Filming from a boat: Radar interference?

[TonyBrsd]

About to go on a new vessel delivery tomorrow to shoot some aerials as we go and on Tuesday on sea trials. I was wondering if the vessels radar would have any interference with my I2.

Another question is has anyone here landed on a moving boat? This vessel will do around 17 knots and was wondering if I land while moving will I be able to shut the motors down once on the deck even though the boat is still moving. Sounds like a silly question but would be cool to know.

 

[The Editor]

About to go on a new vessel delivery tomorrow to shoot some aerials as we go and on Tuesday on sea trials. I was wondering if the vessels radar would have any interference with my I2.

Another question is has anyone here landed on a moving boat? This vessel will do around 17 knots and was wondering if I land while moving will I be able to shut the motors down once on the deck even though the boat is still moving. Sounds like a silly question but would be cool to know.

Inspire 2 Flyaway

How to shut off motors hand catching on a boat

Questions and advice needed for job on a open sea/boat

 

[mmarian]

About to go on a new vessel delivery tomorrow to shoot some aerials as we go and on Tuesday on sea trials. I was wondering if the vessels radar would have any interference with my I2.

Another question is has anyone here landed on a moving boat? This vessel will do around 17 knots and was wondering if I land while moving will I be able to shut the motors down once on the deck even though the boat is still moving. Sounds like a silly question but would be cool to know.

I did a gig last week where I needed to take off and land on a 46m luxury motor yacht. The wind was steady 20kn gusting almost 30kn. Landing was the most dificult manuever. But I managed and shut the motors by holding the throttle stick down for 3 sec. The yacht was aluminum construction, radars switched off and all flying performed in Atti mode. I used Cendence with patch antenna, not sure if that made any difference. Other than the hair raising landing which I had to abort a couple of times due to the wind gusts, the I2 performed well. I also had the GPS unit attached and Dynamic Home Point activated just in case.

 

[Dobmatt]

I did a gig last week where I needed to take off and land on a 46m luxury motor yacht. The wind was steady 20kn gusting almost 30kn. Landing was the most dificult manuever. But I managed and shut the motors by holding the throttle stick down for 3 sec. The yacht was aluminum construction, radars switched off and all flying performed in Atti mode. I used Cendence with patch antenna, not sure if that made any difference. Other than the hair raising landing which I had to abort a couple of times due to the wind gusts, the I2 performed well. I also had the GPS unit attached and Dynamic Home Point activated just in case.

Like I said many times here and there, operating a quadcopter from moving vessel is always an adrenaline pumping experience. Been there, did that. No fun for old fart like myself ...

 

[mmarian]

Like I said many times here and there, operating a quadcopter from moving vessel is always an adrenaline pumping experience. Been there, did that. No fun for old fart like myself ...

Do not put yourself down like that. Remember you are only as old (fart) as make yourself to be..

 

[TonyBrsd]

Update: Shot the job today. Was able to stay in full gps mode but landing was interesting. We were in some rough seas and the boat was rocking and when landing it wanted to level off itself so the motors were spinning up and wanting to lift the back end. I held the left stick down but that worked the first time but not the second. I had to hold the drone down and hurry and eject the batteries to kill it.

Had a lot of birds following as well as a lot of wind so I definitely earned my pay today.

 

[Dobmatt]

Update: Shot the job today. Was able to stay in full gps mode but landing was interesting. We were in some rough seas and the boat was rocking and when landing it wanted to level off itself so the motors were spinning up and wanting to lift the back end. I held the left stick down but that worked the first time but not the second. I had to hold the drone down and hurry and eject the batteries to kill it.

Had a lot of birds following as well as a lot of wind so I definitely earned my pay today.

Why not the emergency shut off (left stick down to center+ RTH button, if I remember correctly)? Our friends in Shenzen made this idiotic change from standard cross-stick immediate kill to 3 second delayed kill. Only Buddha know why...

 

[mmarian]

Why not the emergency shut off (left stick down to center+ RTH button, if I remember correctly)? Our friends in Shenzen made this idiotic change from standard cross-stick immediate kill to 3 second delayed kill. Only Buddha know why...

Interestingly and maybe luckily I had no problem with shutting down the motors with the 3 sec delay. Once the I2 was happy with having all four feet safely on the ground (the sloping fiberglass canopy in my case), the motors shut off.

 

[Dobmatt]

Interestingly and maybe luckily I had no problem with shutting down the motors with the 3 sec delay. Once the I2 was happy with having all four feet safely on the ground (the sloping fiberglass canopy in my case), the motors shut off.

I'm not talking to you, Marian ! That was Tony who decided to hold the fighting bird down and pull the batts to kill it. Scary, like trying to grab a rattlesnake by the head during earthquake ...

 

[mmarian]

I'm not talking to you, Marian ! That was Tony who decided to hold the fighting bird down and pull the batts to kill it. Scary, like trying to grab a rattlesnake by the head during earthquake ...

I knew that but since we both did gigs on rocking boats recently I thought that my post was relevant. Perhaps conditions might have been different and my landing was also scary and adrenaline rush I managed to shut the motors without problem...

 

[TonyBrsd]

It was hairy dealing with the rough seas making the boat rock a lot and with all the birds at the stern near where I was landing. I have my I2 set to never kill the motors in the air. Never knew about the left stick down and center + RTH to emergency stop. Always used left stick straight down or two sticks down and center. Does the e stop still work if I have the do not kill motors while in the air feature turned on?

Here’s the shots I got from the shoot:

https://www.facebook.com/353956331406/posts/10157070935671407

 

[mmarian]

It was hairy dealing with the rough seas making the boat rock a lot and with all the birds at the stern near where I was landing. I have my I2 set to never kill the motors in the air. Never knew about the left stick down and center + RTH to emergency stop. Always used left stick straight down or two sticks down and center. Does the e stop still work if I have the do not kill motors while in the air feature turned on?

Here’s the shots I got from the shoot:

https://www.facebook.com/353956331406/posts/10157070935671407

Excellent work!! Thanks for sharing. Was the water and the landscape so brown or is it creative processing at work? No dig intended, I love the look of them the way they are, do not get me wrong! Where were you, on most photos you are not visible? Retouched out or hiding inside the cabin?

 

[TonyBrsd]

Excellent work!! Thanks for sharing. Was the water and the landscape so brown or is it creative processing at work? No dig intended, I love the look of them the way they are, do not get me wrong! Where were you, on most photos you are not visible? Retouched out or hiding inside the cabin?

After launching off the back deck I went up in the pilot house to run it from there. I had attended the christening of the vessel and brought the drone to test to see if number one, it would calibrate and be able to take of from the aluminum deck and two, to see if I still had a good signal from the cendence remote while inside the boat cabin.

Yes, these images have post processing done but we were in the Gulf of Mexico and the water was real brown but with the editing it darkened it up a little more.

Thanks for the compliments!

 

[mmarian]

After launching off the back deck I went up in the pilot house to run it from there. I had attended the christening of the vessel and brought the drone to test to see if number one, it would calibrate and be able to take of from the aluminum deck and two, to see if I still had a good signal from the cendence remote while inside the boat cabin.

Yes, these images have post processing done but we were in the golf of Mexico and the water was real brown but with the editing it darkened it up a little more.

Thanks for the compliments!

You have earned the compliments. Having done similar shoot last week, I appreciate the challenges, especially with landing on rocking vessel in gale force winds.
Again, job well done.

 

[Dobmatt]

It was hairy dealing with the rough seas making the boat rock a lot and with all the birds at the stern near where I was landing. I have my I2 set to never kill the motors in the air. Never knew about the left stick down and center + RTH to emergency stop. Always used left stick straight down or two sticks down and center. Does the e stop still work if I have the do not kill motors while in the air feature turned on?

Here’s the shots I got from the shoot:

https://www.facebook.com/353956331406/posts/10157070935671407

Glad you've accomplished your mission so successfully! I envy your bravery filming from bouncing boat with seagulls circling above. Not my league though ...

 

[JCFP]

Hey all, do a Google search for "Landing in ATTI mode'. Many posts, like this one: Landing in Atti mode?. It's a phantom forum post, but applies to us as well. I ran into this issue last week, when landing both my phantom and my I2 in ATTI mode. The CSC command is NOT the safest, quickest option for killing motors, it instead frequently leads to tipovers, which, for me, left me needing to replace 4 P4P pros and one mount, and killed one brand new T-motor rotor on my I2. The P4P went like this: slow landing and touchdown, I gave the usual (for me) CSC command of both sticks down and in, and the motors ramped up, it lifted a wee bit, hesitated, bounced down, tipped over, ramped up again, and crashed into a wall.

So I did a quick search, found the left stick down+RTH button CSC, and attempted that on landing my I2. The exact same thing happened- motors ramped instead of cutting off, it bounced, and tipped.

Did another, longer search, and settled on just left stick down, for all landings.

HOWEVER!! I was practicing hand catching 2 days ago and I had the I2 (in P mode) in my hand, I gave it the left stick down command, AND IT RAMPED AGAIN. Full throttle up. I barely held it, and it was only by holding the left stick down for 6ish secs that the motors shut down.

Lesson for me is landing on the ground in P mode is straight forward and left stick down works.

Outside of that, take nothing for granted, use left stick down, and if hand catching, ATTI mode might be better, but be mentally (and have the site) prepared for the worst.

 

[davidjmurray]

HOWEVER!! I was practicing hand catching 2 days ago and I had the I2 (in P mode) in my hand, I gave it the left stick down command, AND IT RAMPED AGAIN. Full throttle up. I barely held it, and it was only by holding the left stick down for 6ish secs that the motors shut down.

Even the 6-ish second thing does not work reliably if the boat is underway when you hand catch. You can test this while practicing hand catches on the ground by just walking briskly to simulate the boat and I2's motion while you try to shut down after the catch. In my experience (dozens of commercial flights from sailing vessels, including tall ships, and associated land-based practicing), you can hold the left stick straight down for a VERY long time and the motors will keep spinning if the bird thinks it is still moving forward. For safety, and to retain the confidence/respect of the people who have hired you to film their expensive yacht or tall ship, the last thing you want to do is be fighting your bird after catching it, while the boat is moving, praying for the props to stop.

The emergency kill procedure works reliably, and is the way to go (left stick in and down to 4:30 and press -hold RTH button) .

BTW, I always use an experienced assistant, with whom I've practiced, to catch the bird for me when working from moving boats at sea. While I have practiced one hand catches on my own, while standing firmly on the ground and operating the RC with the other hand, but I don't think this is a very safe or prudent way to operate, and consider it to be a last resort emergency procedure (if the landing gear fails to lower, for example)

To avoid most of the other problems mentioned in the thread above (compass errors caused by metal hulls, radar interference, etc.) we sometimes operate from a smaller non-metal boat (zodiac/dingy) shadowing the one I'm filming. On these smaller boats using an assistant for hand release and catch is still highly recommended, and someone else pilots the boat, so there are at least 3 of us on board, which can be tight.

 

[JCFP]

Even the 6-ish second thing does not work reliably if the boat is underway when you hand catch. You can test this while practicing hand catches on the ground by just walking briskly to simulate the boat and I2's motion while you try to shut down after the catch. In my experience (dozens of commercial flights from sailing vessels, including tall ships, and associated land-based practicing), you can hold the left stick straight down for a VERY long time and the motors will keep spinning if the bird thinks it is still moving forward. For safety, and to retain the confidence/respect of the people who have hired you to film their expensive yacht or tall ship, the last thing you want to do is be fighting your bird after catching it, while the boat is moving, praying for the props to stop.

The emergency kill procedure works reliably, and is the way to go (left stick in and down to 4:30 and press -hold RTH button) .

BTW, I always use an experienced assistant, with whom I've practiced, to catch the bird for me when working from moving boats at sea. While I have practiced one hand catches on my own, while standing firmly on the ground and operating the RC with the other hand, but I don't think this is a very safe or prudent way to operate, and consider it to be a last resort emergency procedure (if the landing gear fails to lower, for example)

To avoid most of the other problems mentioned in the thread above (compass errors caused by metal hulls, radar interference, etc.) we sometimes operate from a smaller non-metal boat (zodiac/dingy) shadowing the one I'm filming. On these smaller boats using an assistant for hand release and catch is still highly recommended, and someone else pilots the boat, so there are at least 3 of us on board, which can be tight.

All good advice David, thanks for the additional perspective!

 

[mmarian]

Even the 6-ish second thing does not work reliably if the boat is underway when you hand catch. You can test this while practicing hand catches on the ground by just walking briskly to simulate the boat and I2's motion while you try to shut down after the catch. In my experience (dozens of commercial flights from sailing vessels, including tall ships, and associated land-based practicing), you can hold the left stick straight down for a VERY long time and the motors will keep spinning if the bird thinks it is still moving forward. For safety, and to retain the confidence/respect of the people who have hired you to film their expensive yacht or tall ship, the last thing you want to do is be fighting your bird after catching it, while the boat is moving, praying for the props to stop.

The emergency kill procedure works reliably, and is the way to go (left stick in and down to 4:30 and press -hold RTH button) .

BTW, I always use an experienced assistant, with whom I've practiced, to catch the bird for me when working from moving boats at sea. While I have practiced one hand catches on my own, while standing firmly on the ground and operating the RC with the other hand, but I don't think this is a very safe or prudent way to operate, and consider it to be a last resort emergency procedure (if the landing gear fails to lower, for example)

To avoid most of the other problems mentioned in the thread above (compass errors caused by metal hulls, radar interference, etc.) we sometimes operate from a smaller non-metal boat (zodiac/dingy) shadowing the one I'm filming. On these smaller boats using an assistant for hand release and catch is still highly recommended, and someone else pilots the boat, so there are at least 3 of us on board, which can be tight.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Reading all the posts makes me think that I must have been very fortunate that I did not encounter any of the misbehaviour you guys experienced. I had one hairy moment but managed to abort landing and on the second attempt it landed with all four feet on the deck and the motors shut off after 3 sec of throttle stick full down. I did three landings in total on that shoot. The first two were without any major problem, the third was as described above. I had only very small area available on the boat for take off and landing due to the design of the boat, so any tipping over and the Inspire would slipped from the landing area straight overboard into the ocean. I am glad I have not encounreted any of what you have. Not sure if it was a sheer luck or what but in any case I breathed a sigh of relief when the drone part of my shoot was over...The rest was just interior photography of the luxury motor yacht, as that's what my day job is ( not yachts but interior and architectural photography )..

 

[Dobmatt]

And all this uncertainty is because DJI decided (some time ago) to get rid of well proven standard killing method by CSC and replace it with 3 sec delayed left stick to bottom right+RTH button! Too many novice pilots were accidentally killing their birds mid air by wiggling RC sticks like crazy ... Other words, if the bird detect any movement during this 3 seconds, she may do crazy things trying to compensate. Well trained assistant is a must when operating a drone off the boat, period.

Needles to say, there's actually NO emergency shut-off anymore.