See, I reckon that I can clearly see my drone at 600’ range, and on a test flight, looking over my shoulders and whisting, took it to 770 before it completely vanished. I’ve set distance limit at 600’. But it has Occusync, and 13km video transmission range, I can see that the sky is empty and where overhead cables are at up to about 5 miles range in half- decent visibility, I have 35 minute batteries, and little doubt that I could fly perfectly safely 3 or 4 miles out and equally safely fly home so long as I was above the obstacles. I don’t, because my default is to keep to the rules and the Drone Code, but I’m confident I could!
Then I go on Facebook, where there seems to be an inexhaustable supply of post-op brain donors flying drones and doing STUPID things with them. It is then that I realise that BVLOS flying will never be allowed, and why!
And here we are, Dronescene is awash with blue circles, that may turn red at some point. The reason? Test flights of BVLOS by the police. I’m not sure if the police operators on these test flights have to undertake further training/ certification ? ( personally can’t see that further training can amount to anything when you’re flying BVLOS )
Yes I realise we can fly in these areas without permission, but that’s not what I’m getting at. If one group is permitted to fly BVLOS, then surely all of us should be allowed the same ?
That would be me, had reading glasses for a while but only been recommended distance glasses in the last few months. Haven’t got varifocal because some days my distant sight is better without than with. Could be a different story in a few years.
I wear my reading glasses on the end of my nose and glance at the controller. With a magnetic mount I use on the controller for my phone, I can have the screen better angled to quickly glance down at it.
I’m also lucky that if I do need to wear the distance glasses, it improves my reading sight to a point where I can still make out enough on the screen.
The actual problem is remembering to take them with me
I’d be very surprised if police pilots had any training beyond the same CAA requirements that we all do (happy to be proved wrong), never mind additional for BVLOS. Is there any training for BVLOS as opposed to autonomous flying?
AUIU, such training would be little more than the importance of maintaing direct, staightline LOS even if beyond visual range, for connectivity purposes, and the usual police method of flying, derived from thier helicopter practice, is to observe suspects from a standoff position at altitude, which plays into that anyway, is probably considered adequate. The big difference would be if flying at 400’+ agl is needed for operational purposes; then the pilots would need to learn traffic avoidance observation techniques and be using drones not subject to DJI’s current methods of height restriction. That’s potentially a different ballgame; TTBOMK police are currently using off-the-shelf DJI kit…
I’m not sure then how how the Police in York do this then, as their current operations use Fulford Police Station as TOAL and remote fly them from Northallerton Fire and Police Headquarters
A lot of folk seem to be assuming the police pilots (and others with the ability) are just automatically granted BVLOS authority on the grounds that they’re special. They aren’t. They’ll have had to spend months going through the process to get an Operational Authorisation.
That OA for BVLOS flights is going to be detailed, specific and audited. Pilots flying under that OA will need to be able to demonstrate that they know it, understand it and are adhering to it.
Everybody here is perfectly entitled to jump through the same hoops to get the same OA for BVLOS. But having spoken to people who have done so in the past, it’s going to set you back tens of £1000s and will take up a considerable chunk of your life for several months at least.
You are indeed correct… I was speaking to a police drone contact only last Friday who had just completed a number of further other training outside of London in regards to fixed wing GVC.
GVC is to be phased out and replaced with the RPC - Remote Pilot Certificate (Level 1). There will be two further levels ie 2 & 3 which will ultimately unlock BVLOS approval.
Have a look here at the Copterz site for further details …
One thing I’ve asked on another post is, these police test flights BVLOS, will they disable sideways flight as the operator will obviously be looking at his/ her screen once the drone is beyond VLOS ? Or are they fitting these drones with 360degree cameras ?
Makes a bit of a mockery of the idea of having to have an observer to fly FPV.
The observer won’t be able to see the drone so what exactly are they there for?
Just proves the rules are unrealistic and already way behind the technology.
Maybe your right, but as they always quote ‘safety of the public’ as the primary reason for all their pettyfoggin rules and regulations, I don’t really see why they don’t apply to everyone.
And training is irrelevant in this context, IMHO.
I asked simply because the police operator will be limited to looking at the screen, so with most drones, that’ll be the forward direction. He’ll be unable to see to the sides of the drone, so theoretically shouldn’t move in a sideways direction.
Oh absolutely but they have to fund it themselves instead of it being funded from police budgets that we keep being told aren’t adequate enough for them catch kiddy-fiddlers, bent politicians, bent Dames and grooming gangs.
