Halloween idea. Thoughts?

alexanderguelph · Mar 6, 2017

My friend sent this to me. Such a fun idea... I dont know if I'll try it, but it sparked my curiosity and I'm thinking about feasibility with the Mavic. My number one concern is wrapping a prop with the tow line. You want the tow line to be thin enough it's invisible, but also heavy enough it won't fly up on take off and landing. You could put a weight (lead fishing sinker) a couple feet down or have a heavy line at the drone and then thinner line farther down... also I reckon the phantom in the picture was making a lot of noise. I'd want a much longer tow line so the Mavic would be farther away.

FlyAwayPTSD · Mar 6, 2017

That's an awesome idea. Definitely going to test it out

Kestrel · Mar 6, 2017

Take a bunch of pipe cleaners bundle them together and make a few legs, might make it look like a flying spider.

stanfran · Mar 7, 2017

I did something similar around Halloween last year. I spent about 30 minutes from start to finish. I would probably do differently if I were to do again. I got some fishing line and tied to head of reaper. Need a way to keep the reaper facing forward as opposed to spinning in wind. two lines one on each shoulder may do this. The other big mistake I made was doing this by myself. I tried to fly with one hand and video with another. don't do this for safety reasons and you wont get good shots. I also did mine with Phantom 4. Im not sure but I think P4 can handle a bigger payload. I have both.

Syphon · Mar 7, 2017

A YouTuber did a test on weight limits for the Mavic and P4. If I remember correctly, the Mavic started to struggle at just 2lbs of weight added to it and the P4 was able to do like 3.5-4lbs. So if you keep it light you could do it. Be ready for cops to be called on you though lol.

Robbyg · Mar 7, 2017

Syphon said:
A YouTuber did a test on weight limits for the Mavic and P4. If I remember correctly, the Mavic started to struggle at just 2lbs of weight added to it and the P4 was able to do like 3.5-4lbs. So if you keep it light you could do it. Be ready for cops to be called on you though lol.

I saw that video. The Mavic can Jerk 2 pounds on a fish scale but that does not translate into what it will be able to lift. I doubt you could get one pound into the air without some serious violent thrashing.
I have seen other people lift items that looked lighter than a pound and it was really unstable.

Rob

TotemLake · Nov 13, 2018

A pound is about the max you can lift and that has to include the line and harness you're using. The attached is my prototype. I eventually found a lighter "ghost" and line so I could attach fairy lights to it for night flight. It worked rather well. 28 waypoints from launch from the backyard to landing in the backyard created a 2 minutes and 10 seconds flight. I managed to get 6 flights in before the ghost got too heavy with the misty air. It got great reception from the neighborhood.

TotemLake · Nov 13, 2018

stanfran said:
I did something similar around Halloween last year. I spent about 30 minutes from start to finish. I would probably do differently if I were to do again. I got some fishing line and tied to head of reaper. Need a way to keep the reaper facing forward as opposed to spinning in wind. two lines one on each shoulder may do this. The other big mistake I made was doing this by myself. I tried to fly with one hand and video with another. don't do this for safety reasons and you wont get good shots. I also did mine with Phantom 4. Im not sure but I think P4 can handle a bigger payload. I have both.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Bend the arms back a little bit to create a wing effect. Worked great for me.