Most of the launch risks remain during flight, although some will be reduced. All the risks while flying will depend on where you are flying. The orientation you did before the launch will come in handy now.
- Birds – I’m always torn when invading natural territory of birds and this is what we are doing with our drones. Always avoid the nesting areas as birds get very territorial and aggressive around them. Depending on size of the drone, birds will either see it as a threat they can deal with or something to keep away from. Large birds, such as seagulls are notorious for attacking even relatively large drones (Phantom size), but even pigeons can attack a Mavic Mini. Move up when you see flock of birds approaching your drone and keep away from water (in case they do attack).
- Wind – one very obvious and literal cause for drone “fly always” – typical consumer drone can fly maybe 50 km/ h. If wind is stronger, it will blow the drone away. Avoid strong wind. If you do chose to fly regardless the wind, do the hover test before you move away, fly low, close distance and into the wind (so that you can come back with the wind). Be ready to land any time if you have to. Flying over water or steep mountains and anywhere where you cannot easily get to, is definitely not a good idea.
- Trees and bushes, buildings, mountain sides etc – flying close to trees and through objects while filming can give beautiful results. What you need to be aware of is that drone field of view is different than human eye field of view. You will not be able to judge the distance as accurately as with naked eye. Some small tree branches will also be difficult to see on the screen. As always – practice makes perfect, the more flight time you have, the better you get in judging how close you can safely get to objects
- Power lines – those are real drone killers, especially if you like flying relatively low. If there are power lines in the area, make sure you fly well above them. Make sure that return to home altitude is also set high enough to avoid them. Additionally to being obstacle, they may interfere with drone compass causing it to become uncontrollable. WITHOUT COMPASS, YOUR DRONE IS LIKE A KITE IN THE WIND, BUT WITHOUT A LINE! If you still have some control, land it immediately. Unless you are working on power line inspection or have no other way of getting to the place you want to photograph, avoid getting close to power lines all together!
- Wi-Fi antennas and cellphone towers – other than being an obstacle that you can miss, those may interfere with GPS signal. Loss of GPS signal will cause drone to kick into ATTI mode. This means that you will have to fly it manually until it recovers GPS or bring it home manually. ATTI mode is actually not as bad as it sounds, you will still know which way drone is facing and in which direction it is moving. You will however need to compensate for wind. You are likely to regain GPS if you move up and/ or away from the object of interference. If you don’t panic, there is a good chance you will manage to bring your drone back safely.
Paragliders, helicopters and other low flying manned aircrafts – as a hobby pilot you are not even allowed to take off close to air field or an airport. But assuming that you took off correctly and either a paraglider or a helicopter appears in your path you have ABSOLUTE OBLIGATION TO GIVE WAY TO ANY MANNED AVIATION. This applies regardless of whether you “were there first” of if they were (or weren’t) compliant with law. One thing to remember is that in may countries there is no minimum altitude for helicopters. They are allowed to fly as low as the technical capability of the helicopter allows. Paragliders and gyrocopter users on the other hand will have limited maneuverability. Even if they see you in time, they may not be able to react.- People – no matter where you are, you may encounter some “weirdo” with a shot gun who will try to take your drone down. According to law – they are NOT allowed to, even you fly right above them. Make sure that YOU are on the right side of law in any potential argument, even if they are not. Two wrongs don’t make right. Do not fly over other people properties, if you can avoid it. Do not make anyone uncomfortable with your flying and definitely, do not spy on or harass anyone.
- RUNNING OUT OF BATTERY!!! – this is probably one of the most likely contributors to drone losses and crashes. It is easy to forget about the battery when you are enjoying yourself. Not so critical when flying close and over land, but give yourself plenty battery time to return when flying far or high. Initiating trip back at 70% when flying far is not being over cautious.
Let me know in comments if I missed anything critical 🙂
Remember to do your PRE – FLIGHT CHECK!