About a month ago, I tried something I’d never dared to do before - flying through fog in the mountains. I’ll admit I had a safety net: if I got lost, I could trigger “GPS rescue” to make the drone fly back to the launch point automatically. However, I’d had some issues configuring those settings, so I wasn’t 100% sure it would work. Still, I decided to give it a try.
I knew the fog layer was not so thick and that it was mostly clear above it. I’d flown in this area many times before, so I was familiar with the terrain. Right after launch, I quickly entered the fog - zero visibility. I just kept an eye on the altitude, GPS speed, and waited until I broke through. It took longer than I expected, but eventually I saw clear sky above.
The camera lens was a bit foggy after the long exposure to moisture, but it cleared up after a while. I flew a cruise around the mountain, but I didn’t want to drain the battery too much - I needed to make sure I had enough power left for a safe landing in case I became disoriented on the way back.
When I re-entered the fog, I relied entirely on the altitude indicator and the home-arrow that points toward the launch position. All in all, it went well - I made it back without crashing into the forest!
I flew this with the GepRC VaporD5. To get a long flight time I used a 6S Li-ion battery.
Here are some screenshots from the OSD (on screen display) of the goggles:
Just after launch:
Finally through...
On the summit...
Heading back home...
Time to land...
Landing...
Here are some more screenshots from the video recorded onboard:
And here's the video. The original flight lasted over 10 minutes, so what you're seeing is the edited version.