Autopilot for Mavic - Does it work without network connection?

[salado]

I am planning a trip to New Mexico where there is no mobile network connection. I did my homework but didn't find any useful information about this.

1. The coordinates and altitudes are pre-calculated by Autopilot.
2. How does AP load the saved flight plans? If assume I have more than one flight plans? Can I load them all to my phone before losing mobile network connection?
3. How does AP load map information (terrain, satellite etc) without the mobile network connection, or these types of information could be pre-cached by AP? I am using AP version 3.9 on iPhone 7+.

Overall I want some guidance from you fellow pilots who have similar experience.

Thanks a lot!

 

[alchemist]

Assuming that you are an MI5 spy (obvious) , just ask Q...


Sent from my iPad using MavicPilots

 

[salado]

@alchemist LOL, I suppose the Q is AutoFlight Logic, but I didn't find anything there either. Only FAQs but it doesn't cover my questions. On the other hand, AutoPilot is using Google Map. Does that mean I could use Google Map App to cache the map of the remote areas before I actually go there - then AutoPilot could automatically use that cache on site?

 

[salado]

Another thing is to create Flight Plan without mobile data connection - with cached Google Map - Will give it a try and report back.

 

[cd419]

I'm not sure of the answer but have had good luck with Auto Flight Logics e-mail support. They usually respond within 24 hours.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[salado]

@cd419 Thanks, just sent an support email. Will post the response here.

 

[DodgeP]

i don't understand the question but I do use AutoFlight. The data from the app is sent via the autoflight app and via the mavic remote, not wifi or cellular. You have to keep in mind that your Mavic is always speaking to the remote and the app via occusync. I assume Autoflight uses that tunnel when it connects to your aircraft. I always use a non connected device to upload flights to the bird from the app.

 

[DodgeP]

To add to my statement. If you plan your flights on wifi and save them, when you go to load them you'll see all your saved flights. Simply choose the flight you want to fly. On another note, if you pre-plan on WiFi the map will be cached.

 

[salado]

@DodgeP

Thanks for the reply - You are right, with an existing flight plan already save in Autopilot on the phone it will work just fine - even I set the phone to airplane mode. What I wanted to know is when you get to a new area that has no mobile data network coverage or Wifi, how to create a new flight plan. This will require some detail of the satellite map to help setting up the waypoints etc. So, my question mainly is about map caching.

 

[enigmamdw]

OP, DodgeP got it right. However you do not NEED the map to plan routes or autopilot functions. It certainly helps, Best bet is plan at home with that Wi-fi then go to site and intiate flight plan. The other option that is more dynamic is to just hotspot your phone and get that data onsite to make onsite decisions and last minute changes to the flight plan.

 

[DodgeP]

If you've already created a flight plan in that area and want to create a new one on location the app will load the cached map. If you've never pulled up a map in that area, no cache exists and you'll most likely get the most basic of maps with no satellite view BUT, I'm not sure because I've never flown in an area where I hadn't previously pulled up on/in the app. If you know you may be in an area with no coverage, I would make sure I cached all of the area before being without service.

 

[enigmamdw]

If you are in a WIFI and CELL denied area Autopilot will not be your best choice. In this case manual flight will probably be your best/safest option.

 

[salado]

@DodgeP @enigmamdw Thanks you folks! Both of you provided very useful information. That what I am doing right now, manually browsing the area I am going - But that's so tedious. Didn't find a way to automatically download satellite map for a specific area. Maybe that could be a feature for the next version of AP!

 

[enigmamdw]

Autopilot is very responsive to inputs, if that's a feature you're looking for I would engage them on it. The developer actually is available for travel to teach the program so it is an actively managed program. Just be ready to invest in a fair amount of storage. built in storage for Ipads is rediculous...

 

[salado]

Got the response from Autopilot support:

--- Questions I sent ---
I am planning a trip to New Mexico where there is no mobile network connection. I did my homework but didn't find any useful information about what to expect with Autopilot (v3.9).

- Map caching: What's the correct way to cache detail satellite map for onsite flight plan creating/editing? Google Map doesn't work and it won't allow pre-cache satellite map.

- How does AP load the saved flight plans? If assume I have more than one flight plans? Can I load them all to my phone before losing mobile network connection?

- Any thing else I need to expect from Autopilot (v3.9) when in total offline mode?

--- From Autopilot Support ---

Thank you for your interest in Autopilot. Is it possible to create your missions before you go to New Mexico while you are still connected to internet? If so, when you create the Flight Plans before hand and save them, you will be able to see the cached map of the mission you save. I would like to note that we use Google Maps as a black box so we do not have any input on how it actually caches so if you are not able to plan before hand you will be limited to caching only one map while connected to the internet.

Your flight plans are stored on both your iOS device and on our servers. You can learn more about working with flight plans in Section 7.5 of Flight School:

Flight School - Hangar

Please let me know if there is anything else I can assist with.

Thank you,

Kerstin

 

[salado]

Basically, I don't think Autopilot has internal map cache management. And as claimed, it uses Google Map as the map engine - I don't think it use the app data from Google Map (no satellite layer caching anyway).

 

[Cimriver]

I don't use Autopilot so can't comment on the app, but I have seen a lot comments about Google Maps not caching satellite data on this thread. I can tell you when I use Litchi I am able to bring up satellite images. To do this the device that the app is running on must have gps data available and the map needs to be cached when you have an internet connection.

 

[salado]

@Cimriver Thanks! Yes, Autopilot can do the same thing, zoom in and scan through the target area. But it's all manual and tedious job. If it could have the function to specify an area and automatic download - even better, with a cached map manager!! Woohoo!

 

[Cimriver]

@Cimriver Thanks! Yes, Autopilot can do the same thing, zoom in and scan through the target area. But it's all manual and tedious job. If it could have the function to specify an area and automatic download - even better, with a cached map manager!! Woohoo!

Not totally sure what you mean by the term "map manager"

 

[salado]

@Cimriver Most of the major GPS map apps allow you to download different offline maps for different target areas. You could have a list of them, name them, and manage them.

One example is Gaia App.