Is fixed wing mode a visual effect?

[Heidelburger]

Ive read that the shifting horizon experienced in fixed wing mode is assisted by smart gimble movements. Is it.......
1. Just a camera trick
2. The Mavic actually banks, dips and rises just how it looks on camera
3. A combination of 1 and 2

 

[Exphantomflyer]

Yes the Mavic acts like a fixed wing plane, it dips rises and banks left and right like a plane does, it’s actually quite a boring mode to fly in.

You can see the horizon shift as it banks.

 

[Kilrah]

3).
It has to bank to follow the same trajectory a plane would, but it still flies like a multicopter i.e. its pitch angle is determined by forward speed, not by your "elevator" command. The pitch down effect you see on the video is simulated by the gimbal.

 

[TrayBoz]

The pitch down effect you see on the video is simulated by the gimbal.

With all due respect to Kilrah, I don't believe this is correct.

The video only pitches downward when you pitch the front of the mavic down. When you press DOWN on the left stick while moving forward, the mavic nose pitches downward while moving forward (it's constantly moving forward in Fixed-Wing Mode) and you see this downward pitch in the video, and you start losing altitude as long as you continue to press down on the stick. The gimbal is essentially "locked" into place while the mavic is in Fixed-Wing Mode. So when you turn right or left or up or down, you see the horizon move or slant accordingly.

I enjoy Fixed-Wing mode quite a bit, especially with the Goggles. It's similar to sitting in the cockpit of a moving plane. I only use it when I have plenty of space to fly in and plenty of altitude to work with. There are no "gimbal simulations" or "camera tricks" in this mode that I'm aware of.

But I have been wrong before.

 

[Kilrah]

When you press DOWN on the left stick while moving forward, the mavic nose pitches downward while moving forward

That's incorrect. When you press down on the stick it does what a multicopter does to go down, i.e. reducing "throttle" but keeping the same pitch. If it pitched down it would accelerate and as far as I remember it doesn't since in FW mode the speed is controlled by the other stick and stays constant even when going up or down.

 

[Heidelburger]

I like this! - Three differing viewpoints on the 'Viewpoint'
Some say fixed gimbal, some say simulation. Some think its 'boring' and some enjoy the experience.
Still be interested to know for sure what happens.
Sounds like it might be a case of some real acting with a bit of CGI thrown in. I'm going to give it a go (when the wind drops) and once I've got the hang of it - mix it up with a bit of Sports Mode. I'm planning to replicate an X wing attack on the Death Star!

 

[Big Fil]

I fly RC fixed wing, collective pitch helis, and multi-rotors. The fixed wing mode creates a faux effect of flying a fixed wing aircraft with the camera gimbal. None of it's accurate and get's most of it wrong. It's a weird bastardization of control inputs between a fixed eing and a mutlirotor control scheme.

 

[TrayBoz]

Interesting. If the "horizon-moving-up" when I press down on the left stick is just an illusion created by certain gimbal movements, then I guess the illusion was good enough to fool me. I'll have to keep an eye on that the next time I fly in Fixed-Wing mode and see if I can tell. I never paid that close of attention before, I suppose.

What's next? Is someone going to try to tell me that Darth Vader is actually Luke's father? The earth is round? - what?
Does the light in the refrigerator really go out when I close the door?

 

[Heidelburger]

Interesting. If the "horizon-moving-up" when I press down on the left stick is just an illusion created by certain gimbal movements, then I guess the illusion was good enough to fool me. I'll have to keep an eye on that the next time I fly in Fixed-Wing mode and see if I can tell. I never paid that close of attention before, I suppose.

What's next? Is someone going to try to tell me that Darth Vader is actually Luke's father? The earth is round? - what?
Does the light in the refrigerator really go out when I close the door?

Thanks for the SPOILER ALERT ! You'll be telling me it's a Shark doing all the damage in JAWS next and not speedboat props!..

 

[Heidelburger]

So I've had a play in Fixed Wing and from looking at the quad's actual behavior in the sky compared to what's on the vid I conclude that.................
It's a combo of actual performance and gimble enhancement which to be fair is pretty cleaver - 'Pat on the Back' DJI.
Didn't find it boring, in fact in sports mode it's excellent training for keeping your eye on the ball. With the mavic running at 30mph on it's own you've really got to be alert!
And as we know... 'Lerts' have more fun!

 

[dbyantis]

Ive read that the shifting horizon experienced in fixed wing mode is assisted by smart gimble movements. Is it.......
1. Just a camera trick
2. The Mavic actually banks, dips and rises just how it looks on camera
3. A combination of 1 and 2

Can be even more fun with the Goggles, for visual effect, which is why I think they created it.