VLOS - drone operations within visual line of sight

On this page, you can read more about VLOS and how to calculate your VLOS distance for your drone operations.

What is VLOS?

In the open category, you must operate your drone so that you can clearly see the drone and its surroundings at all times, as well as its direction and ability to avoid hazards. This is referred to as VLOS – Visual Line of Sight.

The VLOS requirement applies to all drone pilots. Whether you operate in the open or specific category, and regardless of whether you have a drone certificate or not, you must know your maximum VLOS distance.

How to calculate your VLOS

You need to complete two steps to determine your VLOS distance:

Determine the VLOS distance for your drone.
Determine the VLOS distance based on visibility conditions.

Your VLOS distance is the smaller of these two values. For example, if visibility is 100 meters, you may only fly 30 meters away, even if the drone's VLOS distance is greater.

Below, we have compiled two lists with examples of maximum VLOS distances to help you determine your VLOS distance.

List 1: Maximum VLOS distance based on the typical size of drone models

Model	Diagonal distance from wingtip to wingtip	Maximum VLOS-distance
Autel Evo Nano+	41,6 cm	156,09 meters
DJI Mini 3	44 cm	164,05 meters
DJI Mini 4 Pro	47,7 cm	176,11 meters
DJI Mavic 3	67,9 cm	242,03 meters
DJI Inspire 3	1,15 meters	398,01 meters
DJI Matrice 30	1,15 meters	398,01 meters
DJI Matrice 300/350	1,58 meters	546,66 meters
AG Eagle Ebee X (Fastvinget)	1,16 meters	597,4 meters

List 2: Maximum VLOS distance based on visibility

Visibility	Maximum distance
100 meters	30 meters
200 meters	60 meters
300 meters	90 meters
400 meters	120 meters
500 meters	150 meters
1000 meters	300 meters
1500 meters	450 meters
2000 meters	600 meters
5000 meters	1500 meters

If your drone or visibility conditions are not listed, you can calculate the maximum VLOS distance yourself using the formulas below.

How to calculate your own VLOS distance

Please note the following:

When calculating the distance based on the drone's size, you need to know the diagonal distance from propeller tip to propeller tip for multirotor drones or the distance from wingtip to wingtip for fixed-wing drones.
When calculating the distance based on visibility, you need to know the visibility conditions at the location where you wish to operate. You can check the visibility at the nearest airport here.
The smallest value determines how far you can fly.