It was a nice day to fly my Mavic Air for the fourth time. I live near the beach so that was a nice spot to make some videoshots. While enjoying flying the drone I heard a low sound of a helikopter. I was flying at 120M so I lowered the altitude to 50M. I'm happy I did that because the policehelicopter passing by was flying very low. Exiting moment. The mavic air is a wonderful drone, really love it.

Bring the popcorn!
Poor OP. You're in for some bashin'

If a Phantom can cause damage to a Black Hawk helicopter I think a Mavic Air can cause damage to some coast helicopter.  http://www.fox5ny.com/news/drone ... opter-over-new-york

MiniPalourde Posted at 2018-3-6 10:58
Bring the popcorn!
Poor OP. You're in for some bashin'

I am Dutch, so I really don't know how to translate your reply, but the camera work is poor because when the helicopter approached, my reaction was frozen because I was afraid it would hit the drone.

The helicopter should be reported for flying to low. He should have been over 600 feet.

Datadogie Posted at 2018-3-6 11:39
The helicopter should be reported for flying to low. He should have been over 600 feet.

It's a coast helicopter. They often fly this low to see the details on the ground.

MiniPalourde Posted at 2018-3-6 11:47
It's a coast helicopter. They often fly this low to see the details on the ground.

It was a Police Helicopter, maybe they are allowed to fly where ever they want...

You were lucky.  
Very lucky.

Looking back, maybe it was better to land the drone.

Datadogie Posted at 2018-3-6 11:39
The helicopter should be reported for flying to low. He should have been over 600 feet.

This looks like a planned flight with permission to fly low.

Thank you for sharing the video and in my opinion you have done a good job in addressing the situation. You were not flying in violation of the rules you are bound to and you immediately reacted appropriately with giving way to manned aircraft, which is another obligation. You have done a good job as pilot, nothing to blame you for at all! Thank you again for giving a good example for responsible flying.
P.S. I once had to do an emercency descend with my Spark because a private plane was suddenly approaching flying below 100 meters (definitely in violation of rules) and luckily I had reacted fast enough, thus I know what you have faced.

Wachtberger Posted at 2018-3-6 13:41
Thank you for sharing the video and in my opinion you have done a good job in addressing the situation. You were not flying in violation of the rules you are bound to and you immediately reacted appropriately with giving way to manned aircraft, which is another obligation. You have done a good job as pilot, nothing to blame you for at all! Thank you again for giving a good example for responsible flying.
P.S. I once had to do an emercency descend with my Spark because a private plane was suddenly approaching flying below 100 meters (definitely in violation of rules) and luckily I had reacted fast enough, thus I know what you have faced.

I agree.  Perhaps landing might have been even a better idea when you heard a helicopter but lowering your altitude was also a good decision.  You did nothing wrong as far as I'm concerned.

Montfrooij Posted at 2018-3-6 13:24
You were lucky.  
Very lucky.

I was trying to do that but the helicopter was to quick and I ended up at 50 m

Wachtberger Posted at 2018-3-6 13:41
Thank you for sharing the video and in my opinion you have done a good job in addressing the situation. You were not flying in violation of the rules you are bound to and you immediately reacted appropriately with giving way to manned aircraft, which is another obligation. You have done a good job as pilot, nothing to blame you for at all! Thank you again for giving a good example for responsible flying.
P.S. I once had to do an emercency descend with my Spark because a private plane was suddenly approaching flying below 100 meters (definitely in violation of rules) and luckily I had reacted fast enough, thus I know what you have faced.

Thanks, I learned a lot today...

Maybe they wanted to scare you off by performing a low flyby

DirkGerrit Posted at 2018-3-6 13:53
I was trying to do that but the helicopter was to quick and I ended up at 50 m

That is why we need an extra pair of ears and eyes in the sky.
These big brothers are fast

DirkGerrit Posted at 2018-3-6 13:55
Thanks, I learned a lot today...

You are welcome and it is also a good reminder for all of us that reacting appropriately to such situations is only possible when flying in VLOS.

LoSBoL Posted at 2018-3-6 14:04
Maybe they wanted to scare you off by performing a low flyby

Well, it worked, they succeeded

Wachtberger Posted at 2018-3-6 14:59
You are welcome and it is also a good reminder for all of us that reacting appropriately to such situations is only possible when flying in VLOS.

Flying VLOS is very important indeed (I for one is guilty of not flying VLOS all the time).  Very important to keep your eyes and ears peeled at all times.

Minipalourde seriously... why would anybody bash the guy he said he lowered altitude it happened so fast which was the right thing to do instead of bashing just tell the guy what is the right thing to do you always seem like you want to start something in these forums.... so instead of saying where's the popcorn why don't you just help the guy a little

$gambino$ Posted at 2018-3-7 17:38
Minipalourde seriously... why would anybody bash the guy he said he lowered altitude it happened so fast which was the right thing to do instead of bashing just tell the guy what is the right thing to do you always seem like you want to start something in these forums.... so instead of saying where's the popcorn why don't you just help the guy a little

Because that's the nature of this forum. I'm sorry but if you had any experience you would know that the OP, in this kind of situation, often gets bashed. I'll eat the popcorn with minipalurde

Yeah but it shouldn't be like that. nobody should be harassed, that's just stupid instead we should all help each other but that's  rare anymore on this forum.
.

..
...
P.s. I hope you're eating burnt popcorn!

$gambino$ Posted at 2018-3-7 21:03
Yeah but it shouldn't be like that. nobody should be harassed, that's just stupid instead we should all help each other but that's  rare anymore on this forum.
.

Look I don't know who s*** in your cocoa puffs but I am not harassing anyone. I simply told the OP that he would be bashed for this risky video; I did not say anything about my own opinion. I even linked an article talking about collisions between drone and helicopters just to make sure that everyone watching this video knew you shouldn't approach this kind of aircraft.

I sure expected some bashing because that's what happens on these forums when the OP breaks FAA rules and risks a crash with an aircraft.  

Well, I really don't think the FAA cares anything about what he or the heli did.  He's not in the U.S!  He did what would be correct in the U.S.  He avoided the other aircraft.

The spot where this video was taken is free to fly, didn’t break any rules.

DirkGerrit Posted at 2018-3-8 02:07
The spot where this video was taken is free to fly, didn’t break any rules.

True indeed.

Still you have to give priority to all other air traffic, although I am not sure how to interpret that rule if you have descended asap and still was that close.
If this will start to happen more frequently (inevitable with so many drones), I am afraid something will go horribly wrong sooner or later.

Easy, the FAA tells pilots that you cannot be under 500 feet outside the airport area.

Dear Dirk,

Great action by lowering immediately, your kind of people are making drone pilots proud.
Visual contact is VERY important because of situations like this.

AG0N-Gary Posted at 2018-3-7 22:39
Well, I really don't think the FAA cares anything about what he or the heli did.  He's not in the U.S!  He did what would be correct in the U.S.  He avoided the other aircraft.

Yep, forgot to check his location. Thanks for the correction.

Mini why link it! You were just trying to start crap bro come on....and he did the right thing he did not approach it troll....and dont worry about whats in my cocoa joker

$gambino$ Posted at 2018-3-8 09:13
Mini why link it! You were just trying to start crap bro come on....and he did the right thing he did not approach it troll....and dont worry about whats in my cocoa joker

Look gambino, I understand that you are still incredibly enraged from our altercation in the other thread but please calm down. I was linking the article so that OP and everyone visiting this thread knew filming helicopters at this distance is very dangerous even though it makes up for great shots.  I don't have enough time in my life to "troll" and "start crap".

As said earlier, OP is not at fault here. However, even though the OP did the right thing, this surely was a risky moment. You don't want this kind of stuff to happen again.

We had an altercation in another thread? Lol listen I'm not trying to be a di$# sorry if i have been I'm just saying instead of making the guy look bad we should try to help he did do the right thing and immediately came down from altitude

$gambino$ Posted at 2018-3-8 09:50
We had an altercation in another thread? Lol listen I'm not trying to be a di$# sorry if i have been I'm just saying instead of making the guy look bad we should try to help he did do the right thing and immediately came down from altitude

You're right, we shouldn't do that. You may had the impression that I was harassing/bullying/torturing the guy but I assure that it wasn't my intention. Sorry for the misunderstanding .

You got a great shot there, as well as reacting properly, good job.

You got a great shot there, as well as reacting properly, good job.

It does bring up an interesting question though.  What is the SAFEST thing to do when you are flying legally, and a helicopter or other aircraft comes along considerably lower than you are already?  You could get in trouble descending to get out of his way if that actually brought you closer to him.  A quick departure horizontally before descending might be the safer thing to do.  I'm starting to believe more and more in having an observer along to scan the skies in different directions around you.  In short, stay below legal maximum and keep your eyes and ears open for a quiet intruder on your space.

AG0N-Gary Posted at 2018-3-8 11:17
It does bring up an interesting question though.  What is the SAFEST thing to do when you are flying legally, and a helicopter or other aircraft comes along considerably lower than you are already?  You could get in trouble descending to get out of his way if that actually brought you closer to him.  A quick departure horizontally before descending might be the safer thing to do.  I'm starting to believe more and more in having an observer along to scan the skies in different directions around you.  In short, stay below legal maximum and keep your eyes and ears open for a quiet intruder on your space.

Thank you all for the replies. When the helicopter was approaching it slipped to my mind going up, but from a distance it’s very hard guessing the altitude of the helicopter. Going up could be worse. At the end of the day my decision was the right one but only because I was lucky.

good reaction, thanks for sharing - even if only few ppl will watch sky (and hear) more when they fly it's a win
and again it show importance of VLOS