Flying from a boat

[tomrink550]

If you have a smart Controller it has its own GPS in it so make sure that the GPS is turn on the drone will fly back to the radio

 

[Meta4]

If you have a smart Controller it has its own GPS in it so make sure that the GPS is turn on the drone will fly back to the radio

For that to work you would still have to reset the home point to the controller's current location.
It won't create a moving home point that follows the boat as it moves.
Most (but not all) display devices have their own GPS but because a boat is always moving you don't want the drone to autoland on returning to the boat

 

[obruch]

After doing several flights from a 20 m sailing boat I like to contribute my experiences and lessons learned:

1) Don't stretch your flight time too long and return with 40% battery
2) Switching from RTH to Hover is a good idea for signal loss situations
3) Start and land from the back of the boat with the drone pointing to the front / into the wind
4) If the speed of the boat and the wind allows it, I switch to Tripod Mode for landing more precisely
5) Depending on the size of open space on the boat, hand start and landing is often the best option

 

[Flynz]

I had mine take off and land on my pontoon.
What made it even more enjoyable is not worried about it landing in the water.
I had on a rescue jacket and this also made it easier to do hand landing.
If I had to land it on the water then no worries about that also.
View attachment 109081

Too small for me ?

 

[Flynz]

If you have a smart Controller it has its own GPS in it so make sure that the GPS is turn on the drone will fly back to the radio

Set home point to be the controller and not the start point. See instruction book for this.

 

[Flynz]

Hand catch and wear a glove if the boat moves. Land up wind manually.

 

[Flynz]

Hand catch and wear a glove if the boat moves. Land up wind manually.

 

[Flynz]

 

[tritongr]

.. keep in mind that as soon as the drone leaves your hand you have moved, how long naturally depends on how fast the boat is running, ask the boat driver to slow down so much as possible....

Exactly. You move forward and the drone goes backwards. That's why it is preferable to launch from the rear side of the boatd to avoiding hitting anything over the boat.

 

[timgangloff]

I think I saw one other person post it and I'll re emphasize it. Land with lots of battery left. It may take longer than you think, especially if it's windy or there are waves and you have boat movement. And you don't want it to get so low it tries to auto land.

 

[Gringorio]

After doing several flights from a 20 m sailing boat I like to contribute my experiences and lessons learned:

1) Don't stretch your flight time too long and return with 40% battery
2) Switching from RTH to Hover is a good idea for signal loss situations
3) Start and land from the back of the boat with the drone pointing to the front / into the wind
4) If the speed of the boat and the wind allows it, I switch to Tripod Mode for landing more precisely
5) Depending on the size of open space on the boat, hand start and landing is often the best option

I always train a crew member to hand launch and catch. Launch into the wind and catch facing the wind if rigging setup allows. I always fly in forward as flying in backwards would screw me up. We didn't film any of the launches, but here are a few of my landings with the other drone operator catching:

 

[TTP]

Never use RTH!

 

[TreeHugger]

Never use RTH!

Not within a moving boat anyway

 

[scro]

One possibility is to use a large mouthed butterfly net. Fly into the mouth of it and "crash land" by killing the motors, while scooping it up with the net.

 

[LakeErieFlier]

Former boat owner and relatively new drone pilot. First thing I thought of when I was still shopping and had a boat was active track over the lake. The tips here are fantastic. Given I had a power boat, I would just stop to land the drone. The moving acquisitions are impressive!

Question: what happens when you catch the drone in your hand? Do the props stop automatically somehow? Do you have to power it off manually? Switching from the Air to the M2P, I'm worried about the damage those things can do. LOL

Thanks!

 

[SCCooper]

Former boat owner and relatively new drone pilot. First thing I thought of when I was still shopping and had a boat was active track over the lake. The tips here are fantastic. Given I had a power boat, I would just stop to land the drone. The moving acquisitions are impressive!

Question: what happens when you catch the drone in your hand? Do the props stop automatically somehow? Do you have to power it off manually? Switching from the Air to the M2P, I'm worried about the damage those things can do. LOL

Thanks!

Its easy. controller in one hand, catch drone with the other. bring drone down like normal, full left stick to kill motors. catch at lower center of the drone body. you won't lose any fingers

 

[Mrmund]

One more thing when flying from a boat...
I turn off my obstacle avoidance and landing protection so I can fly right up to myself and grab the aircraft instead of it stopping or "bouncing up" when I put my hand under it.

 

[LakeErieFlier]

Its easy. controller in one hand, catch drone with the other. bring drone down like normal, full left stick to kill motors. catch at lower center of the drone body. you won't lose any fingers

You make it sound like a piece of cake! LOL How do you fly the drone with one hand?! If the boat is moving, you still need the right stick for forward/sideways motion.
What does "full left stick to kill motors" mean? I've only landed on the ground by pulling the left stick down and I assume the drone senses the ground and stops the props.

 

[Meta4]

What does "full left stick to kill motors" mean?

See Method 1 here:

 

[SCCooper]

You make it sound like a piece of cake! LOL How do you fly the drone with one hand?! If the boat is moving, you still need the right stick for forward/sideways motion.
What does "full left stick to kill motors" mean? I've only landed on the ground by pulling the left stick down and I assume the drone senses the ground and stops the props.

I can be more specific.

I'd stop the boat, for one thing. then, fly the drone normally until it's above you, and you're situated to grab it.

switch controller to one hand, and use your thumb on the left stick.

bring the drone down as I described.

once your other hand makes contact with the drone body, pull the left stick all the way down.

the motors will stop after 3 seconds.

and you now have caught a drone, and kept all of your fingers