Some INTELLIGENT attemps at indoor flight and footage

[Tekkieflippo]

Hi y'all!

Most post say Don't try flying indoors, wait till the rain or wind is over and do your maiden flight outdoors... Well I'm well beyond the maiden flight. I want to film big stores, company warehouses, large hallways etc for professional reasons. So I want to FLY and SHOOT video indoors in a very well prepared and professional manner. So some lines of thought and some questions;

1 Disable gps, because gps is not needed and can cause serious trouble as it has bad signal indoors

2 Sports mode: could be a good idea, because it is complete manual mode without optical systems but the trade-off is that is so responisive an jerky: bad for smoot footage!

3 Can atti mode be manually set?

4 Can I duck tape the front and downward vision cams? Ideally I would like a slomo tripod mode like drone that can be manually controlled.

Please post your suggestions and insights!
Grtz Tekkie

 

[danieleforyou]

Nope: unfortunately there is no way to set atti mode for mavic (manually). You could disable the frontal vision system and leave enabled the bottom one.
I would fly in tripod mode. Anyway I would consider to biy the new mavic cage for indoor flights.


Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

 

[andynormancx]

So I want to FLY and SHOOT video indoors in a very well prepared and professional manner.

What you need, I'm afraid, is a Phantom where you can put it into ATTI mode and never have to worry about the GPS suddenly coming back online and ruining your day.

With the Mavic even if you start with no GPS reception and therefore in ATTI mode, if later on it gets a bit of a GPS lock (through a window, skylight or even the roof) and it switches to GPS mode with a poor signal, probably surrounded by big bits of metal to confuse the compass, then you could have big problems.

 

[Robert Mitchell]

You can disable your vision sensors, both downward and forward or one or the other in the app... don't have to duct tape anything.
As for other reactions, can't advise you, as I've never flown the mavic indoors.

 

[AlexSP]

I do some indoor filming with the Mavic, it´s pretty stable and predictable - I´d say a bit more than my P3P and on par with my P4, but with the upside of being smaller. I leave downward and forward OA systems active and switch to TRIPOD. Very stable that way. If I need faster action I use my racing drone with FPV. Even smaller and a lot more agile, but that´s another proposition altogether and has some compromises. I prefer the Mavic but that´s me.

 

[niclariv]

Don't you want the vision cameras on? That way if it can't see GPS and it's bright enough it will be in opti mode. It's just too bad that you can't manually force it to be in opti mode so it doesn't attempt to fly in GPS mode indoors.


iPhone 6S

 

[AlexSP]

The Mavic uses the VPS exactly to keep positioning when no GPS is available. And it´s pretty precise AS LONG as there´s enough light. I´ve found it gets unreliable and a bit odd acting in the dark or even dim conditions, though outdoor it´s OK to fly in the dark because there´s GPS.

It´s always possible to turn off VPS and manually control it, full ATTI. Tripod works good because slows down so not only safer but also smoother, thus better for filming. But if there´s air conditioning or any air flow (such as in some malls and other buildings), it´s better to use VPS. Or be really good flying ATTI.

 

[Tekkieflippo]

Okay, I 'll give it a try in tripod mode and make sure there's enough ambient and background lighting!

Tnx

 

[dewster]

What you need, I'm afraid, is a Phantom where you can put it into ATTI mode and never have to worry about the GPS suddenly coming back online and ruining your day.

With the Mavic even if you start with no GPS reception and therefore in ATTI mode, if later on it gets a bit of a GPS lock (through a window, skylight or even the roof) and it switches to GPS mode with a poor signal, probably surrounded by big bits of metal to confuse the compass, then you could have big problems.

Lol so true! I get intermittent GPS signal in my house and I imagine it will be a disaster if I fire my Mavic up for an indoor flight.


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[Strafe1]

How about trying to fly in Wifi mode instead? Eliminates GPS signal and since you are flying slowly anyway, controlling it should be fine. You can keep your sensors as well.

 

[andynormancx]

Why would flying in Wifi mode eliminate the GPS signal ?

In Wifi mode all that is changed is how you are controlling the Mavic. The Mavic still has its on board GPS active.

 

[Strafe1]

Why would flying in Wifi mode eliminate the GPS signal ?

In Wifi mode all that is changed is how you are controlling the Mavic. The Mavic still has its on board GPS active.

My mistake. I thought Wifi eliminated GPS. It does not.

 

[mcguy75]

Had anyone though or done a gps shield?
Maybe a small sheet of aluminum or steel from lowes?
I small piece of double sided tape will work as we are not going to be going fast.

 

[Big Fil]

P-Mode and Sports mode both still use GPS and neither is more manual then the other. Really the only thing Sports mode does is disable VPS, and increase the max pitch angles the flight controller will allow. This allows faster speed and responsiveness on the sticks. What you'd really want is ATTI mode and the skills to fly in that mode. Extra considerations for flying in ATTI mode need to be made as swirling wind currents off objects like walls and furniture can actually pull the aircraft towards things you don't want to hit.

Now i don't believe you could even get into tripod mode if you were to cover the GPS to force ATTI mode. You could however lower the stick sensitivity rates and add expo to get something that would be a quasi tripod mode suitable for the indoor flying your looking to do.

 

[DavidGlennPDX]

Really feels like DJI could step in here with an indoor mode that disables GPS, goes into tripod mode and disables RTH.

 

[Lapeer20m]

I've spent hours flying indoors. Sometimes, I fly from outside, through an open door and explore a building while sitting outside on the picnic table or tailgate of a truck.

Buy propeller cages!

I work in an industry where I must constantly evaluate risk. To me, the risk of flying mavic indoors without cages is NOT worth the reward.

Mavic with cages is a ton of fun to fly indoors. I fly almost exclusively in tripod mode indoors. I also like to disable front sensors. They often will not allow you to pass through a doorway of fit into other tight spots.

As others have mentioned, good lighting is a must.

I have little trouble with switching between gps/vision. Occasionally when Gps is first lost, mavic will drift and NOT respond to stick input for a couple of seconds. This would be disastrous without cages. Is no big deal with cages.

I also do not fly near people indoors.

 

[wytnyt]

I've spent hours flying indoors. Sometimes, I fly from outside, through an open door and explore a building while sitting outside on the picnic table or tailgate of a truck.

Buy propeller cages!

I work in an industry where I must constantly evaluate risk. To me, the risk of flying mavic indoors without cages is NOT worth the reward.

Mavic with cages is a ton of fun to fly indoors. I fly almost exclusively in tripod mode indoors. I also like to disable front sensors. They often will not allow you to pass through a doorway of fit into other tight spots.

As others have mentioned, good lighting is a must.

I have little trouble with switching between gps/vision. Occasionally when Gps is first lost, mavic will drift and NOT respond to stick input for a couple of seconds. This would be disastrous without cages. Is no big deal with cages.

I also do not fly near people indoors.

see you next week in the ''wrecked inside'' thread but hope not

 

[DavidGlennPDX]

How much better are the cages than regular prop guards? I could see the prop guards as I have em now getting caught on an object where the cage would not but not easily

 

[Roamer105]

I found flying the Mavic indoors works great. Turn everything on, set tripod mode and go for it. It is very stable using the visual and ultra-sound downward sensors are very effective as long as there is enough light and detectable reference lines (don't fly over a uniform or single color surface). If you are worried about GPS, well, you can always cut a piece of aluminum foil and cover the top in front of the battery.

 

[Mossiback]

Indoor flying tips:

• Prop guards are a must, they really do reduce the chance of damage from prop strike. Be aware that they can catch on something mainly if you are changing height. Otherwise they just allow you to bounce off of things. I got the DJI set since they do not have any side gaps and work with the newer quieter props.
• Tripod mode
• Stay +- 1 foot from a flat ceiling. If you get too close the Mavic will suck itself up and stick to it.
• Front sensors off
• Bottom sensors on for greater stability but be aware that it will rise up if you fly over something (table, railing, etc).
• Set RTH to hover.
• Inspect motors, gimbal area for debris after flying. The Mavic will stir up a lot of dust/hair/whatever that can foul sensitive areas.
• I have not tried in a while, but if you are concerned about intermittent GPS mode you can wrap the rear (not front, at least for the original MP) in foil. An old Go 4 update made inside my house a NFZ and the foil tricked it into Atti mode. Just insure that you do not obstruct the downward facing sensors.
• Fold up the arms and use it as a handheld gimbal mounted camera. Of course, you do not start the motors (some people even remove the props). There are devices made to hold the Mavic and your display for hand held use.
• Do not get close to drapes, plants, papers or anything that could be moved by your prop wash. It will be considerable.
• It is best if you can walk behind while flying. You stay out of the shot and the stick movements will be correct (right moves right, etc).
• Pay attention to shadows, yours and the Mavics.

I know I am forgetting something but this gives you something to consider. Good luck!