Registration Requires Intent to Fly VLOS Only!

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Registration Requires Intent to Fly VLOS Only!

I bought my P3P specifically to fly beyond the roughly VLOS range of the stock P2V+ and the P3S. DJI even actively promotes the 5 km control range for the P3P on their website:

"Remote Controller Max Distance: Up to 5 km or 3.1 miles (unobstructed, free of interference) when FCC compliant"

So for everyone who is so gung-ho about registering now, or have already done so, do you really intend to never fly beyond visual line of sight (VLOS) ever again?

If you have ever flown your P3 before Dec 21, 2015, if you wait to register until February 19, 2016, you can legally and morally fly beyond Visual Line of Sight for the next 7 weeks, but not if you already have registered!

Why voluntarily tether your P3P to VLOS any sooner than you have to, by registering before February 19th, 2015?

Just curious...

Edit to avoid thread hijacking by VLOS zealots: Just so it's clear, we are not talking about anything that could be deemed reckless flying, and flying beyond VLOS is not, in and of itself, reckless flying!

We are only talking about flying your P3 beyond VLOS, which it was designed for, using FPV in a safe manner.
The idea is to fly responsibly. This should be the goal of every pilot.
I'm happy to be doing work for friends and associates that involve collecting specific images at specific locations. We always want to see where the bird is.
 
It makes me sick the number of people that flaunt basic safety rules simply to satisfy some juvenile need to be cool. Grow up and understand that flying beyond VLOS could put others in very real life threatening danger. If you were to have some small aircraft hit your drone and cause enough damage to it to cause it to crash, how could you live with that? All in the name of having fun, being cool, flaunting safety rules. I just don't understand the idiocy of people that don't understand something this simple.

Flying outside LOS can be very safe. If I'm flying at 100 or 200' I lose sight of my drone around 600'. The chances I can't see an aircraft much further then that are nill. Any time you fly, even in line of sight, you run something of a risk you will hit an aircraft. Can you live with that? If not, stop flying all together before you kill a plane full of people. When I fly out of LOS I know _exactly_ where my drone is located, I just can't physically see it.

I fly beyond LOS _every single time I fly_. I will continue to do so.
 
I agree with the OP. If you observe all the other rules the FAA is asking of you (staying under 400 ft, not flying near airports, etc.) flying beyond VLOS is not, in itself, unsafe. And yes, the P3 can safely do this. Yet, by registering, you are agreeing not to. I registered, but did so reluctantly because of this unfair rule.
You can always change your mind, now that you know that "intend" does not mean "shall"...Your intent can always change. Doing something different than what you originally "intended" to do is not a crime!:)
 
Thing is, people don't realize just how hard it is for a pilot of a small plane to spot something as large as another aircraft of the same size, let alone something as tiny as a MR

Apparently, according to the FAA, pilots see drones just fine at distances of up to 1000' away. They have the records to prove this.
 
VLOS... what does that mean exactly? Visual Line of Sight you say. Do you know that literally means there must be a direct line of site between you and the P3?
To the FAA, that means you can see your aircraft with your unaided eyes -- meaning you cannot use binoculars, FPV, etc. They do allow a VO though.

Here's a requirement from my approved 333 exemption (so you know what the FAA means by "VLOS"):

"The UA must be operated within visual line of sight (VLOS) of the PIC at all times. This requires the PIC to be able to use human vision unaided by any device other than corrective lenses, as specified on the PIC’s FAA-issued airman medical certificate."
 
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The idea is to fly responsibly. This should be the goal of every pilot.
I'm happy to be doing work for friends and associates that involve collecting specific images at specific locations. We always want to see where the bird is.
Ideally, I would, too. However, that isn't always possible, and is why DJI gave us Lightbridge on the P3A and P3P. Flying long range up to 3 miles was and is the intended purpose of both aircraft to support professional video. Otherwise, everyone would have bought a P3 Standard instead.
 
That's why you need a spotter. You need to be able to see it, so that you can see if it is endangering others. When using the camera only, you have but a small angular slice of vision (maybe). Are you aware that a regular part of flight training for new pilots is a maneuver called turns about a point. It is a ground reference maneuver done at between 600 and 1000 feet AGL. It is to teach a varying bank maneuver taking into account wind and end up flying a concentric circles around a ground reference point. When flying your drone 1/2 mile away from your current position out in the countryside where you think your being totally safe, you could fly right into the path of a private pilot practicing this or some other low altitude maneuver. You may not want acknowledge the truth, but the truth is actually very simple. if you can't see your drone whether at 400 feet, 600 feet or 1000 feet AGL, you are creating the potential for an accident that can kill people. It's really that simple. You can try to justify it away to your hearts content, but anyone who has any experience with the airspace system and how it is used on a daily basis will tell you the same thing.


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To the FAA, that means you can see your aircraft with your unaided eyes -- meaning you cannot use binoculars, FPV, etc. They do allow a VO though.
He is correct. Agreeing that you intend to fly only within VLOS means you must be able to still see the aircraft at all times, with your bare eyes, unaided except by corrective lenses, but without magnification of any sort. Basically, any time you are more than 1,000 feet away. Obviously, this isn't a only a safety issue. They want to be able to locate the pilot, and don't want to have look very hard! ;)
 
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Apparently, according to the FAA, pilots see drones just fine at distances of up to 1000' away. They have the records to prove this.
Possible? Sure. Practical? No way... sure if you know EXACTLY where to look you might see a white object 18" in diameter.

If you are really, truly following the letter of the "guidance" you are limited to 300-400 feet maximum distance. Keep in sight, at all times, no exceptions: So if I look down and then look up and try to find my P3 in the sky, and it takes me 5-10 seconds to re-acquire it with my vision, am I still in compliance with this guideline? What if it takes me 1-2 minutes? 300-400 feet max... Enjoy flying in your yard.
 
That's why you need a spotter. You need to be able to see it, so that you can see if it is endangering others. When using the camera only, you have but a small angular slice of vision (maybe). Are you aware that a regular part of flight training for new pilots is a maneuver called turns about a point. It is a ground reference maneuver done at between 600 and 1000 feet AGL. It is to teach a varying bank maneuver taking into account wind and end up flying a concentric circles around a ground reference point. When flying your drone 1/2 mile away from your current position out in the countryside where you think your being totally safe, you could fly right into the path of a private pilot practicing this or some other low altitude maneuver. You may not want acknowledge the truth, but the truth is actually very simple. if you can't see your drone whether at 400 feet, 600 feet or 1000 feet AGL, you are creating the potential for an accident that can kill people. It's really that simple. You can try to justify it away to your hearts content, but anyone who has any experience with the airspace system and how it is used on a daily basis will tell you the same thing.


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According to this document regarding guidance, a spotter is not permitted to maintain line of sight. https://www.faa.gov/uas/media/model_aircraft_spec_rule.pdf
 
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Again, that's why your should have a spotter. I know most don't, but not liking the truth doesn't change it.


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I've often found it quite amazing the number of eagle-eyed pilots reporting they spotted a tiny 380mm object while traveling 150+ mph in an airline cockpit where you can't see the ground unless the nose is pitched 20 degree down...

Apparently, according to the FAA, pilots see drones just fine at distances of up to 1000' away. They have the records to prove this.
 
..........,,,

Why voluntarily tether your P3P to VLOS any sooner than you have to, by registering


Are you saying if one doesn't register then he/she is allowed to fly beyond VLOS?
 
In a commercial aircraft, where one pilots job is pretty much to keep an eagle eye outside the cockpit, scanning methodically for anything that can present a danger to their aircraft.


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To the FAA, that means you can see your aircraft with your unaided eyes -- meaning you cannot use binoculars, FPV, etc. They do allow a VO though.

Here's a requirement from my approved 333 exemption (so you know what the FAA means by "VLOS"):

"The UA must be operated within visual line of sight (VLOS) of the PIC at all times. This requires the PIC to be able to use human vision unaided by any device other than corrective lenses, as specified on the PIC’s FAA-issued airman medical certificate."
True. Commercial use 333 Exemptions, however, are quite different than the Hobbyist registrations, and require registering every one of your aircraft with their own individual N numbers and currently require adherence to very strict standards and requirements, including a real licensed pilot flying the aircraft at all times. VLOS is an absolute requirement for the 333 Exemption. It is not an ”I intend to" checkbox, like for the Hobbyist registrations. Hobbyists are also not required to have a pilot's license to fly their drones. Two entirely different kettle of fish.
 
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Hobbyists are also not required to have a pilot's license to fly their drones.
Of course not. But, isn't the FAA also asking hobbyists to fly VLOS? I'm not sure how you can continue to deny that when it's so obvious.
 

Are you saying if one doesn't register then he/she is allowed to fly beyond VLOS?
As long as you are flying in a non-reckless manner, absolutely, until February 19th, 2016, as long as you have flown your aircraft at least once before Dec 21, 2015. Thereafter, after you register, as long as you "intended" to fly within VLOS at the time of registration, if you later change your mind...well, that's a gentleman's prerogative, isn't it! ;)
 
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Of course not. But, isn't the FAA also asking hobbyists to fly VLOS? I'm not sure how you can continue to deny that when it's so obvious.
"Asking" is the operative word. Intending to do something does not make it compulsory, if you decide to change your mind and are not flying recklessly, which has always been illegal for anyone flying any type of aircraft or drone. These are Safety Guidelines, not FAA Rules. Registration may be required, but adherence to their Safety Guidelines is solely based upon intent, and not "I shall", clear legal distinctions that the FAA could have made compulsory, if they had the legal authority to do so, but they don't, which is why they ask you to "intend to" instead of "I must follow"
 
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While I know you won't do this, it would be interesting to see what the FAA would say if you ran this by them. I'm pretty sure they would not agree with what you're saying.
 
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It will be interesting to see how well that logic holds up once a drone/aircraft collision kills a few people. I sure would not wanna be the guy making that argument in court.


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