Flying Air indoors is a pain! Until...

John Gowland · Mar 9, 2018

If you have an Air (or Pro) friendly room flying an Air is a pain. Way too many sensors. By friendly I mean big or as in my case small but stripped of electronics and metal stuff.
I can hardly move it at all.
So, stick the guards on switch off all sensors and have some fun. If you're not used to it start in tripod mode.
Sports mode would not be a good idea. And just as bad is cinematic mode, it drifts for ages until it stops, yes, bang! Take care with this mode outside, make sure there is no object close to the craft.
Even switch off the downward sensors, catching becomes so much easier.
If you take care it is an experience. Great if you live in one of the windiest cities in the world.

In my spare room
Perth
Western Australia

Ian in London · Mar 9, 2018

Why would you ever want to fly indoors John?

It's pointless and one of the quickest ways to crash!
GPS is intermittant and will cause the drone to drift. Sensors, as you say, can get confused with plain floors and reflections.
Little drones like the Parrot Mambo and the new Tello are fine, but bigger drones like the Air, Pro and Phantoms really want outdoors!

Ian

John Gowland · Mar 9, 2018

I fly in my spare room all the time. With the Air and Pro. I would never trust the Phantom 3S. I have never crashed it at home. I don't even need the guards but do so for extra safety. The wind, where I live is very high for days on end.
So I fly in a room that is great for flying.
It all depends on the room you fly in. If there is lots of metal in the structure and or lots of electronics then never try it. In the room where my tv, tvr, data projector and computers are, I have never flown and never will. In my spare room I get 18 satellite connections. It is extremely stable.

I recorded this last night.

I have tried to dampen the sound with the action camera so you may need to play with your sound.
John

Travisimo · Mar 9, 2018

Wellsi said:
Why would you ever want to fly indoors John? It's pointless and one of the quickest ways to crash!
Ian

I’ve flown my air in my house quite a few times now. Works fine, but I use prop guards simply because it’s close quarters. Turned off obstacle avoidance, made sure the lights were on so there’s enough light, and it’s very stable. But I’ve had practice flying without GPS, so I wouldn’t recommend it to a first time pilot.

There certainly are indoor applications other than just trying your drone out for the first time, so don’t say it’s pointless for everyone (even though you may find it pointless for yourself). DJI even advertises it as being able to fly indoors.

WTFoxtrot · Mar 10, 2018

I am with you, John. I was stuck on the NE coast of US during a huge winter storm but wanted to check out camera settings, etc. Indoors is necessary sometimes, and a great way to really compare what those camera settings are doing without being blown around at 400 feet!

Mike4884 · Mar 10, 2018

Wellsi said:
Why would you ever want to fly indoors John? It's pointless and one of the quickest ways to crash!
GPS is intermittant and will cause the drone to drift. Sensors, as you say, can get confused with plain floors and reflections.
Little drones like the Parrot Mambo and the new Tello are fine, but bigger drones like the Air, Pro and Phantoms really want outdoors!

Ian

When u have a big enough house why not? I have never had a problem with gps coming on or in and out when I was inside of the house flying... it does nothing to the Drone it's still hovers there nice and stable because of the sensors.... now on an old drone like a Blade 350 QX yeah you better watch! You just need enough light and a big enough space so the sensors don't go crazy and they can see

Ian in London · Mar 10, 2018

Travisimo said:
I’ve flown my air in my house quite a few times now. Works fine, but I use prop guards simply because it’s close quarters. Turned off obstacle avoidance, made sure the lights were on so there’s enough light, and it’s very stable. But I’ve had practice flying without GPS, so I wouldn’t recommend it to a first time pilot.

There certainly are indoor applications other than just trying your drone out for the first time, so don’t say it’s pointless for everyone (even though you may find it pointless for yourself). DJI even advertises it as being able to fly indoors.

Obviously each to their own, but you say there are other indoor applications other than flying for the first time... what would they be? I'm genuinly intrigued how flying a few metres in each direction inside the house is anything other than frustrating? I'd have thought it's right up there with playing tennis or football inside your living room....

Ian

John Gowland · Mar 10, 2018

"WIND gusts up to 100km/h have been forecast for parts of the Perth metropolitan area and South West overnight, with people warned to prepare for potential property damage."
Perth weather: 100km/h wind gusts forecast metro and South West areas
I am flying no drone outside today, nor it seems for at least the next 4 days, unless there is a window i can find.
Because of the wind friction effect it is generally stronger the higher you go.
earth :: a global map of wind, weather, and ocean conditions
So my space for flying outside is less than my spare room, where it is very stable and safe for testing, playing and learning.
Yes the fun is in going places we could never dream of going not too long ago. And taking incredible video and still footage from almost any position and angle you want.
Just an option if you are lucky to have a safe room, thats all.

Wayno1 · Mar 10, 2018

John Gowland said:
If you have an Air (or Pro) friendly room flying an Air is a pain. Way too many sensors. By friendly I mean big or as in my case small but stripped of electronics and metal stuff.
I can hardly move it at all.
So, stick the guards on switch off all sensors and have some fun. If you're not used to it start in tripod mode.
Sports mode would not be a good idea. And just as bad is cinematic mode, it drifts for ages until it stops, yes, bang! Take care with this mode outside, make sure there is no object close to the craft.
Even switch off the downward sensors, catching becomes so much easier.
If you take care it is an experience. Great if you live in one of the windiest cities in the world.

In my spare room
Perth
Western Australia

I quite often fly my mavic pro indoors. No issues/crashes yet. Just be prepared!!

Ian in London · Mar 10, 2018

Wayno1 said:
I quite often fly my mavic pro indoors. No issues/crashes yet. Just be prepared!!

I'm sensing a common theme here ... Non British people are happy to fly indoors... Wonder if that's anything to do with the typical small room sizes in most British houses over US and Oz houses

Only time I was able to fly indoors was with my tiny Parrot Mambo FPV...

Wayno1 · Mar 10, 2018

Wellsi said:
I'm sensing a common theme here ... Non British people are happy to fly indoors... Wonder if that's anything to do with the typical small room sizes in most British houses over US and Oz houses
Only time I was able to fly indoors was with my tiny Parrot Mambo FPV...

I don't have a lot of room inside by any means, my rumpus/family room is quite crowded. I started out with a Syma X5 and now have Mavic Pro. Been around RC cars and boats since a kid, while I'm far from being an expert drone pilot, I guess it just comes down to confidence

John Gowland · Mar 10, 2018

Confidence and I think its more to do with the proximity to interference of electromagnetic objects and frequencies that throw the craft off. So a large room with stuff in it or a small room with no metal or frequency around it.
So if you select a room strip it of metal and electrical goods. And if it is mainly brick or at least not too much metal you could be good to go.

Wayno1 · Mar 10, 2018

John Gowland said:
Confidence and I think its more to do with the proximity to interference of electromagnetic objects and frequencies that throw the craft off. So a large room with stuff in it or a small room with no metal or frequency around it.
So if you select a room strip it of metal and electrical goods. And if it is mainly brick or at least not too much metal you could be good to go.

Lol, my rumpus room has a big screen TV, DVD speakers, computers etc, etc. I'm either extremely brave or extremely stupid. Lmao

WTFoxtrot · Mar 10, 2018

Wellsi said:
Obviously each to their own, but you say there are other indoor applications other than flying for the first time... what would they be? I'm genuinly intrigued how flying a few metres in each direction inside the house is anything other than frustrating? I'd have thought it's right up there with playing tennis or football inside your living room....
Ian

You can get some really nice interior shots of your home -- real estate agents love it, as you no longer have to hire somebody with a dolly to roll a camera around. Or angles from above, without a ladder. Two story foyers, balcony spaces, etc. Transitions from one room to the next.
Obviously, the house has to be big enough -- and have some nice open spaces. Pretty simple to do in tripod mode.

dalebriggs · Aug 5, 2020

Ian in London said:
Why would you ever want to fly indoors John? It's pointless and one of the quickest ways to crash!
GPS is intermittant and will cause the drone to drift. Sensors, as you say, can get confused with plain floors and reflections.
Little drones like the Parrot Mambo and the new Tello are fine, but bigger drones like the Air, Pro and Phantoms really want outdoors!

Ian

How about flying indoors for industrial application work.

John Gowland · Aug 5, 2020

Good work if you can get it dalebriggs

I now fly all the time with the Tello what a brilliant little drone I know its been out a while but it is awesome. I crashed it loads of times at first but now its just great fun when you can't fly outside. It is so light you rarely fix or have it fixed.
Means whatever the weather you can fly. And it's got a great little camera.
A while back a cat adopted me, stood at my back glass door for days looking. Eventually I let her and fed her ect. Stop reading if you are a cat lover. But she hated it when I turned on the Tello and would scarper. Darn it was so funny. I would flush her out from under the bed and chase her more. Eventually had to stop a session because I was in stitches. She never held it against me but when I started the Tello, man it was funny.
Hope no one from the RSPCA or equivalent is watching.

PistonPete · Aug 5, 2020

I’m a Brit and fly my Air indoors. Best one was when I flew it up the stairs and back down. It got a little tricky in the turn but as long as you keep it at about head height it’s fine. Put it in S mode though otherwise it was like a rabbit in Headlights.

KingRat · Aug 8, 2020

OK guys, this interests me, because I can relate the 'flying indoors' thing to 'flying in woods', where my Air refuses to move, yet I think there is bags of room to get through. It is driving me mad. My flying is coming on and I am happy to manoevre close to obstacles slowly... the Air has other ideas and many a time I have had to give up, sneak up on it hovering, refusing to budge in any direction and catch it unawares then power down. You sneak up from the side, and grab it from underneath before it realises you are there. It does complain and squals like pig, trying to get away, just hold on tight and keep the stick pulled down.

Now then, how do you do this turning sensors off thing please? That sounds like exactly what I need, I don't need the GPS to fly 20 yards around me in the woods.... I have some specific needs to be able to do this, also flying in a warehouse, with metal racking, engines, and plenty of other metallic stuff about. I can't fathom from the tutorials how to set it up for these flights.
Cheers,
Simon.

TreeHugger · Aug 8, 2020

KingRat said:
OK guys, this interests me, because I can relate the 'flying indoors' thing to 'flying in woods', where my Air refuses to move, yet I think there is bags of room to get through. It is driving me mad. My flying is coming on and I am happy to manoevre close to obstacles slowly... the Air has other ideas and many a time I have had to give up, sneak up on it hovering, refusing to budge in any direction and catch it unawares then power down. You sneak up from the side, and grab it from underneath before it realises you are there. It does complain and squals like pig, trying to get away, just hold on tight and keep the stick pulled down.

Now then, how do you do this turning sensors off thing please? That sounds like exactly what I need, I don't need the GPS to fly 20 yards around me in the woods.... I have some specific needs to be able to do this, also flying in a warehouse, with metal racking, engines, and plenty of other metallic stuff about. I can't fathom from the tutorials how to set it up for these flights.
Cheers,
Simon.

Flying in the woods is tough, indeed -

TreeHugger · Aug 8, 2020

Most recently, I flew about my unfinished area of the basement - with a strong fan lodged in a window at one end, another window open at the opposite. Quite a good "dusting" occurred.

Fun, along with a small bit of WAF (wife acceptance factor) for the cleaning.