Fishing boat

BPOP6 · Jul 14, 2017

I own a 32 foot fishing boat and would like to launch and land my Mavic from the boat while I'm at sea.
the problem is that should there be a fault on the drone it will return to the position the boat was in as I will have drifted via wind or tide.
is there a way to create a launch pad with a beacon for the drone to return to in case of emergency.??

Grauniadangel · Jul 14, 2017

RTH will land it in the water if you move.

Grauniadangel · Jul 14, 2017

Check the RT Controller settings - test it on dry land as i'm not sure this is dynamic, it might need a constant reset as you move.

BPOP6 · Jul 14, 2017

yes it will land in the sea and presume that it will not float.
many thanks I will have to look at constant reset aspect.
I'm new to this so it may take time.
thanks again

gumaco · Jul 14, 2017

1-hand launch and hand catch
2-change the emergency setting to hover instead of RTH
3-disable landing protection and VPS

BerndM · Jul 14, 2017

Are you saying the Mavic WILL NOT RTH to the CONTROLLER if the controller moves from where it initially took off??
That makes it sort of useless, right?

gumaco · Jul 14, 2017

Exactly, unless you manually reset it to your new position.
That is why from boats it is better to set it to hover instead of rth.

Plawa · Jul 14, 2017

also - make sure you disable Smart RTH so that if you move far enough from the last recorded HP the mavic will not try to fly back there when it gets low on battery. You can keep resetting your HP from the app to the RC position but it is NOT dynamic so if you're moving, it's no use. Litchi has the option to set a truly dynamic HP.

How much open area do you have on the boat? I launch and land from a 22ft wakeboarding boat and the canopy in the middle does limit your options pretty much down to just launching from the open bow.

This is kinda obvious.. but make sure the boat is as stationary as possible before you launch or you'll quickly find out what the speed differential is..

frankiez · Jul 14, 2017

Plawa said:
make sure the boat is as stationary as possible before you launch or you'll quickly find out what the speed differential is..

Found that out the hard way. My buddy told me the boat was stopped. My fault for not making sure it was.

Haha. I just noticed that someone on the boat said "hey, you scratched my anchor!" classic line from CADDYSHACK, lol

lulrich · Jul 14, 2017

I have taken off from my run around (see Avatar). It would not hover correctly tending to drift. It still behaved fine, but it was not the steady hover I would expect. I read on another forum that taking off in ATTI mode and switching to GPS after launch will fix that problem. I have not tried it. Really was a bit edgy with it having a drift of its own.

Plawa · Jul 14, 2017

There is now way to force the Mavic into atti mode and then switch to gps..

lulrich · Jul 15, 2017

Thanks for pointing that out. My other drone is the Inspire 1 and I was figuring that since there was a manual switch for that aircraft there would be a way for the MP too. Do you know a solution to drifting when taking off from a boat?

FastOldGuy · Jul 15, 2017

gumaco said:
1-hand launch and hand catch
2-change the emergency setting to hover instead of RTH
3-disable landing protection and VPS

I was shooting some Real Estate pictures with my P2 a few years back and was approached by an owner of the Condos. "Who Are You and What Are You Doing..."? Since I failed Anger Management I Try to Not be Confrontational. The condos are beside the marina where I have two boats. After taking the tongue lashing I decided to launch from the Whaler.

Between the Mavic and Phantom... I'd Rather use a Phantom since the landing gear is farther away from the Props. I'd suggest using glove and it is a little scary. I Did not want to get into a RTH since I flew from the Intercostal Water away. At least have a second person in the boat.

Good Luck!