a very, very powerful light. If you are outside the range of an airport (5 miles away) which you already should be, no plane is going to be flying low enough to see that.

 

[QuadcopterCrazy]

aircraft? that would have to be a very, very powerful light. If you are outside the range of an airport (5 miles away) which you already should be, no plane is going to be flying low enough to see that.

The reason I bought it up is because the video shows that a helicopter was flying over the drone, you could barely see the bottom lights, if you put one up top it would make it more visible.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I said there should be a light on top so aircraft could see the drone...

Actually, you said it would help you see the aircraft, too.
"A light can help during the day too. I can see the red flashing lights from my Phantom during the day, ANYTHING that helps spot your tiny little quadcopter will help." Real pilots cannot see anything directly beneath their aircraft, and night flying of UAV's is prohibited anyway. Planes flying at 150mph are not going to see a Phantom unless it crosses their windshield, and even if they did, at 150mph, they will be long past it, before any "evasive action" can be taken. A light on top won't make any difference.

 

[GadgetGuy]

The reason I bought it up is because the video shows that a helicopter was flying over the drone, you could barely see the bottom lights, if you put one up top it would make it more visible.

If a helicopter was flying over a drone, its prop wash would crash the drone.
Problem solved.

 

[QuadcopterCrazy]

Actually, you said it would help you see the aircraft, too.
"A light can help during the day too. I can see the red flashing lights from my Phantom during the day, ANYTHING that helps spot your tiny little quadcopter will help." Real pilots cannot see anything directly beneath their aircraft, and night flying of UAV's is prohibited anyway. Planes flying at 150mph are not going to see a Phantom unless it crosses their windshield, and even if they did, at 150mph, they will be long past it, before any "evasive action" can be taken. A light on top won't make any difference.

If a news helicopter can spot a drone barely by its lights as night then i'm all for adding an extra light up top, prohibited or not, it doesn't make a difference, safety measures are always welcome in my book, I see you don't feel the same way but that's ok.

If a helicopter was flying over a drone, its prop wash would crash the drone.
Problem solved.

Watch the video...

 

[GadgetGuy]

If a news helicopter can spot a drone barely by its lights as night then i'm all for adding an extra light up top, prohibited or not, it doesn't make a difference, safety measures are always welcome in my book, I see you don't feel the same way but that's ok.



Watch the video...

My point, from the beginning, is that a guy already flying illegally at night is going to cover up any light on top that would aid in detection. Safety measures only work for the law abiding, who wouldn't be flying at night in the first place.

I would like to see the video to which you refer. Just rewatched the original link in the first post and didn't see any helicopter footage. Do you have another link? Maybe they weren't flying close enough above it. Helicopter prop wash will definitely crash a Phantom, once it is inside of it.

 

[QuadcopterCrazy]

If a helicopter was flying over a drone, its prop wash would crash the drone.
Problem solved.

My point, from the beginning, is that a guy already flying illegally at night is going to cover up any light on top that would aid in detection. Safety measures only work for the law abiding, who wouldn't be flying at night in the first place.

I would like to see the video to which you refer. Just rewatched the original link in the first post and didn't see any helicopter footage. Do you have another link? Maybe they weren't flying close enough above it. Helicopter prop wash will definitely crash a Phantom, once it is inside of it.

It must of been in the other thread about the same thing, might of been deleted by a mod since it was a duplicate of the same subject. Anyway in that thread it showed a news helicopter flying over the drone and they were saying that it was barely visible to the helicopter. And I don't know about this whole thing about it being illegal to fly at night, the FAA says you must keep it within the line of sight and at night those lights can be seen pretty good from below.

Can I get a link to where it says that its illegal.

 

[GadgetGuy]

It must of been in the other thread about the same thing, might of been deleted by a mod since it was a duplicate of the same subject. Anyway in that thread it showed a news helicopter flying over the drone and they were saying that it was barely visible to the helicopter. And I don't know about this whole thing about it being illegal to fly at night, the FAA says you must keep it within the line of sight and at night those lights can be seen pretty good from below.

Can I get a link to where it says that its illegal.

How to Fly Your Drone at Night-(Part 107 Night Waiver from 107.29) - Drone Law Attorney Services - Rupprecht Law, PA

 

[QuadcopterCrazy]

How to Fly Your Drone at Night-(Part 107 Night Waiver from 107.29) - Drone Law Attorney Services - Rupprecht Law, PA

By that own website you posted, no person shall operate an unmanned aircraft system unless anti-collision lightening can be seen for at-least 3 miles... What have I been talking about this whole time... The light would solve this problem..

 

[GadgetGuy]

By that own website you posted, no person shall operate an unmanned aircraft system unless anti-collision lightening can be seen for at-least 3 miles... What have I been talking about this whole time... The light would solve this problem..

I figured you'd like that. However, the part you missed was that, even with such unorthodox lighting, without a specific FAA waiver, it's still prohibited, which was the part you said you previously were unaware of. Only those having been granted such an FAA waiver would need such lighting, and it says nothing about lights on top. Everyone else is prohibited from flying at night anyway. No need for supplemental lights.

 

[QuadcopterCrazy]

I figured you'd like that. However, the part you missed was that, even with such unorthodox lighting, without a specific FAA waiver, it's still prohibited, which was the part you said you previously were unaware of. Only those having been granted such an FAA waiver would need such lighting, and it says nothing about lights on top. Everyone else is prohibited from flying at night anyway. No need for supplemental lights.

Still though even a supplementary light built in from factory is still a good idea. It may not be legal to fly at night but people do it. Did the guy that flew his drone over that crowd cover his lights? You give to much credit to the stupid. Most criminals don't think things through that
s why the majority get caught and if the drone operator doesn't get caught on the ground maybe a light would help aircraft see it anyway. And if a light helps see the thing at night then why not.

Being so opposed to a light on top makes no sense to me, its just a light..

 

[GadgetGuy]

Still though even a supplementary light built in from factory is still a good idea. It may not be legal to fly at night but people do it. Did the guy that flew his drone over that crowd cover his lights? You give to much credit to the stupid. Most criminals don't think things through that
s why the majority get caught and if the drone operator doesn't get caught on the ground maybe a light would help aircraft see it anyway. And if a light helps see the thing at night then why not.

Being so opposed to a light on top makes no sense to me, its just a light..

Not opposed at all. Just not that necessary. There are lots of other features that are far more important to me. When flying by FPV, the lights are irrelevant to me, and only necessary when landing, and that is always from above, where the existing lights underneath work just fine.

As far as the guy flying over the crowd, he didn't need to cover his light on top, because there wasn't one. He still needed the lights below to see the aircraft himself. Sure would like to see the same video you saw from the helicopter.

 

[QuadcopterCrazy]

Not opposed at all. Just not that necessary. There are lots of other features that are far more important to me. When flying by FPV, the lights are irrelevant to me, and only necessary when landing, and that is always from above, where the existing lights underneath work just fine.

As far as the guy flying over the crowd, he didn't need to cover his light on top, because there wasn't one. He still needed the lights below to see the aircraft himself. Sure would like to see the same video you saw from the helicopter.

You aren't the whole community though, People fly at night all the time, youtube is full of night time fliers, Flying out of line of sight is against the law but people still do it. One extra bit of safety doesn't hurt whether or not they are breaking the law.

Some people might not even know they are breaking the law so a light built in from the factory could help warn aircraft that a dummy is flying his drone at night.

In regards to the video, I would like to see it again myself but the thread is gone.

Not the same video but a video about the same incident, also shows the drone in the video and the helicopter barely missing it.

 

[GadgetGuy]

You aren't the whole community though, People fly at night all the time, youtube is full of night time fliers, Flying out of line of sight is against the law but people still do it. One extra bit of safety doesn't hurt whether or not they are breaking the law.

Some people might not even know they are breaking the law so a light built in from the factory could help warn aircraft that a dummy is flying his drone at night.

In regards to the video, I would like to see it again myself but the thread is gone.

Not the same video but a video about the same incident, also shows the drone in the video and the helicopter barely missing it.

I understand your point. I just don't think a light on top of the drone will make a difference. The existing lights are still visible, in the dark, even from above. If you read the entire link I provided to you, it includes the FAA analysis of how lighting, especially a single white light, is very deceptive as to size and distance. If that is all you see, it will be indistinguishable from a light on the ground. That won't help a helicopter pilot. Such a light might also even give night flyers a false sense of confidence that would encourage them to fly around manned aircraft. Better to educate all flyers of the real danger of flying around manned aircraft, so they don't do it in the first place, when it is so obvious that helicopters are present. All aircraft lights interfere with night video, even if only reflections of those lights in reflective surfaces. I want as few as necessary for my purposes.

 

[QuadcopterCrazy]

I understand your point. I just don't think a light on top of the drone will make a difference. The existing lights are still visible, in the dark, even from above. If you read the entire link I provided to you, it includes the FAA analysis of how lighting, especially a single white light, is very deceptive as to size and distance. If that is all you see, it will be indistinguishable from a light on the ground. That won't help a helicopter pilot. Such a light might also even give night flyers a false sense of confidence that would encourage them to fly around manned aircraft. Better to educate all flyers of the real danger of flying around manned aircraft, so they don't do it in the first place, when it is so obvious that helicopters are present. All aircraft lights interfere with night video, even if only reflections of those lights in reflective surfaces. I want as few as necessary for my purposes.

If you are getting close to see the size of the object in the sky then I think you need to get your head checked. Anything in the sky should be avoided, the link you provided yourself says a light that can be seen for 3 miles, that would work. Size is irrelevant as long as the aircraft can see it in the distance the aircraft can make appropriate procedures to avoid it.

 

[GadgetGuy]

If you are getting close to see the size of the object in the sky then I think you need to get your head checked. Anything in the sky should be avoided, the link you provided yourself says a light that can be seen for 3 miles, that would work. Size is irrelevant as long as the aircraft can see it in the distance the aircraft can make appropriate procedures to avoid it.

You need to read the included FAA comments in the article, not just the Cliff's Notes. The included text of the FAA comments are very insightful. Please read them first, before passing judgment. The whole point is that, from the air, you cannot gauge distance from a light, or even if the light is in the air, if you are seeing it from above.