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I can confirm "flying from a boat" is crazy

I dunno man, this thing is so automated that I think people are 1) not learning decent flying skills in the first place and 2) really taking it for granted how much the Mavic holds your hand during flight.
 
Derp. I guess that's the bad thing about automation. People should really fly fully manual UAVs for a bit to fully appreciate what the drone does for you.

Do they need to though? You could argue the same about mobile phones, computers, a lot of things. Not making people think about the internal complexity is what always lead to profits, widespread adoption and availability and drove prices down.. I mean I'm definitely on the techie side of things but if it does a good job of flying itself then why not just enjoy the benefits of that?

And yes, I know the argument is that if you can properly fly atti then it can save your skin but let's not be preachy about that.. you kids need get off my landing pad!
 
uh, dude, just refer to this whole thread...

And half of this whole forum... what I'm saying is that most of the people who are flying Mavics (me included) would not be flying manual (or any) quads at all if they'd have to go through building it or even buying a RTF kit and learning how to fly full manual (although I'm pretty sure I could pick that up since I used to fly RC planes/helis). It's no longer a very specialized hobby with high cost of entry, it's mass entertainment now so you have to expect (and probably accept) all the things that come with it..
 
Do they need to though? You could argue the same about mobile phones, computers, a lot of things. Not making people think about the internal complexity is what always lead to profits, widespread adoption and availability and drove prices down.. I mean I'm definitely on the techie side of things but if it does a good job of flying itself then why not just enjoy the benefits of that?

And yes, I know the argument is that if you can properly fly atti then it can save your skin but let's not be preachy about that.. you kids need get off my landing pad!
They don't need to, but the general trend of it are those that don't appreciate the automation, end up crashing. Most new users just unpack their drone and fly without understanding what the onboard computer is doing to hold steady, not understanding that without such automation, the drone will crash or fly away. Adding tons of automation to smart phones is something entirely different however. Making the smartphone easier through automation doesn't increase the user's chances of dropping, losing, or breaking the device. So in that sense, they can be ignorant of what runs under the hood, take it for granted, and still use it successfully. As for drones, not knowing what calculations the drone is constantly making can lead to mistakes in predicting its operation. Not knowing for example that the drone adjusts to fight wind and hold steady is something a drone needs to be able to calculate leads to fly aways/crashes when the drone unexpectedly switches to ATTI mode and one just watches as the drone gets carried away. Understanding how the drone works under the hood helps to make better flying decisions. Being ignorant of them usually leads to a "Lost my drone, need help" thread springing up here. So no they don't need to, but yes they should, if only to understand the precision it involves when you take the computer away.
 
And half of this whole forum... what I'm saying is that most of the people who are flying Mavics (me included) would not be flying manual (or any) quads at all if they'd have to go through building it or even buying a RTF kit and learning how to fly full manual (although I'm pretty sure I could pick that up since I used to fly RC planes/helis). It's no longer a very specialized hobby with high cost of entry, it's mass entertainment now so you have to expect (and probably accept) all the things that come with it..
And I'm not saying don't use the automation. I'm just saying work to understand it, so you can fly better. I use automation myself, but am always prepared for a failure.
 
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the best IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCE is to learn to walk before flying!
I wish, I'd love for mavic to have atti and make me acquire the skills I'd need in any situation! I don't like the idea that my decision is overtaken by a CPU!
the only thing dji screwed about mavic is this part!
if I need it let me choose to have TOTAL CONTROL of it!
 
Just noticed this thread. I've been hand catching and launching from a boat for a bit of time now. I live on a coastal barrier island area sticking out in the Atlantic where it's NEVER dead calm. Between rocking, drifting and a T-top in the way, it's not an easy proposition.

I made some light weight (22 gram) hand catch gear (with some add-on recovery floats) that really made the process a whole lot less stressful. Here's a vid

 
Too late. Did plenty of boat launches in Thailand. None of them were hand launch and landings, and it was a privately booked speed boat. So much landing area. I had no issues. You just adjust to the boat's movements while descending.


how much did your boat rentals cost. im on my way to thailand and def want to do some. but like the OP was kind of nervous about it.
 
Just noticed this thread. I've been hand catching and launching from a boat for a bit of time now. I live on a coastal barrier island area sticking out in the Atlantic where it's NEVER dead calm. Between rocking, drifting and a T-top in the way, it's not an easy proposition.

I made some light weight (22 gram) hand catch gear (with some add-on recovery floats) that really made the process a whole lot less stressful. Here's a vid



your video was amazing, have you ever had it land in the water? i see you have flotation stuff on there so i was just curious about that.
 
Not when you disable VPS, I hope and expect? Haven't played with that since I only have it for a few days.
You are correct, with precision landing turned off not the VPS I can hover at even an inch off the ground and put it down when I want.
 
I think people need to understand how vps works and what takes priority...

I believe Eric Cheng is flying in Atti (indoors). Would this behave the same outdoors with GPS?

Similar test outdoors..

Now this is the first generation of VPS on the P3 series. Assumption that this still applies in the Mavic.
 
I can confirm that the VPS system works the exact same in the Mavic as illustrated in the above linked videos.

Incredibly annoying launching and catching from a jet ski. Shove the ski out of the way to catch while standing waist deep, and the Mavic followed the ski. **** it.
 
I launch from a boat all the time.... Never had a problem. I just turn off landing protection and I hand release and catch. I've never had the Mavic do anything odd. In fact, sometimes I find it easier than land because there are no trees to avoid, so you can get very close to the water and take some amazing footage.

That being said, catching it in an ocean with a big swell would be very hard I imagine.
 
I have flown from stationary and moving boats but will only land on stationary boats.
 
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