Flying at Night

[DonLandis]

I could not get over how many drone pilots there are in my neighborhood until 4th of July night. I counted 7 within a block of my house. I wonder how many drone pilots there are now in the country. The little flashing green and twin red lights last night was everywhere. Nobody was cruising around, just hoovering at or above treetop around 100ft.

 

[MAVIC-MAN]

I too experience this drifting - and fly almost every day - sooooooooooo addicted to flying. Nighttime actually quite a bit. I setup my DJI Goggles (and a pair of readers 2.75+ LOL to see the screen - dam DJI), Mavic Pro - a lawn chair, all 8 of my Intelligent flight batteries, and a nice cold lemonade outside my garage - and fly until typical noise curfew here in So Cal 10pm I did notice this drifting very badly at night time when lower to the ground (sub say 30 feet and below) I can't say I noticed this before - but I attributed it to how our townhouse is in-between buildings and maybe causing GPS interference. I will say an auto RTH goes straight down, and a take off straight up goes smooth in near dark - once up high its stable and does not drift much But lingering at hover at 8ft without MAJOR drift as noted in this thread does not seem to be possible in low light condition for me. I think the solid centering of the drone during daylight at lower heights is highly achieved with their VPS sensors supplemented by GPS lock. None the less - I can't tell you how much excitement I get out of this stuff. DonLandis - your comment made me laugh, as every single night I fly - I wonder why I don't see a million others pilots doing the same as me at that moment. Why isn't EVERYONE up here doing this - how can I possibly be alone up here. The city is BEAUTIFUL AT NIGHT Neat to know others were out in full force watching fireworks. As for me, I don't need independence day to be free like a bird amongst the night skies. Amazing tech.

 

[FlyGuy8675309]

I I wonder why I don't see a million others pilots doing the same as me at that moment. Why isn't EVERYONE up here doing this - how can I possibly be alone up here.

Enjoy the clear skies while it lasts. In a few years the sky will be a highway!

 

[Michael W.]

I fly predominantly at night and never had this drifting issue.

 

[curso88]

Same drift problems in night...

 

[MrsTreat]

Same drift problems in night...

Well - consumer GPS accuracy isn’t down to foot or even yard for that matter. So the MP uses other sensing to supplant the ‘low res’ GPS. Makes sense why it would drift a bit at night.

T

 

[MrsTreat]

I too experience this drifting - and fly almost every day - sooooooooooo addicted to flying. Nighttime actually quite a bit. I setup my DJI Goggles (and a pair of readers 2.75+ LOL to see the screen - dam DJI), Mavic Pro - a lawn chair, all 8 of my Intelligent flight batteries, and a nice cold lemonade outside my garage - and fly until typical noise curfew here in So Cal 10pm I did notice this drifting very badly at night time when lower to the ground (sub say 30 feet and below) I can't say I noticed this before - but I attributed it to how our townhouse is in-between buildings and maybe causing GPS interference. I will say an auto RTH goes straight down, and a take off straight up goes smooth in near dark - once up high its stable and does not drift much But lingering at hover at 8ft without MAJOR drift as noted in this thread does not seem to be possible in low light condition for me. I think the solid centering of the drone during daylight at lower heights is highly achieved with their VPS sensors supplemented by GPS lock. None the less - I can't tell you how much excitement I get out of this stuff. DonLandis - your comment made me laugh, as every single night I fly - I wonder why I don't see a million others pilots doing the same as me at that moment. Why isn't EVERYONE up here doing this - how can I possibly be alone up here. The city is BEAUTIFUL AT NIGHT Neat to know others were out in full force watching fireworks. As for me, I don't need independence day to be free like a bird amongst the night skies. Amazing tech.

Have you flown at night sans goggles and do you think that’s fun too? Have you added strobes?

 

[MAVIC-MAN]

Have you flown at night sans goggles and do you think that’s fun too? Have you added strobes?

MrsTreat :
I fly whenever I can, in fact its 11:46pm PST - and I just got back in from flying LOL Flying with the Goggles at nighttime is fan-freakin-tastic. Its disgustingly stunning the colors the camera is able to detect at night with the proper settings and the DJI goggles convey colors beautifully. One thing I have been surely impressed with is the rich blacks at night that are shown - not dancing ISO riddled low grade digital artifact type - the blacks are blacks. I'm amazed every dam time. Tonight I shared this fpv experience with my 10 year old nephew (he flew for the first time up there safe at 250feet) - his eyes lit up and he couldn't stop talking about it. The populated landscape below is a different world from up there at night with the Mavic. I'm strictly in it for the FPV feed and experience of unobstructed flight - I don't shoot pics or video. Tonight I was pushing for range with the 1.5mw fcc Mod to the controller through config file - all I can say is IT ABSOLUTELY WORKS - and the controller handles it fine. Waited for evening flight to keep temperatures under control just in case before testing. Toooooooo cool. RANGE WAS STUPID. Wow-Stupid.

You asked if I had strobes, no, but I can assure you the green flashing strobe built into the rear - and the fire red LED's from the front legs keep this thing line of site capable ridiculously clear at night. In fact clearer to identify in the nightsky than in the daytime! Night time flying is more than a possibility for me - its an essential.

 

[Clinton1]

Also did my first night flight with goggles about 2 days ago. It was awesome. Going to do it again tonight.

 

[Porto]

Tonight I was pushing for range with the 1.5mw fcc Mod to the controller through config file - all I can say is IT ABSOLUTELY WORKS - and the controller handles it fine. Waited for evening flight to keep temperatures under control just in case before testing. Toooooooo cool. RANGE WAS STUPID. Wow-Stupid.

May I ask if you are using ios or android? Force FCC works on ios but Force Boost doesn't seem to work.

I am hesitant to try Force Boost on android as the RC is already warm enough from having to charge the phone. I am a bit worry that Force Boost would push it too far. I read that it worked for some time then suddenly got error. If you do try it, could you please report it here? Thanks!

 

[MrsTreat]

MrsTreat :
I fly whenever I can, in fact its 11:46pm PST - and I just got back in from flying LOL Flying with the Goggles at nighttime is fan-freakin-tastic. Its disgustingly stunning the colors the camera is able to detect at night with the proper settings and the DJI goggles convey colors beautifully. One thing I have been surely impressed with is the rich blacks at night that are shown - not dancing ISO riddled low grade digital artifact type - the blacks are blacks. I'm amazed every dam time. Tonight I shared this fpv experience with my 10 year old nephew (he flew for the first time up there safe at 250feet) - his eyes lit up and he couldn't stop talking about it. The populated landscape below is a different world from up there at night with the Mavic. I'm strictly in it for the FPV feed and experience of unobstructed flight - I don't shoot pics or video. Tonight I was pushing for range with the 1.5mw fcc Mod to the controller through config file - all I can say is IT ABSOLUTELY WORKS - and the controller handles it fine. Waited for evening flight to keep temperatures under control just in case before testing. Toooooooo cool. RANGE WAS STUPID. Wow-Stupid.

You asked if I had strobes, no, but I can assure you the green flashing strobe built into the rear - and the fire red LED's from the front legs keep this thing line of site capable ridiculously clear at night. In fact clearer to identify in the nightsky than in the daytime! Night time flying is more than a possibility for me - its an essential.

Love your reply- thanks MM. Another question - about landing. Do have some kind of lit-up landing pad to safely bring your drone down?

 

[FlyGuy8675309]

Flying at night is better for so many reasons.

1. It's safer (IF you use strobes)
With a nice set of strobes you will be much more visible in the sky. This means VLOS past 2 miles (it's true, I've tried it!). It also means low flying aircraft like helis can see you from a distance.

2. It's cooler.
In the summer this is everything! More enjoyable to fly and less heat for the motors and electronics.

3. They look so cool!
So, so cool! The strobing effect makes it look like your Mavic is going faster than it is. If you fly up at the 400' ceiling you look like a plane a 4000'.

My set-up is white strobes on the front, green on the back, and red on the sides. This lets you use them for navigation based on the light position. I buy them from STROBON Cree LED Strobe Light - Phantom Help - the owner Mike is an active (a super helpful) member here and his service is top-notch.

Can't wait for fall when it gets dark around 6!

 

[MrsTreat]

Flying at night is better for so many reasons.

1. It's safer (IF you use strobes)
With a nice set of strobes you will be much more visible in the sky. This means VLOS past 2 miles (it's true, I've tried it!). It also means low flying aircraft like helis can see you from a distance.

2. It's cooler.
In the summer this is everything! More enjoyable to fly and less heat for the motors and electronics.

3. They look so cool!
So, so cool! The strobing effect makes it look like your Mavic is going faster than it is. If you fly up at the 400' ceiling you look like a plane a 4000'.

My set-up is white strobes on the front, green on the back, and red on the sides. This lets you use them for navigation based on the light position. I buy them from STROBON Cree LED Strobe Light - Phantom Help - the owner Mike is an active (a super helpful) member here and his service is top-notch.

Can't wait for fall when it gets dark around 6!

Still a bit worried about a nighttime landing. Think I will have to set up some landing lights.

 

[MAVIC-MAN]

May I ask if you are using ios or android? Force FCC works on ios but Force Boost doesn't seem to work.

I am hesitant to try Force Boost on android as the RC is already warm enough from having to charge the phone. I am a bit worry that Force Boost would push it too far. I read that it worked for some time then suddenly got error. If you do try it, could you please report it here? Thanks!

Howdy Porto! - It does in fact work with IOS - the proof for me was in the ability to hit stupid distances I couldn't even get close to before flying in this interference rich suburbia neighborhood complete with shopping centers and freeways. It is immediately visible in all directions with the strength indicator bars two nights in a row - I'm curios to take an RF detector next to it to validate its output - but no placebo effect here - its for real - clearly crossing strict boundaries I was stuck in before. I was actually blown away and laughed out loud how far I was getting. I'm running 700 firmware on the Mavic intentionally (for parameter changes) - 900 firmware on controller - and 1000 firmware on Goggles. Ipad Mini 4 and Force Boost config from from "retro" through ITunes drag and drop MOD. Its real - it works. ABSOLUTELY. As far as heat is concerned - its negligible on my system flying at night - maybe in the daytime it could be riskier, but I'm all in with this mod. Battery in controller holds up beautifully to the Boost. Using IOS the Mavic controller does not charge the Ipad mini - and yes agreed that would put a big extra toll on your system's heat tolerances and power drain. I'm pretty sure I'm locked in on Go 4.1.5 (I'll double check) - I've been religious on keeping this device off the internet for good. DJI doing nothing but disabling the coolness of this aircraft. I found a sweetspot that works for me.

 

[MAVIC-MAN]

Still a bit worried about a nighttime landing. Think I will have to set up some landing lights.

- where I fly at night - its a "ride-share" parking lot right next to a cornfield - open asphalt - freeway - shopping centers and neighborhoods nearby - so I have street lights I can use a reference in the night sky (camera) to navigate back home - I park next to a street lamp. Line of site from ground is easy once I'm within reach (you can see the mavic a good mile away with the stock lights at night. I turn off safe landing sensor and catch by hand. I do that in both day and night regardless of where I am. Although I could land on the street at night - its easy enough to land in my hand safely. Turning on obstacle avoidance - and keeping VPS on but turning off Safe Landing detection is usually my setup - fly it above my head - and slowly decend into my palm catching right into the center of the Mavic Body. Like butter.

 

[FlyGuy8675309]

Still a bit worried about a nighttime landing. Think I will have to set up some landing lights.

It just takes a little practice. I also have landing gear with "springs" in it just in case, but I haven't needed them. I bring it down to about 20' and then SLOWLY lower it down. It's also a good skill to develop just in case you need to land 100% manually.

 

[Porto]

Howdy Porto! - It does in fact work with IOS - the proof for me was in the ability to hit stupid distances I couldn't even get close to before flying in this interference rich suburbia neighborhood complete with shopping centers and freeways. It is immediately visible in all directions with the strength indicator bars two nights in a row - I'm curios to take an RF detector next to it to validate its output - but no placebo effect here - its for real - clearly crossing strict boundaries I was stuck in before. I was actually blown away and laughed out loud how far I was getting. I'm running 700 firmware on the Mavic intentionally (for parameter changes) - 900 firmware on controller - and 1000 firmware on Goggles. Ipad Mini 4 and Force Boost config from from "retro" through ITunes drag and drop MOD. Its real - it works. ABSOLUTELY. As far as heat is concerned - its negligible on my system flying at night - maybe in the daytime it could be riskier, but I'm all in with this mod. Battery in controller holds up beautifully to the Boost. Using IOS the Mavic controller does not charge the Ipad mini - and yes agreed that would put a big extra toll on your system's heat tolerances and power drain. I'm pretty sure I'm locked in on Go 4.1.5 (I'll double check) - I've been religious on keeping this device off the internet for good. DJI doing nothing but disabling the coolness of this aircraft. I found a sweetspot that works for me.

Thanks for your reply. I did a lot of test with Force FCC etc and posted it in another forum as it was (still is?) not allowed here. In short, with ios Force FCC works but Force Boost doesn't. With android, did not dare to try as it will probably taxing the remote too much (as the RC having to charge the android device).

Any chance you can do a comparison between the Force FCC and Force Boost?

Really curious that you got it to work, even with 4.1.5!

 

[Edslittleworld]

I'm still afraid to fly my Mavic at night. I had no fear of flying my Phantoms at night because they're so well lit and I could hand catch them, easily. The Mavic is different with both those last points.

 

[FlyGuy8675309]

I'm still afraid to fly my Mavic at night. I had no fear of flying my Phantoms at night because they're so well lit and I could hand catch them, easily. The Mavic is different with both those last points.

Well the light issue is easily solved. These things are awesome and will light up your landing area.

As far as the "hand catch" thing.. not sure why that's an issue. Personally, I like my fingers.

 

[Drone Prone]

The other evening I took out my Mavic and simply took it off and then went to about 8 feet above the ground. It was quite dark, not pitch black, and there was some wind. I had about 12 satellites reported but I am quite sure that it was too dark for the VPS to be of any help. The Mavic could not hold a steady hover - it was drifting about 4 or 5 feet from the intended hover point and the elevation was fluctuating from about 2 feet to about 10 feet above the ground.

Would you consider this to be expected behavior due to a combination of low light and the presence of wind?

Thanks.

I had the same experience. Drone would not land and shut down either. It did after it crashed twice.