Flying in a Wooded Trail

[Aaron]

There is a Wooded Trail near my house I'd like to try to fly down just some questions before trying this first.
1-With obstacle avoidance turned on I am concerned about getting into the trail and basically getting stuck and it would not want to move because it's going to see obstacles.
2-RTH set to hover so it doesn't try to go home and go up into the canopy of trees.
3- Maybe try this adventure and tripod mode?
I will be right there with the little guy while it's going down the trail so I can see what's going on.
Any other thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated before I try this.
Any other mavic Pro pilots in Milwaukee give us a shout out.

 

[Guitarzan]

I think your pre--planning of the mission is solid...fewer surprises and "gotchas".

 

[WolfgangStiller]

Yes, tripod mode would be good. That will give you more time to react to any obstacles or sharp turns needed. Note, the obstacle avoidance won't always spot the thinner branches on trees that have no leaves.

 

[Marco Cantieni]

I'd like to see the results

 

[Reed L]

First off, you need to go into your simulator and learn how to fly close to the ground in atti mode with no gps/sat-link because as soon as you get under the trees, your satellite uplink will disappear. Finding a place to do this is easy enough, a deep canyon works every time or flying in a tunnel or under a bridge, inside an empty warehouse. Because the Mavic switches to atti automatically - before you attempt a trail run, you need to really hone your skills.

 

[AlexSP]

1- Yes it'll sense obstacles but only close enough to avoid hitting them. Even then you can still move and manoeuvre by changing direction (yaw) and keep it going, as long as the path is out of the sensing angle.

2- If you're close there's no need to worry about RTH, in all these yrs flying DJI quads I only had RTH when really, really out of range and with the Mavic that means waaaaay far lol. But if it makes you feel safer, then why not turn it off I agree.

3- Tripod is VERY slow, but yes it's safer and very stable to navigate in obstacle infested and tricky places. VPS helps among trees according to my experience. And you can always speed up in post to make it look cool lol.

 

[Aaron]

I'm going to lose my GPS under canopy of trees? sometimes I get a signal in my house. It's all still very good info, I guess I'll take it slow and try tripod
mode first and be prepared to fly in atti mode just in case I lose GPS lock. Just a little nervous about crashing my new mavic.
It's a little cold here now in Milwaukee but I'll post a video as soon as I try it

 

[Heavysledz]

I would recommend turning off the setting that makes the Mavic go backwards if it detects an obstacle. By doing so it will just stop and hover instead of backing up possibly into another tree. Also, depending on how low you fly and what the terrain you are flying over is like, you might also want to consider turning off the VPS as it will sense obstacles below you and try to raise up. The flight aids are nice but can also make the drone react in ways that may not be good in confined spaces and cause a novice pilot to panic and potentially crash as a result....just go slow and steady and you should be fine....but as others have stated, if possible, learn how to fly it in ATTI mode first as it is less stable and will require more pilot inputs. So once you know what to expect, you will have a better experience out amongst the trees.

 

[Reed L]

Another thing that you can do is walk it in first for a test run and check the sat-link in the densest parts of the trail. Then you will know for sure if and when atti will kick in. Or you could fly it over the top for one shot and then carry it through like an osmo for the interior. The gimbal will smooth out the video even when carried.

 

[WolfgangStiller]

I'm going to lose my GPS under canopy of trees? sometimes I get a signal in my house. It's all still very good info, I guess I'll take it slow and try tripod
mode first and be prepared to fly in atti mode just in case I lose GPS lock. Just a little nervous about crashing my new mavic.
It's a little cold here now in Milwaukee but I'll post a video as soon as I try it

I have never lost GPS under tree canopy but I have lost GPS in canyons or close to ridgelines.

 

[Aaron]

Thank you for everybody's responses, now I think I just need some warmer weather[emoji4]

 

[spiderpig]

Remember that tripod mode will keep your speed to around 2-3 mph. So this gives you plenty of time to react to things. Always keep good visual on the drone as well since the camera has a zoomed effect that might be hard to judge distance with. Also keep in mind that small branches might not get picked up by the sensors and can easily know your prop.

As for post processing, you can always speed it up to make it look like you were going faster then 2-3 mph. The magic of post processing!