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DRONE SAFETY

Drones can be hazardous if operated incorrectly. If you are new to

drones, we recommend learning on a mini-drone to first learn the

ropes. Make safety your first priority, and always follow these best

practices.

HANDLING

Spinning propellers can cause serious injury. Become familiar with

your drone’s arming procedure, and always disarm before handling

the propellers. On 3DR RTF (ready-to-fly) and other Pixhawk-powered

vehicles, the safety button provides an additional safety measure by

blocking power to the motors while the button is disabled (blinking

red), allowing you to handle the drone safely. When flying, always

make sure to keep a safe distance between yourself and the drone.

Don’t take off with the drone facing towards you or fly directly over

your head. It is your job to ensure the safety of the people around you;

make sure that spectators maintain a safe distance from your drone at

all times.

VISUAL LINE OF SIGHT

&
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Maintaining visual contact with your aircraft is the best assurance of a

safe flight. Don’t let the drone get too far away from you; keep it where

you can easily see its orientation from the ground. This is called your

visual line of sight and prevents a situation where you cannot recover

the drone safely. Flying within visual line of sight is also a good way to

ensure that your radio signals (from the RC and telemetry radio

systems) aren’t blocked by buildings or other obstructions. If you can’t

see through it, it’s likely that your radio signal can’t either.

UNDER 400 FEET

Keep your drone flying below 400 feet (120 meters) altitude to avoid

conflict with full-scale, manned aircraft and maintain visual line of sight.

To give you an idea of how high that is, the Statue of Liberty is 300

feet (93 meters) tall.

100 FEET FROM PEOPLE, VEHICLES,

AND PROPERTY

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Always maintain at least 100 feet (30 meters) between your drone and

people, vehicles, and buildings. This rule is important for flying near

crowds, buildings, and roads due to potential hazards from unplanned

landings.
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FAILSAFES

A failsafe is a pre-programmed behavior designed to prevent a crash

in the event of an unsafe situation. All ArduCopter vehicles include a

GPS failsafe activated by default. 3DR RTF copters are also preset

with radio control (RC) and low battery failsafe behaviors.

If the drone looses GPS signal in a flight mode that requires GPS

(loiter, auto, return-to-launch, guided), it will land automatically,

indicated by a blinking blue and yellow status LED and a high-highhigh-low tone. Always fly outside in an open area to improve GPS

signal strength.

If the drone looses contact with the RC transmitter, it will land

automatically, indicated by a blinking yellow status LED. If it looses RC

signal during a mission, it will return to the launch point before landing.

If the battery reaches 25% charge, the drone will land automatically,

indicated by a blinking yellow status LED and a quick repeating tone. If

the battery runs low during a mission, the drone will return to the

launch point before landing.

COMMON SENSE
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GENERAL

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Your common sense is the best failsafe. Always be ready to regain

manual control of the drone in the event of an unsafe situation. Before

you fly, determine the boundaries of your safe flying area. If the drone

moves outside the designated area or exhibits instability in flight,

switch to stabilize mode and land the drone manually. Remember that,

despite specific regulations, flying recklessly or creating an unsafe

situation for the public is always illegal. As the operator, you take

responsibility for the behavior of your drone at all times. Visit Know

Before you Fly for more information about drone safety. Please fly with

adult supervision if you are under 18 years of age.

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