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With the increasing affordability of remotely controlled multirotor aircraft, quadcopter flying is a terrific leisure pursuit for hobbyists to get into.
But due to the fact that they can cause serious risk to people and property, there are some really important safety and security rules to keep in mind anytime you are piloting one.
Here are 5 tips to help you enjoy flying your quadcopter safely, securely and within the law...
But due to the fact that they can cause serious risk to people and property, there are some really important safety and security rules to keep in mind anytime you are piloting one.
Here are 5 tips to help you enjoy flying your quadcopter safely, securely and within the law...
Safety Tip #1 - Keep Your Aircraft in Line of Site
The first rule which ought always to be abided by is to maintain your helicopter in your direct line of sight at all times.
Should you not be able to clearly see your quadcopter, you cannot see precisely where it is heading and what potential obstacles are in its way.
Should you not be able to clearly see your quadcopter, you cannot see precisely where it is heading and what potential obstacles are in its way.
Safety Tip #2 - Keep Your Distance
Every time you fly make certain that you are as far away as possible from people, animals, trees, buildings, traffic, and various other objects that your quadcopter could hit.
The absolute minimum proximity which is advised is thirty feet, or just over nine meters. This helps to reduce the risk, in the event you do lose control, of injuring nearby individuals or damaging structures.
Never, ever, fly your helicopter over people. If your quadcopter were to fall onto an individual or into a crowd, you could inflict severe injuries for which you can be held legally responsible.
As a hobbyist / recreational quadcopter pilot your use (in the USA) of your helicopter is covered by FAA Advisory Circular 91-57, which advises that you keep your quadcopter below 400 feet above ground and at least 5 miles (8 kilometers) away from airfields and air traffic.
However, before you start to fly in your local area, you should contact the local authority to determine the actual rules that they require to be adhered to, since they might be somewhat different from the FAA Advisory Circular.
It is your responsibility to ensure that you are compliant when you fly.
The absolute minimum proximity which is advised is thirty feet, or just over nine meters. This helps to reduce the risk, in the event you do lose control, of injuring nearby individuals or damaging structures.
Never, ever, fly your helicopter over people. If your quadcopter were to fall onto an individual or into a crowd, you could inflict severe injuries for which you can be held legally responsible.
As a hobbyist / recreational quadcopter pilot your use (in the USA) of your helicopter is covered by FAA Advisory Circular 91-57, which advises that you keep your quadcopter below 400 feet above ground and at least 5 miles (8 kilometers) away from airfields and air traffic.
However, before you start to fly in your local area, you should contact the local authority to determine the actual rules that they require to be adhered to, since they might be somewhat different from the FAA Advisory Circular.
It is your responsibility to ensure that you are compliant when you fly.
Safety Tip #3 - For Newbies
If you are a beginner, you are best to start with a low-cost, smaller, more lightweight model. The idea of piloting one of the larger, more expensive models, with all the bells and whistles, is enticing but before jumping in at the deep end spend $20 or so on a decent starter quad and learn the ropes first.
As a novice you are bound to have crashes indoors and outdoors that could damage your quad. The cost of learning on a high-end drone could be very expensive indeed!
Many quads have 2 settings which are akin to ‘beginner’ and ‘advanced.’ Start on beginner and stay on that setting until you have mastered it enough to go onto advanced.
Learn indoors first on the beginner setting then, when you have mastered that, go outdoors and learn to fly outdoors starting with beginner before moving on to advanced.
As a novice you are bound to have crashes indoors and outdoors that could damage your quad. The cost of learning on a high-end drone could be very expensive indeed!
Many quads have 2 settings which are akin to ‘beginner’ and ‘advanced.’ Start on beginner and stay on that setting until you have mastered it enough to go onto advanced.
Learn indoors first on the beginner setting then, when you have mastered that, go outdoors and learn to fly outdoors starting with beginner before moving on to advanced.
Safety Tip #4 - Keep Your Fingers Out Of the Way!
When your drone is on the ground being set up ready for take-off you must keep your fingers out of the way of the rotor blades, even if they haven’t started to turn yet.
And whenever doing routine maintenance on your quadcopter, you should disconnect the battery or take the battery out of your machine, so that you do not accidentally start the motors when working on it.
These are not toys, even although the mini-quadcopters are often referred to as such. The high speed rotating blades can cause real damage to unsuspecting fingers, particularly kids’ fingers, which could be ripped off; which brings us to #5…
And whenever doing routine maintenance on your quadcopter, you should disconnect the battery or take the battery out of your machine, so that you do not accidentally start the motors when working on it.
These are not toys, even although the mini-quadcopters are often referred to as such. The high speed rotating blades can cause real damage to unsuspecting fingers, particularly kids’ fingers, which could be ripped off; which brings us to #5…
Safety #5 - Keep an Eye on Children Under 14
It is generally advised that children under 14 years of age should not be allowed to handle multi-rotors let alone fly one. Again, these are not toys.
Not only can young children injure themselves, they can easily cause injury to others and to property. And you, as their parent, will be legally responsible.
Not only can young children injure themselves, they can easily cause injury to others and to property. And you, as their parent, will be legally responsible.
So there you have it: 5 quadcopter safety tips that will keep everyone safe, keep you legal, minimize crashes, and save you money. Everyone wins!
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