So this is my first post and i thought that i would share my FPV video with you guys!
A little bit of information:
Video: 1,2Ghz 800mw and 8 dBi patch antenna.
Radio: Futaba 12FG with 1W WiFi booster and 12 dBi patch antenna
Airplane: My own design and built "Dr.Marten" plane.
OSD: Eagletree
Battery: 1x4000 mah
Comments
That is, a FullScale pilot!
TBS has been giving our community a blackeye for awhile now in very spectacular ways, but lately they have been getting COAs and permits, and they do seem to stress reliability and safety.
OMG, I never thought I would be defending Trappy!
OzCaGrr - Your local club rules do not dictate what is legal or not in the airspace system. I checked the Swedish Aviation rules regarding flight into clouds and this is not legal. Even full scale aircraft in Sweden (below 3000ft amsl) must remain clear of clouds. If above 3000ft AMSL and below 10,000ft amsl an aircraft must be 1500 metres horizontally away from the clouds and 1000'ft above or below the cloud heights.
Regarding instrument flights... whether the field has a tower or not does not matter. In the US most fields have an instrument approach and the majority of these fields do not have towers.
I, too, fly FPV... Although I enjoy Team Black Sheep videos I am not defending them. The videos that I enjoy the most show them doing their thing in remote areas well under 400ft. My concern is that the guys in the US (or anywhere this is illegal) see a video posted that shows someone flying through clouds and because they don't know the aviation rules they want to do this too. You have seen the growth of DIYDrones (I think this is great) but , trust me, if we don't adhere to the rules our passion for autonomous flight will soon be illegal. The notion that we are intelligent enough to police ourselves is not a strong platform to stand on. Being intelligent does not allow us to break the rules just because we deem ourselves more intelligent than the rule-makers.
One other note: Simply asking a park ranger for permission to fly an RC airplane in a sensitive area does not work either. Park Rangers do not know or understand the airspace rules. Although they might grant your wish to fly in a sensitive area they have no authority to do so.
Stefan Olofsson - Sure i can put some up a bit later :)
Steve Smetters - Well we do not have any local rules in our club about flying in clouds and everybody knows about my flying both RC and Full scale pilots so if they would think of it as a problem they would come to me. Is instrument traffic when there is no control tower at the airport? If it is then yes, there is no tower. But as i said they do have to call into the radio when they are approaching for landing and that radio goes out to a speaker so you can hear it on the whole field. No my spotter will not see the aircraft if its in a cloud but he will hear it. Both via the radio and the engine of the aircraft. I understand your concern and the fact that i am flying at an airport may make it even more dangerous. But that just makes me even more careful when flying in the clouds and i am always prepared of the possible attendens of a full scale plane. To be honest i think that the chance of a mid air coalition at our airport is so small with the current amount of traffic we have... You should be more concerned about team black sheep and other FPV people who fly in the big cities where a chance of a collision with lets say a car is MUCH bigger. They are the ones really jeopardizing the FPV community. And so many people has told them to stop because there will be an accident, but there havent been no accident jet. Why? Because they know what they are doing and they take safety precautions. If i would follow the 400ft rule, i could still fly in over the runway when someone is coming in for a landing. That is why i think i can draw my own rules for my circumstances and for what i think is safe and follow them. Sure at a big and busy airport cloud flying would probably not be a good idea. And that is why they have the cloud rules over there. But i think that we are in such an intelligent community that we can figure that out our self.
OzCaGrr, ... the fact that you are doing these kinds of operations on an airport make it even more dangerous. I do not know if the airport that you are operating on has an instrument approach but if it does your behavior puts instrument traffic in jeopardy. It is NOT legal in the US to fly an RC plane in clouds, EVER. I am not sure about Sweden's rules. In the US a full scale pilot has to have an IFR rating to do this and the plane also must be certified as well. A spotter is not going to see traffic in the clouds. I just spent a month in Poland flying for my company and there is an airport just north of Warsaw (Babice) where there is an avid RC community that flies on the airport right next to a very active ground-launch based glider operation. It all works well because the RC guys follow the local rules and do not get in the clouds.
Any chance to see more pics of your plane? :-)
I know that there is a risk of a collision and that if it would to happen the consequences would be catastrophic. But i do also have a good knowledge of the full scale airplanes around here and i try to avoid flying with them unless i make some arrangements with them like when i filmed one going in for a landing in the video.
The air traffic up here is not so busy and when they do fly it is usually the locals and they start at the runway on the field im flying at, so i can see them. If they are not taking off they mostly land and then they have to call in to the radio and say it, witch i then can hear. And i also have a spotter with me that will say if he can see ore hear anything. If a full scale plane would turn up then i would of course get out of the cloud (If im flying in one) and get out of its way.
But as always you can not be 100% sure that nothing is gonna happen, but either can you if you just fly around at 400ft.
Great video... These troll videos always get the same reaction.
@Steve Smetters: Wow that is a scary scenario. I hope the local club took it as seriously as they should.
In Spain the limit is 300m AGL (~1,000ft). Since I discovered that limit I never try to get over it. If you want to get over it you have to notify it to DGAC (it's like FAA).
A couple of months ago I was descending for landing in my full scale airplane when out of the corner of my eye I saw something streaking vertically up through my altitude very close to my aircraft. After doing a full wing deflection to avoid missing the R/C airplane I ignored the Tower's suggestion that I call the FAA to report the incident (I was still at 1200ft AGL); I landed and called the local R/C field to give them a courtesy call about the incident. It scares me much when I see videos posted showing RC'ers ( a community that I am much a part of) showing their flights in and around clouds (PLEASE do not do this! I may be on an instrument flight plan and I do not want You to hit me) and at altitudes that are dangerous to those of us that work in the airspace. When I see videos like this it makes me know for sure that we are on the quick and nasty path to FAA oversight (even the hobbyists). Please think about the ramifications of your flights before you fly them.
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