zu_lu Posted at 2017-9-8 07:37
Could you explain what you mean by that statement??
I am the person who you quoted by the way. I have since changed my username to something shorter.

It says - according to your previous Avatar - that you are in the UK.

UK Drone code doesn't allow beyond visual sight flying.

If you are trying to fly up to a mile away 1600m - then you won't be able to spot your drone - hence breaking UK law.

If you are not in the UK, then disregard what I'm saying.  That said - check laws applicable to where you are flying.

http://dronesafe.uk/drone-code/

You may not agree with the code, but if you are caught flying beyond visual range by any authorities in the UK, then expect a hefty fine.

My furthest flight with a Standard Phantom 4 has been 4 Kms linear distance from take-off point. This was over open countryside, at about 70ms flight altitude with reference to the take-off point.  When signal was eventually lost, at just under 4Kms, the bird obediently came home automatically on RTH and landed within two metres of the point from which it had taken off.  I believe that the transmit power levels of the European model are lower than those in the USA - where one might expect to achieve better results.   You don't state what range YOU achieved?

Rigger73 Posted at 2017-9-8 09:57
It says - according to your previous Avatar - that you are in the UK.

UK Drone code doesn't allow beyond visual sight flying.

I thought that's what you might be referring to but I wanted to just make sure that is what you meant. I like to get my facts right before responding, unlike yourself it seems. Yes I am in the UK.

I notice that the ONLY post you made in this entire thread was to worry about my observance of the UK drone code. Rest assured I am fully aware of the UK drone code. I observe it in all my flights. I do not need you to tell me about this.

On the flight in question, I had a spotter, my friend, as I normally do. My spotter had binoculars and at no time did the drone leave our collective sight. In other words, your accusation is without merit. Not that I need to explain myself to someone such as yourself, who replies to a thread, adding nothing whatsoever, other than to accuse another member of breaking the UK drone code, without sufficient evidence. Tell me, did you check everyone elses post to see where they were from before finally resting on mine and then deciding you would "educate" me?

My advice to you sir, is to mind your own business. Worry about your own drone safety and I will do the same.

To the OP - apologies for the thread derail. I hope you appreciate I had to answer this accusation.

Just to add to this, my farthest distance is approximately 13,000ft from my roof with the P4

Rigger73 Posted at 2017-9-8 09:57
It says - according to your previous Avatar - that you are in the UK.

UK Drone code doesn't allow beyond visual sight flying.

If UK drone rules are anything like the ones in the US, pretty much every drone pilot violates at least one at some point during every flight. The rules are designed to promote safety but fail to do so. For example the whole line of sight and not using FPV without a spotter makes no sense at all. Even if you have a spotter and they yell "there's a plane" WTF are you supposed to do with that information with your head in visor? Go down? Go up? How do you expect a drone to dodge a plane exactly and how could you ever be sure you were going in the right direction to do it? The under 400 feet above ground makes perfect sense since planes are supposed to fly at least 1000 feet above ground (which for some reason they often don't do because some hot shot wants to skim the waves at 20 feet). I am all about safety but the current rules don't do that. Modern drones are not toys. They are unmanned aircraft. It is about time we started treating them as such.

zu_lu Posted at 2017-9-13 15:39
I thought that's what you might be referring to but I wanted to just make sure that is what you meant. I like to get my facts right before responding, unlike yourself it seems. Yes I am in the UK.

I notice that the ONLY post you made in this entire thread was to worry about my observance of the UK drone code. Rest assured I am fully aware of the UK drone code. I observe it in all my flights. I do not need you to tell me about this.

Do you always cherry pick points of an debate - rather than taking the whole thing into account?

You stated in your original post that you couldn't even make a mile range with your drone - and called this pathetic.  That would lead anyone with any modicum of sense to come to the deduction that you have tried to get that far.

Now you either don't know what a mile is in metres or feet, and are exaggerating the distance you flew your drone.  Or, you do know this distance - and therefore nearly reached this distance.  If that is so - then chances are you flew the drone out past 1000m.  Are you still going to tell us that your dedicated spotter could see your drone?

Instead of trying to see this as a personal attack, try and see it as someone trying to look out for a fellow drone pilot.   A fellow pilot who is seeing more and more restrictions coming into place because idiots think that flying their drone as far as they can is a good thing.  Local laws be damned.  God knows, there are enough idiots out there already.

GrangerFX Posted at 2017-9-14 16:36
If UK drone rules are anything like the ones in the US, pretty much every drone pilot violates at least one at some point during every flight. The rules are designed to promote safety but fail to do so. For example the whole line of sight and not using FPV without a spotter makes no sense at all. Even if you have a spotter and they yell "there's a plane" WTF are you supposed to do with that information with your head in visor? Go down? Go up? How do you expect a drone to dodge a plane exactly and how could you ever be sure you were going in the right direction to do it? The under 400 feet above ground makes perfect sense since planes are supposed to fly at least 1000 feet above ground (which for some reason they often don't do because some hot shot wants to skim the waves at 20 feet). I am all about safety but the current rules don't do that. Modern drones are not toys. They are unmanned aircraft. It is about time we started treating them as such.

Your first point about not supposedly flying at 1000ft.

Aircraft (Civil) fly at 32 to 36 000 ft, because this gives optimum fuel economy.

Military aircraft can fly at 100ft, because they are training to avoid enemy radar - should diplomacy between two states fail.  Not because they want to be some hot=shot.

That said - your second point, I wholeheartedly agree with.  These aren't toys.  They are unmanned aircraft, with the potential to do damage if handled wrongly.

Rigger73 Posted at 2017-9-15 11:40
Your first point about not supposedly flying at 1000ft.

Aircraft (Civil) fly at 32 to 36 000 ft, because this gives optimum fuel economy.

Military aircraft tend to stay in military areas when they fly at low altitude which are off limits to drones anyway. They should also become adept at avoiding drones since there are now a lot of them in combat zones. If my chances of avoiding a 120MPH Cessna are low, my chances of dodging a 500MPH fighter jet are zero even if I had a thousand spotters. I have rarely seen military jets flying at drone altitudes in my entire life. Civilian planes I have seen buzzing the shoreline dozens of times as well as doing many other reckless manuvers at low altitudes. Full disclosure: I was in one of them.

GrangerFX Posted at 2017-9-16 11:29
Military aircraft tend to stay in military areas when they fly at low altitude which are off limits to drones anyway. They should also become adept at avoiding drones since there are now a lot of them in combat zones. If my chances of avoiding a 120MPH Cessna are low, my chances of dodging a 500MPH fighter jet are zero even if I had a thousand spotters. I have rarely seen military jets flying at drone altitudes in my entire life. Civilian planes I have seen buzzing the shoreline dozens of times as well as doing many other reckless manuvers at low altitudes. Full disclosure: I was in one of them.

That may be true in the States, Granger.  Thing is in the UK, the RAF tend to fly low-level around a lot of Scotland - LFA14 (250ft) and really low in LFA14T (North west Scotland)  in which I believe they are allowed to go down to 100ft.

Scotland is a popular tourist destination, and drones are increasingly seen flying in areas like the Cairngorms, and up the west coast near Applecross, Isle of Skye or Ullapool  (very near LFA14T) Thing is that the RAF and other NATO countries fly in and around the cairngorms on their way to other military sites in the UK, to and from RAF Lossiemouth, and not always using the same path - although the A9 road route is often used, though not strictly adhered to.

It's even on our gov't website, that the aircrew are encouraged to plot their own routes.


I'm only trying to bring to light that there is a risk of flying drones in Scotland recreationally, where the military use the areas outside cities, towns and villages for training.

Kudos to you btw on admitting your flying errors.

Old pilots and bold pilots.......

Rigger73 Posted at 2017-9-20 15:07
That may be true in the States, Granger.  Thing is in the UK, the RAF tend to fly low-level around a lot of Scotland - LFA14 (250ft) and really low in LFA14T (North west Scotland)  in which I believe they are allowed to go down to 100ft.

Scotland is a popular tourist destination, and drones are increasingly seen flying in areas like the Cairngorms, and up the west coast near Applecross, Isle of Skye or Ullapool  (very near LFA14T) Thing is that the RAF and other NATO countries fly in and around the cairngorms on their way to other military sites in the UK, to and from RAF Lossiemouth, and not always using the same path - although the A9 road route is often used, though not strictly adhered to.

Here's one heading along Loch Borralan, one of their regular routes:-

R&L Aerial  Posted at 2016-3-20 09:59
I have the same issue, weak signal warning at 1300ft That's less the half of what I get with my old inspire 1 with the A type controller.

Did you ever find a solution to fly your p4 farther? I can’t get more than 3/4 of a mile even if I fly it off my boat with no land in sight

djiuser_kO6Rr3KYKEMl Posted at 12-11 07:27
Did you ever find a solution to fly your p4 farther? I can’t get more than 3/4 of a mile even if I fly it off my boat with no land in sight

Orient the antennas properly and a P4 should fly multiple kilometres at sea without any trouble.

https://phantompilots.com/thread ... age-53#post-1370860

djiuser_kO6Rr3KYKEMl Posted at 12-11 07:27
Did you ever find a solution to fly your p4 farther? I can’t get more than 3/4 of a mile even if I fly it off my boat with no land in sight

No I did not, I believe that some of these units are defective regardless of antenna orientation, wi -fi interference, turning on airplane mode etc. ect. Over open water I get around 1500 feet before I begin to loss live feed. Fortunately for me 1500 feet is fine and I enjoy flying...

RL Aerial photography Posted at 12-15 01:49
No I did not, I believe that some of these units are defective regardless of antenna orientation, wi -fi interference, turning on airplane mode etc. ect. Over open water I get around 1500 feet before I begin to loss live feed. Fortunately for me 1500 feet is fine and I enjoy flying...

Only 1500 feet before losing live feed?
Something's quite wrong about that.
Even the old Phantom 3 standard was (a little) better than that.
A P4 pro should easily manage ten times that distance.

Labroides Posted at 12-15 20:48
Only 1500 feet before losing live feed?
Something's quite wrong about that.
Even the old Phantom 3 standard was (a little) better than that.

I agree, but the warranty is a long distant memory so I just get by. Fortunately I have the mavic 2 with the hasslehoff camera with the “range boost modification”  that gets excellent range..

RL Aerial photography Posted at 12-15 01:49
No I did not, I believe that some of these units are defective regardless of antenna orientation, wi -fi interference, turning on airplane mode etc. ect. Over open water I get around 1500 feet before I begin to loss live feed. Fortunately for me 1500 feet is fine and I enjoy flying...

Send it to a DJI or a competent repairer to get it sorted out.

My parrot beebop 2 goes further than my phantom 4. It’s a joke