Want to get some advice from fellow flyers

[AERO 1]

I have been preparing for a trip to Isla Mujeres in Mexico for the the annual whale shark migration. I will be taking off/landing on a boat. Also, I do wedding photography and I am shooting a wedding tomorrow night on a yacht(about 60ft long). Would love to do some flyovers there too.

I was hoping to get some advice...

I know it impossible to get proper compass calibration when your standing on a metal boat. If i have full GPS in the middle of the ocean, i calibrate on shore, then turn off for trip to destination and my firmware is all up to date...who here would feel comfortable flying it around for a few minutes without calibration and over open salt water(gulp-pun intended).

I want to trust the machine, but should i trust the machine?

I do love my Aero 1 ( thats her name). And would be heartbroken to have her land on a whale shark. But, video would be AMAZING.

Would you do it?

Thanks.

Chris

http://www.ctphotoart.com

 

[turbodronepilot]

I have been preparing for a trip to Isla Mujeres in Mexico for the the annual whale shark migration. I will be taking off/landing on a boat. Also, I do wedding photography and I am shooting a wedding tomorrow night on a yacht(about 60ft long). Would love to do some flyovers there too.

I was hoping to get some advice...

I know it impossible to get proper compass calibration when your standing on a metal boat. If i have full GPS in the middle of the ocean, i calibrate on shore, then turn off for trip to destination and my firmware is all up to date...who here would feel comfortable flying it around for a few minutes without calibration and over open salt water(gulp-pun intended).

I want to trust the machine, but should i trust the machine?

I do love my Aero 1 ( thats her name). And would be heartbroken to have her land on a whale shark. But, video would be AMAZING.

Would you do it?

Thanks.

Chris

http://www.ctphotoart.com

Hey Chris. ..
if your fly within a couple hundred miles of your last calibration then stick with it..
no need to calibrate off shore. .
After taking off let it hover and check for tbe and if she flys well you should be good...
Always use a screen recoding device and while flying over water you might want to get a getter back rod recovery system ...
Yes I would do it. .lol...
Fly safe...
turb...

 

[SultanGris]

Ive been flying for around 5 months almost every day with 3 batteries and ive calibrated once. before my first flight. I see zero reason to calibrate before every flight and have never had any problems even when flying 1500 miles from the spot where i initially calibrated it. IMO and personal experience if you calibrate before every flight youre wasting your time and your battery life. Over 80 hours of flight time without issue. I LOL when i see people saying they calibrate before every flight. Why?

 

[Mazz]

With all the time I have seen in the air I am yet to have an Issue. I trust my machine with her life now. Not people's lives, I do not think I will ever be that comfortable, but I am sure enough of myself and my quad to put it in a situation that will only work if everything goes right. Just practice your small target landings or learn to hand catch with an accessory that makes it easier.

 

[AERO 1]

Thanks for the confidence boost!

Hey Chris. ..
if your fly within a couple hundred miles of your last calibration then stick with it..
no need to calibrate off shore. .
After taking off let it hover and check for tbe and if she flys well you should be good...
Always use a screen recoding device and while flying over water you might want to get a getter back rod recovery system ...
Yes I would do it. .lol...
Fly safe...
turb...

Pardon my ignorance, but what does check for tbe mean? And what is a back rod recovery system? Thanks turb.

 

[turbodronepilot]

Thanks for the confidence boost!



Pardon my ignorance, but what does check for tbe mean? And what is a back rod recovery system? Thanks turb.

He AREO!!
TBE means toilet bowl effect. .
here's a picture of a getter back. .

 

[AERO 1]

Thanks for the confidence boost!



Pardon my ignorance, but what does check for tbe mean? And what is a back rod recovery system? Thanks turb.

So the toilet bowl effect (tbe) occurs why?

 

[turbodronepilot]

So the toilet bowl effect (tbe) occurs why?

It can occur when you have a bad compass calibration. ..

 

[Mazz]

So as turbo is saying, if she starts to climb but does not want to hold position and seems to keep trying to correct itself (looks like it is flying in tiny circles but with the nose always to a consistent heading) this is a sign of a poor calibration and you should not attempt to fly it in that manor. Again, as always, atti mode is your friend. Be familiar and try to use it exclusively if you can. I use GPS for steady shots when I want the cam to look like it is on a tripod and precision landings only.

 

[AERO 1]

So in atti mode, is there less likelihood that something will go wrong, ie, drone returning to home point which is the last location of the boat, which is now the water..ugh?

 

[turbodronepilot]

Yes your less likely to have problems in atti mode because the i1 isnt using the compass to hold its gps position..
when your i1 is working correctly you'll be able to switch to atti mode to control your i1 if you have an issue..
I'm assuming you're going to keep your i1 in los so I doubt you would have an issue if you loose signal and it returns to home because you can cancel the rth at any time and take control. .
turbo. ...

 

[turbodronepilot]

So in atti mode, is there less likelihood that something will go wrong, ie, drone returning to home point which is the last location of the boat, which is now the water..ugh?

Make sure and enable the multiple flight mode setting so you can switch modes...

 

[RGD]

So as turbo is saying, if she starts to climb but does not want to hold position and seems to keep trying to correct itself (looks like it is flying in tiny circles but with the nose always to a consistent heading) this is a sign of a poor calibration and you should not attempt to fly it in that manor. Again, as always, atti mode is your friend. Be familiar and try to use it exclusively if you can. I use GPS for steady shots when I want the cam to look like it is on a tripod and precision landings only.

I have been practicing in Atti mode. How long did it take you to master it?

 

[Mazz]

Tbh I started flying before GPS, altimeters, and sensors so back then the learning curve was steep. It was more of a manual mode than atti with a primitive gyro TRYING to keep it upright. I guess I can't really answer that but I assure you it is not as difficult or complicated as it seems. Find a very very large open space and just practice nose in circling and box patterns WITHOUT help from your monitor. Try flying in some windy conditions to get a really good feel of it. It shouldn't take you more than a few hours of flight time to be very comfortable with it.

 

[AERO 1]

For future reference. If you take off of a moving boat and the gps is on, the drone will stay in place and the boat will keep moving. I should of thought about this but I didn't. Broke a prop and didn't bring replacement, so no yacht wedding footage. I took it off, let it hover about 2 feet of the deck and wondered why it started moving backwards, but realized it was staying still and the boat was moving forward. Good thing the back of the boat was a solid wall instead of railings...it could of easily gone in the water if railings...disaster averted...lesson learned. So trial one of boat takeoff- fail.

Aero 1 is ok however. Her prop not so much.

 

[turbodronepilot]

For future reference. If you take off of a moving boat and the gps is on, the drone will stay in place and the boat will keep moving. I should of thought about this but I didn't. Broke a prop and didn't bring replacement, so no yacht wedding footage. I took it off, let it hover about 2 feet of the deck and wondered why it started moving backwards, but realized it was staying still and the boat was moving forward. Good thing the back of the boat was a solid wall instead of railings...it could of easily gone in the water if railings...disaster averted...lesson learned. So trial one of boat takeoff- fail.

Aero 1 is ok however. Her prop not so much.

That blows,but sounds like you got away with a scratch. .
Keep in mind that when you fly close to the ground (or boat)there's usually going to be obstacles to crash into so remember that altitude is your friend and to fly up high away from any objects you might collide with...
don't let it get you down and get back up in the air..
turbo. ...

 

[SultanGris]

Great tip on launching from a boat. That sucks but I bet it happens a lot.

Also flying atti mode is pretty easy I'd you fly lots of gps and know the basics. Pretty much it just doesn't hold position or stop when you let go of controls, plus if you get scared just flip the switch back to gps.

 

[JoeyJoe]

Would anybody care to wager on how the Inspire 1 will end up when it hits the bottom of a lake?
The heaviest side should lead the fall to the bottom but how do you guys think it would end?
I have two of these getterbacks and I'm trying to imagine this so that I can position them right.
Perhaps someone could do a test with the Inspire wrapped in plastic?
Anyone care to try? Lol