Front a back lights

Aviator · Jan 7, 2016

RaptorMan said:
There are other thing beyond lights and frankly lights are the least of it as it's almost certain that sooner or later we will all need transponders -- altitude, heading and speed and ID reporting transponders.

Coming from being a professional boat skipper (recently retired) I can add to this idea because the vessels I owned were all fitted with AIS transponders, AIS stands for Automatic Identification System.
Currently AIS on ships is only available to holders of a DSC VHF radio license and the license number is used to activate the AIS transponder.
An AIS system would broadcast all the flight data required to be able to track and identify an aircraft fitted with AIS.

IrishSights · Jan 7, 2016

MacDyver said:
I knew little about UAS's but I'm learning, Green and red navigation lights are the standard on the entire planet and not wanting them to change simply because you don't like or want to learn, well thats up to you. If you apply for a commercial permit trust me you WILL learn that system.
@Irish Sights,
"The purposes of lights on a UAV and on a full sized aircraft or ship are completly different. On a UAV they are for the pilot-in-commnd, who is observing from a far off, to determine orriention in order to control the flight path of the aircraft. This is not the purpose of the lights on full size aircraft or ship as the pilot is on board.
For UAV purposes red/front green/back serves the purpose well of pilot control IMO."
The purpose of the "international standard" of navigation lights are to inform anyone observing a craft of it's orientation, and it in fact serves all professional pilots and captains and has for a long time, are they all wrong?
suppose every brand of auto had different colored lighting systems based on the manufacturers whimsy?

No they are not wrong for observing purposes. Piloting purposes is a whole different scenario, one is for pilot safety aid one is for those observing, they are not the same. You cannot compare the two. There is much more depth to this than oh it's an aircraft so it must be the same.

Again a safety example...a UAV's orientation needs to be seen by the the pilot at a distance. At 500m out whether the red/green is on the left or right would be very difficult to determine with confidence needed when a decision needs to be made as to which way you push the sticks...current system, there is no doubt. Also lights are just aids, a pilot should always know or be able to determine his crafts orientation. As part of UK UAV pilot certification flight test this is one of exercises. Lights are actually no use for this, you just can't see them at the distance they test you at.

While it's great to discuss and debate, however, it's not going to change because there are 2 different camps amongst us. Similar to the implementation of CSC.

lake_flyer · Jan 7, 2016

RaptorMan said:
OTH, they may just make it illegal to fly from dusk till dawn and eliminate the problem of conforming to existing aircraft rules. Given the trends in governance I'd guess banning will be there first choice.

It is already and always been illegal to fly a UAV outside universal daylight hours. Night illuminance is pointless unless you want to break the rules.

lake_flyer · Jan 7, 2016

As soon as the international rules for IFR operating are set, no doubt the external lighting will become an issue. My guess is that all IFR capable UAV's in the near future will have Red-Left Green-Right, just as manned aircraft and boats. As it is now, orientation lighting is not mandatory at all because operating outside daylight hours is illegal.

I never really understood why DJI ever decided for the way it is now. As a yacht owner
(small boatsman licence) I did have an issue with it in the beginning.

DJI probably only has to issue a firmware upgrade to change it for most of their RTF crafts. All the LEDs can be green, yellow or red.

MacDyver · Jan 7, 2016

I'm very happy for all of the thoughtful input without anyone flaming or demeaning each other, My I1 arrived Jan, 6th Eastern, around 2pm. Unfortunately my grand aunt whom I cared for died at 10am, so it will be a couple days before I really dig into it, my point is I'm very thankful to have others to teach me and share ideas and concepts with ; )

pixl45 · Jan 7, 2016

These lights might be of interest to all of you. They're from an Australian company, but available all over (I bought mine in Canada), are super bright and can give you a variety of red and white flashing patterns or solid light. MUCH brighter than the stock DJI led's.

They fit beautifully on the control arms, and are USB rechargeable. And just 15gms each. For those of you looking for red tail lights, these would make an excellent much-brighter alternative.

Front a back lights

Aviator

IrishSights

lake_flyer

lake_flyer

MacDyver

pixl45

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