Flying Mavic Pro Inside Auditorium with 600 People?

[GTMonster]

I have noted that you have decided not to fly, however my thoughts are as follows...

1) I have flown in a school OUT OF HOURS where WiFi is in use with no problem.
2) It not quite flying indoors!
3) The biggest issue that I have with the Mavic is that you can't turn the GPS off... I can't understand DJI's mentality it that! If you have intermittent GPS indoors, then you most likely will get some strange flight issues/characteristics.
4) I have the propeller cages and have used them to fly indoors where I did not want to damage the walls of the heritage listed building that I was in... However I'd not use them for the protection of people. If the Mavic drops on someones head from even a little height or flies full speed at someone then its going to hurt and possibly a lot! (where there is blame, there are greedy people!!!)
5) I have noticed that after flying numerous custom builds that the Mavic's flight controls are super dampened and delayed for increased stability so that almost anyone can fly one. The flight sticks take a back seat to the on-board flight controller and not just when the on-board safety sensors trigger a response. The Mavic can also feel a bit flustered especially when its flight sensors are confused which can leave the control sticks slow and on occasion unresponsive.
6) I have also noticed that although most people can control a Mavic, that they can't actual really fly a quad! I'd not recommend a few test flights before flying near a crowd, more like weeks or months or practice as its easy to loose orientation and make mistakes!

The Mavic is amazing outdoors, however these are a few of the reasons that I'd not use a Mavic for this type of flight!

That said, can you not just used a camera on an access platform or on a telescopic pole?

 

[Sevier456]

Dude this is pretty stupid. This is when **** hits the fan. Everyone crashes there drone it happens. Your increasing the percentage of mistakes that can occur. Your mishaps effect everyone on the sticks(with a drone)

 

[geigy]

An unstable gps signal can be very dangerous with the Mavic. It is possible to modify the Mavic to use ATTI mode. That, combined with prop guards or cages should be an acceptable level of risk. Practice in that seeing until you are very confident, and get insurance and you should be fine.

 

[GTMonster]

An unstable gps signal can be very dangerous with the Mavic. It is possible to modify the Mavic to use ATTI mode. That, combined with prop guards or cages should be an acceptable level of risk. Practice in that seeing until you are very confident, and get insurance and you should be fine.

As there is no method of selecting atti mode in DJI Go, I'm assuming that by modifying the Mavic for atti mode that you are referring to the method of covering the GPS sensor so that it is blinded rather than disabled? The only other method would be to undertake an unauthorised software alteration of the Mavic.

In the UK and I am assuming most countries... model flight insurance would not cover you for this type of flight (due to breaching the 50m minimum proximity distance around people and possible commercial usage issues). Therefore you would need to be a certified drone pilot to get the relevant insurance. Assuming that the pilot is certified and has insurance, would it cover an unauthorised and bespoke modification that incorrectly disables the GPS if an accident occurred?

I'm just being devils advocate on this one.

 

[Callum]

As there is no method of selecting atti mode in DJI Go, I'm assuming that by modifying the Mavic for atti mode that you are referring to the method of covering the GPS sensor so that it is blinded rather than disabled? The only other method would be to undertake an unauthorised software alteration of the Mavic.

In the UK and I am assuming most countries... model flight insurance would not cover you for this type of flight (due to breaching the 50m minimum proximity distance around people and possible commercial usage issues). Therefore you would need to be a certified drone pilot to get the relevant insurance. Assuming that the pilot is certified and has insurance, would it cover an unauthorised and bespoke modification that incorrectly disables the GPS if an accident occurred?

I'm just being devils advocate on this one.

In the UK, standard PfCO does not allow flying over people or crowds.

Pilot would need to submit an application and osc for non standard permission including risk assessment, flight plan etc. If your drone is modified they will also want to know.

I'm not sure how often this permission is granted but expect it to be extremely rarely and under strict conditions.

 

[GTMonster]

In the UK, standard PfCO does not allow flying over people or crowds.

Pilot would need to submit an application and osc for non standard permission including risk assessment, flight plan etc. If your drone is modified they will also want to know.

I'm not sure how often this permission is granted but expect it to be extremely rarely and under strict conditions.

I agree and I never said fly over people. Just making the point that is not a good idea.

 

[geigy]

As there is no method of selecting atti mode in DJI Go, I'm assuming that by modifying the Mavic for atti mode that you are referring to the method of covering the GPS sensor so that it is blinded rather than disabled? The only other method would be to undertake an unauthorised software alteration of the Mavic.

In the UK and I am assuming most countries... model flight insurance would not cover you for this type of flight (due to breaching the 50m minimum proximity distance around people and possible commercial usage issues). Therefore you would need to be a certified drone pilot to get the relevant insurance. Assuming that the pilot is certified and has insurance, would it cover an unauthorised and bespoke modification that incorrectly disables the GPS if an accident occurred?

I'm just being devils advocate on this one.

No - you can use DJI Assistant 2 to change the Sport Mode switch to put you into ATTI mode, or even OPTI mode, which might be preferable for the OP's situation.

Regarding insurance, I have no idea, however prop guards are going to make it less likely that you will injure someone, so I would recommend it.

 

[GTMonster]

No - you can use DJI Assistant 2 to change the Sport Mode switch to put you into ATTI mode, or even OPTI mode, which might be preferable for the OP's situation.

Regarding insurance, I have no idea, however prop guards are going to make it less likely that you will injure someone, so I would recommend it.

Has this not been blocked again by DJI again following the 'Super Sports' mode modification that people were doing through the DJI Assistant 2 app?

 

[geigy]

The option was there last time I checked, which was a week or two ago.

 

[Roamer105]

It’s against FAA rules to fly over people. I personally wouldn’t mess with the Feds. Fines aren’t worth the headache (even if your are able to prevent harm from others)

True, but this airspace is not under FAA control. It is inside a building roofed over. Now with this particular building there are other issues for sure.

 

[MadValley]

I'm looking at a similar issue where I want to fly the Mavic to get some images and videos of aerial performers as they go through their acts. It's a pretty big space but too many uncontrolled variables to actually risk it during the performance. My solution is going to be (the shows not until March next year) for those performers who want the vertical elements of their acts included to set up the space as it will be for the show and then take the shots with angles that eliminate the seating and "crowd" visibility. That allows me to have only 3 people in the big space: me, the performer, and a safety person. These shots can then be cut into the scene filmed during the actual act using liability-free fixed cameras.

It all depends on what you want to do. If the drone is essential you just have to figure out the shot angles you want and then fly them over a people-free zone. If you want to show the people-filled scene from above and moving then you can probably get by with a gyro and and a cell phone taped to a stick. The end product is going to be an illusion and your viewers can willingly suspend their disbelief (even if they were there and didn't see a drone flying around). Plan as much as possible ahead and then get the "unsafe" shots in a completely controlled environment (like blowing up a small village in the movies). Then, when you stitch everything together for your final product, the illusion will be complete.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I think there's a lot of second guessing on both sides of caution and 'go for it' views, very likely have different pictures in our heads of an auditorium too.