Any ways to see your Spark better from far away?

[Spark 317]

How far can you see it?

After about 400 feet away from me and 165 feet in the air, it gets harder to see.

I'm surprised that you can't see it further away than 300-400 ft. Unless you are flying into the sun, you should be able to see it a lot further than that even at higher altitudes.

I have a strobe, but it doesn't help with visibility during the day.

My VO and I did a test flight this afternoon and had a confirmed sighting at 1650 feet at 185' AGL with the prop guards on and white clouds for a background.
That's a little over a 1/4 mile, not quite 3/8.
It took me about thirty seconds to acquire the black dot (Spark), after looking up from the screen, with the help of my VO, which never took her eyes off of the Spark, on the white background of clouds.
Had it been a blue sky, I probably wouldn't have seen it.

It's easy to get distracted by the bugs and birds flying above the field as they are about the same size of the Spark at that distance.

I did another test with the strobes at that distance and as stated, pretty much useless in the daylight.

I usually will never fly this far and was just a test flight.
It's good to have another set of eyes and ears when flying the Spark.

 

[nilanjan118]

Is there any place in the world which doesn't require the pilot to be flying within VLOS all the time?
Always wondered why OEMs didn't put a distance cap in the software itself to prevent people from breaking the law. They already have a max. altitude limit. A 500m max. radius from home point seems a good number for the Spark.

 

[RotorWash]

If the pilot is flying solo, yes, because he/she can't see the drone with their eyes.
If the pilot has a spotter, then no.

If flying inside a building, the FAA doesn't control the air space so the VLOS rule doesn't apply and won't need a spotter, other than to help find a crashed drone in the building.

VLOS means your eyeballs with the aid of corrective lens such as contacts or glasses.

No binoculars, external cameras on tripods, or on board camera.
The VO must be close enough for verbal communication with the PIC.
A two way radio is not acceptable.

Pretty much the same regs as we have in Canada except the last part, up here VOs can use two-way radios or even mobile phone. Provided it meets the requirement "...reliable and timely communication is maintained between the pilot and each visual observer during the operation. CARs 901.20 (1)

 

[Hawkwind]

Is there any place in the world which doesn't require the pilot to be flying within VLOS all the time?
Always wondered why OEMs didn't put a distance cap in the software itself to prevent people from breaking the law. They already have a max. altitude limit. A 500m max. radius from home point seems a good number for the Spark.

I disagree. A 500m would be too small of a limit. One can see even the Spark much further away than 500m. The burden should be on the operator to keep their aircraft within VLOS, as it is.

At times, I have placed a limit in DJI GO for max range to keep a self-imposed range limit.

 

[nilanjan118]

I disagree. A 500m would be too small of a limit. One can see even the Spark much further away than 500m. The burden should be on the operator to keep their aircraft within VLOS, as it is.

At times, I have placed a limit in DJI GO for max range to keep a self-imposed range limit.

You can see your Spark way beyond 500m?
How far can your eyes see?

 

[1Joey23]

You can see your Spark way beyond 500m?
How far can your eyes see?

Exactly! You are lucky if your drone is in the way of a cloud because that’s when it’s easiest to see. It’s usually sunny outside which makes it hard to see the drone and I’m sure during the winter, it will be harder because of how bright it is during that time.

 

[Hawkwind]

Exactly! You are lucky if your drone is in the way of a cloud because that’s when it’s easiest to see. It’s usually sunny outside which makes it hard to see the drone and I’m sure during the winter, it will be harder because of how bright it is during that time.

@nilanjan118

My VO and I have no problem seeing it a good bit further, actually. But it does depend on conditions. I have never flown outdoors with my prop guards, which should help with visibility.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[nilanjan118]

@nilanjan118

My VO and I have no problem seeing it a good bit further, actually. But it does depend on conditions. I have never flown outdoors with my prop guards, which should help with visibility.

Your mileage may vary.

Exactly! You are lucky if your drone is in the way of a cloud because that’s when it’s easiest to see. It’s usually sunny outside which makes it hard to see the drone and I’m sure during the winter, it will be harder because of how bright it is during that time.

Well I am guilty of flying beyond VLOS too on a few occasions. Who doesn't get the urge to 'push the limits' of their drone? But I am lucky to have a wide open farm land about a stone's throw away from my house. I do all my experiments there. I honestly find it really hard to keep a visual track of the drone beyond 400m and so you really got me curious when you said "further away than 500m". Anyway, without letting this get into a serious debate, let me just reiterate that the point I was trying to make is that there are people who have zero regard for UAV laws and hence it is upto the OEMs to put checks in the software or firmware itself to ensure that laws are not broken.

 

[Hawkwind]

Well I am guilty of flying beyond VLOS too on a few occasions. Who doesn't get the urge to 'push the limits' of their drone? But I am lucky to have a wide open farm land about a stone's throw away from my house. I do all my experiments there. I honestly find it really hard to keep a visual track of the drone beyond 400m and so you really got me curious when you said "further away than 500m". Anyway, without letting this get into a serious debate, let me just reiterate that the point I was trying to make is that there are people who have zero regard for UAV laws and hence it is upto the OEMs to put checks in the software or firmware itself to ensure that laws are not broken.

I am a firm believer in obeying the rules as given, whether you agree with a point or not. I strive to keep my aircraft within VLOS. I am not pushing the limits of VLOS at 500m. I did a VLOS range check a while back and was surprised that the range visibility of the Mavic Pro was not that different from the smaller Spark.

I guess where the burden is placed is a difference in philosophy.

I am really surprised that someone would have difficulty seeing a Spark beyond 300-400ft.

But the FAA rule is to keep your aircraft in VLOS. What that range is depends on a lot of factors in your environment at the time of the flight as well as the observer.

Maybe the atmospheric conditions are much different where you live than where I live.

 

[Huntman2014]

If you Get Poalrized sunglasses 2 wear (Around 40$) and really bright decals for ur spark (20$ roughly) it will help loads!

 

[nilanjan118]

I am really surprised that someone would have difficulty seeing a Spark beyond 300-400ft.

Whosoever said this must be myopic and needs to wear corrective glasses/lenses.
I was using metric units all the time.

Anyway, you are free to disagree with me but unless OEMs put a cap, people will keep breaking the VLOS rule.
However someone may also argue that the VLOS rule needs to be relooked into as well. One may feel that with all the telemetry data available and live view from the camera, it is quite safe to fly even beyond VLOS. But as on date, the rule stands and people should respect it.

 

[Hawkwind]

300-400ft was from the OP @1Joey23

Understood you were using metric.

As to the original post, I have found that strobes will help when below the tree line, where the aircraft blends in and is difficult to see. Not so helpful in the sky during the day.

Contrasting colors help at close ranges. Also on a bright day a white aircraft (wrapped or covered in some fashion) almost glows and is more visible than the standard gray. This was my experience with a MP.

I agree with you @nilanjan118 that flyers should respect the VLOS rule. I'm with you there. While aircraft can be flown FPV, I can understand the basis for the VLOS requirement.

 

[Baronvonstrong]

I was assuming as the spark only weighs 249 grams that alot of the regulations didn't apply to the spark.

 

[Spark 317]

I was assuming as the spark only weighs 249 grams that alot of the regulations didn't apply to the spark.

Did you add the battery?
Take off weight is 300 grams.