How quickly do you deploy your drone?

[c64-dev]

Hello all,

Here’s a question that’s been on my mind for a while. How quickly/easily do you deploy your drones?

When I first bought my Mini 2, I had in mind that I would be taking it with me on my motorcycle trips and deploy it from time to time to film my riding buddies, interesting views en route etc.

However, what really ended happening though was that it takes me absolutely forever to deploy the drone. I need to unpack it, remove the propeller holder and gimbal cover, Unfold the arms, attach and hook up the phone to the remote, screw in the remote sticks, power everything up, fire up the app.. you know the drill.
To make things worse, because the drone feels so delicate/easy to break I am being veeeery careful while handling it, especially propellers and gimbal.

To cut a long story short, with all this procedure I find it pretty much impossible/impractical to simply stop roadside and film my mates while they make a pass or when we take a break.

Compounding this problem is my general aversion to attracting attention which makes it harder and harder to go out and fly the drone in general, especially in nice settings, like a quaint little seaside village or something. When I see people around I practically hide the DJI bag under my arm and tell myself all kinds of excuses to avoid flying.

To cut a long story short, this deployment problem (and extreme shyness to fly the drone in general) has resulted in the poor M2 having had two (!) flights in about a year since I got it brand new.

How do you all cope with the deployment of your drones? Do you find it easy to fly and if so, how quickly do you get them up in the air? Any ideas/tips how to make the whole procedure easier?

Thanks and fly safe!
Nick

 

[Olav van Gerven]

I'm afraid, there is no safe "quick way" to get your drone. Now, I travel by car, so sometimes I keep the controller and tablet connected and have them in a box in the back of the car, but only if I change locations for a short distance.
If you have an way of being in conact with your buddies while on tour (radio?), you might agree with them that you speed up a bit (withour endangering yourself through exesiv speed!) and they slow down, so you have the three or four minutes you need to get ready.

 

[slup]

The drone solutions we have today will never be suited for quick deployments during stressing short time moments ... & on top of that add a limited storage place that require a total packed down drone. Use your phone instead ...

Then the second issue ... find a more isolated take-off spot where you can start from, then fly to where you want the shoot & fly back (all within the regulations of course). In this way you wouldn't have curious by standers during unpacking, take-offs & landings and don't have to imagine that everyone that looks at you are irritated.

 

[Saladshooter]

When I first bought my Mini 2, I had in mind that I would be taking it with me on my motorcycle trips and deploy it from time to time to film my riding buddies, interesting views en route etc.

However, what really ended happening though was that it takes me absolutely forever to deploy the drone. I need to unpack it, remove the propeller holder and gimbal cover, Unfold the arms, attach and hook up the phone to the remote, screw in the remote sticks, power everything up, fire up the app.. you know the drill.
To make things worse, because the drone feels so delicate/easy to break I am being veeeery careful while handling it, especially propellers and gimbal.

I use a standard controller and can be in the air in about a minute. You can speed up deployment in a few ways.

1. Move to a smart controller.... the built in screen eliminates the cables and set up.

2. Find a bag for the Mini 2 that both protects it and works well for you.

3. Ditch the prop holder. If you place the Mini 2 in a bag with a little padding that restricts where the props go it really doesn't need it. The props will be fine.

4. Keep the sticks screwed in. The sticks can be left installed but you need to protect them a little bit. There are inexpensive stick guards that will do it for you. I use a strip of thick foam with two holes poked in it.

5. This one doesn't need saying but power up both the drone and controller as soon as you can.

 

[c64-dev]

Great advice everyone. Much appreciated!

 

[test2000Anafi]

My anafi would be airborne within 60 seconds. Sometimes a few seconds more if there was no inmediate GPS fix.

I did use a cheap POS Android phone for the app/controller; it it were my 13 pro it would take 30 seconds more as I would be careful to place it inside the controller without rubbing or scratching the iPhone

 

[zocalo]

If you're going out specifically with the intent of flying the drone, could you consider a custom insert for a rigid backpack or your pannier? Get a suitably sized block of polystyrene or foam and cut out the outline of the drone with the legs already folded out, and store with the props aligned back along the legs, then fit that into your bag so it can't rattle around. Add another slot for the controller with the sticks already connected, and maybe the antennae extended as well, to save even more time.

For extra protection, you could put all that into a suitably sized plastic storage box you can get from most larger DIY stores as well.

I'd leave the gimbal cover in the mix though; that is probably the most fragile thing you need to worry about, and the less flopping around in transit the camera is doing the better.

 

[BigAl07]

I can be "Flying" in just a couple of moments usually. I'm less careful than I used to be (muscle memory helps) and I keep the iPad affixed to the controller 24/7. It takes me longer to do a visual and "feel" inspection than it does for the rest of the start up process.

It gets quicker with time and practice but it's still not as quick as Phantom.

 

[Hertzdonut]

The other aspect to your situation would be planning. If you guys are doing just a random ride, well, those create more pressure for you (if you are suddenly inspired to fly after rounding a particular corner, for example.) You may want to stop, but you don't want to interrupt your buddies, whatever.

However, when you plan out a ride, you can have a conversation with the other riders about stopping at a particular point. In fact, maybe plan out a ride with that as the only goal. It doesn't even have to be a particular vantage point to stop at. Just pick a convenient spot. The key thing is to actually do it. I'm sure your friends would be more than happy to take part. Yes, the first steps are the hardest. Like anything, the more you do it, the easier it becomes.

And here's a secret for ya: When you're new and nervous, It's actually much easier to fly a drone with a buddy standing at your side.

Best of luck, you'll do great!

- Jeff

 

[Squidinc]

I think we all have our routines, as is evident by the responses above. Additionally our “routines” as pilots become more embedded as we gain experience. I fly a MA2 with the stock controller. For daylight flights I feel no pressure, and set up slowly ensuring all is as expected.

The “pressure deployment” flights (if you can call them that) for me are the “Golden Hour” flights. I usually aim for a minimum of 15 minutes prior to sunrise or sunset to set up and be in the air.

 

[Galopin]

I have installed my old Mavic Air controller with iPhone on my electric bike handles bar. The drone is already deployed on top of my rear bag held by an elastic. I can fire it up in 45 seconds.

 

[Faster]

I can deploy my drones in seconds, usually way faster than what they take to acquire enough satellites to have a HP. What takes me more time is to analyze the safety issues, like double checking the airspace restrictions and doing a visual inspection of the surroundings of the area I'm going to fly.

 

[maggior]

I completely agree with the poster that suggested the smart controller and forgetting the prop holder. Having a dedicated device connected to the standard controller (tablet or old phone) would work also. Learning how to hand launch and land helps speed up the deployment time.

I understand the reluctance to pull off to the side of the road and pop your drone up in the air. I also like to be more stealth so I'm not bothering people. Last summer I did a couple of excursions where I pulled off to the side of the road and launched my drone. I felt nervous like I was doing something wrong, but it worked out fine. I thought I was going to have a problem when a local came up to talk to me, but he was just curious about the drone and was really friendly. He warned me of where some hawks had nests. On our summer beach vacation I launched from the side of the road also.

I keep the hard case in the trunk of my car. I'll check B4UFLY to make sure there are no flight restrictions. I power on my smart controller. Then I unfold the arms. I unfold each prop and check them for damage and that they are securely attached to the motor. I install a battery, power it on, and sit it on my sunroof to start acquiring GPS. I then bring up DJI Fly and double check all of my settings. By the time I'm done with that, I'm ready to launch. I may launch right off the sunroof, though I will hand catch when landing.

I've never timed it but it's under 5 minutes between opening the case and getting the drone in the air.

 

[Galopin]

Flying a drone is like travelling. Half of the pleasure is preparing the trip…

 

[crlmjohnson]

Hello all,

Here’s a question that’s been on my mind for a while. How quickly/easily do you deploy your drones?

When I first bought my Mini 2, I had in mind that I would be taking it with me on my motorcycle trips and deploy it from time to time to film my riding buddies, interesting views en route etc.

However, what really ended happening though was that it takes me absolutely forever to deploy the drone. I need to unpack it, remove the propeller holder and gimbal cover, Unfold the arms, attach and hook up the phone to the remote, screw in the remote sticks, power everything up, fire up the app.. you know the drill.
To make things worse, because the drone feels so delicate/easy to break I am being veeeery careful while handling it, especially propellers and gimbal.

To cut a long story short, with all this procedure I find it pretty much impossible/impractical to simply stop roadside and film my mates while they make a pass or when we take a break.

Compounding this problem is my general aversion to attracting attention which makes it harder and harder to go out and fly the drone in general, especially in nice settings, like a quaint little seaside village or something. When I see people around I practically hide the DJI bag under my arm and tell myself all kinds of excuses to avoid flying.

To cut a long story short, this deployment problem (and extreme shyness to fly the drone in general) has resulted in the poor M2 having had two (!) flights in about a year since I got it brand new.

How do you all cope with the deployment of your drones? Do you find it easy to fly and if so, how quickly do you get them up in the air? Any ideas/tips how to make the whole procedure easier?

Thanks and fly safe!
Nick

It does take time and you should

 

[vindibona1]

I think some of it is becoming adept at the motions you go through to get your drone up and running.
As someone said, the case you use will make a difference. A side-bag large enough to hold the gear comfortably will be faster than a hard case or too-small bag. Become habitual in the way you do things.

Steps A-B: Remove drone from case and flick off gimbal cover back into the case. Unfold legs and power drone on. Set it down.
B-C: Remove controller and power it on. Hopefully you have a method to keep sticks on, which is why a good size bag is helpful. D: Connect controller wire to phone and mount it. Practice mounting/connecting you phone so you're not fiddling with it at go time. DJI fly should launch automatically. E: Wait for enough stats and launch. Hopefully your settings will be ready to go, so auto settings might speed things up for you.

With a good routine, not counting satellite lock I can get my Mini 2 out of the case and ready to go in under a minute. Another 10 or 20 seconds added if I need to turn my strobes on.

 

[Kywon McCain]

I try to deploy mine as fast as i can. It feels like scrambling a jet.

 

[bmwbob]

I carried my Air 2 to on the motorcycle regularly. I have a compact carrying case and leave the props on. My process is pull out the drone, remove prop keepers and camera guard. Turn on drone and place it on the ground, the I pull out the controller with sticks still installed and turn it on. Then I pull out the phone and open app. The drone is already synced to controller and off I go.

 

[Deleted member 93449]

My concern is rushing things an making a stupid mistake. For me at a minimum it's 3-4 minutes.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I understand only too well what you describe.

Also had the same issues with 4WD trips, and with it was even easier as I could leave the controller out, the drone out through the day all ready to fly, keeping it somewhere safe on a padded spot in the back.
When travelling with friends, you have to keep in mind the overall trip priorities (moving along on your tour), but still try and capture some epic aerial footage.

In the end, I found the best thing was look at the days route, find a couple of likely spots where you will probably be stopping for the views or lunch etc, and have it teed up with your travelling companions that you will get a shot or footage at those points.
That way you aren't interfering too much in the days plan, and they are enthusiastic to get some footage of themselves and their bikes (or vehicles) in the best places.

I always found some nice campsite sunrise / sunset flights early morning and after making camp end of day was an excellent time to take some photos or footage.

Besides this, if you haven't got it, the smart controller will take just a few normal steps away from the whole set up time, and also make carrying the drone gear a little easier.

One last possibility, is leaving the drone virtually set up, either in a bike pannier (soft nest for it), or on the back with some sort of webbing, this could be used on the back of a pack too if you have one when riding.
Unclip the webbing and get the drone out ready to put on the ground, start up, get smart controller out, fire it up, can't think of a faster way to get in the air on such a trip.