Am I a coward or just stupid?

[Viking63ef]

Lets face it - I dont feel comfortable with Autopilot. Not that I have tried it that much but I get the feeling that it is way too much things that I dont understand and therefor I am afraid I might do something wrong and my MP crashes - not what I want.
I feel safe when I fly with DJI Go on my iPhone but I would like to do a bit more advanced things so that was the reason I bought Autopilot.
Yes I might be a coward afraid to crash my MP but I fly beacuse its fun and if I dont feel comfortable it isnt fun.
Is Litchi much easier? I know some of you recommend FPV camera and I havent tried that yet.
Need to figure out if I would like to spend even more money and still risking to end up in the same situation :-(

 

[Brojon]

Well you have to realize they all use the software library (SDK) provided by DJI.
Different wrappers with varying ways to use the core functionality.
In waypoint mode - which I assume is what you're hesitant about - the software actually loads the data into the Mavic and executes them as a series of actions. This is how Litchi for example can continue the mission even though you lose signal.
Knowing this is the case you can simply make the beginning and end of your mission right where you are - it should always come home.
That said I confess to a certain amount of pucker factor when the signal drops and my bird is flying solo. It has never failed to come back.
Note this isn't something I do on purpose usually.
And no, you're not nuts - normal people don't play risky games with equipment costing that much money. My message is to help you understand there isn't as much risk as you'd think. In fact it could be argued that using a waypoint mission is the LEAST risky since it has everything it needs to continue with a loss of signal. You can't say that about flying FPV - in theory you have RTH set as action in case you lose signal but I trust that less than a hard set waypoint.

 

[Viking63ef]

I havent really tried the waypoint mode yet since I dont trust the software (read: not understand) but you are probably right - it should be safer than me flying itself

 

[Steve Reed]

A a short and concise answer, I have used litchi many, many times to set waypoints on the desktop at home and create a mission then go to the location and fly it. Sometimes I fly a second time after modifying the camera angles, points of interest or speed on my tablet or phone. Never, never had a problem or issue with the ap or drone. Always been predictable although the first time I admit it was like sending a 16 year old child out alone driving the car for the first time. She is 45 now and never had an accident. I think it is a control issue.

 

[Arthur H H]

A a short and concise answer, I have used litchi many, many times to set waypoints on the desktop at home and create a mission then go to the location and fly it. Sometimes I fly a second time after modifying the camera angles, points of interest or speed on my tablet or phone. Never, never had a problem or issue with the ap or drone. Always been predictable although the first time I admit it was like sending a 16 year old child out alone driving the car for the first time. She is 45 now and never had an accident. I think it is a control issue.

Oh no it is not safer to fly under auto with way points, too easy to get it wrong test and try and develope skill with it before you do

 

[TimesTen]

I have both Litchi and Auto Pilot and bought AP first and I had the exact same experience as Viking63ef. I just did not have the time to learn Auto Pilot even though I know AP is more feature rich. They did a study for using Micro$oft office products and the average user only uses 1% of the features. I use the same analogy for Auto Pilot.

The ease of use and PC mission programming was key for me and Litchi.

BTW Litchi was half price on ios when I bought it last year on black Friday.

-G

 

[Viking63ef]

I have both Litchi and Auto Pilot and bought AP first and I had the exact same experience as Viking63ef. I just did not have the time to learn Auto Pilot even though I know AP is more feature rich. They did a study for using Micro$oft office products and the average user only uses 1% of the features. I use the same analogy for Auto Pilot.

The ease of use and PC mission programming was key for me and Litchi.

BTW Litchi was half price on ios when I bought it last year on black Friday.

-G

I once heard that the old W95 and W98 was the average percentage the normal user did not use so I guess you are right

 

[Pablo]

I started off with Litchi and now I use Autopilot. I think there is an unavoidable leap of faith with both. If you're unwilling to take that leap it doesn't make you a coward

They are both great though and, once you get over the initial fear, it's incredibly cool watching something you planned meticulously come off and seeing your bird return home safe.

This is, so far, the most elaborate automated flight I've done (with Litchi) and I'm really pleased with how it came out:

No way I could have flown that well manually.

 

[Arthur H H]

I started off with Litchi and now I use Autopilot. I think there is an unavoidable leap of faith with both. If you're unwilling to take that leap it doesn't make you a coward

They are both great though and, once you get over the initial fear, it's incredibly cool watching something you planned meticulously come off and seeing your bird return home safe.

This is, so far, the most elaborate automated flight I've done (with Litchi) and I'm really pleased with how it came out:

No way I could have flown that well manually.

Well done, but count yourself lucky in my Country that flight would only be possible by a qualified/registered pilot and only after significant effort gaining permission to fly over each and every property involved. In other words not viable to do.

 

[Claybond]

Holy shizzle!!

 

[Dellaj]

I need help with my sons mavic pro. He was flying it in the woods at a friends house . It had a message saying low battery and returning home. It then said disconnecting landing and we have not been able to connect since . We have a spot on the map where it is but can not connect . Any advice on how to find it ??

 

[Jacknet007]

I took Litchi out into a school field and created waypoints around a field to see how it worked. Once I had a completed mission, I made small changes and tested . Then disconnected the controller and watched it do its full mission and then RTH as expected. Then i did a mission knowing battery was low. It aborted part way through and did an RTH. Do small training runs first to build confidence in the app.

 

[diveinstructor]

I started off with Litchi and now I use Autopilot. I think there is an unavoidable leap of faith with both. If you're unwilling to take that leap it doesn't make you a coward

They are both great though and, once you get over the initial fear, it's incredibly cool watching something you planned meticulously come off and seeing your bird return home safe.

This is, so far, the most elaborate automated flight I've done (with Litchi) and I'm really pleased with how it came out:

No way I could have flown that well manually.

What video edit software you using for this? Very nice video!

 

[Dragonfly]

I stared with litchi and had problems with camera focus and at times the camera would not adjust its angle at way points.
I have since found the best waypoint app and most reliable to use is Drone Harmony, although only available for Android at the moment. It provides many set modes and excellent waypoint missions with full camera control and and POIs.

 

[Steve Reed]

For the most part I have used Litchi to film my Southwest Life series. Here is a. Sample

Set it up, send it and go.

 

[Steve Reed]

Very nicely done, thanks for sharing.

 

[Steve Reed]

What video edit software you using for this? Very nice video!

Very nicely done, thanks for sharing.

 

[StevenPSCC]

I started off with Litchi and now I use Autopilot. I think there is an unavoidable leap of faith with both. If you're unwilling to take that leap it doesn't make you a coward

They are both great though and, once you get over the initial fear, it's incredibly cool watching something you planned meticulously come off and seeing your bird return home safe.

This is, so far, the most elaborate automated flight I've done (with Litchi) and I'm really pleased with how it came out:

No way I could have flown that well manually.

Great video

 

[The Fat Controller]

I think a lot it has to do with wether you want to be a drone pilot or a photographer. My main reason reason for buying the mavic was as a camera to get shots I'd be unable to get with my DSLR. I'd love to just be able to trust the software but I'm going to make dead sure I can take control if I need to before just I send a grands worth of kit away off under its own steam

 

[Cut.Aussie]

If you have a access to an iPad then I'm going to recommend you take a good look at DJI's own GSPro app for photo mission planning, very good and free.