What Is The Biggest Fear When Flying a DJI Drone in 2024?

One of the number 1 fears a drone pilot has in 2024 is flying BVLOS and 'getting caught'. Let me show you why this should not be as much of a worry as it seems to be for many drone hobbyists when I ask: "What Is The Biggest Fear When Flying a DJI Drone in 2024?" and I show you how to alleviate that fear you may have of flying BVLOS when flying a drone, be it a DJI drone or any other drone.
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[@FPVSteve]

I've always been of the opinion that flying FPV gives you more control over a drone than flying it from a 3rd person perspective. I tried spotters when I first started flying quads without RTH capabilities - they just do not work and cause more confusion to the point where I've had to say "shush" because they were starting to confuse me with their information which contradicted what I was seeing in the goggles. The CAA need to consider that BVLOS happens every single bloody day and causes no issue whatsoever, it's just a fact. That one single restriction makes me treat the entirety of their regulations with disdain because it's clear they simply do not know what they're talking about when it comes to regulating the hobby. BVLOS is at least 100% as safe as VLOS and anyone who has tried flying with goggles on will agree completely, especially when armed with telemetry and a home arrow.

[@skykingimagery899]

Exactly. At least with FPV you have more spacial awareness. That is the key. You may be able to visually spot your drone, but it does not guarantee visual spatial awareness. That is the real concern. If VLSO is critical, then we should never be checking our remote controller screen.

[@bjowitt]

Situation Awareness… totally agree though. While I think the CAA have very little understanding of drones especially FPV, I suspect that part of the problem may be that they themselves may be constrained by the law, the underlying Air Navigation Order. Any experts out there who can comment?

[@B0M0A0K]

LOL! That's the way Robert, start 2024 the way you mean to go on. Can't wait for the next chapter.

[@davannaleah]

It has been a constant worry to me that, whatever I put on KZbin, may incriminate me for breaking the VLOS laws. Its almost reached the point where it is illegal to look at your screen while flying. One could compare this to saying that, while driving your car, it's illegal to look at the instruments! These laws can only be made by ignorant people as it makes no sense at all.

[@donegalrediscovered3309]

I stick a strobe like a Lume Cube or Firehouse Arc 5… with one you can double the distance as still can see the drone .. 😀.. Use dual lock Velcro & it’ll never fall off .. 😀

[@nightwaves3203]

Nighttime sunset and sunrise periods with the sun behind the drone with running lights and strobe running can get you miles of observed flying.

[@WindsweptRobert]

Correct :)

[@deadshot160]

I was flying a mini 2 out of sight in Serbia because with sub 250 gram drones there are no rules.People around the neighborhood got scared thinking they were being spied on!The drone was the only thing they talked about all day.

[@WindsweptRobert]

NO rules? Really? If this is true, I'm gonny book myself a wee vacation to Serbia!

[@ProjectGameVault]

wow that is a beautiful place to fly, heavenly

[@philsmeanderings7991]

Crafty ol Scottman , got to watch em. Never say die. Have a good one Robert.

[@johnburns5783]

Thing is Robert, if (and it is a big if) the CAA introduce RID, I could set my drone to track me on a bike. It’ll follow me for what, 2-3 km , yet the drone is always within about 50m or so of me and my controller. What really gets me with this RID isn’t distance or height being recorded,but this mention of communicating with some network to get electronic permission to fly. What happens if I either don’t take my phone with me, or I’m in a remote area without network coverage ? ( of which there are many areas with no coverage) According to the way the CAA want to do this, I’ll be unable to fly. So the CAA are actually limiting where we can fly. Personally I can’t see the systems being in place for Remote ID to be introduced for many years ( at least not under their present proposals 😉😉

[@WindsweptRobert]

Aye, RID could be problematic. Given the way the CAA have handled everything drone related over the past 3 years, I can see it being a total clusterfk.

[@amazer747]

Certainly hope RID is not introduced, but it is part of the survellience society so it will be along with digital ID, digital cash, tracking your car, facial recognition etc etc.

[@veryberry-]

Buy the last drone without RID and enjoy the remote areas flights.

[@locouk]

I’m not too worried about BVLOS, I’ll often fly half mile down the road to see if the shop is open, I do this especially when there’s a bank holiday or Christmas. My drone visits a mate, he lives 2 miles away. I have public liability insurance and the rest of the legal gumph, and don’t live near an airport. This scaremongering got boring for me years ago, I’ll rigidly stick to the 120 meters altitude as I feel this is a valid safety issue, where as BVLOS imo isn’t.

[@chrissofpv3017]

The problem is that the CAA have to implement what the government ask of them,whether they agree (with the Dpt for Transport)or not. BVLOS is fine by the govt as long as you pay them money at the amounts tendered by the multinationals going forward.IMO. And YES fpv with goggles is a helluva lot safer than the mk1 eyeball...particularly on the stuff I fly🤗

[@Droneauditsscotland]

Another Good Video with useful information, struggled the other day only flying about 50 meters in front of due to the strong winter sun Glare😮 Will you be doing a live Sunday Blether special soon 😃👍🏻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@WindsweptRobert]

First Sunday of the month til about April/May when the nights are longer and I'll return to weekly livestreams on Sundays :)

[@skykingimagery899]

There really is no definitive definition of BVLOS. Depends on your vision, weather conditions etc. As soon as you keep checking your controller, you can easily lose visual contact. And can you really have spatial awareness at any of these distances? How will Amazon and UPS avoid all these restrictions? They will. What we need is the same for pilots. Instrument rating.

[@WindsweptRobert]

Agreed :)

[@thomasmaughan4798]

"What Is The Biggest Fear When Flying a DJI Drone in 2024?" Same as in any other year: Crashing it.

[@WindsweptRobert]

I have a video currently in production addressing just this :)

[@kernow..exp.]

Fly at night put a lot of strobes on it as long as you can see it it's all good a folks

[@WindsweptRobert]

Aye, but the video camera on a mini drone can't see much at night.

[@desparky]

In the video description you can state a disclaimer: Video sourced from internet. There is the issue of Remote ID etc, but we all know you can build your own drone from components and will never be able to be traced. This type of policing is pointless and convictions will only apply to people who admit fault or caught in the act of committing the offence.

[@SurvivingRetirement]

Its a good way of showing airspace when for instance it is from surface to say 3500 ft for instance

[@SurvivingRetirement]

Not tried flying mine yet. Been toooo busy. Will let you know how I get on when I get started.If I show an aeronautical map on my channel will be infringing copyright ?

[@WindsweptRobert]

check the copyright conditions of any images you intend to publish on your own videos.

[@Jones-xx2gc]

I suppose we have all flown out of line of sight at sometime and I must admit in the right place I don't think it should matter to much. In the end there's the way it should be and the way it is and you can't always rely on the law to be sensible. Bikers were being pulled over in my local area and prosecuted for speeding on video they had taken on helmet cameras. Not the same thing I know.

[@stevieelder2422]

Great Video Robert. We can call you the David Blaine of the Drone world now with all the magic and illusions. That will get right up the noses of all the keyboard warriors and Karen's who get up at 6am and scour youtube for any of us to make a mistake so they can phone the polis and make them all proud and worthwhile.

[@dronehawk]

The CAA can request your flight logs . They will show the distance travelled , altitude , speed etc . They will argue that anything beyond 500 meters is BVLOS.

[@111kiri111]

That's right. But how they will prove that you were not seeing your dron? You could be just close to it. The distance is distance from home point. So if you are for example on bike or just running then you still can be in range of visibility of your dron. So the flight logs itself also doesn't prove anything.

[@WhatsWrong221]

It is possible to have spotters.

[@alistairbarclay3116]

Sorry I don’t understand this if the telemetry shows hundreds of feet away yet the drone is close by? How does that happen? Please explain.

[@WindsweptRobert]

Video editing and manipulation. The whole point of this video is to show that the telemetry on a video posted to social media can't be used as evidence that anyone was flying a drone BVLOS.

[@LetsG0BrandonFJB]

Hey how's the footage at 7x optical zoom ? Ur so lucky ! I want the magic 3 so bad .but the price ! I just don't wanna spend 3 grand plus .ughhh plus I don't like the controller it comes with I want to use my tablet at my monitor wish they would release this drone with a rcn2 controller

[@WindsweptRobert]

My Mavic 3 was a gift, but it was 2nd hand :)

[@demosloizides2060]

Your video shows telemetry. My Ruko drone doesn't show any.

[@WindsweptRobert]

I chose to put the telemetry on this video. I could have posted just the camera footage with no telemetry.

[@PKNEC1]

Hi Robert, great videos as usual. I noticed you wearing a neck strap, could you let me know where you got it from or do you know what size the screw hole is, I am making the asuumption that your TX is the same hole size as my RC2 tx. cheers Paul

[@WindsweptRobert]

As far as I am aware, the screw holes are the same in all of the DJI controllers. I searched for my strap on Amazon. Loads there to choose from, some with the screw ins, some without :)

[@StreakyP]

Currently the risk of anything happening whilst flying BVLoS is generally minimal (due to the lower airspace still being quite empty at the moment). What the CAA is having to do though is legislate now for how busy they are expecting things to become in the potentially near future ("Future Flight" & all that crap). It is also interesting to see the trust people have in auto-RTH when signals get lost at-range or behind things. RTH is still pretty dumb... if it does have an "incident" whilst returning autonomously BVLoS then the "PIC" is still liable (even if you are not actually at the controls). Basically, if nothing happens the CAA probably won't be doing much, but should anything go wrong then that is when they will have their fun. Just look at the actual recent "FCC hack" charges.... done by many... not significantly chased (& seemingly not chased at all in isolation)... very few charged so far... but those few who have been now regret it as it is "rolled in" to other charges as a ""Brucie bonus" for the CAA . An interesting scenario to consider... a bit of "harmless" bando-bashing... externally cannot see into every room so flying fpv BVLoS.. unfortunately building not quite as abandoned as expected & scream from one room to another, encounter someone unseen/unexpected & smash into their face as flying at head height & take their eye out.... would you be liable?..... Many people fly this way every day & NEVER had any problems like this (so far) & OK the chances of this happening are VERY VERY low but just because they are low would that protect you if something did go wrong?.

[@WindsweptRobert]

you make some great points. A comment well-worth reading. Thanks:)

[@RCscale101]

Excellent! 😀

[@WindsweptRobert]

Thanks! 😃

[@LordParker-History_Bites]

Who is to say that you did or did not have a spotter with you using binoculars? The video won't show that...

[@olabergvall3154]

Can't use binoculars or similar visual aids as a spotter or pilot, except corrective lenses such as contact lenses or regular specs. So that won't work.

[@vanpdroneshots]

Question are you using the RC2 with the Mavic 3 ??

[@WindsweptRobert]

I'm using the DJI RC Pro

[@vanpdroneshots]

@@WindsweptRobert thank you very much for the answer.

[@davidmuir6849]

Nice one Robert 👍 Regards Dave

[@laughing_gnome]

The problem is when you are involved in an accident, if you fly beyond Vlos, then you would be prosecuted. A drone was in collision with an helicopter and if the drone pilot is found to be at fault then he will have to pay 60,000 in damages plus any fine and he was within vlos and at 180 feet so take care when flying and don't be reckless.

[@sdufg]

it's always within visual site if you are looking at your screen.

[@WindsweptRobert]

?

[@olabergvall3154]

Yeah... that's not how that works 😂

[@ptaylor5014]

My biggest fear has never changed, and that is losing/crashing my precious drone as i can't afford to replace it.

[@WindsweptRobert]

Aye, I’m making a video about this number 1 fear, but it’s taking a lot longer to put together!

[@mtmccornack]

I don't really fear johnny law or some random Karen. My greatest drone fear has already happened and thank god I was within VLOS. I've had a bee get squished in my forward obstacle avoidance sensors and the drone would not fly forwards, I had to fly in reverse back to my home point some 800 feet out. My second fear has also happened where i completely loose my video feed AND my little turtle and map display. I had to fly back using only VLOS that time. flying blind changes a man, I no longer have drone anxiety took long enough to shake tho'

[@WindsweptRobert]

you could always just hit the RTH button ;)

[@666zuk]

Super fed video😮

[@pdtech4524]

My biggest fear is a 'karen' confronting me about flying perfectly legally.... I've lost count of the number of times I've charged all my batteries ready to go out and fly, perfect weather etc and I've just been put off by anxiety of all the negative vibe flying drones seems to instill in people who know nothing about them! ⚠️😲😳

[@composedlight6850]

you can get Karens going at you for using a DSLR taking pictures in public; only for them to get a mobil phone to record you as evidence to go to the Police LOL

[@pdtech4524]

@@composedlight6850 Yeah I know exactly what you mean and that anxiety is totally without any foundation of doing anything wrong, it's just more to do with how others perceive the hobby generally of photography, videography and anything related like drones etc I posted a video on my community tab of a street photographer photographing Christmas festivities in his home town, he was approached by police for apparantly taking 'covert' photos and treated like a criminal, arrested and charged etc It's worth a look, obviously there was no evidence he was doing anything wrong, just purely based on a 'perception' of suspicion by the arresting officers. This could literally happen to anyone of us and escalate quite quickly into something quite serious.

[@Spazzfrom.1989]

@@pdtech4524 do you live in australia? that sounds like something australia would do to its own people

[@pdtech4524]

@@Spazzfrom.1989 No, I'm in the UK but it's getting just as bad...

[@Spazzfrom.1989]

@@pdtech4524 its so weird that that the uk and euro and these types fixate so hard on nit picks like drones and electric scooters..surely there are greater concerns, i beleive in uk electric scooters are flat out illegal..private owned on public streets that is..some guys dont let that stop them though..but i did see one video of this motor cycle cop running down a 60mph nami..i thought..wow this is seriously aggressive for a guy that was basically going to work

[@davecullenphotography]

I have / am considering selling mine after my incident last year - and police follow up - considering going back to the DSLR

[@aloeisthestuff9622]

Those will be regulated soon enough.

[@petermainwaringsx]

AS you know Robert, if you put a couple of strobes on a drone you will see it a lot further away.VLOS is subjective anyhow, as vision is different from person to person. It'd be up to the authorities to you couldn't see it on that day, at that time, under those conditions, not for you to prove you could. Some days my long sight is better than other days. Thanks for the video.

[@DocColVideo]

Nice camera trickery there Robert. I don't think the CAA have the staff to cover the thousands of UK YT and Vimeo footage of drones taken to the maximum, but if they did I would imagine the Airdata would be all the proof they would need. RID to an extent is already with us! 😢

[@WindsweptRobert]

You might be interested in my next video on this subject ;)

[@DocColVideo]

@@WindsweptRobert Can't wait mate. Look fwd to it. 😉😇

[@mrreason9697]

​@@hughn that, you just have to be mindful of where you fly.

[@UKDroneClub]

Remote ID 🙈

[@WindsweptRobert]

Aye, but it depends on the system and how it actually works. If it does record data that includes distance from controller to drone, then we're all screwed. But you'll see in my next video (in production currently) that I offer a solution to this too :)

[@Cransridge2288]

@@WindsweptRobert It's going to be a nightmare

[@UKDroneClub]

@@WindsweptRobert we look forward to seeing that video too 😀

[@johnburns5783]

Whit system is in place though Robert ? Is there such a system yet ?@@WindsweptRobert

[@dorianarbos]

@@WindsweptRobert Wherever it has been put in place already (EASA and FAA) Remote ID broadcasts, amongst other things, The drone's current location, its initial take off location AND the current location of the controller, just in case the solution you're about to propose involves moving around either one.

[@superfoxes7204]

Auditors are causing these issues for the drone community, DJE media was auditing and landed his drone on a road with oncoming traffic it u was unbelievably stupid, I know also the CAA have been sent a copy of the video how he got an operator ID is beyond anything

[@WindsweptRobert]

I think I've made my opinion of frauditors quite clear ;)

[@SimplyScotlandPhotography]

Rogue Number yin 😂😂

[@WindsweptRobert]

moi? ;)

[@jesusgjchuza6491]

🤝

[@kamikazekaos]

Why fear putting on KZbin drone video's , nobody can prove blos silly Billy 😊

[@WindsweptRobert]

Agreed :)

[@anderssigfeldt335]

But yuo have an obsurver ho helps yuo

[@PhillyDroneLife]

Hahaha. I love this video mate. God bless Mikey

[@WindsweptRobert]

Hey Mikey, your name has popped up a few times in the comments recently. I'd love to have a chat about your recent 'fine' for flying a drone. Maybe we could have a chat sometime?

[@firepuncher1]

Excellent 😂 imagining the young cop watching this getting excited how he's gotcha. LoL

[@Aries_Alpha]

I firmly believe the VLOS regulations were put in place to try to manage the Frauditors and I would be very surprised if a responsible drone pilot was prosecuted. Like Robert has said and shown it's very hard to prove unless the police are there stood beside you to witness any potential offence. My advice is get some front and back strobes for your drone then you can tell the drones orientation easily from a fair distance without the use of the telemetry like the legislation suggests.

[@WindsweptRobert]

Good advice. I generally use a red and a green strobe on my drone if I think visibility may be an issue on a flight. This helps with orientation and VLOS :)

[@fabiomatosinhos5104]

The drone must ne in the line of sight does not mean that you have to stay looking to that all the time, right?

[@WindsweptRobert]

correct

[@loukasdrones3038]

Mounted a VYFLY strobe with some velcro. 3 statute miles visibility, VLOS no problem

[@WindsweptRobert]

Aye, I use Flytron Cree strobes. Incredible :)

[@stevetrotter1286]

😮

[@mrreason9697]

Im new to all this and love flying my drone in rural areas, lochs rivers seeing old churches and castles. But anxiety really sets in with Karens, and Karen police. I find it hard to not tell people to F off if they cross the line, so an argument will happen. Its VLOS and especially oriontation, i mean seriously, you can see the screen to see direction. It has put me off flying to be honest

[@WindsweptRobert]

Like I say at the beginning of the video, it has put a lot of people off flying drones - even to the point where people are selling their drones and giving up the hobby completely.

[@exmoorbaydrones]

I did a 5 Mile Coastal Harbour to Harbour Drone video a couple years ago, it was a Mini 2 and obviously just couldn't get even a Mile before it lost signal with or without VLOS! So I made the point on my KZbin upload of stating that the Video was made in several sections, (which it was!) and then Edited together to produce a continuous Video. Maybe this is the statement that everyone needs to make if they have any doubts as to whether their Drone videos might be seen to be Illegal even if they are completely legal in respect of maintaining VLOS at all times during the Flight/Flights?

[@droneinsurgent]

I agree on my channel I state that the drone code was followed, when I fly fpv I'm obviously not going to have my "spotter" in the shots and I also wear camouflage so as not to stand out in my footage lol. I hope network remote ID doesn't happen...

[@WindsweptRobert]

I think it will sooner or later but knowing the way the UK works, it'll be a massive clusterfk and won't work properly :)

[@jp45424]

It appears you are showing 2 different videos pieced together. I notice that the orientation of the drone video never changes. It makes a small lateral move to the right and that's it. At some point, the drone video should do a 180 turn. Anyway, I have a spot I like to fly where I can catch trains. My favorite spot is BVLOS, however, I "know" exactly where my drone is and I can clearly see the surrounding airspace and can avoid any manned aircraft. If I didn't have an unobstructed view of the surrounding airspace or if I was unfamiliar with the area, I wouldn't fly BVLOS.

[@WindsweptRobert]

Great points, jp :)

[@olabergvall3154]

It's kind of the point of this video, isn't it? You see a man flying a drone, maybe beyond VLOS, maybe not. And you see footage from a drone being flown far from its set home point... but you cannot know when that home point was set, and you don't know where the pilot is anyway. So for the purpose of proving this point, the video does the job. A video such as this couldn't be used to establish even the basics of what's going on. Well played Robert 👍 Oh by the way, does this constitute legal advice? 😂❤

[@Alan316100]

Some really good points there Robert thank you but, I gotta say the Ox-bows and the valley just a bit better than good. 🙂Re the CAA, yep it'll be a clusterfuck!

[@WiljanWiljan]

Guess you could be using the 7x zoom more often to stay within visuals and still have a recording from far away

[@slapdat.byteme]

The majority of my flights (Hubsan H501SS and Fimi X8) are BVLOS. I don’t fear the cops or the potential loss of my aircraft… I frequently lose signal, but have complete confidence in these drones to initiate RTH and fly back to me. Only once did I have a drone battery get so low that it was clear it wasn’t gonna make it back. Pointed the camera down, found an empty field below, and hovered until the drone went into low-battery forced-landing. Drove there and retrieved it.