Glance at the summary firstThe summary from the end of the lesson, as a road map before you start reading.
Not losing the drone is possible by keeping it within visual line of sight at every moment, leaving a return reserve in the battery that also accounts for a return against the wind, and setting up the return to home function with a correct height and takeoff point. Looking at the wind at height, flying against the wind first and taking off with a short checklist make the flight safe. A face in front of a shining sea, meanwhile, is kept in its own tone by taking the metering from the face.
Learning goal
You will be able to know what to look at before the flight, during the flight and at the moment of landing in order to fly a drone without losing it, crashing it or harming anyone. You will take into account that the wind can be stronger up high than you feel on the ground, that a wind blowing from behind on the way out will blow from the front on the way back, and how this drains the battery. You will keep the drone at a distance where you can see it with your own eyes at every moment, and learn to look at the sky rather than the screen. You will plan the battery not to zero but around a reserve left for the return, and set up the drone's function of returning to its takeoff point by itself with a safe height and a takeoff point. With a frame you shoot at the takeoff spot, you also won't forget to expose correctly a face standing in front of a shining sea.
The question
Your friend makes their first flight early in the morning at an empty cove. On the shore the air is calm, the drone moves quickly away over the sea, and the image on the screen is captivating: turquoise water, a boat among the rocks. Your friend can't take their eyes off the screen. Suddenly a wind warning appears on the screen, then a battery warning. They raise their head and look at the sky but can't see the drone; that small dot is somewhere over the sea. The drone struggles to come back to the shore. Is not losing the drone possible?
Context
You remember the plan where you marked the area around the airport and the square where the fair would be set up on the map, and moved the flight to an empty morning cove (Lesson H.2). In the weather lesson we talked about how wind, clouds and rain change both the light and the shoot (Lesson 5.5). On the roads of the Aegean you also saw how the spare battery kept close to the body in the cold saves a day (Lesson T.2).
When a camera on the ground falls, a lens usually gets scratched. When a drone in the air falls, though, it is lost itself, and can hit a boat, a car or a person. That is why the first skill of drone photography is managing not a frame but the flight itself: the wind, the battery and where the drone is.
Simple explanation
Where should the drone be at every moment?
Visual line of sight is the distance and direction at which you can see the drone with your own eyes, without goggles or a screen. As long as the drone stays within this line, you can see where it is going, whether it is approaching a bird, a wire or a tree, and react at once. The image on the screen shows only the direction the camera is looking; it doesn't show what is behind, beside or below the drone. Many countries' rules also require the drone to fly within the pilot's visual line of sight.
A small drone shrinks to a dot in the sky a few hundred meters away and easily disappears from view; in front of the sea, a bright sky or a forest this happens even faster. That is why the drone is kept close, the screen is glanced at briefly and the eye keeps returning to the sky. Having an observer beside you who follows the drone with their eyes makes it safer for the pilot to look at the screen.
When does the battery run out?
A return reserve is the part of the battery set aside, when the flight is planned, for the return and landing, and never spent on shooting. The battery isn't used down to zero; the drone should be over the takeoff point while a significant part of the battery is still full. Most small drones fly for less than half an hour on one battery; this time shortens noticeably in the cold, in wind and in fast maneuvers.
The wind is this reserve's main enemy. A wind that seems light on the ground can be much stronger a few dozen meters up. A drone moving away with the wind goes easily; but on the way back it flies against the wind, slows down and drains the battery much faster. That is why on a windy day the drone is flown against the wind first, so that the return is with the wind and easy. Looking before the flight at a weather source that shows the wind at height can change a flight entirely.
How does the drone come back on its own?
Return to home is the drone returning by itself to the takeoff point and landing when the connection is lost, when the battery runs low or when the pilot asks. The drone records the takeoff point with its satellite position and flies back there at a set height. This function is a safety net, but two things have to be set up correctly. The return height must be above the tallest tree, pole and building on the way; a low return height leads the drone to hit an obstacle. The takeoff point must be recorded before takeoff, once the drone has found its position precisely; otherwise the drone may return somewhere else.
A short checklist before the flight reminds you of these steps in order: the propellers being sound, the batteries being full, the takeoff point recorded, the return height, the wind and the people around. Takeoff and landing are done on flat, open ground away from people; spinning propellers can seriously harm a hand or a face.
Visual evidence
Your friend brings the drone down to a low height where the wind is weaker and turns its nose toward the shore. The drone moves forward against the wind slowly but steadily and lands on the shore with the last part of the battery. The next morning they come with a different routine.
Before the flight they look at a source that shows the wind at height: light on the ground, strong at sixty meters. They decide to start the flight against the wind and keep it short. They record the takeoff point after the drone's satellite position is fixed, and set the return height above the rocks at the edge of the cove. Their cyclist friend from the club is beside them as an observer; she follows the drone with her eyes and calls out, "It's drifting left."
The drone flies within visual line of sight, a few hundred meters out from the shore. When half the battery is gone, they turn its nose to the shore even though the shoot is still going on; though they know that the return, unlike the way out, will be short this time, with the wind, they don't break the reserve. The drone lands while part of the battery is still full. After landing, your friend shoots a frame of the observer standing in front of the shining sea. In the first frame the camera has metered for the bright water, and their dark-skinned friend's face is a shadow. When they take the metering from her face, the warm brown of her skin and her smile stand out, while the sea stays a bright background.
Common mistakes
Common mistakeKeeping your eyes on the screen the whole time while flying.
The drone disappears from view, obstacles and birds go unnoticed. The fix: keep the drone within visual line of sight, glance at the screen briefly, fly with an observer.
Common mistakeMoving away with the wind and spending the battery without calculating the return.
On the way back, slowed by the headwind, the drone may not reach the shore. The fix: fly against the wind first, leave a return reserve in the battery.
Common mistakeFlying without checking the return to home height and the takeoff point.
The drone can hit a tree or return somewhere else. The fix: set the return height above the obstacles, record the takeoff point once the position is fixed.
Summary
Not losing the drone is possible by keeping it within visual line of sight at every moment, leaving a return reserve in the battery that also accounts for a return against the wind, and setting up the return to home function with a correct height and takeoff point. Looking at the wind at height, flying against the wind first and taking off with a short checklist make the flight safe. A face in front of a shining sea, meanwhile, is kept in its own tone by taking the metering from the face.
Mini assignment
In this assignment you will plan a flight with its safety steps, even without a drone.
- Choose a flying spot and look at a weather source that shows the wind at height; according to the wind's direction, write down which way to fly first.
- Prepare a short pre-flight checklist: propellers, batteries, takeoff point, return height, wind, people around; set the return height according to the tallest obstacle on the way.
- Choose an observer and write down their job; at the flying spot, shoot a frame of them, or of a friend, in front of a bright background, with their permission, taking the metering from the face.
Check yourself
- In the flight you planned, does the drone stay within visual line of sight at every moment?
- Does your return reserve account for a return against the wind?
- Is the face in front of a bright background in its own tone?
Glossary
| Term | Short definition |
|---|---|
| Visual line of sight | The distance and direction at which you can see the drone with your own eyes, without goggles or a screen. |
| Return reserve | The part of the battery set aside, when the flight is planned, for the return and landing and not spent on shooting. |
| Return to home | The drone returning by itself to the takeoff point and landing when the connection is lost, the battery runs low or when asked. |
Mini quiz
1. Why must the drone be kept within visual line of sight?
- A) Because the screen is brighter
- B) Because the screen shows only the direction the camera is looking, and obstacles are noticed only by eye
- C) Because the battery lasts longer
- D) Because the image is sharper
2. On a windy day, which way do you fly first?
- A) With the wind
- B) Across the wind
- C) Against the wind
- D) The direction doesn't matter
3. How is the return to home height set?
- A) As low as possible
- B) Above the tallest obstacle on the way
- C) One meter above the ground
- D) At random
4. How is the face of a dark-skinned person standing in front of a shining sea protected?
- A) By taking the metering from the face
- B) By taking the metering for the bright water
- C) By stopping down the aperture
- D) By shooting without flash and without compensation
Answers
- B — The wire behind the drone or the bird beside it doesn't show on the screen, it shows in the sky.
- C — The return is with the wind, and the dwindling battery carries the drone to the shore.
- B — Returning at this height, the drone doesn't hit any tree, pole or building.
- A — The bright water pulls the metering down; metering from the face keeps the skin in its own tone.
Summary card
- Visual line of sight: see the drone by eye, glance at the screen, fly with an observer.
- The wind can be stronger up high; fly against the wind first.
- Return reserve: plan the battery not to zero but around the return.
- Return to home: height above the obstacles, takeoff point once the position is fixed.
- Takeoff and landing away from people; take off with a checklist.
Bridge to the next lesson
Looking at the frames from their first safe flight, your friend gets caught on one they shot from overhead: the rectangles of salt pans, the long shadow of a worker walking between them, the lines of a field. The frame looks more like a painting than a photograph. How do you hunt for patterns from overhead? The next lesson takes up building composition from above using graphic shapes and shadows.