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Flying by screen advice.

As a novice i am in need to pick your brains of experience on flying by screen when your unit is out of sight. [...] any advice would be great.
... get familiar with the map in the bottom left corner of the screen. You can expand it to a small window, or full screen. That shows your position and the drone's position/heading and can help get you oriented.
Here is a really excellent video explaining all the different functions of the various map displays.

A red straight line joins the drone to the Home Point on the map. If you get lost just follow that line home while watching the camera view for potential obstructions enroute.

 
I hope you're aware that in the UK you legally need to be able to see your drone always at every point in the flight - called maintaining VLOS (visual line of sight). You shouldn't be planning a flight that means your drone is out of sight. Perhaps you can position yourself in a different location so that you can see the drone and still get the shots and viewpoints you were after?

This rule is in place because, as you've noticed, it can be difficult to really understand what is happening around the drone when all you have is a video feed on a screen to look at.

Here's the full drone code, which is worth a read: The Drone and Model Aircraft Code | UK Civil Aviation Authority

Stay safe and have fun flying! ?
I adapted pretty quickly to being able to navigate entirely by the screen. I guess the old instrument rating still helps! But I never put the drone where I can't see it.

I suggest you engage in some self-training exercises very close to your launch point to get familiar with what the screen provides, and how to use it. As you get more comfortable, gradually expand your range, altitude, and speed envelope for using the screen information for navigation.

Good luck!

TCS
 
Here is a really excellent video explaining all the different functions of the various map displays.

A red straight line joins the drone to the Home Point on the map. If you get lost just follow that line home while watching the camera view for potential obstructions enroute.

That was an excellent tutorial, thanks!

Is it possible to reset the home point while in flight? RTH would be more convenient for me if I could set the home point about 20 ft off of my back deck, and about 20 feet up.

Again, thanks!

:)

TCS
 
you can reset the home point in flight ,it tells you the different options in the downloadable manual on the DJI site
 
One other thing RE: Labeling with reg # is 'get-it-back-if-found' info.
drone-label.jpg Click to enlarge.
 
you can reset the home point in flight ,it tells you the different options in the downloadable manual on the DJI site
Yet another reason to go read the manual again. I read it cover-to-cover before my first flight, but I have questions now, that I didn't have then.

Thx,

TCS
 
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Taking all your advice on board i have registered and gained my operator and flyer id. Reading through everything and taking the test which is in all essence common sense, i realise that all new comers to the hobby need to do this before flying. I didn't, but now realise its easier in the long run.
 
@Welsh m4vic ,glad you took the steps you described ,firstly you have gained some knowledge to help you fly in a safe manner ,then that knowledge will help you to avoid prosecution ,because you did not have any Operator ID ,and finally that knowledge combined with the user manual will help you to have a better flying experience,and as you say most of it is common sense any way,
that old saying (ignorance is bliss) is not really applicable when it comes to drone flying
 
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@Welsh m4vic ,and believe you me ,it is a long and mostly enjoyable learning curve ,even after 4years plus of flying and many many hours in the air i am still learning ,every flight is an adventure
but for me its an adventure i relish ,this hobby along with this forum has been a wonderful experience
 
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Is it possible to reset the home point while in flight? RTH would be more convenient for me if I could set the home point about 20 ft off of my back deck, and about 20 feet up.
Yes. He explains how to update the Home Point starting at 8:30 in the video. You have three options. You can reset the Home Point to the drone's current location, or if your app device is GPS enabled you can reset the Home Point to the current location of your controller, or as he shows in the video you can drag the Home Point around the map to any new location of your choice.

Note: Current location is the instantaneous location right now. It is not a dynamic location that follows the controller. For example, if you and the controller are on a moving boat and you reset the Home Point to the controller's current location, that means where you are right now. If you subsequently move your boat further, that Home Point stays where ever you last set it to. It doesn't automatically follow the movement of the boat. But you can reset to your controller's location as often as you want as you move the boat.

It's very important to always remember where the Home Point was set, especially if you're on a moving boat. The drone will only fly as far away from that Home Point until it decides it has just enough battery left to turn around and get back Home. So frequently resetting to your current controller's location is a good idea. Or, you can even drag and reset the location of the Home Point to a safer location, like the closest beach or island.

I experimented a bit with that function and discovered that you can drag and reset the Home Point to a new location even while the drone is already actively enroute in RTH mode, as long as it hasn't already arrived overhead and started descending in auto-landing.

One thing though, you cannot reset the height of the recorded Home Point. That zero height is registered at takeoff and all altitude measurements thereafter are referenced relative to that zero. If you land somewhere, then takeoff again, a new zero height is reset at takeoff.
 
I'd like to add a couple of comments to this good thread.

1. The RF we use to control our drone does not only travel directly to the drone. It fans out with decreasing intensity at angles away from where our controller is pointed, and the RF that doesn't go directly to the drone can reflect off other surfaces and combine either constructively or destructively with the signal that travels directly to the drone due to the different path lengths. Watch what happens to the waves in a pool as they reflect off the walls. If the drone isn't moving very fast the resulting nulls in signal strength could last a while, but in my opinion the resulting phase jitter is likely to mes up the control signals even worse and that could happen at any speed. I've always suspected that at least some incidents of controller or control app crash were due to phase jitter from reflections confusing the software. Reflections off land would be mostly absorbed but buildings, flat rocks, anything metal ... and especially water at shallow angles ... could be culprits.

2. Our brains are subject to an incredible amount of sensory overload, and to cope with all of that without driving us crazy our brain filters out stuff it decides is superfluous. Background noise at a party is a good example, as is the situation where you can't spot a plane or a bird or a drone in a blank sky even though you know it is there and pretty much know exactly where it is. Our brain fills in the blanks with the same stuff it sees around the object, thereby simplifying things for us. Any motion disrupts that simplicity, and once we spot something it's easy to keep seeing it .... until we look away and our brain fills in the blanks again.

3. The earth's magnetism that a compass relies on for orientation is pretty weak, and there are LOTS of other sources of magnetism that compete with it. Walk around with a sensitive compass (like the one in your cell phone) and check out the distortions you can find in any urban environment. The rebar in concrete can be magnetized, and the magnetic field around wires carrying current can be significant. I have no idea how quickly the IMU in a drone reacts, how much filtering is built into its circuitry, or what its sampling rate is ... but if it responds quickly enough imagine what a 50Hz or 60Hz field of alternating polarity might do to the drone's mind.

Just some thoughts ....
 
Sorry, this reply is about flying safely, yes, but also flying more creatively.
Lately I've been flying using waypoint missions as it allows me to safely pay more attention to the screen and the footage I'm shooting. But it's also safer as my drone is flying a set course so should I lose sight of it I know at least that it's continuing it's flight, which I've carefully set up earlier. And of course missions invariably are set up so that the final waypoint is pretty near to the point of takeoff. I use the Maven app which is terrific.
The latest upgrade also allows you to set waypoints as you fly so that tricky flights with potential obstacles, confined areas, under bridges or whatever, can be flown carefully and slowly, stopping frequently to check you're safe, and setting waypoints as you go. Then when you've returned to home and set POIs and tweaked speed, altitude etc you can fly your mission again, shooting smooth, cinematic footage with no stops or jerky camera moves.
 
Sorry, this reply is about flying safely, yes, but also flying more creatively.
Lately I've been flying using waypoint missions as it allows me to safely pay more attention to the screen and the footage I'm shooting. But it's also safer as my drone is flying a set course so should I lose sight of it I know at least that it's continuing it's flight, which I've carefully set up earlier. And of course missions invariably are set up so that the final waypoint is pretty near to the point of takeoff. I use the Maven app which is terrific.
The latest upgrade also allows you to set waypoints as you fly so that tricky flights with potential obstacles, confined areas, under bridges or whatever, can be flown carefully and slowly, stopping frequently to check you're safe, and setting waypoints as you go. Then when you've returned to home and set POIs and tweaked speed, altitude etc you can fly your mission again, shooting smooth, cinematic footage with no stops or jerky camera moves.

Totally agree, although there are some caveats. We need to be careful about the tweaks we add to a mission. As I explained in a different thread, I carefully set up a fly-to-waypoint mission in Maven and tested it out. It worked fine. Then I decided to significantly increase the radius of curvature for some of the waypoint turns in order to get a smoother flight. The result for my next flight was that I shifted the drone's path on one of the sharper turns enough laterally that the drone would have flown straight into a tree had the forward collision avoidance not prevented it. Dumb move on my part, and I pass it on just as a caution. I can think of other path edits that could have unfortunate unforeseen results.
 
Its great to read your comments, and mostly try to understand what half the terminology means, but like Old man stated i am loving our hobby, which i tend to want to learn as much as possible. I ground search also (metal detect) , which took me into wanting to learn as much as possible.
Its great to be able to call upon the knowledge you guys have built up, and dont worry i wont pester you all too much.
 
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Yes. He explains how to update the Home Point starting at 8:30 in the video. You have three options. You can reset the Home Point to the drone's current location, or if your app device is GPS enabled you can reset the Home Point to the current location of your controller, or as he shows in the video you can drag the Home Point around the map to any new location of your choice.

Note: Current location is the instantaneous location right now. It is not a dynamic location that follows the controller. For example, if you and the controller are on a moving boat and you reset the Home Point to the controller's current location, that means where you are right now. If you subsequently move your boat further, that Home Point stays where ever you last set it to. It doesn't automatically follow the movement of the boat. But you can reset to your controller's location as often as you want as you move the boat.

It's very important to always remember where the Home Point was set, especially if you're on a moving boat. The drone will only fly as far away from that Home Point until it decides it has just enough battery left to turn around and get back Home. So frequently resetting to your current controller's location is a good idea. Or, you can even drag and reset the location of the Home Point to a safer location, like the closest beach or island.

I experimented a bit with that function and discovered that you can drag and reset the Home Point to a new location even while the drone is already actively enroute in RTH mode, as long as it hasn't already arrived overhead and started descending in auto-landing.

One thing though, you cannot reset the height of the recorded Home Point. That zero height is registered at takeoff and all altitude measurements thereafter are referenced relative to that zero. If you land somewhere, then takeoff again, a new zero height is reset at takeoff.
I'm not sure what video your referring to. I did find the relevant section in the manual after completing my re-read. If I understand it correctly, I can just set the drone where I want it in the air off of my back deck, go to the "Safety" screen in DJI Fly, and select the "Re-set Home Point" option. I'll know soon enough! My first flight for today, my 6th structured training flight, will be all about RTH comprehension and practice.

I'm not going to be operating from any moving vehicles anytime soon, and the controller doesn't move much, since I usually fly from a comfy chair in the shade...

;-)

Thx!

TCS
 
Lately I've been flying using waypoint missions as it allows me to safely pay more attention to the screen and the footage I'm shooting. But it's also safer as my drone is flying a set course so should I lose sight of it I know at least that it's continuing it's flight, which I've carefully set up earlier.
Just because the drone was flying in a clear area when you set up the mission, that doesn’t mean it’s still safe when you re-fly it. The point of remaining VLOS is that you can deconflict your drone with other airspace users if required. If you lose sight of it, you can’t really do this any more. It’s sometimes incredibly difficult to re-aquire your drone when you look down at your RC, but if you can’t you’re technically breaking the law.
 
I'm not sure what video your referring to.
It's the video I posted top of this page, post #21. See starting at 8:30.
If I understand it correctly, I can just set the drone where I want it in the air off of my back deck, go to the "Safety" screen in DJI Fly, and select the "Re-set Home Point" option
Yes, under the Safety screen, select "Update Home Point".
There you have three options. At the top right of the screen there are two icons.
  1. Selecting the aircraft icon will reset the Home Point to the current location of the aircraft.
  2. Selecting the transmitter icon will reset the Home Point to the current location of the controller.
  3. Or you can drag the map to relocate the Home Point to any spot of your choosing.
 
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The places that sell them should include information about regulations for the buyer’s area and require an acknowledgement from the buyer that they are aware of those rules. It would make more people aware that there are regulations involved with the use of a drone.

You should need to produce a license to buy a drone IMO.
 
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Another point to note about VLOS (at least here in the USA which I 'assume' is the same in the UK), VLOS does not only mean 'seeing' your drone, but also having 'spacial awareness', meaning that you can see what direction it is heading and any dangers that may be around the drone where you are flying. I mention this as you talk about becoming disoriented. Even if you can see the drone, you may not be able to determine what direction it is headed, in which case you are also not flying VLOS.
You have inspired me!

I'm going to have to bite the bullet, and read section 107 from start to finish. I have my 107 license, but there's a lot in the actual reg that wasn't in the course, or on the test.

I'm not certain that your interpretation is correct. Being able to visually see the orientation would be a huge limitation. Maybe that's what was intended, but as a practical matter, spatial awareness can be achieved using a variety of data sources.

I've been giving a fair amount of thought to what a BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) rating might look like. Perhaps, pilots with an instrument rating which is current, could be given some slack in this regard. Integrating the information from all sources with my little Mini-2 frequently reminds me of instrument flying.

There's no way that drone package delivery is going to be viable without a BVLOS rating of some kind, and there's a lot of money behind wanting that to happen. I need to get myself updated on the progress of those discussions.

I'll port this notion over to the "Regs" category of threads, but probably not today!

Thx,

TCS
 
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