When is DJI going to produce and include navigational light for their drones that is FAA compliant for night flights?  I can't imagine its very difficult to incorporate anti-collision lighting that is visable from 3 miles.  As of now you have to buy a 3rd party LED and battery and attach it to the drone, which adds weight and could cause balance issues.

I honestly cannot see DJI doing this, if there was to be an accident, who gets the blame? They are far better off leaving this to the consumer and when there are options as light and affordable as this, who needs them to?

Mark G.

Mark Guille Posted at 2017-9-13 10:52
I honestly cannot see DJI doing this, if there was to be an accident, who gets the blame? They are far better off leaving this to the consumer and when there are options as light and affordable as this, who needs them to?

Mark G.

I did see these solutions but am ultimately looking for something a little cleaner looking than it hardwired

DemolitionMan14 Posted at 2017-9-13 12:09
I did see these solutions but am ultimately looking for something a little cleaner looking than it hardwired

I'd be more concerned about how easily it can be seen by other aircraft from 3 miles away more than whether they think it looks pretty or not but I have never been one for furry dice and go faster stripes.

Mark Guille Posted at 2017-9-13 14:40
I'd be more concerned about how easily it can be seen by other aircraft from 3 miles away more than whether they think it looks pretty or not but I have never been one for furry dice and go faster stripes.

Safety and visablity is my number 1 priorty but I dont think you sacrifice safety by making it look clean and intergrated.  If you had something built in to the drone both tus as the pilot  and the planes would be able to see it better both day and night.  As most of the 3SM lights can be seen around 1SM during the day.  This would help us when flying in front of a dark background during the day.  My Mavic tends to blend in with dark backgrounds (Trying a red skin to see if its more visable), my I1 doesnt blend as much mostly due to the contrasting colors and size.  If its built in,  it powers on when the drone takes off.  Also the manufacturer (DJI) would be able to put build it into a location with the optimal line of sight (ie. point of the shell of the Inspire and bottom near VPS).  We already have orientation lights built-in just put the strobes in the same location (Kind of like police takedown lights behind the headlights and taillights).  We as pilots can only place it where there isn't interferance from the props.  Back to your first comment about blame and liability.  They already place orientation lights on the drones.  So same question of "whos to blame" could be asked  if the orientation lighting malfunctions and a pilot gets disoriented and flies to something.  Ultimately the FAA would but blame on us as the Part 107 Pilot as we are required to inspect our drones prior to flight to make sure all components are functional.  So I dont think DJI would assume blame.  Although it is 2017 and everyone is sue happy.      

Mark Guille Posted at 2017-9-13 14:40
I'd be more concerned about how easily it can be seen by other aircraft from 3 miles away more than whether they think it looks pretty or not but I have never been one for furry dice and go faster stripes.

"Go faster stripes"... that totally cracks me up!