Best Configuration when flying on board a ship

[AbUAVdC]

What’s the best configuration on mavic pro when flying in the middle of the ocean? I have very good gps signal here but i am afraid on taking off especially when a ship is running 13 Kts or 24 km/hr. The thing that keep me hesitant to take off is as soon as the motor starts the home point is recorded. Any suggestions?

 

[brett8883]

What’s the best configuration on mavic pro when flying in the middle of the ocean? I have very good gps signal here but i am afraid on taking off especially when a ship is running 13 Kts or 24 km/hr. The thing that keep me hesitant to take off is as soon as the motor starts the home point is recorded. Any suggestions?

It’s a tough one alright. There’s no unction in DJI Go for a moving operator. You can update the home point to be the current GPS location of the device but that only helps momentarily. Basically you really don’t want it to get too far from you that it loses reception.

There’s an App called auto pilot that DOES have functionality for s moving operator so it will just continuously update the home point to be where the mobile device is but that means the device MUST have GPS and if you lose reception the home point is still only gonna be the last location the home point was updated to before the disconnect so once you get reception back you’ll want to cancel and fly it back.

Many the best advice would be to set a really high RTH altitude so it will rise and theoretically get better reception to the remote.

 

[Shon]

1. Set Home Point to controller position.
2. Assure sports mode is available to be quickly enabled if needed.
3. Sensors off. They may cause you to crash or make landing more difficult. If you don’t trust your piloting skills enough to fly without “training wheels”, this is probably a good indicator that you are not ready to attempt this maneuver.
3. Take off and land from back of ship.
4. Note that landing on a moving target can be extremely difficult. You are not just pressing down to land, but you will need to be keeping pace with the ship at the same time. It might be easier if you have someone to assist in “catching” your drone if needed.

Best of luck.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I take it this is a commercial ship, not a pax cruise liner ?

I think you still have to update controller position to new location if set as home point.
Most would say it's simply too risky, especially with the wind factor, but if you must fly (too tempting) then I guess flying when the ship is traveeling with the wind direction is far safer than any other way, even though it may limit when you can fly if windy.

There have been some good almost identical threads on here in the past, most notably this one recently . . .

Landing / recovering UAV at speed on a ship

Good day, I'm a captain on a 110 meters (360 feet) long ship. The vessel is 20.70 meters ( 68 feet ) wide and has a nice open deck the size of an aircraft carrier. Im using my drone often making spectaculair footage at sea around the world. But this is always done with the vessel stopped. Now...

mavicpilots.com

This one probably fits with what you are trying to do, but search for ship flying landing etc and you should find a lot more.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

PS. posted in Osmo section ?
You might get a better response in general forum, maybe a mod can move it for you.

 

[Meta4]

i am afraid on taking off especially when a ship is running 13 Kts or 24 km/hr.

I would be too (and I've done it).
There are a number of things that could go wrong out there and flyers who've never done this can't even imagine them.
It's a challenging environment at sea, more so on a moving ship, and one mistake means that you own one less drone.

Some of the problems you would have to deal with are:
If you launch from the steel deck, what does that do to your compass? (Don't launch from a steel deck)
Wind. Even in calm conditions you are dealing with a 24 km/hr wind for launching and landing. If there is any wind, that complicates things further. If the ship has a headwind you'll have to be extra careful about wind strength and how far away you fly.
By default your drone will attempt to RTH when it calculates that it has only enough battery to get back to the launch point. How are you going to prevent the drone flying back there when you are several km away from where it was launched?
RTH. You won't be using RTH to bring the drone back or to land it. You will have to keep track of where the drone is and bring it back yourself.
Landing. If you sort out al other issues, you still have to work out how to bring the drone back which is complicated on a moving boat. Hovering won't help as you have to fly as fast as the ship to maintain relative position. (You'll need an assistant).

 

[AbUAVdC]

My apology for posting Mavic Pro in ksmo sections .

PS. posted in Osmo section ?
You might get a better response in general forum, maybe a mod can move it for you.

Can a moderator transfer it in the Mavic Pro thread? I liked the brainstorms pouring that real help.Thanks your guys. I lost my first platinum once. I should be more careful with my new unit by now.. It really a great help. I work on an oil chemical tanker 183 x 32meters. I did manage to hover and fly when the ship is at anchor. Maybe someday when seasoned enough to fly along with a moving ship.

 

[Meta4]

Maybe someday when seasoned enough to fly along with a moving ship.

Here's one to keep you going

 

[AbUAVdC]

Here's one to keep you going

That’s a real motivation Brother! Thanks ?

 

[AbUAVdC]

You are right! But not all part of the ship has strong magnetic interference.

I would be too (and I've done it).
There are a number of things that could go wrong out there and flyers who've never done this can't even imagine them.
It's a challenging environment at sea, more so on a moving ship, and one mistake means that you own one less drone.

Some of the problems you would have to deal with are:
If you launch from the steel deck, what does that do to your compass? (Don't launch from a steel deck)
Wind. Even in calm conditions you are dealing with a 24 km/hr wind for launching and landing. If there is any wind, that complicates things further. If the ship has a headwind you'll have to be extra careful about wind strength and how far away you fly.
By default your drone will attempt to RTH when it calculates that it has only enough battery to get back to the launch point. How are you going to prevent the drone flying back there when you are several km away from where it was launched?
RTH. You won't be using RTH to bring the drone back or to land it. You will have to keep track of where the drone is and bring it back yourself.
Landing. If you sort out al other issues, you still have to work out how to bring the drone back which is complicated on a moving boat. Hovering won't help as you have to fly as fast as the ship to maintain relative position. (You'll need an assistant).

In the poop deck, I need a wooden table to take off. In the bridge deck there a lot strong wireless and magnetic interference are real hassles.
Inside tbe cabin where 4 sides are composed of metallic objects. Sometimes there are magnetic interference too. There are times that its also good to take off and hover indoors.
Thanks Bro.
Quastions:
How should the DJi GO 4 best setting on this?
Shall I enable the max distance?
Dynamic Home Point? in active track
Flight mode?
or just manual with sensor off while the aircraft is in line of sight?

In the back of poop deck or even Off the ship (15 mtrsr) in GPS Mode the satellites are too many for stabilized hover. No magnetic interferences.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Shall I enable the max distance?
Dynamic Home Point? in active track
Flight mode?
or just manual with sensor off while the aircraft is in line of sight?

Max distance - No, leave it off, what that means is you can put a specific distance in AS a maximum, better to leave it if you are moving along.
Dynamic home point - is only available in active track ? Think with set home point to location, you have to update it manually (would be great to have a dynamic home point for your situation though).
Flight mode - I would fly manually, in normal GPS P mode or if needed sports mode (for wind), but watch battery levels VERY carefully in wind, and always try and fly into the wind for perhaps first 30 - 35% battery, then use the wind to come 'home'. That should leave ample battery to get back and cope with landing ok.
Sensors and VLOS - I don't think having sensors off where you'll be flying (open sea) is needed or not needed, no difference really, just stay high off the ocean to suit waves etc, spray. VLOS is a great idea, but as you get to know the map function, location on map t home etc, keep track of distance to battery and all, you will probably get more daring !!

 

[Meta4]

Shall I enable the max distance?

Disable the Max Distance Limit.
If you have a distance limit, you could have a problem as the ship sails further from where you launched the drone.
Better not to have the limit set.

Dynamic Home Point? in active track

I haven't tried that but it could be good, particularly for video.
It would also prevent the situation where the drone wants to fly back to the launch point when it thinks there is only enough battery to get back there.
Otherwise just reset the home point every few minutes so that the home point doesn't get to far away and cause that problem.

Flight mode?
or just manual with sensor off while the aircraft is in line of sight?

P-GPS.
Turning off obstacle avoidance will give you more speed which is much more use at sea.

In the back of poop deck or even Off the ship (15 mtrsr) in GPS Mode the satellites are too many for stabilized hover.

You should always have plenty of satellites out at sea so hovering should be no problem.

VLOS is a great idea, but as you get to know the map function, location on map t home etc, keep track of distance to battery and all, you will probably get more daring !!

You would have to fly a long way off to lose a ship at sea. They tend to be fairly easy to spot.

.

 

[AbUAVdC]

Very interesting informations are pouring in here Brothers. Although it seems very basic for those with expertises and real Mavic Pilots. These are the best information I’ve got since I started this line of hobby! Aside from reading the manual repeatedly, Experienced from you Guys still the best! Thank to all you who contributed on this Thread. Appreciate it a lot!

 

[AbUAVdC]

Thank

Disable the Max Distance Limit.
If you have a distance limit, you could have a problem as the ship sails further from where you launched the drone.
Better not to have the limit set.

I haven't tried that but it could be good, particularly for video.
It would also prevent the situation where the drone wants to fly back to the launch point when it thinks there is only enough battery to get back there.
Otherwise just reset the home point every few minutes so that the home point doesn't get to far away and cause that problem.

P-GPS.
Turning off obstacle avoidance will give you more speed which is much more use at sea.

You should always have plenty of satellites out at sea so hovering should be no problem.


You would have to fly a long way off to lose a ship at sea. They tend to be fairly easy to spot.

.

Thanks ? to you Bro!

 

[AbUAVdC]

That’s a real motivation Brother! Thanks ?

Finally! Bro thanks to the motivation. Flying off the ship now feels more at ease. no obstructions and wider spaces.