Range Anxiety - What's your comfort range?

[alokbhargava]

agree 100 percent.
fly only in large open areas.
away from buildings and peopler.

How did you get such image? Any issue with your Gimbal?

 

[Silverwingflinx]

Well it's final many test flights with wifi boosters big problems first of all two of my boosters have stopped working!!! Flew again today just one booster working now EXTrem video lag iPad fpv video keeps ggggggggliching even lose of video signal on way home wifi boosters seem to cause to much interference I would not recommend buying wifi boosters!,!!! Yes get a good antenna the itelite works great u can still leave the antenna on controller if your case is ten inches deep!!!Fpvlr works good as well......with out boooooooosters I still flew 9km out 18km total,,,,,,,,,if you want money well spent better antennas and do a battery mod we all want to fly looooooonger and farther fly safe

 

[aka1ceman]

1st stupid statement: "when flying in my neighborhood".
2nd stupid statement: "how far away is safe".
Best statement: "I hope the OP crashes (without hurting anyone) and can't afford to fix it".

I disagree with this statement. That is too much a blanket statement.
The Op asked about an experienced flyer. Does an experienced pilot not fly over cities because "he might crash"? I feel that no 2 pilots are the same. Some have NO business being in the same state as people. Others are fine with a reliable aircraft and common sense. Not over Macy's parade or buzzing a heavily occupied park at 10 ft. A good pilot is always looking for a way out in an emergency.
I do fly over my neighborhood at a safe distance from people, yet I've been flying remote planes since late 70s on a line control string. Can an accident happen, yes. But I can get in an accident in my vehicle going to the store. I say too each their own, be responsible, and be ready at all times for an emergency situation. Know Your Limitations

 

[Silverwingflinx]

Well I don't do it at all first if u did kill someone or cause property damage then what u can live with ur self knowing to took someone's life because of a drone really second paying for damage to some ones things and now you still need another drone but as forest gump said it stupid is as stupid does !!!! Fly safe

 

[aka1ceman]

Well I don't do it at all first if u did kill someone or cause property damage then what u can live with ur self knowing to took someone's life because of a drone really second paying for damage to some ones things and now you still need another drone but as forest gump said it stupid is as stupid does !!!! Fly safe

So I have a license to drive a car, do I not drive on roads where people and pedestrians are because I may kill somebody? Sounds stupid doesn't it? So I will stop flying where I feel comfortable when you stop driving your vehicle where ever people may be there Bubba.

 

[GadgetGuy]

There are old pilots and there are bold pilots. But there are no old bold pilots.

At least we don't go down with the bird!

 

[GadgetGuy]

And learn to cancel RTH as well and resume control.
You are probably better at finding a good landing place than your Phantom.

Which is why the ability to cancel Autoland at 10% battery should never have been taken away from us!

 

[GadgetGuy]

The law is 400 ft AGL and LOS! I stick to this but am guilty of testing the range. 5800 ft out and back in the middle of nowhere along the foothills of Colorado. I got the long range thing out of my system and will stick to the laws from now on.

Ain't no law! It's a "Guideline" only!

 

[phantom13flyer]

It kills me that nobody even knows what line of sight means.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Well, there are two lines of sight, LOS and VLOS. There is the clear line of sight with no intervening obstructions required for transmitter control (the only one that really matters!), and then there is the visual line of sight, unaided by anything other than corrective lenses, that the AMA deems we should all be flying under because it's in their rules for flying at their flying fields. I don't fly in AMA flying fields, so VLOS is not relevant to me, except for take off and landing. That's why we all have a live FPV video feed on our tablets, so we can fly by FPV, once we know what we are doing! No reason to go back to the dark ages of flying within VLOS now that we all have live FPV.

 

[Noodle]

There are old pilots and there are bold pilots. But there are no old bold pilots.

Most old pilots are bald anyway.

Oh... you mean bold

 

[RoyVa]

Normally high voltage power lines are at a maximum height of 150 ft. However cell towers along interstates can reach 200 ft. So at 225 you should clear any obstacles in your flight path. 250 is a good protective hight in most areas.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Normally high voltage power lines are at a maximum height of 150 ft. However cell towers along interstates can reach 200 ft. So at 225 you should clear any obstacles in your flight path. 250 is a good protective hight in most areas.

...assuming no AGL elevation increases along your flight path. Add any increase in elevation (from a Topo map) to your normal RTH height setting. If you will be flying uphill or over a hilltop, change it accordingly.

 

[peter west nz]

After about 180 flights on the phantom 3 advanced, not once did it fail to come home. The key is making sure it knows where home is. I don't have a comfort point. It all varies on condition when it comes to range. There are always signs that fpv is about to go when it's at the limit. And even if I lose fpv at 2 point something kilometers, maybe more, maybe less, I hit the go home button and wait for fpv again. If not, I'll come out of phantom screen, go to home screen, then back to phantom screen and it's there. At least that's how it always goes with my Nexus 7 2013. Over the sea I might even get 3 kilometers at times. I never **** around under 100 meters. More interference below and at 100 meters I haven't hit a tree, power line or any of the things the broken gimbal boys love to hit. In fact, fly it at over 80 meters and under 120 and I can just about guarantee you that you will never have a crash.

Yep. I agree with. I have an advanced too. I go out 5km up the harbour & back, or out & around the islands. I have a bright tail light so that it is easily visible when flying in the early morning & at dusk, especially against dark backgrounds. I need to fly with 8 neg density when taking video of surfing, here on our famous left break, because it gives slow enough shutter speeds for smooth motion. If I am mainly after pics, I shoot 2k7 video with the polarizing filter on and accept that video might be a bit choppy, but snapshots taken from the video are good enough to print in the local papers. Much of my flying is over water, and I stay at least 15m up. I don't want to get in the spray, or too close to the waves. I usually fly with a spotter, while I try to fly it like a helicopter or a plane using the fpv from 1km away on the shore. You actually have to work at that. My border collie thinks it's the best thing ever. She appears in every video if she is with me - chases it along the beach & waits for it to come back. It's the only time she barks, apart from chasing sticks thrown into the water . I always handcatch.

 

[Hung]

I would love to go farther but my android phone and the DJI GO App keep forcing a shut down on me. I am afraid to take it farther than 100 feet. I have only flew it 2 times tho. LOL

 

[Ohary]

Its possible. Check your settings and see if you have dual band , 2.4 GHz and 5.8ghz. If you do , use the 5.8 GHz band . The phantom uses 2.4 GHz so if you are using 5.8 GHz for your tether than you should be good to go.

Yup, it was the 2.4GHz wifi hotspot. Took her out again and reached 2.2 miles without any interference.

 

[phantom13flyer]

Yup, it was the 2.4GHz wifi hotspot. Took her out again and reached 2.2 miles without any interference.

Do you have the option to use a 5.8ghz Hotspot

 

[TheRealNick]

I am working on my courage, I still get really nervous about 700 feet out. I really want to film my friends surfing and I think they are maybe at 1200 feet. At 1200 feet in my mind I would be trusting the technology a lot, which I guess is the point. 700 feet appears to be about the limit I flew older RC stuff that didn't have fancy altitude control, GPS, or first person view. In a way my past experience created a hard limit...and caution, which is probably overall a good thing. I also learned now that I have altitude control that when I used to circle with my older RC heli I would go up quite a bit as it got far away from me....that cracks me up. I keep thinking the Phantom is too low and then I look at the altitude and it is still up there. One time I even doubted the screen and walked over to confirm it was correct....fun times!

 

[phantom13flyer]

I am working on my courage, I still get really nervous about 700 feet out. I really want to film my friends surfing and I think they are maybe at 1200 feet. At 1200 feet in my mind I would be trusting the technology a lot, which I guess is the point. 700 feet appears to be about the limit I flew older RC stuff that didn't have fancy altitude control, GPS, or first person view. In a way my past experience created a hard limit...and caution, which is probably overall a good thing. I also learned now that I have altitude control that when I used to circle with my older RC heli I would go up quite a bit as it got far away from me....that cracks me up. I keep thinking the Phantom is too low and then I look at the altitude and it is still up there. One time I even doubted the screen and walked over to confirm it was correct....fun times!

Just take your time and stay in your comfort zone. And when your ready your phantom will be more than ready . 1200 ft is nothing for this bird.

 

[Chicago1]

I disagree with this statement. That is too much a blanket statement.
The Op asked about an experienced flyer. Does an experienced pilot not fly over cities because "he might crash"? I feel that no 2 pilots are the same. Some have NO business being in the same state as people. Others are fine with a reliable aircraft and common sense. Not over Macy's parade or buzzing a heavily occupied park at 10 ft. A good pilot is always looking for a way out in an emergency.
I do fly over my neighborhood at a safe distance from people, yet I've been flying remote planes since late 70s on a line control string. Can an accident happen, yes. But I can get in an accident in my vehicle going to the store. I say too each their own, be responsible, and be ready at all times for an emergency situation. Know Your Limitations

These things fail all the time - boards, motors, software and wiring. I would bet that your car is a bit more reliable than any flying device made in China. It is not the pilot. I have flown 90 size helis at 100 mph for years. I know very well how to handle these devices; however, I also know these things do COME DOWN all of the time- many times, not the fault of the VERY EXPERIENCED pilot. Enough said!