I had a similar encounter with a pair of Black Kites (hawk) flying way too close to my drone when I was vacationing at Ha Long Bay in Vietnam. I noticed my omni-directional obstacle avoidance warning appeared on the screen from above and since I have the drone in by-pass mode, it reacted by dropping in altitude. I looked up and immediately saw two birds of prey circling over my drone and coming in for a closer look. Luckily, they didn't attack my drone. Since then, I have put red reflective tapes all over my drone as birds tend to be cautious of reflective tapes that are red in color.
It's a situation that definitely gets the heart racing haha! The method - I've heard it mentioned somewhere, I just wonder how effective this method is - but I guess it is still worth the try. I will look into it!
@@janiniceland Since birds are not color blind (except for the nocturnal ones), they are known to avoid color red. People have tested it on drones with good results.
there's a drone pilot who has a channel here in the USA that was having problems with birds and he experimented with reflective tape like you put on a bicycle for picking up headlights of automobiles. He used different colors and he flew the drone near the attacking birds and after he experimented he found that red reflective tape all over the drone made the attacking birds ignore his drone. In his video you can see that they act like it's not even there, completely ignore it after the red reflective tape is applied.
Thanks for sharing! I saw some video about it a loooong time ago but I think they didn't really see any difference. Maybe the red reflective color is what does the trick. I will look it up, cheers!
Nice video. Yup - had a disconnect in porlakhofn but the RTH worked perfectly. I’ve flow. In -15c there too and like you, didn’t have issues. And the wind. Yup, sometimes the drone stays in the car. I’ve had some close encounters with Artic Terns in the Westfjords and experienced very aggressive gulls in Scotland. Bummer about the aggressive dude. Haven’t experienced that but have had people tell me the noise is annoying when out in nature. Nice work. I enjoy your channel.
Thank you Steve! Same for me, RTH has always worked so far, but man the waiting time before you hear your drone coming back is so nerve wracking haha. I've honestly haven't had a problem with the gulls here so far - they sometimes seem to be circling the drone for a bit and it appears like they want to attack it, but they've always kept the distance. Still, when there're too many of them I always come back just in case.
I flew my Mini 2 in the mountains during around -20 °C. I didn't dare to start the drone until I saw someone else flying. So I tried as well and had no problems at all. Didn't even notice a much shortened battery time. But it's important to keep the batteries warm until you really start the drone. Close to your body, inside your jacket for example.
A note to drone makers, who should watch this video: Glasswool (min. 10 mm thick) and aluminium foil are both light in weight and effective in preserving heat. Maybe develop a low temp model with a heat insulated battery compartment.
That would be interesting to see. But maybe there just isn't enough of demand for something like that. I think that probably more people would still prefer to have a smaller size drone. But still if they could come up with something that would preserve the heat better while still being able to fly the drone in warmer temps without overheating that'd be great to see.
@@janiniceland Hey Jan, drones are getting so popular that the makers can afford to offer a cold climate option (needed in Scotland, Norway, Sweden etc. as well as Iceland) maybe via non-insulated and insulated battery modules that you can swap in five seconds. Love from Bavaria. 🙂❤❤
@@1258-Eckhart that's true. But I like that idea- having the option to swap between normal and insulated batteries. Well, they're always coming up with something new, let's see what's next 😀
Hi Jan, thanks for this video about 5 dangers of flying a Drone in Iceland. With as cold as the Winter months are there the colder temperatures would be a big challenge. I've commented on some of your videos with drone footage, that it was so remarkable that you could even fly your drone in such conditions. The danger of Birds of Prey is challenging as well. The birds must rely heavily on their sight to hunt as some of their other senses would pick up that the drone is something that they can't eat. Also the fast turning propellers could also hurt them while trying to catch it while flying.
Thank you Ben! After reading your comment I think I will be renaming the video to ,,5 dangers of flying a Drone in Iceland'' - it looks more clean, thank you for the inspiration! The bird was a big surprise. Every time I see birds, I try to come back as soon as I can, both for the safety and respect to the animals, but there was no warning at all. And like you said, the propellers are dangerous - when I was searching the area after the accident I saw a large bird flying in the canyon so I hope and believe it was the same animal that took the drone down and that the drone didn't hurt it. They're such a beautiful animals. We actually saved one in my previous work place, where it crashed into the window and so we took care of it and fed it for about two week before it recovered and was able to fly again.
I had an Arctic Tern get upset with mine in the North West Territories in Canada. I landed immediately. Related note, probably the only place I've been that rivals Iceland's beauty.
I think that a wise thing to do in these kind of situations. Sadly there was no warning in my situation haha. And, I believe you, Canada has been on my list for a while, I hope I will get to visit this part of the world in next couple of years!
I am from Alberta, Canada and have flown a drone in cold and wind. Yes I start off with warm batteries and then try and return and land at 50% battery! Same with wind. Or at least go upwind if possible so it helps on the way home! Going to Iceland in Sept and will probably bring my drone! Cheers!
It's good to stick to these rules but I'm not going to lie, there have been situations when I just decided to push it haha. You should bring your drone, I think it's definitely worth it!
Hi Jan - Thanks for another very helpful video. I'm planning to take my drones (Mini Pro4 and Mavic 3 Classic) to Iceland in September. You covered two of the areas I'm definitely concerned about. The wind and bird strikes. I found a number of videos on TH-cam showing how you might be able to reduce bird strikes by attaching red reflective tape to the body of the drone, so I'm considering doing that. Thanks again! Cheers!
Hey John! Thank you, I'm glad it's helpful. I haven't tried the trick with the tape, but it could be worth the try. But I really hope that my accident was mostly just a bad luck. I wouldn't be too worried about the wind, even with the Mini I've heard it's handling the wind pretty well. Just be be careful how far you fly if you fly with the wind so you'll have enough time to come back before battery dies.
Thanks for sharing. Another danger is of course flowing lava. Flying too low (especially with the light Mini drones) the drone can melt or processor can overheat, sensors can fail. I got my Mavic Pro back with unluckily more than just body melt...
That's true, I should have mentioned it. Also from my experience the signal was acting a bit strange by the eruption site. That was at least at the two first eruptions at the peninsula we got, not sure hot it is now, but ton of people were losing their drones there back then due to that
Amazing info. Sorry for your drone. It's good to know about these birds. Here where I live there are a few types of falcons that can attack drones easily. I covered my drone with a few patches of a reflecting red tape to hopefully keep them away. It seems to work well with most birds but it looks like Iceland's birds won't care about the tape and attack it anyway. Thanks for the info!
thank you! I haven't tried the tape yet. I think that it might keep the bird away if the bird thinks its a pray, but if it's trying to protect its nesting ground I am guessing it will attack it no matter what. That's just me guessing though. Been very careful about where I fly since then no doubt
Thank you for this helpful informations! I was in Iceland with an Air 2 and I see your drone is a Air 2S. They are very good in strong winds, specially in comparison with sub250g drones. Question: Someone told me the icelandic authority is passing some permits if you ask for a specific approval. They passed some time windows besides the touristic rush-hours and official gave the permit to fly drones in places where normally your aren’t allowed to fly. Did you ever had contact with the icelandic authority to ask for a permit? Is it really that easy?
Good question! I don't have an experience with that, but will prbably try to send few emails. It would make sense that if it's not a protected area it shouldn't be as difficult but who knows. I will follow up when I get some answers!
@@janiniceland I even mean at touristic hotspots like for example Skogafoss where they‘ve put a sign. Another thing, I shortly had a discussion with someone who pretends for a flight in Iceland a registration for sub250g drones is not mandatory. I would pretend is is because Iceland is running the EASA rules. When I checked the official website they only indicates to put on the contact details, not the eID like all other EASA-countries. As far as I know a tourist from abroad is not able to register in Iceland. He probably is in need to do it in another EASA country because in Iceland you need to be a citizen of Iceland to go through the process. I‘m not sure because I did my registration in my European home-country which is a member of EASA.
@@allegriach that's a good question, I see it now on the website of the island.is : ,,Aircraft weighing less than 250 g are exempted.'' . However you if you have drone weighing more you should be able to register if you need to no matter if you're a citizen of iceland or not. at least everything points to that...but again that's only for the commercial purposes.
the other thing to consider reagarding birds is the injuries that your drone can inflict on birds and not so much the other way round if an Arc tic Tern got hit be a prop bade that would most likley kill it !
@@tonijones2187 well I’m sure nobody would want to do that on purpose. People just need be sensible about where they’re flying. Like for example I’d never knowingly fly near areas where birds nest or where they’re in high numbers but as you can see from my experience, sadly accidents can still happen.
I returned from Iceland recently and am very happy with my drone footage. I did have a few curious birds from time to time. For one of them, I turned the drone around and flew backwards with the bird as flying escort duty for a few seconds: th-cam.com/video/mXBhKqoQLeA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=5WZMeKF0AZPyqPHa&t=137 A beautiful country - can't wait to return.
Thanks for sharing 😊
glad I could help :)
I had a similar encounter with a pair of Black Kites (hawk) flying way too close to my drone when I was vacationing at Ha Long Bay in Vietnam. I noticed my omni-directional obstacle avoidance warning appeared on the screen from above and since I have the drone in by-pass mode, it reacted by dropping in altitude. I looked up and immediately saw two birds of prey circling over my drone and coming in for a closer look. Luckily, they didn't attack my drone. Since then, I have put red reflective tapes all over my drone as birds tend to be cautious of reflective tapes that are red in color.
It's a situation that definitely gets the heart racing haha! The method - I've heard it mentioned somewhere, I just wonder how effective this method is - but I guess it is still worth the try. I will look into it!
@@janiniceland Since birds are not color blind (except for the nocturnal ones), they are known to avoid color red. People have tested it on drones with good results.
there's a drone pilot who has a channel here in the USA that was having problems with birds and he experimented with reflective tape like you put on a bicycle for picking up headlights of automobiles. He used different colors and he flew the drone near the attacking birds and after he experimented he found that red reflective tape all over the drone made the attacking birds ignore his drone. In his video you can see that they act like it's not even there, completely ignore it after the red reflective tape is applied.
Thanks for sharing! I saw some video about it a loooong time ago but I think they didn't really see any difference. Maybe the red reflective color is what does the trick. I will look it up, cheers!
Great video. Thanks for the information, Jan. I subscribed.
Glad you liked it Harry, thank you! 🙏
Nice video. Yup - had a disconnect in porlakhofn but the RTH worked perfectly. I’ve flow. In -15c there too and like you, didn’t have issues. And the wind. Yup, sometimes the drone stays in the car. I’ve had some close encounters with Artic Terns in the Westfjords and experienced very aggressive gulls in Scotland. Bummer about the aggressive dude. Haven’t experienced that but have had people tell me the noise is annoying when out in nature. Nice work. I enjoy your channel.
Thank you Steve! Same for me, RTH has always worked so far, but man the waiting time before you hear your drone coming back is so nerve wracking haha. I've honestly haven't had a problem with the gulls here so far - they sometimes seem to be circling the drone for a bit and it appears like they want to attack it, but they've always kept the distance. Still, when there're too many of them I always come back just in case.
I flew my Mini 2 in the mountains during around -20 °C. I didn't dare to start the drone until I saw someone else flying. So I tried as well and had no problems at all. Didn't even notice a much shortened battery time. But it's important to keep the batteries warm until you really start the drone. Close to your body, inside your jacket for example.
They're all very capable and can withstand very harsh conditions but like you say, keeping the batteries warm is the key here
A note to drone makers, who should watch this video: Glasswool (min. 10 mm thick) and aluminium foil are both light in weight and effective in preserving heat. Maybe develop a low temp model with a heat insulated battery compartment.
That would be interesting to see. But maybe there just isn't enough of demand for something like that. I think that probably more people would still prefer to have a smaller size drone. But still if they could come up with something that would preserve the heat better while still being able to fly the drone in warmer temps without overheating that'd be great to see.
@@janiniceland Hey Jan, drones are getting so popular that the makers can afford to offer a cold climate option (needed in Scotland, Norway, Sweden etc. as well as Iceland) maybe via non-insulated and insulated battery modules that you can swap in five seconds. Love from Bavaria. 🙂❤❤
@@1258-Eckhart that's true. But I like that idea- having the option to swap between normal and insulated batteries. Well, they're always coming up with something new, let's see what's next 😀
Hi Jan, thanks for this video about 5 dangers of flying a Drone in Iceland.
With as cold as the Winter months are there the colder temperatures would be a big challenge. I've commented on some of your videos with drone footage, that it was so remarkable that you could even fly your drone in such conditions.
The danger of Birds of Prey is challenging as well. The birds must rely heavily on their sight to hunt as some of their other senses would pick up that the drone is something that they can't eat. Also the fast turning propellers could also hurt them while trying to catch it while flying.
Thank you Ben! After reading your comment I think I will be renaming the video to ,,5 dangers of flying a Drone in Iceland'' - it looks more clean, thank you for the inspiration!
The bird was a big surprise. Every time I see birds, I try to come back as soon as I can, both for the safety and respect to the animals, but there was no warning at all. And like you said, the propellers are dangerous - when I was searching the area after the accident I saw a large bird flying in the canyon so I hope and believe it was the same animal that took the drone down and that the drone didn't hurt it. They're such a beautiful animals. We actually saved one in my previous work place, where it crashed into the window and so we took care of it and fed it for about two week before it recovered and was able to fly again.
I had an Arctic Tern get upset with mine in the North West Territories in Canada. I landed immediately. Related note, probably the only place I've been that rivals Iceland's beauty.
I think that a wise thing to do in these kind of situations. Sadly there was no warning in my situation haha. And, I believe you, Canada has been on my list for a while, I hope I will get to visit this part of the world in next couple of years!
I am from Alberta, Canada and have flown a drone in cold and wind. Yes I start off with warm batteries and then try and return and land at 50% battery! Same with wind. Or at least go upwind if possible so it helps on the way home!
Going to Iceland in Sept and will probably bring my drone! Cheers!
It's good to stick to these rules but I'm not going to lie, there have been situations when I just decided to push it haha. You should bring your drone, I think it's definitely worth it!
Hi Jan - Thanks for another very helpful video. I'm planning to take my drones (Mini Pro4 and Mavic 3 Classic) to Iceland in September. You covered two of the areas I'm definitely concerned about. The wind and bird strikes. I found a number of videos on TH-cam showing how you might be able to reduce bird strikes by attaching red reflective tape to the body of the drone, so I'm considering doing that. Thanks again! Cheers!
Hey John! Thank you, I'm glad it's helpful. I haven't tried the trick with the tape, but it could be worth the try. But I really hope that my accident was mostly just a bad luck. I wouldn't be too worried about the wind, even with the Mini I've heard it's handling the wind pretty well. Just be be careful how far you fly if you fly with the wind so you'll have enough time to come back before battery dies.
@@janiniceland Thanks for the great advice, Jan!
Thanks for sharing. Another danger is of course flowing lava. Flying too low (especially with the light Mini drones) the drone can melt or processor can overheat, sensors can fail. I got my Mavic Pro back with unluckily more than just body melt...
That's true, I should have mentioned it. Also from my experience the signal was acting a bit strange by the eruption site. That was at least at the two first eruptions at the peninsula we got, not sure hot it is now, but ton of people were losing their drones there back then due to that
Amazing info. Sorry for your drone.
It's good to know about these birds. Here where I live there are a few types of falcons that can attack drones easily. I covered my drone with a few patches of a reflecting red tape to hopefully keep them away. It seems to work well with most birds but it looks like Iceland's birds won't care about the tape and attack it anyway.
Thanks for the info!
thank you! I haven't tried the tape yet. I think that it might keep the bird away if the bird thinks its a pray, but if it's trying to protect its nesting ground I am guessing it will attack it no matter what. That's just me guessing though. Been very careful about where I fly since then no doubt
Thank you for this helpful informations! I was in Iceland with an Air 2 and I see your drone is a Air 2S. They are very good in strong winds, specially in comparison with sub250g drones. Question: Someone told me the icelandic authority is passing some permits if you ask for a specific approval. They passed some time windows besides the touristic rush-hours and official gave the permit to fly drones in places where normally your aren’t allowed to fly. Did you ever had contact with the icelandic authority to ask for a permit? Is it really that easy?
Good question! I don't have an experience with that, but will prbably try to send few emails. It would make sense that if it's not a protected area it shouldn't be as difficult but who knows. I will follow up when I get some answers!
@@janiniceland I even mean at touristic hotspots like for example Skogafoss where they‘ve put a sign.
Another thing, I shortly had a discussion with someone who pretends for a flight in Iceland a registration for sub250g drones is not mandatory. I would pretend is is because Iceland is running the EASA rules. When I checked the official website they only indicates to put on the contact details, not the eID like all other EASA-countries. As far as I know a tourist from abroad is not able to register in Iceland. He probably is in need to do it in another EASA country because in Iceland you need to be a citizen of Iceland to go through the process. I‘m not sure because I did my registration in my European home-country which is a member of EASA.
@@allegriach that's a good question, I see it now on the website of the island.is : ,,Aircraft weighing less than 250 g are exempted.'' . However you if you have drone weighing more you should be able to register if you need to no matter if you're a citizen of iceland or not. at least everything points to that...but again that's only for the commercial purposes.
the other thing to consider reagarding birds is the injuries that your drone can inflict on birds and not so much the other way round if an Arc
tic Tern got hit be a prop bade that would most likley kill it !
@@tonijones2187 well I’m sure nobody would want to do that on purpose. People just need be sensible about where they’re flying. Like for example I’d never knowingly fly near areas where birds nest or where they’re in high numbers but as you can see from my experience, sadly accidents can still happen.
I returned from Iceland recently and am very happy with my drone footage. I did have a few curious birds from time to time. For one of them, I turned the drone around and flew backwards with the bird as flying escort duty for a few seconds: th-cam.com/video/mXBhKqoQLeA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=5WZMeKF0AZPyqPHa&t=137
A beautiful country - can't wait to return.
haha ok but that is one amazing shot right there!🔥
I use Sandisk all the time. The birds are attackers of people and drones. 🙃
same here, most of my memory cards are from them, in all those years of shooting they never failed so far!