Flying from a boat

[Storyline]

From a boat i'd class hand launch and hand catch landing 100% essential. Its the only guaranteed way to keep it away from potential wires, interference, metal and bits moving as the boat drifts hitting the drone.

It was so easy with my old Phantom Vision as it had those huge legs. I have seen a video showing how to grab a Mavic without getting in the way of the downward looking sensors but have not had the confidence with only half a dozen flights to try it. I also have to get used to taking off more gently as I am still in Phantom mode when you had to give it loads of throttle and it was at 30'+ before you knew it. Now I would like to go up 5 or 10' to keep out of the way of the rigging.

 

[gnirtS]

You can grab it without downward sensors but i find it easier to disable them over a boat anyway to stop it "following" the contours of the boat and swell (and landing protection getting confused and "landing" in the ocean).
Hand grab is simple enough, thumb one side, finger the other and with the other hand use down stick.

Takeoff i use auto takeoff on the device and just let it climb out of my hand (same thumb and finger grip). That way i can gently release once i feel it start to pull up and it'll climb high enough to avoid things.

 

[allen deckard]

I've had a couple of boating adventures. And a couple of glitches that I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere. Time to share.

I have a pontoon boat. Fair amount of deck space for takeoff and landing. But the a/c interprets seats, canopy and railings as obstacles and takes evasive action, so obstacle avoidance must be off.

Tried Dynamic Home Point last time, but DJI GO 4 APP reported "weak GPS" and wouldn't keep Home Point updated. Likewise with attempts to update Return To Controller. And yet plenty of Sats locked for stable flight and distance/direction tracking, radar plot, etc. Had I truly lost signal, a/c would have returned to original launch point and drowned.

Big one ... when tracking a boat, don't forget to disable Max Flight Distance! Everything was going fine, great footage of the boat, towing a tube with the grand kids ... when a/c stopped dead in its tracks. By the time I realized what had happened and got the boat stopped, the a/c was a good distance behind. Eventually reacquired.

Finally, landing. Even hand catching is a challenge when the boat is drifting in even a moderate breeze! Aircraft stays stable, but timing to grab it from a drifting boat with even light waves is ... Interesting.

Thoughts? Your own lessons to add?

Never thought about the max flight distance makes sense though thanks.

 

[frankiez]

And when hand launching from a boat, check the drift direction. The aircraft wants to stand still, and the boat (including you!) may drift straight into the rotors.

Haha. Make sure the boat is stopped so you don’t do this like I did.

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[HNMavic]

Haha. Make sure the boat is stopped so you don’t do this like I did.

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Oh Man! Did the Mavic survive?

 

[allen deckard]

Looked like someone’s head almost didn’t survive ouch.

 

[Iwf]

Swtcihing to sport mode disables sensors, making quick transition easy. Ive been practising hand take off and landings ready for a trip I’ve got planned next month